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“I was completely stunned when he mentioned violence so bluntly,” said the 32-year-old, who was born and raised in China. In Britain, “Cafe Scientifique,” a laid-back science debate forum, kicked off in 1998 and “Pint of Science,” a three-day science festival, launched in May 2013. Unlike Western universities, which generally welcome the public, most Chinese campuses remain fenced off, keeping their academic resources exclusive to students, faculty and authorized personnel. Nationalist voices online have also grown into a powerful unofficial force policing speech across Chinese social media. Liang, who deemed the state-building talk “bold,” said he loves these academic pub sessions but suspects they will eventually face restriction.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Liang Xiao, urbanites, Liang, ”, …, Lei Ya, Cinnamon Wu, Wu, Jerry Zhang, “ It’s, ” Wu, Zhang, Jerry Zhang Elephant, China’s, They’ve, Lei, Kang Siqin, Kang, ” Kang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, American, Guangzhou –, Harvard University, CNN, ” University, Communist Party, Chinese University of Hong Locations: Hong Kong, Shanghai, China, “, China’s, Beijing, Guangzhou, West, Britain, ”, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

☆ I'm an American mom living in Germany. The Snoo, nanny shares, and stroller wagons are not very popular here.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Naomi Kaye Honova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Many American parents are used to utilizing a variety of parenting strategies and baby items in their everyday lives. The primary reason for this has to do with finances and parental leave. Day care or a private nanny can be very pricey, so a nanny share can help cut down on costs for some families. In Germany, both group day care and home day care providers are subsidized by the state; in some areas of Germany, day care is free of charge. But in Germany, due to lengthier parental leave, most kids start day care around age 1.

Persons: I've, Ferber, Nanny Organizations: Service, tote, American Locations: Germany, American

☆ Eric McCormack, ‘Will & Grace’ star, says roles should go to best actors, irrespective of sexuality
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Actor Eric McCormack has weighed in on the debate around whether non-LGBT actors should be able to play gay characters. McCormack, who is straight but is best known for playing gay lawyer Will Truman in the NBC comedy series “Will & Grace,” said in an interview on British television Monday that he still hopes “the best person for the role” would be cast, regardless of their sexuality. Susanna Reid, a co-host on ITV’s “Good Morning Britain” show, asked McCormack what he thought about straight actors playing gay characters. McCormack and "Will & Grace" co-star Debra Messing in June 2023 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images“That’s a tough one for me, because I didn’t become an actor so that I could play an actor,” said McCormack. It’s part of the gig.”“And I’ve always said: ‘If gay actors weren’t allowed to play straight actors, Broadway would be over,’” he added.

Persons: Eric McCormack, McCormack, Will Truman, Grace, ”, “, Susanna Reid, Debra Messing, Dimitrios Kambouris, I’m, I’ve, weren’t, ’, Chris Haston, Ed Balls, Max Mutchnick, David Kohan, “ Will, Grace ”, Grace Adler, Will – Organizations: CNN, NBC, Bank, Getty, Britain Locations: Canadian, New York City

☆ A Boring Capital for a Young Democracy. Just the Way Residents Like It.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Simon Romero | Alejandro Cegarra | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mention Belmopan, Belize’s capital that sits deep in the country’s interior, and many Belizeans will belittle the city as a bastion of pencil-pushing bureaucrats that’s not just dull, but also devoid of nightlife. “I was warned, ‘Belmopan is for the newlyweds or the nearly deads,’” said Raquel Rodriguez, 45, owner of an art school, about the reactions when she moved to Belmopan from coastal, bustling Belize City. Not exactly known as an Eden for young urbanites, Belmopan figures among the smallest capital cities anywhere in the Americas. The capital of Central America’s only English-speaking nation can feel jarringly different from the frenetic capitals of neighboring countries. In terms of its origins and design, Belmopan has more in common with the capitals of other former British colonies, especially in Africa.

Persons: Belmopan, that’s, ’ ”, Raquel Rodriguez, Eden, urbanites Locations: Belmopan, Belize City, Americas, Central, Africa

☆ China's big pig breeders dig in as losses and debts mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The biggest pig breeders in China, consumer of fully half the world's pork, seem to have bitten off more than they can chew. More huge losses are expected next year, putting China's pig enterprises under pressure to slim down their breeding herds and sell off farms, many of which are sitting empty. But now, especially given the companies' high debt levels, the analyst said: "It's hard for them to borrow any money from the banks." That follows a 17% surge in the first nine months of this year at China's 15 big market-listed breeders even as they reported 200 billion yuan in combined net losses. China's agriculture ministry has warned of heavier losses for the sector in early 2024 than a year ago and urged pig producers to cut output.

Persons: Lyle Jones, Hope Liuhe, they're, Flora Zhu, Dominique Patton, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Inc, Dalian Commodity Exchange, Tech - Bank, Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology, Analysts, Muyuan Foods, Foodstuff, WH, HK, Smithfield Foods, Hua'an Securities, China Corporate Research, Fitch, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Fujian Aonong, Jiangxi, Beijing

☆ Opinion: War didn’t look like this when the Geneva Conventions were written
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Mukesh Kapila | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Fatima Shbair/APHowever, modern urban warfare sets new records of ruination because more than half of us live in built-up areas. This is not illegal under the UN Charter but the concept of ’just’ war in international law requires protecting non-combatants. In urban war, fighters and civilians intermingleOften, the frontlines of urban conflicts cannot be clearly demarcated when fighters and civilians are intermingled. War has changed since the Geneva ConventionsThese new-style warriors were unknown when the Geneva Conventions emerged over a century ago. That violates international humanitarian law and is contrary to a UN political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas.

Persons: Mukesh Kapila, “, Mukesh, Khan, Fatima Shbair Organizations: UN, Global Health, Humanitarian Affairs, University of Manchester, CNN, United Nations, Islamic, Hamas, International, International Committee, Cross, Food Program Locations: United, Sarajevo, Kabul, Kigali, Huambo, Goma, Gaza, Khartoum, Port, Jerusalem, Britain, Germany, Stalingrad, Beirut, Khan Younis, Geneva, Russian, Ukraine, Islamic State, Afghanistan, Yemen, Australia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Al, Aqsa, Israel

☆ Condom-shy India arouses interest of global contraceptive makers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Kashish Tandon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Such is the trend that the market is set to more than double to $1.7 billion by 2030, showed data from GrandView Research. By contrast, 19% of U.S. men use condoms every time they have sex, showed data from the National Center for Health Statistics. World Bank data showed that, in 2021, per capita gross domestic product crossed $2,000 - a threshold at which, in China in 2006, consumption jumped. Britain's Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT.L) has launched new products under its Durex brand and expanded its "Birds and the Bees" rural marketing campaign. SOCIAL MEDIAIndia's market leader is domestic manufacturer Mankind Pharma (MNKI.NS) with a 33% share, ahead of Reckitt Benckiser at 14%, TechSci data showed.

Persons: Kazuhiro Kamio, Okamoto, Arvind Singhal, Miah Kiat Goh, Dwight, Mankind, Ashita Aggarwal, Kashish Tandon, Sumit Khanna, Rocky Swift, Dhanya Skariachan, Christopher Cushing Organizations: GrandView Research, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Okamoto Industries, National Center for Health Statistics, Technopak Advisors, Reuters, United Nations, Benckiser, ., Mankind Pharma, Social, Jain Institute of Management & Research, HDFC Securities Institutional, View Research, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Europe, Japan, China, U.S, S.P, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Rocky, Tokyo

☆ Japan has millions of cheap abandoned homes. Here's what to know before you buy one.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With the population in Japan shrinking and Japanese buyers vastly preferring new over used homes, older homes are often abandoned when owners die or younger generations refuse to inherit them. The Japanese government estimated in 2018 that there were nearly 8.5 million abandoned homes in the country. Jaya Thursfield and his wife, Chihiro, moved from London to Japan after buying an abandoned Japanese farmhouse in Ibaraki, a Japanese prefecture about an hour's drive northeast from Tokyo. With many Japanese buyers preferring newly built houses, some homes are demolished after only 20-30 years. And while houses in the US typically appreciate in value, houses in Japan tend to gradually depreciate in value over time.

Persons: Jaya Thursfield, Chihiro, Richard Koo, Koo, Bethany Nakamura, Nakamura, it's Organizations: Service, Privacy, Japan, Japan's Ministry of Land, Transport, Tourism, YouTube, Law, Nomura Research Institute Locations: Wall, Silicon, Japan, Infrastructure, London, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Jaya, America

[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

☆ Under Xi Jinping, China's military has become an untouchable nationalist symbol
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yue’s alleged transgression: “uglifying” and “insulting” China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Under Xi, China passed a law in 2018 to ban the slander of national “heroes and martyrs,” a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. To outsiders, it may appear puzzling that China’s military, the largest and one of the most powerful in the world, would be so easily offended by a seemingly tame joke. Xi has staked his legitimacy on returning China to its former greatness, and a strong and powerful military plays a key role in driving that nationalist agenda. He has also ramped up China’s military posturing, sending fighter jets and warships to the Taiwan Strait and around the disputed islands with Japan.

HONG KONG, Jan 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s first big vacation of 2023 offers shallow relief to investors. Passenger car sales dropped 21% from the same festive period last year, per Nomura analysts, and real estate keeps plunging. Central bankers terrified that China’s reopening will fuel more global inflation will be relieved. Chinese consumers enjoyed their holiday but there was little sign of dramatic “revenge consumption.” Scarred consumers have too many reasons to avoid splurging for the foreseeable future. The opinions expressed are her own)Follow @ywchen1 on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSMainland China’s Lunar New Year holiday runs from Jan. 21 to Jan. 27 in 2023.

☆ Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/StaffBEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. Her father died in late December, weeks after China dropped its COVID restrictions. Among those fatalities, 90% were 65 or older and the average age was 80.3 years, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Hong recalls visiting with her father to a crowded Wuhan crematorium to collect the ashes of her grandparents - a grim but common experience during China's COVID surge. Relatives were likewise sceptical about official death tolls, with several citing lost trust in the government during three years of "zero COVID" pandemic management.

☆ Why cities can't get rid of rats
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-03 | by ( Uma Sharma | Shira Polan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In many ways, rats are better suited for living in cities than people. Meet your average city rats: Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus. But a 2014 study gave a ballpark estimate of 2 million rats. And in some ways, rats are better suited for living in cities than people. In 2017, for example, New York City launched a $32 million war plan against its rats.

☆ NBC Buys Local Video Maker LX.TV
▼ + stars: | 2008-01-28 | by ( Michael Learmonth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

NBC's is acquiring LX.TV, a producer of local entertainment programming for TV and the web. NBC U says LX.TV will form the basis of a new unit called NBC Local Media that will produce cultural and lifestyle programming for local TV stations and web sites around the country. LX.TV started out as Code Networks, an indie producer of broadband content for wealthy urbanites. A local real estate show, OpenHouseNYC began airing on New York's WNBC in January 2007. Varet and Hertzan will remain with the company and report to Phyllis Schwartz, EVP, news, promotion and original content for NBC Local Media.

Persons: LX.TV, MTV execs Joseph Varet, Morgan Hertzan, Mo Rocca, Tim, Nina Zagat, OpenHouseNYC, Phyllis Schwartz Organizations: NBC, NBC Local Media, Networks, MTV, Viacom, WNBC, TitanTV Locations: New York, Los Angeles

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