The Big Gamble: Avi Yemini vs PRGuy ⌘ Read more
Burger King Japan swaps French fries for ramen after running low on potatoes
The fast food chain has started selling what it calls the ‘almost-potato set’, featuring a burger and a side of crunchy ramen noodles. Some customers aren’t too thrilled about the switch. ⌘ Read more
Inspiring memories of Harrow International’s first decade
[Sponsored Article]
When the first intake of pupils arrived at Harrow International School Hong Kong back in 2012, they were no doubt experiencing the usual mixed sensations of anxiety and hope.
They were entering the unfamiliar environment of a brand-new boarding school, which sought to blend the traditional principles of a British-style education with aspects of in … ⌘ Read more
China resists loan rate cuts, keeps lending benchmark unchanged in June
China’s one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and five-year LPR, which is the reference for mortgages, remained unchanged, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said on Monday. ⌘ Read more
**What the…
“It’s not compulsory to get the app.
But EU countries will be required to offer a digital ID system to its residents. Likewise, public and private services will be required to accept the new ID, but they can’t make it compulsory for users either.”**
What the…
“It’s not compulsory to get the app.
But EU countries will be required to offer a digital ID system to its residents. Likewise, public and private services will be required to accept the new ID, but they can’t make it compulsory for use … ⌘ Read more
Rights and wrongs of US-China dispute over the Taiwan Strait
China is correct that the Taiwan Strait is not ‘international waters’. And the US is right that warships and warplanes have the right to pass through. But for the US, exercising that right is a political decision and complicates the issue of the status of Taiwan and the one-China policy. ⌘ Read more
Beijing underlines its jurisdiction and desire for urgent action by laying down targets for incoming Hong Kong leader, analysts say
‘The new team must have the sense of a mission to deliver after taking up their positions in July,’ one expert says. ⌘ Read more
Will Malaysia see a fresh influx of Rohingya refugees as life in Bangladesh, Myanmar gets worse?
Over 600 Rohingya were arrested trying to reach Malaysia in the past seven months – and activists say desperate conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh are forcing more to risk the perilous sea voyage. ⌘ Read more
Colombia elects former guerilla Gustavo Petro as first leftist president
Petro beat construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez with an unexpectedly wide margin of some 719,975 votes. ⌘ Read more
**“This decision is not only a hollow response to Covid-19, but it sends the message that intellectual property rights outweigh the rights to health and life.”
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/06/covid-19-wto-ministerial-decision-on-trips-agreement-fails-to-set-rules-that-could-save-lives/**
“This decision is not only a hollow response to Covid-19, but it sends the message that intellectual property rights outweigh the rights to health and life.”
[amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2…](https://www.amnesty. … ⌘ Read more
Coronavirus: elderly Hongkongers turn to expressive arts therapy to ease pandemic blues
The treatment has helped elderly residents suffering from long Covid open up and come out of their shell, says therapist Janet Li Wai-chong. ⌘ Read more
Paul Schaub: Reproducible Builds – Telling of a Debugging Story
Reproducibility is an important tool to empower users. Why would a user care about that? Let me elaborate.
For a piece of software to be reproducible means that everyone with access to the software’s source code is able to build the binary form of it (e.g. the executable that gets distributed). What’s the matter? Isn’t that true for any project with accessible source code? Not at all. Reproducibility means that the r … ⌘ Read more
Next US election may prove most dangerous time for Taiwan, warns veteran US diplomat Chas Freeman
Richard Nixon’s former interpreter says Beijing may view the election of a supporter of Taiwan’s independence as something it must respond to ⌘ Read more
EU seeks to release Ukrainian grain stuck due to Russia’s sea blockade
The EU supports efforts by the United Nations to broker a deal to resume Ukraine’s sea exports in return for easing Russian food and fertiliser exports, but that would need Moscow’s green light. ⌘ Read more
Ukraine war: Rabat urges ‘fair trial’ for Moroccan appealing death penalty
Brahim Saadoun, a Moroccan citizen born in 2000, was sentenced to death on June 9 along with two British men by a court in Donetsk, a self-proclaimed statelet in eastern Ukraine. ⌘ Read more
Telegram Premium is there, at least the announcement that it should be there, but the update on Google Play somehow not yet. Unfortunately, the announcement says that Premium is not (yet) available for users in Germany. ☹️ I’m especially waiting for the feature to be able to convert voice messages to text. 😅 ⌘ Read more
World swimming’s governing body bans transgender athletes from women’s events
Fina members voted 71.5 per cent in favour of its new ‘gender inclusion policy’ that only permits swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events. ⌘ Read more
[47°09′20″S, 126°43′26″W] Reading: 1.70000 PPM
Ask Me Anything
Inspired by Kev’s post, I’d like to give this a try as well: ⌘ Read more
Macron to lose French parliament majority in blow for reform plans, projections indicate
The French president was set to lose his majority after major election gains by a newly formed left-wing alliance and the far-right. ⌘ Read more
Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis arrested in Italy over sexual assault claims
The alleged victim had been staying with Haggis ahead of the festival, prosecutors said. ‘The suspect allegedly forced the young woman … to undergo sexual intercourse,’ they said. ⌘ Read more
After British journalist’s murder in the Amazon, can his vision survive?
Dom Phillips wrote about Brazil for 15 years and asked President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019 how he intended to demonstrate Brazil’s commitment to protect the Amazon region. ⌘ Read more
Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid to visit Türkiye amid security jitters
Israel has warned its citizens against travel to Türkiye, citing suspected assassination or abduction plots by Iran. ⌘ Read more
How the US’ Xinjiang labour law has crippled China’s cotton industry before even entering effect
Even though the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act does not take effect until Tuesday, traders in China’s Xinjiang region say losses have been mounting for months, as buyers shun what was once prized as the world’s most expensive cotton. ⌘ Read more
US: China ‘engages in unfair trade practices’ but tariffs serve ‘no strategic purpose’
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China ‘engages in range of unfair trade practices’ but ‘the tariffs we inherited, some serve no strategic purpose’. ⌘ Read more
‘True Independence Day’: US parades, speeches, commemorate ‘end of slavery’
Citizens across the country are marking ‘Juneteenth’, the June 19, 1865 end of the legal enslavement of black Americans. ⌘ Read more
Incoming Hong Kong leader John Lee vows US sanctions will not interfere with safeguarding national security
John Lee says sanctions imposed by ‘some bullying countries’ will not deter him and his government from their ‘must-fulfil’ responsibility. ⌘ Read more
China chalks up success in push to promote favoured candidates on international bodies
The country’s representative has secured another term on a leading UN maritime body that rules on important economic and political disputes. ⌘ Read more
Who will help John Lee run Hong Kong? A quick guide to old and new faces on his governing team
Among 21 key figures, seven are from incumbent administration, two have been promoted from undersecretary, six are serving or recently retired civil servants, and another six are newcomers. ⌘ Read more
China names Han ex-environmental protection officer to head ethnic affairs office
Pan Yue will be the second member of China’s dominant ethnic group to head the office responsible for minorities. ⌘ Read more
Kelly Holmes, 52, British Olympic athletics champion, comes out as gay after ‘years of heartache’
Dame Kelly, a former army officer who won two golds in Athens in 2004, said she had known she was gay since she was 17 but hid her sexuality over fear of repercussions. ⌘ Read more
Resuming quarantine-free travel with mainland China to be top priority, Hong Kong’s incoming health minister says
Dr Lo Chung-mau says he intends to form anti-epidemic measures rooted in evidence to reconnect Hong Kong with mainland China and the wider world. ⌘ Read more
Philippines: Duterte’s daughter Sara sworn in early as vice-president
Sara Duterte-Carpio’s six-year term with President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jnr does not officially start until June 30, when he will be inaugurated. Marcos was at Sunday’s swearing in event, as was current leader President Rodrigo Duterte. ⌘ Read more
URA to spend HK$500 million renovating 4 older areas of Hong Kong, with focus on preventive maintenance of ageing buildings
Urban Renewal Authority to focus on Kowloon City, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po, among other areas, over five years ⌘ Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping says country has won an ‘overwhelming’ victory in corruption battle – but warns more work is needed to tackle problem
In a speech to the Politburo, Xi says he hopes that officials will not even by tempted by corrupt activities. ⌘ Read more
[47°09′02″S, 126°43′17″W] Raw reading: 0x62AF01B2, offset +/-5
Germany plans for more coal amid Russia gas supply drop: ‘bitter but necessary’
Nation will try to compensate for gas reduction by increasing the burning of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel. ⌘ Read more
‘Lessons to be learned for Ukraine’: Dutch PM apologises to Bosnia peacekeepers
Mark Rutte apologised to Dutch UN peacekeepers overwhelmed in 1995 by Serb forces; veterans were right to ask, ‘where was the world?’. ⌘ Read more
Hit TV show brings back forgotten ancient Chinese ceremony involving intricate calligraphy and patterns in whipped tea
A popular period drama showing an ancient form of drinkable art called chabaixi, literally meaning ‘a hundred tricks with tea’ has renewed interest in the long-forgotten art. ⌘ Read more
Japan: 5.2 magnitude earthquake hits west coast’s Ishikawa, ‘no tsunami threat’
The quake struck a few minutes after 3pm local time Sunday. The government was gathering information but said initial reports indicated no major damage and nuclear facilities were operating normally. ⌘ Read more
Disappeared Chinese coal tycoon who took on top judge to hear appeal verdict
Case relates to judicial scandal involving lost court papers, a celebrity whistle-blower and a jailed judge who ruled on Zhao’s mining dispute with state firm. ⌘ Read more
Japan debates getting a nuclear submarine – but Kishida’s ‘not so sure’
Opposition parties have called for Japan to acquire the capability ‘to increase deterrence’ amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Chinese military assertiveness. ⌘ Read more
China scientists find a grain of hope in climate change rice research
Study identifies a pair of genes in the staple that could be tweaked to improve its tolerance to heat stress. ⌘ Read more
Hong Kong’s border control measures are not tenable, city should decide whether to fully reopen by end of year, Carrie Lam says
‘If the city is still sticking to the existing border control measures in the coming half-year, or by the end of this year, I will be a bit worried,’ Lam says. ⌘ Read more
From Australia to India, massive passenger demand sparks travel chaos
As borders reopen, travel has sprang back with such voracity that it’s resulted in an unprecedented labour crunch for the aviation industry. ⌘ Read more
Apple workers vote to form tech giant’s first-ever US union
It wasn’t the first time employees at an Apple store had tried to unionise, but it was the first attempt that resulted in a vote. ⌘ Read more
The chicken or the egg? It was probably Asian rice that domesticated the famous fowl
A new study argues that chickens were first domesticated in Thailand about 3,500 years ago thanks to environmental changes made by ancient rice farms. ⌘ Read more
China urges IMF to approve US$1.4 billion Zambia bailout, but told it must reach deal with other lenders
China is the African country’s biggest lender and is a key player in efforts to resolve its debt problems. ⌘ Read more
France faces chaos without me, Macron tells voters
The French president and his proxies took on an apocalyptic tone as the country heads to the polls for the second round of a parliamentary election. ⌘ Read more
Australia to get US-made nuclear submarines by 2030, opposition leader claims
Peter Dutton said on Sunday that the United States ‘would pull out every stop’ to support Australia acquiring nuclear submarines ‘as quickly as possible’. ⌘ Read more
Thailand’s looking to legalise same-sex unions, but will it embrace full marriage equality?
A bill that would legalise same-sex marriage won initial approval from Thai lawmakers this week despite opposition from the government, which wants civil partnerships for LGBT people instead. ⌘ Read more
Ukraine war ‘could take years’, Nato chief warns
The Nato chief’s comments came amid intensified Russian assaults after the EU recommended granting Ukraine candidate status to join the bloc. ⌘ Read more
Beijing approves Hong Kong Chief Executive-elect John Lee’s cabinet line-up
Long-time bureaucrat Eric Chan becomes chief secretary, Financial Secretary Paul Chan to stay in current post. ⌘ Read more
Is abortion legal in China, how common is it and why is it controversial?
The procedure is legal and widely available across the country but it is also used as a means of population and social control. ⌘ Read more
Malaysia wants to fight inflation with GST. Will it cost Ismail Sabri at the polls?
With more people needing financial aid, the Malaysian government is trying to widen its revenue sources to can boost social welfare, analysts say. ⌘ Read more
Wheelchair-friendly places and foster homes: father’s love conquers life of hard knocks for this Hong Kong family
Father of two Chris Cheng, 44, has muscular dystrophy and has to call on foster care to raise his sons, but still tries his best to remain a key part of their lives. ⌘ Read more
Australia’s China bias and colonial blinkers mean it fails to see big picture for Pacific islands’ development
Canberra had chosen symbolic gestures and feeble investments over more practical initiatives now being offered by Beijing to Pacific island nations. Australia must shed its colonial mindset and stop claiming to always have the moral high ground over China. ⌘ Read more
‘Find a sperm donor’: Chinese doctor shocked to find failed-pregnancy patient is married to son of her paternal aunt
A video of a college-educated patient who married her cousin and telling a doctor about a string of failed pregnancies sparks online debate. ⌘ Read more
From shoot-outs on Hong Kong streets to online scams raking in billions: police chief Raymond Siu digs into three decades of crime
Police chief remembers day he was called to robbery carried out by notorious ‘king of thieves’ Kai Yip. ⌘ Read more
Will Indonesia’s Jokowi start his own political party to cement his legacy?
The president’s lobby group Projo says it may register as a political party as talk swirls of officials mulling a constitutional change to allow third terms. ⌘ Read more
US, China talks in Luxembourg may set stage for Biden-Xi face-to-face summit
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi met in Europe’s Luxembourg on Monday, the 4th in-person meeting of US-China officials in 15 months. ⌘ Read more
Health of Hong Kong’s poor is in the hands of the whole of society, not just the heathcare sector
Marked health inequalities exist in wealthy Hong Kong, and government intervention alone is not enough to address them. Civil society and businesses play a major role in the improvement of living and working conditions, thereby minimising illness and injury. ⌘ Read more
Warplanes hit Hamas sites in Gaza in retaliation to rocket fire, Israeli army says
On Saturday evening, Defence Minister Benny Gantz suspended an increase in Israeli entry permits for Gazan workers in response to the rocket fire. ⌘ Read more
Chinese firm’s hopes of resolving royalties row at massive DR Congo copper and cobalt mine hits political hurdle
Chinese mining company denies that court-appointed administrator has taken control of operation. ⌘ Read more
Bitcoin’s cascading losses accelerate in record-breaking rout
Largest cryptocurrency tumbles as much as 13 per cent on Saturday, breaching US$18,000, as sell-off quickens. ⌘ Read more
Something incredible is happening this week… ⌘ Read more
Spain battles to bring fires under control as it swelters in heatwave
Dry and windy conditions have caused fires in several areas, with Zamora, near the border with Portugal, among the worst hit. ⌘ Read more
Defrocked Chilean priest sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing minors
Oscar Munoz, 60, was sentenced by a criminal court in the capital Santiago. Pope Francis expelled Munoz from the church in 2019. ⌘ Read more
Ukraine plans to resume peace talks with Russia by August, officials say
The country will be in a better position to negotiate at that time, Kyiv’s chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, said in an interview with US broadcaster Voice of America. ⌘ Read more
Coronavirus: vaccine roll-out for American children under 5 close after CDC panel vote
US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to roll out the vaccines to the under-5 age groups as early as next week. ⌘ Read more
‘Bloodsicles’ and ice baths: How US zookeepers coax animals through heatwaves
Siberian tigers Yuri and Nikita at the Denver Zoo, who are supposed to mate, suffer most during Denver’s intensifying heatwaves. ⌘ Read more
Kate Bush classic Running Up That Hill tops UK chart after 37 years
The British singer’s 1985 track has enjoyed a renaissance globally after featuring in the hit Netflix sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. ⌘ Read more
Gunman, 70, kills 3 senior citizens during potluck dinner at Alabama church
Police say the suspect, Robert Findlay Smith, showed up for the dinner, pulled out a handgun and fatally shot three of the elderly participants, one of whom died in his wife’s arms. ⌘ Read more
[47°09′25″S, 126°43′16″W] Raw reading: 0x62ADF681, offset +/-5
Biden, China’s Xi ‘will talk’ says US president, weighing action on tariffs
Biden said he would be talking to Xi and was ‘in the process’ of making a decision about the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports. ⌘ Read more
US billionaire Warren Buffett’s last charity private lunch sees record US$19 million bid
A wealthy person has bid a whopping US$19 million to eat at a New York steakhouse with Warren Buffett, 91, in his last such auction for San Francisco charity Glide. ⌘ Read more
Beijing is likely to step up its campaign to ‘reunify’ with Taiwan, analysts say
Chance of an armed conflict is higher than five years ago as PLA ‘will soon be equipped with the tools needed’ to attack the island, analyst says. ⌘ Read more
Russia frees Ukraine medic who filmed Mariupol horror, saved both sides’ people
Yuliia Paievska, known as Taira, used a body camera to record her team’s efforts to save the wounded and was held captive for three months. President Zelensky said ‘we will keep working to free everyone’. ⌘ Read more
Boris sings out for Ukraine: UK PM Johnson says nation deserves to host Eurovision
British PM says Ukraine, winner of this year’s contest, ‘can have it’, ‘should have it’ in 2023. European Broadcasting Union has ruled the event cannot take place in the war-torn country, but its public broadcaster wants more negotiations. ⌘ Read more
Masks, Covid-19 test kits, plastic bottles: more than 9,000kg of litter found on Hong Kong’s hiking trails, seashore last year, green group says
Plastic bottles, bottle lids and buoys top three types of rubbish commonly found on seashore, while cigarettes, tissue paper and food packaging dot hiking trails, green group Ecobus says. ⌘ Read more
Chinese disciplinary watchdog to investigate after bank protesters flagged as health risk
The Zhengzhou commission for discipline inspection says it has started a probe into why angry depositors found their health codes had suddenly turned red. ⌘ Read more
UK begins electronically tagging migrants coming via ‘unnecessary, dangerous routes’
The 12-month pilot scheme involves electronically tagging some people arriving on small boats or in the back of lorries. On Tuesday the European Court of Human Rights granted an injunction preventing the departure of a UK-chartered aircraft carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda. ⌘ Read more
Fraudsters swindled HK$1.28 billion from more than 6,000 Hongkongers through online, phone scams in first 4 months of year
Nearly one-fourth of money victims lost was swindled through email fraud, while phone scammers pocketed HK$280 million. ⌘ Read more
Singapore’s Pink Dot gay pride rally returns, as MP from ruling party attends for first time – and in a pink T-shirt
After two years of Covid postponements, LGBT event returns, with excitement that archaic colonial-era Section 377A Penal Code law criminalising sex between men will soon be repealed. ⌘ Read more
Hong Kong’s buyers snap up 70 per cent of new homes on offer, casting aside HKMA’s 75-point interest hike as banks deferred raising mortgage rates
HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Hang Seng Bank kept their prime rates unchanged this week, even after the city’s de facto central bank raised its base rate by 75 basis points. ⌘ Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping warns against international decoupling in Russia speech
Xi address to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum also included warnings against decoupling and the use of sanctions. ⌘ Read more
Total recall: Chinese wife nurses stroke-stricken husband back from the brink using the power of love
Chinese social media falls in love with an elderly couple who battled together to overcome a terrible medical condition ⌘ Read more
‘Never seen such floods in her life’: 41 dead, millions stranded in India, Bangladesh
Floods are a regular menace in low-lying Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing frequency, ferocity, unpredictability. ⌘ Read more
The way we wed: How Indian brides are reinventing ceremonies to push for gender equality
Modern brides are doing away with practices such as looking sad as they leave their families, and changing their surnames after marriage. ⌘ Read more
Biden urges China, other major economies to step up climate action, as US and EU join global methane cuts pledge
China a notable absentee from 13 inaugural members of Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway agreed upon at the forum. ⌘ Read more
‘My mum was a bit worried’: reality show idea to bring German mother-in-law to China to live with couple sparks national debate
A reality show situation where a couple in China suggested moving the German husband’s mother to live with them sparked a national debate. ⌘ Read more
Woman arrested for making anti-Asian remarks, pepper spraying 4 people in New York
Madeline Barker was charged with hate crimes over the June 11 attack in which she pepper-sprayed four Asian women. ⌘ Read more
China to tighten grip on social media comments, requiring sites to employ sufficient content moderators
The draft regulation demands platforms to employ a content moderation team commensurate with the scale of the services. ⌘ Read more
Greater Bay Area: can China ‘integrate’ Hong Kong into its southern economic powerhouse?
Some Hongkongers are trying their luck on the mainland and excited about the opportunities, but for others the idea of integration is ‘unconvincing’. ⌘ Read more
China’s latest hot export is a US$50 toy Russian fighter jet that ‘will never break’, helped by social media such as TikTok
The fighter jet toy, with a price tag of less than US$50 on e-commerce sites such as eBay and Amazon, has gained popularity for its affordability and durability. ⌘ Read more
Oil-producing Gulf nations are pursuing greener energy. What does this mean for Asia?
Most of Asia’s electricity needs come from oil-producing Gulf nations, which are trying to position themselves as leaders in the development of green energy. ⌘ Read more
Coronavirus: sixth wave could come in September, but with less impact, Hong Kong labour minister says
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong makes forecast, warning city’s immunity barrier could have waned by then. ⌘ Read more
Huge blaze at Shanghai Sinopec plant kills one
Roaring fire at one of China’s biggest refining and petrochemicals plants started around 4am. ⌘ Read more