China to extend yuan trading hours in bid to boost global use of its currency
Regulators led by the People’s Bank of China have told some banks to prepare for an extension of onshore yuan trading hours, according to sources, a move analysts say will help meet increasing demand for yuan transactions. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong star Jackie Chan attracts 5.4 million on Kuaishou as Chinese platforms deploy celebrity live-streams to lure users
In a fierce battle for viewers, Kuaishou, Douyin and WeChat’s Channels platform are making use of star power including Chan, Backstreet Boys, Jay Chou and Andy Lau. ⌘ Read more

Is the US setting up an ‘Asia-style Nato’? North Korea thinks so
Pyongyang also blamed US hostility for forcing North Korea to develop stronger defences, following recent joint exercises with South Korea and Japan. ⌘ Read more

Australia hosts ‘historic’ Nasa launch – first from commercial site outside US
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed the launch as the start of a ‘new era’ for the country’s space industry. ⌘ Read more

Cannabis use has risen with legalisation and Covid-19 lockdowns, according to UN report
In its annual World Drug Report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said legalisation appears to have accelerated the upwards trends in reported daily use of the drug. ⌘ Read more

Moderna seeking Hong Kong regulatory approval for Omicron-targeted Covid-19 booster vaccine
Patrick Bergstedt, US company’s senior vice-president of commercial vaccines, says discussions with city government at advanced stage, but no green light given yet. ⌘ Read more

Biden unveils US$600 billion global infrastructure plan at G7 summit to counter China’s Belt and Road
Clean energy, secure communications technology and health systems among focus areas for programme funded by grants, federal financing and private sector. ⌘ Read more

Prince Charles’ US$3 million bags-of-cash claim, denies any wrongdoing
British royal’s office said the money, from a former prime minister of Qatar, was for the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund – it was handed over in a suitcase and in shopping bags from London’s Fortnum & Mason store. ⌘ Read more

This 1.63 million-year-old fossil may have been the first human (hominin) to inhabit China
Scientists used teeth analysis to show that a Homo erectus fossil nicknamed, Lantian Man, likely lived in northwest China and may represent the first known hominin to live there. ⌘ Read more

With Roe vs Wade overturned, fears grow online data could be weaponised against abortion seekers in US
Privacy groups worried that social media posts or information on apps could be used by authorities to build cases. ⌘ Read more

In reply to: Oatmeal - That one time when Buffy the Vampire Slayer maybe saved my life?

After giving my brain bleed time to heal the neurosurgeon called me back in to hospital; the plan was to reassess, attempt to fix it using the minimally invasive technique that they tried once before, and if that didn’t work, do something a bit more squidgy dir … ⌘ Read more

Ukraine spy chief says Russia won’t run out of troops, military force needed to retake cities
Kyrylo Budanov said Moscow using reservists in a covert mobilisation to replenish its ranks in eastern Ukraine. ⌘ Read more

‘I will never forget the kindness’: Chinese man accidentally raises US$15,000 from self-service watermelon stall for granddaughter’s cancer treatment
A man who left his watermelon stall unmanned with a QR-code for self-service received 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) from strangers to help pay for his three-year-old granddaughter’s treatment. ⌘ Read more

French government supports bill enshrining abortion rights in constitution
France was one of several US allies to condemn America’s decision to revoke the country’s recent nationwide legal protection for abortion. ⌘ Read more

US prepares for second day of protests against Supreme Court’s abortion ruling
America woke up to a new level of division: between states that will now or soon deny the right to abortion, enshrined for 50 years, and those that still allow it. ⌘ Read more

How’s the China-India economic relationship changed 2 years on from the deadly Galwan Valley border clash?
China’s exports to India grew to US$27.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022, but India is concerned by its ballooning trade deficit with its neighbour amid strained ties two years after the deadly Galwan Valley clash. ⌘ Read more

Roe vs Wade: protesters condemn ‘tragedy’ as several states impose new abortion bans
‘Women died getting abortions……we were trying to protect women’s rights, women’s lives, and now they’ve taken all that away from us’. ⌘ Read more

Chinese military says US plane in Taiwan Strait endangered peace
Chinese firmly oppose the US actions and troops remain on high alert, PLA Eastern Theatre Command spokesman says. ⌘ Read more

US, Japan and allies form new Pacific group to blunt China’s influence
Australia, New Zealand and the UK are also part of the Partners in the Blue Pacific forum that will help Pacific island nations tackle challenges like climate change. ⌘ Read more

Roe vs Wade: How betting on Trump paid off for US anti-abortion supporters
The former president’s judiciary nominations have led the Christian right to its holy grail – the Supreme Court ending the nationwide right to abortion. ⌘ Read more

Philippines’ Duterte leaves brutal legacy in presidency marked by drug war, US-China policy flip-flops
The extrajudicial killings of some 8,000 people has ‘opened the floodgates for a type of governance that disregards the rule of law, due process and human rights’, activists say. ⌘ Read more

Roe vs Wade: Judge in US abortion ruling signals gay marriage, contraception next in firing line
Justice Clarence Thomas said the Supreme Court should ‘reconsider’ other landmark rulings, including same-sex marriage and contraception. ⌘ Read more

US passes first major gun control bill in decades
The legislation comes after two massacres last month that saw 10 black shoppers gunned down in New York and 21 people, mostly children, slain in Texas. ⌘ Read more

China ‘no-limits’ vow with Russia raises Pentagon urgency to prepare for Guam attack: US commander
‘Extremely dangerous’ if Beijing and Moscow were to make good on recent doubling down of partnership, says US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino. ⌘ Read more

Chinese satellites evade US surveillance probe, then stare back, according to report
The close encounter in orbit prompts experts to call for new rules and norms for the use of outer space. ⌘ Read more

Chinese-hosted BRICS summit swerves controversy over Ukraine and Taiwan
Analysts said India’s refusal to sign up to Russia and China’s anti-US agenda had derailed Beijing’s efforts to establish a common front on contentious matters. ⌘ Read more

Chinese firm aiming to break US dominance in chip design software gets IPO approval at home
Empyrean Technology aims to become a global leader in EDA software by 2030, in a market currently led by US firms Cadence, Synopsis and Mentor Graphics. ⌘ Read more

Hardening National Boundaries in a Globally-connected World
[Sponsored Article]

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the internet are often thought to have removed the boundaries among countries and brought us to a boundless world. But is that really the case? To investigate this question, research authored by Dr Jun ZHANG, Assistant Professor of CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies, takes as e … ⌘ Read more

Why do Some Minorities Support the US Republican Party?
[Sponsored Article]

In contemporary US politics, the Democratic Party is often regarded as the most welcoming to racial minority groups. Even so, each election cycle sees many members of these groups cast their vote for the Republican Party. In 2016, for example, Chinese Americans from the East Coast to Silicon Valley organised rallies for Republican candidates. Even thoug … ⌘ Read more

Global Discussions on Sustainable Solutions for the Future of Food
[Sponsored Article]

The current food system relies heavily on intensive farming which is unsustainable and harmful to both our planet and our health. Although industrial farming provides us affordable food prices and high crop yield, it is also believed that factory-farmed animals are invariably stressed and riddled with disease from cramped and unhealthy living con … ⌘ Read more

CityU Research Cited in US Budget FY2023
[Sponsored Article]

Strategic planning is regarded as a popular management approach adopted by public, private and non-profit organisations today to set priorities and steer future development. It helps define the mission of the organisation and establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame for implementation within the organisation’s capacity. … ⌘ Read more

❤️ 🎶: What about us by Hajin

Birthday giveaway: Richest Asian Gautam Adani pledges US$7.7 billion for social causes
Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, who turns 60 on Friday, joins the ranks of global billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett who have committed large parts of their wealth for philanthropy. ⌘ Read more

Pink Floyd seeking US$500 million for music catalogue
Should that deal come to fruition, it would be one of the largest sales in music history. ⌘ Read more

Business groups urge Biden to return trade to heart of Asia policies
US-led chambers among 15 international associations in combined push for regional trade agreements, but China group silent. ⌘ Read more

UAE sells US$3 billion in high-quality debt amid recession fears
The oil-rich Persian Gulf nation on Thursday sold US$1.75 billion in 10-year bonds and US$1.25 billion in notes due in 2052. ⌘ Read more

US sending Ukraine US$450 million more in arms, including rocket systems, says White House
‘This package contains weapons and equipment, including new High Mobility Artillery Rocket systems,’ said White House spokesman John Kirby. ⌘ Read more

China’s world’s factory tag threatened by Vietnam, but ‘there’s nothing to worry about’, analysts say
Vietnam’s first quarter exports reached US$88.58 billion, up by 12.9 per cent from the previous year, with Chinese state media comparing the shipments in the first three months of the year to China’s main export hub of Shenzhen. ⌘ Read more

Bill Cosby to appeal civil ruling on US$500,000 teenage sex assault case
A civil trial heard how Cosby was said to have plied Judy Huth with alcohol and taken her to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion where he molested Huth, who was 16 at the time, in the 1970s. ⌘ Read more

Google pulls plug on “Sentient A.I.” after it begins using Arch Linux
“BTW, I use Arch. Therefore I am.” ⌘ Read more

Why China should brace itself for a Pacific rebuff
Pacific island leaders have repeatedly expressed their reservations about being drawn into the power struggle between Beijing and Washington. With the US navy already having a foothold in the region, China needs much more than one base to gain military relevance in the South Pacific. ⌘ Read more

Americans have right to carry guns in public, says US Supreme Court in landmark decision
The decision was a stunning victory for the National Rifle Association gun lobby group, which brought the case along with two New York men who had been denied gun permits. ⌘ Read more

US$156million Russian superyacht in Dubai –test for US, UAE close ties amid sanctions
The 98-metre Madame Gu is moored next to US$200 million megayacht owned by the state’s ruler as Western pressure mounts for US Gulf Arab ally to apply sanctions. ⌘ Read more

China’s aircraft carrier No 4 will not catch up with US Navy’s nuclear-powered giants, analysts say
China’s naval nuclear reactor technology is not advanced enough to support an aircraft carrier, observers explained. ⌘ Read more

China ‘commends’ Nepal’s decision to reject US partnership programme
Beijing says it will continue to support Kathmandu’s ‘independent and non-aligned foreign policy’. ⌘ Read more

US-China tech war: top Chinese scientist envisions forked RISC-V chip design standard to cushion decoupling impact
Chinese Academy of Sciences expert Bao Yungang said the country could handle sanctions better than Russia by developing a ‘RISC-X’ chip architecture to be used by Belt and Road countries in the event of technological decoupling. ⌘ Read more

China floats BRICS free-trade deal, while Russia’s Putin calls for an alternative to US dollar
Vice-commerce minister Wang Shouwen says a free-trade deal will help tap the economic potential of the five emerging nations, which together account for about one-fifth of global trade. ⌘ Read more

Chinese video gaming revenue falls in May, a third month of decline amid slowing economy and less player spending
China’s video gaming revenue fell 6.7 per cent to US$3.4 billion in May, as the local economy struggles with less consumer spending amid Covid-19 controls. ⌘ Read more

Okinawa wants US troops out – 77 years after bloody battle
Governor calls for further reduction of US military base as fears grow over regional military tension. The Battle of Okinawa killed about 200,000 people, nearly half of them local. ⌘ Read more

Shenzhen tightens Covid-19 controls with 48-hour negative test result required to use public transport after three new cases found
Shenzhen residents will need to present negative nucleic acid test results issued within 48 hours to take the subway, or travel by taxi and other public transport, according to a government notice issued on Thursday. ⌘ Read more

Afghanistan earthquake: Rescuers race to save trapped survivors as UN, US and EU offer help
Desperate rescuers battled against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble after a powerful quake struck a mountainous border region of Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people. ⌘ Read more

Ghislaine Maxwell deserves 30-55 years in prison: US prosecutors
The 60-year-old British socialite was convicted in December of sex trafficking and other crimes after a month-long trial. ⌘ Read more

G7 pledges to counter ‘state-driven censorship’ and help protect journalists
‘Around the world, journalists face harassment and violence for their work, and press freedom is being restricted online and offline,’ say media ministers from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain. ⌘ Read more

US Capitol riot hearings to take break as new evidence floods in
Lawmakers investing the January 6 attack have received a glut of new video footage of Trump and his family from a documentary filmmaker. ⌘ Read more

To keep up with China, Pentagon must cut red tape and embrace latest technology, top US official says
Beijing has recognised importance of producing ‘more of the high-technology goods they want in their own economy’, says Defence Innovation Unit chief Michael Brown. ⌘ Read more

How the US can help end Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
Afghanistan faces a severe food and humanitarian crisis, with deaths expected to outstrip those during the 20-year war. If the US has concerns that aid funding will leak to the Taliban, it should work with UN agencies to carry out badly needed relief activities. ⌘ Read more

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall are getting a divorce, US media report says
The split is unlikely to alter the ownership structure of businesses he holds stakes in, including the parent companies of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. ⌘ Read more

US-China relations: Beijing has own ‘trade weapons’ to counter Xinjiang ‘forced labour’ law
China has the power to take countermeasures against Washington’s ‘arbitrary’ forced labour law, including imposing its own trade bans and suing the US at the World Trade Organization, experts say. ⌘ Read more

Indonesia deports Japanese Covid fraud suspect – US$7.3 million in government funds stolen
Mitsuhiro Taniguchi is accused of taking part in a fraud scheme that netted several million dollars in government funds intended for small Japanese businesses affected by coronavirus. ⌘ Read more

Tech war: Shenzhen recruits Japanese semiconductor heavyweight as China moves to challenge US, Korean dominance in memory chips
A Shenzhen memory chip start-up has named Japanese industry veteran Yukio Sakamoto as its chief strategy officer, the latest sign of China’s ambitious efforts to challenge US, Korean dominance in DRAMs. ⌘ Read more

US$3 billion tax bill for Philippines’ Marcos family will be collected vows new chief – 30 years after dictator’s death
Lilia Guillermo says there is no doubt the controversial tax liability will be collected, but needs documents ascertaining amount. Marcos family have owed the tax for more than 30 years since the death of dictator Ferdinand Senior. ⌘ Read more

US bans use of anti-personnel landmines everywhere – except the Korean peninsula
The announcement comes after years of criticism by human rights groups that the US had refused to adopt an international treaty banning the deadly devices. Russia is among the countries that haven’t agreed to the ban on landmines. ⌘ Read more

US business group calls for ‘urgent’ talks on Taiwan free-trade deal
Aim should be to present completed text for passage in 2024, American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan says in annual policy paper. ⌘ Read more

Filipino lawyer shot dead in US was ‘a case of mistaken identity’, official says
Philadelphia’s mayor expressed shock and sorrow over the killing of John Albert Laylo at the weekend and is offering a US$20,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the shooter. ⌘ Read more

Why Asia wants more nuclear weapons – thanks to Russia’s war in Ukraine
Security experts say the daily example of Russia tearing apart non-nuclear Ukraine is pushing Asia’s non-nuclear states to consider getting their own weapons – or hosting US ones. ⌘ Read more

The Lunduke Journal Podcast - June 21, 2022
Listen now (19 min) | What are the minimum number of online services you could use? ⌘ Read more

Most significant US gun legislation in decades clears hurdle in Senate
The US Senate took an initial step towards passing the country’s first major gun-control legislation in decades, galvanised by two recent mass shootings. ⌘ Read more

Chinese child-trafficking victim, sold for US$150, posts wedding dress video in bid to find birth parents before her nuptials
A bride-to-be who was abducted and sold as a child poses in her wedding dress to make heartfelt plea for help in finding her birth parents. ⌘ Read more

China supercomputer achieves global first with ‘brain-scale’ AI model
Research team says latest Sunway machine is on a par with the US Frontier, named as the world’s most powerful just weeks earlier. ⌘ Read more

Donald Trump supporters threatened officials for not overturning election, victims tell Capitol riot hearing
At the fourth public Capitol riot hearing, investigators sought to tie the ex-US president directly to a pressure campaign on electors after his defeat by Joe Biden. ⌘ Read more

the-spatializer/instagram-follower-scraper

Image

Scrap Instagram Follower, detect accounts you follow, accounts that follow you, accounts that follow you but you don’t follow back, accounts you follow but don’t follow you back using python

Language: Python

Star: 1

Watch: 1 ⌘ Read more

China-US relations: Joe Biden’s Asia-Pacific trade framework to be handled with ‘caution’, Beijing advisers say
Former Chinese officials say Beijing must ‘consider’ neighbouring nations who have signed onto Washington’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, despite growing rivalry with the United States. ⌘ Read more

No more GitHub Copilot for me
I was an avid user of GitHub Copilot during the technical preview phase. Apparently, as many as 1.2 million developers used Copilot. But now Copilot is out of beta and suddenly costs money. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine says it hit Black Sea oil platform used by Russia’s troops
The attack was the first such strike against offshore energy infrastructure in Crimea since the start of Moscow’s invasion in February. ⌘ Read more

GitHub Copilot is generally available to all developers
We’re making GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer that suggests code in your editor, generally available to all developers for $10 USD/month or $100 USD/year. It will also be free to use for verified students and maintainers of popular open source projects. ⌘ Read more

China, US urged to ‘start small’ as Biden ponders Trump-era trade tariff rollback amid record inflation
Former acting deputy US trade representative Wendy Cutler believes Washington will soon unveil its plan for how to handle the US$350 billion of Trump-era trade tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese goods for almost four years. ⌘ Read more

Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act takes effect in US, banning imports from Xinjiang
Cotton products, tomatoes and polysilicon, a material used in the solar panel industry, are among the ‘high priority’ sectors that will face scrutiny by US customs agents. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine war: Russia says captured US fighters may face death penalty
The Kremlin said Andy Huynh and Alexander Drueke were mercenaries not covered by the Geneva Conventions and could face the death penalty for their actions. ⌘ Read more

Singapore unveils US$1 billion package as cost of living rises amid inflation, Ukraine war
Adult Singaporeans earning below S$34,000 (US$24,500) a year will receive S$300 in cash in August, and every household will get S$100 to offset utilities. ⌘ Read more

Tencent trims stake in Koolearn, New Oriental’s live-streaming unit, as new venture fuels a six-fold jump in stock
Tencent collected US$92 million by selling down its stake in Koolearn Technology in two transactions this month after the education group switched its focus to live-streaming business. ⌘ Read more

Russia’s Putin alert for signs of eroding Western unity on Ukraine
Vladimir Putin, who has likened himself to Peter the Great, has used recent public appearances to articulate his raw imperial ambitions. ⌘ Read more

Quirky China: Chinese factory uses mannequin as ‘fire warden’, pupils use train bench as homework desk, school lets kids wear hanfu clothes
Quirky China: A factory is caught using a mannequin to police fire warnings, three students have turned a train bench into a homework desk and a school is allowing pupils to attend classes dressed in traditional hanfu costumes. ⌘ Read more

Teen girl in China steals US$18,000 meant for sick mother’s operation to go on a shopping spree
Police in China helping a distraught woman recover some of the money she’d saved for an operation after her daughter stole it and blew it on online games, mobile phones and clothing. ⌘ Read more

China’s political party school in Africa takes first students from 6 countries
120 cadres from ruling parties attend workshop at the US$40 million facility in Tanzania funded by the Chinese Communist Party. ⌘ Read more

Ukraine war: US and allies mulling Russian oil price cap, Treasury chief Janet Yellen says
Such a move would further restrict Moscow’s energy revenue, in addition to existing or planned Western restrictions over the Ukraine invasion. ⌘ Read more

China’s Mars mission on track to lead the world in retrieving Martian rocks by 2031, says programme veteran
China’s timeline is two years ahead of a US-European planned Mars mission to return samples to Earth for laboratory testing, according to Sun Zezhou. ⌘ Read more

Fear grips cryptocurrency traders and magnifies the global rout in US$247 billion DeFi market, Binance’s founder CZ says
The crash in cryptocurrencies shows how the fundamental principle of DeFi – the pursuit of higher yields in the era of cheap money to disrupt and replace traditional banks – has been upended by rising interest rates. ⌘ Read more

Australian PM Albanese should demand US drops prosecution of Julian Assange, ex-minister urges
A former Australian foreign minister has called for newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to demand that the United States drop its prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. ⌘ 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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