My June ‘22 in Review
And now June and thus half of the year is over, how fast time flies, blazing fast! Time for a little review. ⌘ Read more

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warns Nato of China’s rising assertiveness
New Zealand has in recent years tried not to antagonise China, its largest trading partner, at times choosing not to co-sign statements from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance criticising Beijing. ⌘ Read more

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology gets approval for Guangzhou campus, in time for handover anniversary
The HKUST Guangzhou campus aims to open its doors to students in September this year. ⌘ Read more

Nato leaders say China is a ‘systemic challenge to Euro-Atlantic security’
For the first time, the Western military alliance singles out China by name in its strategy document, which had not been updated for 12 years. ⌘ Read more

Seoul ranked world’s second-best city for studying abroad, while Hong Kong climbs 3 spots to 12th place in annual QS report
South Korean capital comes in at second place for the first time in global list ranking 140 cities, while London takes top spot. ⌘ Read more

China tells UN expansion of Nato, or a Nato-like body, into the Asia-Pacific will stir up conflict
Beijing is concerned US is building an Asian version of Nato as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea join the Nato meeting for the first time. ⌘ Read more

China’s easing of zero-Covid restraints set to release stocks into bull-market territory for first time in three years
A change in quarantine rules comes as the CSI 300 Index is within about 2 per cent of bull-market status, but opinions differ over how heavily Beijing’s zero-Covid policy still weighs on the market ⌘ Read more

Police in China arrest twin sisters who used each other’s passports more than 30 times to travel the world
Police in northern China arrested twin sisters under suspicion of swapping passports to visit various countries to skirt visa rules. ⌘ Read more

Amid heatwaves and floods, time is running out for rich nations to fulfil climate pledges and avert catastrophe
The current pledges of financial and policy support are nowhere near enough to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Instead of protecting carbon-emitting industries, the world needs economic diversification and green jobs for a just, sustainable transition. ⌘ Read more

China, Nato and how the Ukraine war is spilling over into the Asia-Pacific
Indo-Pacific partners are joining the bloc’s summit for the first time as the US seeks to counter China’s influence. ⌘ Read more

Singapore man who preyed on disabled children jailed for record 45 years in ‘exceptionally sickening’ case
Prosecutors said the man committed his crimes over the span of 16 years, including from 2005 to 2018 when he worked as a part-time tutor to ‘gain access to a ready pool of children’ – many of whom were disabled. ⌘ Read more

Priced out of Hong Kong, young home buyers look to Greater Bay Area for space and value
Twenty-five years after the handover, home ownership in Hong Kong is further out of reach than ever for first-time buyers, some of whom are finding value in Dongguan and other cities in the Pearl River Delta. ⌘ Read more

How an expanded BRICS could lead the world instead of the waning West
Adding new members to BRICS would fragment the world on a scale not seen since the Cold War and amplify the new era of ‘vertical globalisation’. The US would not be at the centre of geopolitics for the first time since World War II, and even France may switch sides. ⌘ Read more

US man shoots Subway worker dead over ‘too much mayo on sandwich’
The gunman argued with two female staff before opening fire, killing one and injuring the other; the wounded woman’s 5-year-old son was at the restaurant at the time. ⌘ Read more

Russian missiles hit crowded shopping centre in Ukraine, Zelensky says
More than 1,000 people were in the shopping centre at the time of the attack, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. ;It is impossible to even imagine the number of victims’, he said. ⌘ Read more

❤️ 🎶: As time goes by [From “Reply 1988 (Original Television Soundtrack), Pt. 9”] by Kihyun

Ukraine war: Russia defaults on foreign debt for first time since 1918
The default was the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down Russia’s payment routes to overseas creditors. ⌘ Read more

School in China ditches sleeping on desks at nap time for health reasons and lets students set up their own tents to sleep in
A school in China, concerned by the health impacts of students sleeping with heads on desks, tried something different — now its ‘sleep lying down project’ is winning praise nationally. ⌘ Read more

Why this 25-year-old is not leaving Hong Kong
To those who assert that Hong Kong is dead, that it’s high time to leave, I say: this is my home and I’m not going anywhere. ⌘ Read more

The Chinese fact checkers taking on the Covid infodemic – a rumour at a time
Journalist Wei Xing started up China Fact Check two years ago to push back against the flood of misinformation about the coronavirus. ⌘ 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

FBI seizes Basquiat paintings from Florida exhibition amid doubts over authenticity
The FBI seized the paintings with a warrant based on ‘false information related to the alleged prior ownership of the paintings,’ The New York Times reported. ⌘ Read more

China jobs: facing lean times, small businesses dial back summer hiring
For years, Chinese manufacturers worried about labour shortages over summer months when production is typically at its peak, but it is a different story in 2022, industry insiders say. ⌘ Read more

Lab6, the zine about itself, just released Issue 3! It’s a PDF/Gemini/HTML/TeX/x86 polyglot this time. Great stuff! https://lab6.com/3

Ukraine war highlights G7’s role as geopolitical linchpin
Despite criticism from some quarters that it should stick to economics, the G7 has often been at its best during turbulent times. The grouping’s long-standing engagement with security issues and the uncertainty in Ukraine suggest its geopolitical role will only continue to grow. ⌘ Read more

‘See you next year’: China’s ‘King of gaokao’ fails to get marks for dream university after sitting the entrance exam for 26th time
A man in China who shot to fame after repeatedly sitting the country’s university entrance exam has failed to get the score he wanted for the 26th time — but plans to try again next year. ⌘ 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

Hong Kong must not cling to governance structures of the past
These trying times call for a clear-eyed review of the governmental structures and procedures underlying one ‘country, two systems’. Hong Kong needs a bolder institutional reform agenda, one placing the people’s interests above bureaucracy and adherence to an obsolete status quo. ⌘ 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

Incoming leader John Lee working on strategy to reopen Hong Kong border with mainland China, may reduce quarantine for arrivals
John Lee concedes scrapping curbs may take time to achieve but says his administration can set interim goals towards that end. ⌘ Read more

Saudi crown prince visits Türkiye for first time since Jamal Khashoggi murder
An analyst called it ‘one of the most significant visits to Ankara by a foreign leader in almost a decade’, as the two major rivals seek to revive ties. ⌘ Read more

Uneasy times for Hongkongers making their home in mainland China
Rising Chinese nationalism and distrust after the city’s social unrest have left some Hong Kong people with an identity crisis. ⌘ Read more

Coronavirus: Hong Kong tour group heads to Japan for the first time in more than 2 years after Tokyo eases Covid rules
Ten travellers join seven-day trip organised by EGL Tours, which had previously pushed back the departure date from June 11 to June 15 and then to Wednesday. ⌘ Read more

Thousands flock to Stonehenge for summer solstice, the longest day of the year
Druids, pagans and other revellers greeted the 4.49am sunrise at the ancient stone circle in southern England, for the first time since the pandemic began. ⌘ Read more

Wealth gap between Hong Kong’s crazy rich, miserably poor widens since handover
Top 10 per cent earn 40 times more than bottom 10 per cent who are struggling to make ends meet. ⌘ Read more

‘Rusty’ aviation industry needs time to get flowing again, with passengers facing higher ticket prices amid rising fuel costs and staff shortages, Qantas chief warns
Passengers, including some from Hong Kong, have already endured long queues, flight delays and cancellations at European airports. ⌘ 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

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

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

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

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

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 vs Shenzhen: a technology tale of 2 cities, and a game of catch-up
Shenzhen’s economy surpassed Hong Kong’s for the first time in 2018 on the back of its rising status as the country’s technology hub. ⌘ Read more

Creating a more comprehensive dependency graph with build time detection
Expand the completeness of your dependency graph by using the dependency submission API, which will create more comprehensive alerts on supply chain vulnerabilities ⌘ Read more

Chinese scientists want to build a powerful telescope to find dark matter
The ambitious project – known as VLAST – aims to achieve 10 times the sensitivity of Nasa’s Fermi Large Area Telescope, but it still needs government approval. ⌘ Read more

Chinese mRNA booster fights Omicron 4 times better than inactivated Covid-19 vaccines, researchers say
AWcorna vaccine produced 4.4 times more Omicron antibodies than for those boosted with Sinovac, scientists behind clinical trial write in Cell Research journal. ⌘ Read more

Thailand wants selfie-taking tourists to stop abusing famous tree on island
The uninhabited Koh Khai Hua Roh islet in Trat province can only take in five tourists at a time, but it has lately been beset by overtourism. ⌘ Read more

Chinese destroyer on long-distance exercises in Sea of Japan, to deter ‘attack on Taiwan’
Japan’s Defence Ministry said 3 ships were spotted on Sunday travelling toward Sea of Japan. Global Times reported the mission was part of China’s military build-up aimed at deterring a foreign intervention in the event of an attack on Taiwan. ⌘ Read more

North Korea expands restoration at nuclear test site to second tunnel: report
South Korean officials said this week that North Korea was poised to conduct a nuclear test “at any time” and that the timing would be decided by Kim. ⌘ Read more

South Korea delays Nuri rocket launch amid glitches, heavy winds
Nation had intended to send up its home-grown spacecraft for a second time, to launch satellites, but there were problems with fuel sensors. ⌘ Read more