Life in Hong Kong’s shoebox housing (3 parts)

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HONG KONG’S SUBDIVIDED UNITS (Part 1) SCMP

‘Like a caged animal’: why Hongkongers in city’s notorious subdivided flats say they have no choice

By Fiona SunPublished June 8, 2022

Hong Kong’s poor and destitute have long been unable to afford anything but subdivided living spaces. Now Beijing wants the local government to rid the city of these tiny units and “cage homes” by 2049. John Lee Ka-chiu, who will be sworn in as the city’s next leader on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on July 1, has pledged to resolve housing woes. In the first of a three-part series, Fiona Sun looks at the city’s worst homes and speaks to the people living in them. Read Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

After a long night shift, security guard Leung returns to the tiny space he calls home in an old residential building in Sham Shui Po.

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‘We were all wrong’: how Germany got hooked on Russian energy – podcast

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LUBMIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 08: (From L to R, first row) French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger turn a wheel to symbolically start the flow of gas through the Nord Stream Baltic Sea gas pipeline at a cemerony on November 8, 2011 in Lubmin, Germany.
 Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

the guardian – Mon 20 Jun 2022 

Germany has been forced to admit it was a terrible mistake to become so dependent on Russian oil and gas. So why did it happen?

Written by Patrick Wintour, read by Andrew McGregor and produced by Tony Onuchukwu. Executive producers: Max Sanderson and Isabelle Roughol

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Asia Stream: the struggle for Hong Kong’s identity

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25 years after taking control of the territory, how is Beijing trying to change Hong Kong — and how is Hong Kong pushing back?

Nikkei staff writersJuly 2, 2022 07:23 JST

Nikkei

NEW YORK — Welcome to Nikkei Asia’s podcast: Asia Stream.

Every other week, Asia Stream tracks and analyzes the Indo-Pacific with a mix of expert interviews and original reporting by our correspondents from across the globe.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/6Ub8j110SaXucm0YuVEaFc?utm_source=generator&theme=0

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

This episode, we take measure of the economic impact of China’s stringent laws in Hong Kong and then take a deep dive into the social and political costs of Beijing’s crackdown on the special administrative region.

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Where children opt for marriage over school

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e.vnexpress.net

By Hai Thu   July 5, 2022 | 11:37 am GMT+7

Where children opt for marriage over school

A H’Mong ethnic girl standing next to a corn field in Meo Vac District, Ha Giang Province. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc ThanhGiang Thi Mai, an eighth grade student, remarried a week after escaping a marriage by abduction for fear of becoming a woman no one would marry.

On the morning of January 31, in a house surrounded by a peach garden in Ta De village in the northern Son La Province’s Van Ho District, the 14-year-old looked in the mirror, combed her long hair, put on lipstick, and then ventured out.

That day her cousin on the other side of the village was getting married, and Mai and a friend put on their best clothes and headed to the wedding.

While they were on the way they were stopped by seven young men on three motorcycles. The tallest person flirted with Mai and said: “You look stunning today. Want to go to Hang Kia Commune and hang with us?”

The friend sitting behind her was terrified and clinging to Mai’s shirt. Both of them stayed silent.

One of the motorbikes sped up and blocked the road, causing Mai and her friend to fall off their motorbike.

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The world’s youngest prime minister – Sanna Marin of Finland has defied Vladimir Putin in joining NATO

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abc.net.au – By Lucy Sweeney and Lucia Stein

Sanna Marin smiles widely as she stands outdoors in a white collared shirt
Sanna Marin became the youngest leader in the world when she took over as Finland’s Prime Minister in 2019.(Reuters: Remo Casilli)

When Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, and Sweden’s leader, Magdalena Andersson, met for a key press conference in April, it became a defining moment for both countries. 

For decades, Finland and Sweden had clung to their non-militarily-aligned status, pursuing close ties with Europe, while maintaining a cordial relationship with their eastern neighbour, Russia. But the war in Ukraine changed everything. 

While Ms Marin refused to give any kind of timetable on the decision at the time, she hinted at the press conference that Finland’s bid would happen “quite fast”.

Her prediction came true. Within a month, the proposal was before Finland’s parliament and signed off, and this week the full membership of NATO agreed to formally invite both countries to officially join the alliance.

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Pres. Biden’s tweets on US and NATO

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President Biden

@POTUS United States government official

Earlier this year, the U.S. surged 20,000 additional U.S. forces to Europe to strengthen our NATO Alliance in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the changing security environment. We’ll continue to adjust our posture to ensure the defense of our Allies:

We’re working with Spain to increase U.S. Navy destroyers in Rota, establishing a permanent HQ in Poland, putting an additional rotational Brigade Combat Team in Romania, enhancing our Baltic presence, and sending two more F-35 squadrons to the UK.

NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions, across every domain: land, air, sea, cyber and space.

Ban tổ chức bị mời làm việc vì danh ca Khánh Ly hát ‘Gia tài của mẹ’ chưa được cấp phép

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

thanhnien.vn

Danh ca Khánh Ly đã trình diễn ca khúc Gia tài của mẹ chưa được cấp phép khiến đơn vị tổ chức bị “tuýt còi”.

Đại diện Sở VH-TT-DL Lâm Đồng xác nhận ngày 29.6 đã làm việc với ban tổ chức đêm nhạc Dấu chân địa đàng của danh ca Khánh Ly diễn ra hôm 25.6 tại sân khấu Mây – In the Nest, thuộc P.7, TP.Đà Lạt. Đây là chương trình mở màn chuỗi đêm nhạc xuyên Việt mang tên Như một lời chia tay của nữ danh ca.

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Global migration is not abating. Neither is the backlash against it

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June 29, 2022

Around the world, far-right populist parties continue to stoke the popular backlash against global migration, driving some centrist governments to adopt a tougher line on immigration. But with short-term strategies dominating the debate, many of the persistent drivers of migration go unaddressed, even as efforts to craft a global consensus on migration are hobbled by demands for quick solutions. Learn more when you subscribe to World Politics Review (WPR).

Migrants rest on a Mediterranea Saving Humans NGO boat, as they sail off Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, just outside Italian territorial waters, Thursday, July 4, 2019 (AP photo by Olmo Calvo).

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Marcos takes office

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FP – June 30, 2020

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now the president of the Philippines, 36 years after he fled the country along with his dictator father. Marcos took the oath of office today at a muted ceremony in Manila, urging citizens to look ahead to the future, as his mother, Imelda, looked on.

Marcos, known in the Philippines by his nickname Bongbong, has risen to the country’s highest office after a social media-driven campaign helped to rehabilitate his family’s image, transforming memories of the bloody days of martial law, when thousands were tortured and killed, to a nostalgic golden era.

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‘Thanks, Putin’: Defense spending spikes across NATO

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FP – JUNE 30, 2022

NATO leaders emerged from their summit in Madrid this week touting a more muscular alliance ready to face down Russia and start tackling the long-term challenges from China. And it’s starting to look like they finally have plans in place to put their money where their mouths are.

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Xi Jinping brought Hong Kong to heel. Now he’s back in a city transformed 

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CNN

People wave Chinese and Hong Kong flags as fishing boats carrying banners celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China sail through the Victoria Harbour.
Chinese flags flutter above streets and red celebratory banners line the harbor front, as a beaming crowd of masked officials and school children wave and chant in unison inside Hong Kong’s high-speed rail terminus, welcoming the arrival of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 

In his first trip outside mainland China since the start of the pandemic, Xi arrived in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1 — a highly symbolic event at a pivotal time for both the city, and Xi himself. 
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CFR Daily News Brief June 30, 2022

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Top of the Agenda

China’s Xi Visits Hong Kong, Praises Its ‘Rise From Ashes’Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Hong Kong for ceremonies marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the city’s handover from British rule. He said Hong Kong has “risen from the ashes” (SCMP) since his last visit in 2017. Since then, Beijing has cracked down on dissent and independent media in the city. While Xi’s 2017 visit was followed by a pro-democracy march (Bloomberg), Hong Kong’s streets have been empty of demonstrations this week because of the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020 and warnings from police. It is Xi’s first trip outside mainland China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anniversary also marks the halfway point of a promise Beijing made to maintain liberal institutions in Hong Kong for fifty years. The United States and United Kingdom have accused Beijing of breaking the promise.
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How the Sri Lankan economy run out of money to pay for food and fuel

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Posted Fri 24 Jun 2022 at 9:06amFriday 24 Jun 2022 at 9:06am

abc.net.au

A woman cooks using a firewood hearth outside her house to the right of a small alleyway of houses.
Sri Lankan residents are using firewood to cook as fuel supplies become scarce during an economic crisis.(AP: Eranga Jayawardena)

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Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister says the island nation’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” as it runs out of money to pay for food and fuel.

Short of cash to pay for imports of such necessities and already defaulting on its debt, the country is seeking help from neighbouring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office in May, has emphasised the monumental task he faces in turning around an economy he said was headed for “rock bottom”. 

Sri Lankans are skipping meals as they endure shortages and lining up for hours to try to buy scarce fuel.

It’s a harsh reality for a country whose economy had been growing quickly, with a growing and comfortable middle class, until the latest crisis deepened.

How serious is this crisis? 

Sri Lankan auto rickshaw drivers queue up to buy petrol near a fuel station in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan auto rickshaw drivers queue up to buy petrol in Colombo. (AP: Eranga Jayawardena)

The government owes $US51 billion ($73.9 billion) and is unable to make interest payments on its loans, let alone put a dent in the amount borrowed.

Tourism, an important part of economic growth, has sputtered because of the pandemic and concerns about safety after terror attacks in 2019.

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CFR Daily News Brief June 29, 2022

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Top of the Agenda

U.S., NATO Strengthen Military Presence in Europe

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will send more troops and weapons (FT) to Europe as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense buildup over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Washington will establish a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, send five thousand additional troops to Romania, and up its deployments in the Baltic states. NATO is seeking a response force of three hundred thousand troops, a sevenfold increase (Politico) from the current level. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the announcements the biggest overhaul of NATO defenses since the end of the Cold War. Meanwhile, Turkey dropped its veto (Al Jazeera) on Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership after the countries committed to toughening their approaches to groups Turkey views as threats.
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