Chinese outcry after volleyballers wear N95 masks during match

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<strong>Chinese outcry after volleyballers wear N95 masks during match</strong>

China’s national women’s volleyball team competed in a match while sporting N95 masks, which has generated controversy on Chinese social media.

Many online commenters expressed their outrage, alleging that the players’ health was being compromised in favour of the nation’s zero-COVID plan.

In the second set, the players removed their masks, and they ultimately prevailed.

The decision was taken due to a “lack of experience,” according to a later apology from China’s Volleyball Association. 

However, a lot of people continued to be critical, with one stating it was an instance of officials “going too far” with China’s mask mandate.

The match, which took place on Thursday at the Asian Cup in the Philippines, pitted China against Iran. Photos from the match showing the athletes wearing masks quickly spread on social media, resulting in an unusual online outpouring of criticism. On Weibo, China’s largest social media platform, the topic received more than 16 million views.

The Chinese Volleyball Association issued a public apology on Thursday in response to the outrage expressed online.

It was stated in a statement on Weibo that team organisers had learned of COVID-infected players on other teams prior to the game and that some symptoms had been recorded among Chinese squad members.

They made it a requirement for their players to enter the arena wearing masks in order to stop the spread. But they said that because the squad wasn’t sure whether players needed to wear masks on the court during the first half, they left them on.

After dropping the opening set, the majority of the players removed their masks at halftime, and they went on to defeat Iran 3-1.

The requirements for interior and outdoor masks, harsh, unexpected lockdowns, and blocked borders are only a few of the strictest COVID regulations still in use in China.

However, wearing masks during sporting events is not new for athletes.

Due to “safety and security concerns” regarding awaited test results, both teams in an ice hockey match between Canada and the Russian Olympic Committee wore masks earlier this year.

When it was revealed that their tests had come back negative, they then took their masks off.

South Korea records world’s lowest fertility rate again

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South Korea records world’s lowest fertility rate again

The world’s lowest fertility rate, which South Korea once again attained, has fallen to a new low.

For the first time, the country’s rate decreased to below one child per woman in 2018.

But according to information released by the government on Wednesday, the number had dropped to 0.81, a three-point drop from the previous year and the sixth straight reduction.

In contrast, the most developed countries have 1.6 children on average per woman.

Without immigration, nations need to have 2.1 babies for every marriage in order to keep their population level.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) reports that over the previous 60 years, fertility rates have “markedly dropped.”

The trend has been particularly apparent in South Korea, where family sizes have decreased over a few generations. Women began to typically have four children in the 1970s.

A declining population can put a great deal of burden on a nation’s economy.

A shrinking youth population also produces employment shortages that have an influence on the economy, in addition to a higher burden on public spending as demand for healthcare and retirement rises.

In 2020, South Korea saw its first instance of death the birth ratio which raised serious concerns.

Experts claim that people now prioritise monetary limitations and career considerations when making decisions about having children.

The consequences of the COVID pandemic, higher living expenses, and rising housing prices would all discourage couples from starting babies in 2021, according to analysts.

There won’t be enough people in South Korea to sustain its ageing population, grow its economy, and join its military if the country’s population continues to decline.

Although they have known about it for years, politicians haven’t done much to stop it. They have attempted to convince people to have children for billions of dollars, and they are still perplexed as to why it hasn’t worked.

Money is obviously crucial. The cost of raising a family is high in South Korea, and many young people struggle to pay for their housing. Opportunity, however, also has an impact on this.

Germany approves energy-saving measures for winter

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Germany approves energy-saving measures for winter

The German government has authorised a series of wintertime energy-saving measures that will reduce the amount of lighting and heating used in public structures.

Through the new regulations, the government hopes to reduce gas consumption by 2%.

The measures, according to Germany’s economy minister, could save individual people, businesses, and the public sector about €10.8 billion (£9.1 billion) over two years.

It is a part of initiatives to lessen the nation’s reliance on Russian gas.

Germany used to buy 55% of its gas from Russia before Russia invaded Ukraine, but it has since cut this to 35% and threatened to stop imports.

Although it continues to be a big market for Moscow, it spent about €9 billion (£7.7 billion; $9.6 billion) on Russian oil and gas in the first two months of the conflict.

Additionally, Russia has reduced gas flows via the crucial Nordstream 1 pipeline to 20% of its maximum capacity, increasing concerns that it may turn off the taps this winter.

Germany wants to break free “as rapidly as possible from the yoke of Russian energy imports,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters.

Aside from institutions like hospitals, public buildings must be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius starting in September. The heating can be completely turned off in entranceways, hallways, and foyers.

Additionally, for aesthetic reasons, public monuments and buildings won’t be lit up, and businesses might be prohibited from keeping their stores lit up at night.

The heating of private swimming pools can also be prohibited. Additionally, the nation would prioritise shipping coal and oil over people on trains, so people would have to wait.

Currently, there is a shortage of railroads, according to Volker Wissing, the minister of transportation. “That implies we would have to prioritise them if additional fuel transports were momentarily required.”

Not so Despicable: China changes ending of Minions movie

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Not so Despicable: China changes ending of Minions movie

The most recent Despicable Me instalment made its global debut on Friday in China, but as local viewers soon discovered, it had a different ending.

Minions: The Rise of Gru, which follows the antihero during his teenage years, lays the groundwork for Gru’s transformation into a supervillain later in the series.

However, unlike the original movie, the Chinese version does not end with Gru and his companion, Wild Knuckles, galloping out into the distance.

As a substitute, Wild Knuckles is sent to jail, and Gru “becomes one of the decent ones.”

According to remarks and pictures of the film shared on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, censors placed a number of subtitled still photos into the credits sequence.

The upbringing of his three daughters, however, was Gru’s “biggest triumph” after he “returned to his family.”

The change was mocked by many Chinese. The real narrative lies in a parallel reality, according to one commenter.

Some others stated that Gru’s alternate ending unintentionally supported China’s three-child policy, which the country is aiming to enact in order to increase its birth rate. It was frequently said that the quality of the subtitled stills was comparable to PowerPoint slides.

Despite this, the fifth movie in the series was a box office success, making a record-breaking 21.74 million yuan ($3.2 million; £2.7 million) on its opening day in China, according to the entertainment website Deadline.

In China, which has some of the strictest censorship restrictions in the world, the ending of a well-known international film has been altered before.

In a version of the film released earlier this year on the Chinese streaming site Tencent Video, the finale of the 1999 cult hit Fight Club, in which the protagonist blows up numerous skyscrapers, was replaced by a message declaring that the authorities prevailed and saved the day.

Even Chuck Palahniuk, whose 1996 novel served as the inspiration for the movie, and director David Fincher responded to criticism of the changes. Human Rights Watch called the amended epilogue “dystopian” after reading it.

Later, Tencent reversed most of the changes, keeping only the ones that affected nudity-related content. 

Fifa 23: EA honours 99% discount price error on football game’s new edition

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Fifa 23: EA honours 99% discount price error on football game’s new edition

Electronic Arts (EA) has acknowledged that its pricing error for its Fifa 23 Ultimate Edition on India’s Epic Games shop, which cost 4.80 rupees ($0.06; £0.05), resulted in “a fairly spectacular own goal.”

After a decimal point miscalculation resulted in the game’s price being reduced online by 99.98% last month, buyers hurried to pre-order it.

Since then, the game publisher has agreed to honour the discounted pre-orders.

With Fifa 23, the final game from EA Sports, the most popular football series will come to an end.

The 4.80 rupees ($0.06; £0.05) price error for Electronic Arts’ Fifa 23 Ultimate Edition on India’s Epic Games store resulted in “a really remarkable own goal,” according to EA.

Customers rushed to pre-order the game when a decimal point error caused the price to be dropped online by 99.98% last month.

Since then, the pre-order discounts have been honoured by the game publisher.

With Fifa 23, the final game from EA Sports, the most popular football series will come to an end.

Because they include bonuses like additional limited edition tradeable player items, more Fifa points, and access before the official launch, Fifa Ultimate Editions are often more expensive than ordinary editions of the game.

The 2023 edition is priced at 4,800 rupees ($60/£50) in India; it is more expensive than the Standard Edition, which sells for 3,499 rupees ($44/£36).

As word of the pricing blunder spread, online users alerted fans all around the world that the game could be purchased for 5p through the Epic Games India store.

Although the issue was quickly resolved, purchasers who had already made purchases were concerned that they would be cancelled or refunded.

However, this week, EA Sports and Epic Games sent emails to customers informing them that the transactions would be honoured.

The most popular version of the series was Fifa 22, and EA Sports announced shortly after its official release that 460 million matches had been played in the first week and 9.1 million players had joined the game.

US and Taiwan announce formal bilateral trade talks

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US and Taiwan announce formal bilateral trade talks

Weeks after a contentious visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the US has declared that formal trade negotiations with Taiwan will soon begin.

The Office of the US Trade Representative predicted that the first round of negotiations would start in “early September.”

Discussion points will include trade facilitation, digital trade, and anti-corruption principles. Ties between the US and China have become tenser since Ms Pelosi’s visit.

The US and Taiwan launched the Initiative on 21st Century Trade in June, and both parties now claim to have “reached an accord on the negotiating mandate.”

In a statement, Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi stated, “We plan to pursue an ambitious timeline that will help construct a fairer, more affluent, and resilient 21st-century economy.”

A total of nearly $106 billion (£88 billion) in trade was conducted between the US and Taiwan in 2020.

Following Ms Pelosi’s visit earlier in August, China began its largest-ever military drills around Taiwan.

According to the “One China policy,” the US acknowledges and upholds formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, but it also maintains a “strong unofficial” relationship with Taiwan, continuing to sell the island arms so that it can defend itself.

The independent island is considered to be Beijing’s own outlaw region that requires fusion with the mainland.

Taiwan, a self-governing island, perceives itself as separate from the mainland.

Separately, the top US ambassador for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink stated that the Taiwan Strait’s stability and peace are at risk due to Beijing’s “increasing coercion.”

In response to Beijing’s continuous efforts to destabilise it, he said, “We will continue to take calm but firm steps to protect peace and stability and to assist Taiwan in keeping with our long-standing policy.”

William Wragg: Tory MP takes ‘short break’ due to depression

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William Wragg: Tory MP takes ‘short break’ due to depression

According to William Wragg, he is taking a “short sabbatical” from his responsibilities as an MP to deal with his depression.

The Hazel Grove Conservative MP claimed that he had struggled with depression and anxiety for most of his adult life and that both conditions were “serious” right now.

He expressed the wish that he would come back “refreshed” and “loving life and myself a little bit more.” He said that his constituents might still get in touch with his office for help.

The 34-year-old revealed in a tweet that she was fighting the urge to quit completely. I need a brief respite as a result.

He expressed the expectation that upon his return, he would be “better prepared to represent my constituents” and that he was making his statement “as an explanation, instead of delivering repetitive excuses.”

He continued, “I realise that way I feel is by no means unusual. I would advise anyone who feels the same way to talk to a trusted person, seek support, and accept it.”

At Westminster, talking about mental health has historically been frowned upon, but in recent years, MPs have been more candid about their challenges.

During a Commons discussion in 2012, Labour’s Kevan Jones discussed his struggles with depression and said that some family members would be learning about them for the first time.

Charles Walker, a Conservative member of parliament, also spoke during the same discussion about his own experience with OCD, subsequently calling it “liberating.”

Following his remarks, Mr. Wragg got encouraging letters from several of his fellow MPs and other Westminster employees.

Senior civil servants’ union leader Dave Penman said he can “only fathom the guts it takes to convey openly the issues you’re facing.”

Mr. Wragg, a former councillor and educator, has served as a Greater Manchester representative for Hazel Grove since 2015.

Since January 2020, he has served as the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s chair.

He made news earlier this year as a vocal opponent of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he expressed concern about the strategies No. 10 utilised to maintain party discipline.

Research says people initially feel less in control after breakups

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Research says people initially feel less in control after breakups

According to a recent examination of people who had gone through different kinds of relationship loss, these experiences were linked to a number of patterns of both short-term and long-term sense of control after the loss.

Eva Asselmann from the HMU Health and Medical University in Potsdam, Germany, and Jule Specht from the Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Germany, published their findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

An earlier study found that a higher perceived sense of personal control over one’s life has been associated with better health and wellbeing. Romantic relationships and control perceptions are intertwined. For example, studies show a link between control perceptions and higher levels of relationship satisfaction. However, the relationship between prospective changes in perceived control and relationship dissolution is less well known.

In order to provide new insight into a multi-decade study of German families, Asselmann and Specht looked at data from three time points. Using the findings of yearly questionnaires from 1994, 1995, and 1996, they specifically assessed changes in perceived control for 1,235 people who suffered separation from their partner, 423 who divorced, and 437 whose partners passed away.

In the first year after their partner’s separation, persons who experienced separation from them often reported lower levels of perceived control, which gradually increased in later years, according to a statistical analysis of the questionnaire’s data. Women were more likely than males to experience a decline in control following separation, and younger people had more control than older people did.

In the first year following the loss of a partner, people who experienced partner loss reported an overall gain in perceived control, which was then sustained over the year before the death. In contrast to older persons, younger people experienced more negative consequences from spouse loss on their sense of control.

Future research should focus on individuals who haven’t yet lost a relationship to determine how changes in perceived control are impacted by a loss. They also call for research into the processes underpinning modifications in perceived control after a setback.

Johnson & Johnson to replace talc-based powder with cornstarch

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Johnson & Johnson to replace talc-based powder with cornstarch

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will stop manufacturing and selling its talc-based baby powder globally as of next year.

The healthcare behemoth stopped selling the product in the US before the announcement, which had been more than two years ago.

Asbestos-containing talcum powder is manufactured by J&J, according to tens of thousands of women who have filed lawsuits against the company. They contend that this asbestos exposure led to their development of ovarian cancer.

The company, however, reiterated its stance that years of independent research had shown the product’s safety.

Johnson’s baby powder, which is based on talc and is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer, according to decades of independent scientific investigation by medical specialists from all around the world.

By 2020, J&J said it would stop selling its talc baby powder in the US and Canada because of what the company called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid several legal issues.

At the time, the firm declared that it would continue to market and sell its talc-based baby powder in the UK and the rest of the world.

Customers and their survivors have sued J&J, alleging that the company’s talc goods had asbestos contamination and caused their cancer.

Talc is a mineral that is taken from the earth and found in seams near asbestos, which is thought to be harmful.

In response to proof of asbestos contamination shown in courtrooms, in media reports, and before US lawmakers, the business has continually denied the allegations.

J&J moved its talc claims to LTL Management after creating it as a subsidiary in October. Later, it filed for bankruptcy, ending the ongoing legal action.

Before filing for bankruptcy, the company was ordered to pay $3.5 billion (£2.87 billion) in judgments and settlements, including one in which 22 women were awarded verdicts totalling more than $2 billion.

A shareholder proposal to halt the global sale of talc baby powder was denied in April.

Johnson’s Baby Powder has been on the market for approximately 130 years and has come to symbolise the company’s dedication to families.

Baby powder, which is also used aesthetically and as a dry shampoo, can prevent diaper rash.

Sacheen Littlefeather: Oscars apologises to actress after 50 years

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Sacheen Littlefeather: Oscars apologises to actress after 50 years

An actress and Native American activist named Sacheen Littlefeather was booed off stage at the Oscars nearly 50 years ago. The Academy has since apologised to her.

In 1973, she made an on-camera appearance to decline an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, who had won the category for best actor for The Godfather.

Because the US film industry misrepresents Native Americans, Brando declined the honour.

Littlefeather was subjected to “unwarranted and unjustified” abuse, according to the Academy.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day I would be hearing this,” she reportedly said to the Hollywood Reporter.

Littlefeather, who had given a brief speech at the Oscars ceremony and was 26 at the time, was jeered at and shunned by the entertainment industry.

By making the first political comment at the broadcast ceremony, she allegedly created a trend that has continued to this day, according to the organisers.

She gave a brief introduction and stated that she was speaking on behalf of Brando, who had “a very long speech” written and “that he very, unfortunately, cannot receive this very great prize.”

She brought up the recent events at Wounded Knee, where there had been a violent standoff with federal agents at a place that was very important to the Sioux people. She received sporadic cheers as well as boos from the audience.

The production team for the award ceremony gave Littlefeather the instruction to keep Brando’s remarks, which were substantially longer, to 60 seconds.

85 million televisions received the telecast. After the event, various media outlets claimed that Littlefeather was not a real Native American and had instead agreed to the speech to further her acting career. Her status as Brando’s mistress was rumoured.

Littlefeather will discuss her presence at the 1973 Oscars and the future of indigenous representation in film at an event hosted by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in September.

She responded to the apology, “We Indians are extremely patient people,” saying that it had just been 50 years. She added that maintaining a sense of humour is “our method of survival.”

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