With e-commerce and food delivery platforms unable to function normally, to say nothing of supermarkets, the task of distributing food supplies to locked-in residents seemed at first like it would fall to the municipal government. When it became clear that local officials had too much on their plates — and residents not enough on theirs — communities citywide had little choice but to fend for themselves.
onsdag 27. april 2022
How the Lockdown Is Remaking Shanghai Neighborhoods
Late last month, Shanghai entered a “phased lockdown” as it confronted the country’s worst-ever coronavirus outbreak. The lockdown, now in its third week, has brought the lives of the city’s 25 million residents to a grinding halt. Although some neighborhoods have begun allowing residents to go outside for up to an hour a day, for the most part, only essential workers such as doctors, delivery drivers, and social workers are allowed to leave their homes.
With e-commerce and food delivery platforms unable to function normally, to say nothing of supermarkets, the task of distributing food supplies to locked-in residents seemed at first like it would fall to the municipal government. When it became clear that local officials had too much on their plates — and residents not enough on theirs — communities citywide had little choice but to fend for themselves.
With e-commerce and food delivery platforms unable to function normally, to say nothing of supermarkets, the task of distributing food supplies to locked-in residents seemed at first like it would fall to the municipal government. When it became clear that local officials had too much on their plates — and residents not enough on theirs — communities citywide had little choice but to fend for themselves.
What it Takes to Organize a Group Buy in Locked Down Shanghai
Check out this brand-new job opportunity in locked-down Shanghai: group buy organizer. It requires you to stay online 24 hours a day, be ready for a barrage of messages anytime, and sometimes unload 45 kilograms of strawberries all alone at 2 a.m. Most importantly, the job offers absolutely no income.
Under full-scale lockdown for more than two weeks, Shanghai, a city of over 25 million people, is facing its worst food crisis in decades. Stores, supermarkets, and grocers are closed. People are forced to stay at home. Online grocery shopping apps can only satisfy a small percentage of people due to the lack of delivery drivers. Increasingly desperate residents have banded together to order food wholesale.
Sixth Tone interviewed four group buy organizers, trying to figure out who they are, what they do, and how they’ve managed to feed a bunch of hungry and angry people while commercial services went missing in action.
Under full-scale lockdown for more than two weeks, Shanghai, a city of over 25 million people, is facing its worst food crisis in decades. Stores, supermarkets, and grocers are closed. People are forced to stay at home. Online grocery shopping apps can only satisfy a small percentage of people due to the lack of delivery drivers. Increasingly desperate residents have banded together to order food wholesale.
Sixth Tone interviewed four group buy organizers, trying to figure out who they are, what they do, and how they’ve managed to feed a bunch of hungry and angry people while commercial services went missing in action.
Shanghai Lockdown Brings Back Memories of China's Past
I lived my young adulthood during the transition from the planned economy to the opening of the market. Reform and opening up began to take shape in Shanghai in the late 80s. After I graduated from college, I was assigned to work at the Shanghai Machine Tool Factory in 1986. I soon felt that the atmosphere was changing. People around me were getting out of the system and going all over the country to look for business opportunities. Before, it was a crime — “speculation” — to take something from a place where it was abundant to a place where there was scarcity.
In 1989, I took a leave of absence from my job and went to Shenzhen to experience the business atmosphere, and then started to go around the country, trading sand, cement, and rebar, and later trying to sell computers, stereos, and printers in Shanghai.
At that time, each city had its own food specialty, and these things could only be bought when you went to the local area. Each city had its own brand of milk. Beer too. Now, you can buy any local food brand you want online.
China Says Thousands of Companies Risk Contaminating Soil
China’s top environmental authority said that over two-thirds of companies on the government’s pollution watchlist risk contaminating the country’s soil, domestic media Caixin reportedMonday. About 70% of the 15,000 companies were found to be not adequately equipped to prevent toxic chemicals from leaking into the soil or not doing enough to prevent them, Caixin reported, citing the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The ministry had conducted a national screening of soil pollution risks from industrial sectors last year.
Su Kejing, head of soil ecology at the ministry, said many companies were not fully aware of their environmental duties and local governments are now supervising corrective measures for the companies in question.
Su Kejing, head of soil ecology at the ministry, said many companies were not fully aware of their environmental duties and local governments are now supervising corrective measures for the companies in question.
Ukraine war: Can India feed the world?
Last week, Indian PM Narendra Modi told US President Joe Biden that India was ready to ship food to the rest of the world following supply shocks and rising prices due to the war in Ukraine. Mr Modi said India had "enough food" for its 1.4 billion people, and it was "ready to supply food stocks to the world from tomorrow" if the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowed.
Commodity prices were already at a 10-year high before the war in Ukraine because of global harvest issues. They have leapt after the war and are already at their highest since 1990, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNFAO) food-price index.
Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's major wheat exporters and account for about a third of global annual wheat sales. The two countries also account for 55% of the global annual sunflower oil exports, and 17% of exports of maize and barley. Together, they were expected to export 14 million tonnes of wheat and over 16 million tonnes of maize this year, according to UNFAO.
Commodity prices were already at a 10-year high before the war in Ukraine because of global harvest issues. They have leapt after the war and are already at their highest since 1990, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNFAO) food-price index.
Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's major wheat exporters and account for about a third of global annual wheat sales. The two countries also account for 55% of the global annual sunflower oil exports, and 17% of exports of maize and barley. Together, they were expected to export 14 million tonnes of wheat and over 16 million tonnes of maize this year, according to UNFAO.
Female suicide bomber behind Karachi attack that killed 3 Chinese citizens: police
Three teachers from China and a driver have been killed in a suspected suicide bombing near a Chinese language learning center in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi.
The four were in a van near the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute when the blast ripped through the vehicle on Tuesday evening, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah told CNN. A female suicide bomber was responsible for the attack, the Karachi police said in a statement. CCTV footage shared by the police showed a woman clad in a Burka detonated herself outside the Confucius Institute.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group from Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. In a statement shared with CNN, the BLA said the Confucius Institute was targeted because it is a "symbol of Chinese economic, cultural and political expansionism." A fourth Chinese teacher was injured in the blast, China's Foreign Ministry said.
The four were in a van near the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute when the blast ripped through the vehicle on Tuesday evening, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah told CNN. A female suicide bomber was responsible for the attack, the Karachi police said in a statement. CCTV footage shared by the police showed a woman clad in a Burka detonated herself outside the Confucius Institute.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group from Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. In a statement shared with CNN, the BLA said the Confucius Institute was targeted because it is a "symbol of Chinese economic, cultural and political expansionism." A fourth Chinese teacher was injured in the blast, China's Foreign Ministry said.
China's Xi calls for 'all-out' infrastructure splurge to rescue economy
China is about to embark on a new infrastructure spending spree in a bid to fix an economy nearing breaking point because of Covid lockdowns. President Xi Jinping told a meeting of senior economic officials Tuesday that "all out efforts" must be made to boost construction to increase domestic demand and promote growth. He said that the nation's infrastructure was still "incompatible" with the needs of national development and security, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. Xi called for more projects in transportation, energy and water conservancy, as well as new facilities for supercomputing, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Five Chinese Companies Have Suspended Business in Russia
The number of Chinese companies that have suspended operations in the Russian market has now reached five, following drone maker DJI's decision to halt business activities in Russia and Ukraine this week.
DJI's civilian drones are used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces in their ongoing conflict, aiding operations ranging from general battlefield surveillance to precise artillery targeting. The company, headquartered in Shenzhen, had previously expressed its opposition to the use of its products for military purposes, but said it was unable to deactivate individual devices in the field. "DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine," the popular drone company said on its website on Monday.
In March, Mykhailo Federov, Ukraine's digital minister, called on DJI to stop selling its drones in Russia, whose soldiers he said were using the devices "to navigate their missile to kill civilians."
DJI's civilian drones are used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces in their ongoing conflict, aiding operations ranging from general battlefield surveillance to precise artillery targeting. The company, headquartered in Shenzhen, had previously expressed its opposition to the use of its products for military purposes, but said it was unable to deactivate individual devices in the field. "DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine," the popular drone company said on its website on Monday.
In March, Mykhailo Federov, Ukraine's digital minister, called on DJI to stop selling its drones in Russia, whose soldiers he said were using the devices "to navigate their missile to kill civilians."
U.S. Navy Riles China by Sailing Destroyer Near Taiwan
A U.S. Navy warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday in a now regular exercise that China has decried as "provocative." The 7th Fleet, headquartered in Japan, said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson conducted a "routine Taiwan Strait transit" on April 26, sailing "through international waters in accordance with international law." The operation "demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," it said. "The United States military flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows."
In a statement on Wednesday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed the American warship's presence, saying the vessel traveled in a northerly direction through the natural barrier separating the democratic island from China. The seas and skies around Taiwan remained "all normal," the bulletin said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed the American warship's presence, saying the vessel traveled in a northerly direction through the natural barrier separating the democratic island from China. The seas and skies around Taiwan remained "all normal," the bulletin said.
As Pakistan and Iran Face Afghan Unrest, Militants Wage War on China's Ties
As Pakistan and Iran grapple with growing unrest exploited by militants groups operating in Afghanistan, the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has declared war on Chinese presence in the Balochistan region, which sits at the heart of Asia and China's economic interests at the center of the continent. In the latest eruption of violence to beset Pakistan since the Taliban took over neighboring Afghanistan, an apparent suicide bombing killed four people Tuesday, including three Chinese nationals, at a Chinese institute in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi.
The BLA's Majeed Brigade soon claimed "responsibility for today's suicide attack on Chinese in Karachi" via official social media channels, naming the perpetrator as Shari Baloch, known by the alias Bramsh, and credited her with having "made history" as "the first female" suicide soldier of the group. Widely shared footage of the attack appeared to show a woman detonating a hidden explosive as a van passed the entrance of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi.
The BLA's Majeed Brigade soon claimed "responsibility for today's suicide attack on Chinese in Karachi" via official social media channels, naming the perpetrator as Shari Baloch, known by the alias Bramsh, and credited her with having "made history" as "the first female" suicide soldier of the group. Widely shared footage of the attack appeared to show a woman detonating a hidden explosive as a van passed the entrance of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi.
China Warns 'Political Manipulation' as U.N. Official Plans Xinjiang Visit
China has cautioned the United Nations not to allow its top human rights official to be exploited for political gain as its advance team landed this week ahead of a planned visit to Xinjiang. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights, has sought access to inspect conditions in northwest China for the past year. Last month, her office announced it had secured a trip for May.
An advance team arrived in Guangzhou in south China on April 25 to prepare for Bachelet's visit. The group is quarantined in line with the country's strict COVID-19 regulations, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell told Newsweek. "Once out of quarantine, the team is also due to visit the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."
"In countries where the UN Human Rights Office does not have a presence, it is standard practice for a preliminary technical mission to be deployed ahead of a possible High Commissioner visit. This is to ensure the meaningful access that would enable the Office to gain a clear understanding of the human rights situation in the country and engage in discussions on relevant issues with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior Government officials and civil society," she said.
An advance team arrived in Guangzhou in south China on April 25 to prepare for Bachelet's visit. The group is quarantined in line with the country's strict COVID-19 regulations, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell told Newsweek. "Once out of quarantine, the team is also due to visit the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."
"In countries where the UN Human Rights Office does not have a presence, it is standard practice for a preliminary technical mission to be deployed ahead of a possible High Commissioner visit. This is to ensure the meaningful access that would enable the Office to gain a clear understanding of the human rights situation in the country and engage in discussions on relevant issues with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior Government officials and civil society," she said.
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi handed five year jail term for corruption
A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in jail on Wednesday after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her, according to a source with knowledge of proceedings. The Nobel laureate, who led Myanmar for five years before being forced from power in a coup in early 2021, has been charged with at least 18 offenses, which carry combined maximum jail terms of nearly 190 years if found guilty.
The judge in the capital Naypyidaw handed down the verdict within moments of the court convening, said the source, who declined to be identified because the trial is being held behind closed doors, with information restricted. The case centered on allegations that Suu Kyi, 76, accepted 11.4 kg (402 oz) of gold and cash payments totaling $600,000 from her protege-turned-accuser, former Yangon chief minister Phyo Min Thein.
Suu Kyi had denied the charges and called the allegations "absurd."
Abonner på:
Innlegg (Atom)