Month: May 2019

The Gunners gaffer is wary of the threat the Belgian poses ahead of an all-English showpiece against The Blues on Wednesday

Arsenal boss Unai Emery says stopping Eden Hazard will be vital if his side are to beat Chelsea and win the Europa League on May 29.

The two sides will meet in Baku for the final of this year’s competition, in the first of two huge all-English European ties this week.

The Gunners must beat the Blues in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League, having missed out on a top-four Premier League finish.

A major trophy triumph would also heap extra pressure on arch-rivals Tottenham, who are aiming to become only the second London club in history to win the European Cup when they take on Liverpool in Madrid this Saturday.

One man who could ruin Arsenal’s plans is Chelsea winger Hazard, who has enjoyed his most impressive campaign yet at Stamford Bridge.

The 28-year-old contributed 16 goals and 15 assists in 37 Premier League appearances for Maurizio Sarri’s side and as he closes in on a summer transfer to Real Madrid, he will be looking to end his time in west London on a high note.

Speaking to El Mundo, Emery acknowledged the threat Hazard poses his team, naming him as one of the five best players in the world.

“We know Chelsea well, a team with quality and a high physical level,” he began.

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“Hazard is a player of moments, but decisive moments. It is what we have to avoid. Chelsea is capable of winning thanks to him, and that ability I have only seen in [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano [Ronaldo], Neymar or [Mohamed] Salah.

“For me, he is in the quintet of the best in the world. City, for example, has won its second Premier League but has done so more as a collective. It is a more complete team, like Tottenham, despite the contribution of Harry Kane and Son.”

Arsenal have not won any silverware since lifting the 2017 FA Cup and have not tasted Premier League success since 2004 when Arsene Wenger masterminded an unbeaten season.

The Frenchman was unable to oversee European glory during his 22-year tenure and by the time he left the club last summer, the Gunners were no longer a major force.

Emery says he was brought in to help the team compete at the elite level once again, but insists winning trophies was not a requirement when he took the role.

“I did not promise titles, I promised to compete,” he added. “What Wenger did in this club was very big. He managed to give a touch of quality to make the game more fluid and colourful, but little by little he lost the competitive gene.

“That is what was transmitted to me and what I was hired for when I interviewed Raul Sanllehi and the owners.

“The economic potential of United, City or Liverpool is greater than ours, but by history and structure, Arsenal is among the top 10 clubs in Europe, and we have to place there again.”

The chairman of the Bundesliga giants has addressed reports linking the German champions with a move for the Manchester City winger

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said Leroy Sane would be Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery’s successor if he decided to leave Manchester City for the Bundesliga champions.

Sane – who is contracted to City until 2021 – has been linked with a move to Bayern following back-to-back Premier League titles in Manchester.

With Bayern greats Robben and Ribery leaving Allianz Arena, Germany international forward Sane has emerged as a target for the Bavarian giants.

And Rummenigge talked up a move for Sane, who left boyhood club and Bundesliga side Schalke for City in 2016.

“You shouldn’t forget that he still has two years contract and that Manchester City don’t just sells their players because they need to,” Rummenigge said.

“This will be difficult. But I think that the player has to be convinced to have the joy for playing here at Bayern.

“He would be the successor of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery which is very interesting. As a player, this would be a good incentive I think.”

France internationals and World Cup winners Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard have already agreed to join Bayern in the off-season, however, James Rodriguez could be set to leave Munich.

Colombia international James swapped Real Madrid for Bayern on a two-year loan deal in 2017, with a €42 million (£37m/$47m) option to buy.

But James struggled with injuries and game time under head coach Niko Kovac in 2018-19 – the 27-year-old starting just 13 of his 20 Bundesliga appearances.

Asked about James, Rummenigge said: “We’ll definitely meet next week and decide how to proceed. We have to put all the options on the table. And then decide together how to deal with these things, which now still have a question mark, so that they become exclamation marks.

“You can imagine if James does not play continuously from the beginning, that is not his claim, he is a superstar and of course he always wants to play. Now he has been injured in the last few weeks and we must not forget that. We will find a solution in line with him, I can promise you that.”

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When pressed on whether Bayern could buy James permanently before reselling him, Rummenigge replied: “No, that’s not the style of Bayern. We don’t want to do any human trafficking to earn anything from this story. Bayern has never done this before.”

Pollution remains high in some places and worsening in others, scientist says

The management authority of the Yangtze River, together with 47 other government bodies and institutions, launched a science and technology coalition on Friday to promote the ecological restoration of China’s longest river.

Niu Xinqiang, head of the Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design and Research, a major designer of the Three Gorges Dam project, said the rehabilitation of the Yangtze is a serious task with complex challenges that require expertise from various sectors, including environmental protection, water conservancy and shipping.

“It is urgent for these sectors to work jointly to tackle the key challenges with innovation and offer scientific support for Yangtze’s restoration,” said Niu, who is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, at the launch of the coalition in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Members of the coalition will work jointly on forging an innovation platform and conducting scientific research. They will also share their technology resources, including information from monitoring, facilities for scientific research and research results.

According to a draft three-year action plan drawn up by the coalition, members will work on 36 projects over the period. The work will include monitoring and controlling major natural disasters, protecting and restoring fragile ecological system and controlling agricultural and heavy metal pollution.

Ma Jianhua, head of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission, said: “Today, we jointly initiate the technology innovation coalition on Yangtze rehabilitation and protection. Its aim is to strengthen integration of scientific resources, promote the capability of tackling key challenges and the transformation and application of scientific achievements.”

After decades of effort, China has established adequate systems for flood control and disaster mitigation and is making more efficient use of water resources. It is also improving the ecological protection of Yangtze waters, Ma said. But he warned that the country still faces many challenges in the river’s management brought by increased human activity and climate change.

The central government’s requirement for high quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which covers 11 regions along the river, has yet to be met, he said.

Polluting discharges along the Yangtze remain high and the situation is deteriorating in some places. About 30 percent of key lakes and reservoirs along the river are plagued by eutrophication, an excess of nutrients that can lead to algae blooms, the coalition said in a statement at the launch ceremony.

The science and technology coalition is an initiative of nine government bodies and State-owned enterprises. Most of its members are institutions – including Tsinghua and Peking universities and the Changjiang Institute.

China has been attaching increasing importance to Yangtze protection since early 2016 when President Xi Jinping urged officials from provincial areas along the river to concentrate on ecological restoration and protection, and avoid large-scale development.

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With personal wealth surging in China, people are finding a need for high-end professional security services.

In developed cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where entrepreneurs, businessmen, film stars and other high-net-worth celebrities abound, demand for personal bodyguards has spiked in the past few years.

By the end of last year, there were 1.67 million Chinese whose individual investable financial assets were valued at 6 million yuan ($870,000) or more. The country has 658 dollar-billionaires, the highest number globally. With 103 dollar-billionaires in Beijing, the city tops the Hurun Rich List 2019 for the fourth consecutive year.

In Hong Kong and Macao, the number of professional bodyguards has exceeded 10,000, while on the Chinese mainland, there is a shortage of professional bodyguards, as the sector had been developing in the grey zone before.

“Bodyguard is kind of a sensitive word in China. There aren’t any specific and detailed rules yet about escort services, and the place still lacks systematic regulations about how to operate and supervise the security services market. But fueled by an increasing demand, the growth potential of the sector is promising,” said Zhang Hong, a professor at the People’s Public Security University of China.

In 2010, the government formulated a regulation that security services are allowed to provide bodyguards to their clients. It was the first regulation that legalized the identity of bodyguards in China. Later, a group of firms specializing in security services were founded.

It is reported that the monthly incomes of formally trained bodyguards are usually around 30,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan, and the annual income of top bodyguards can be higher than 1 million yuan. Female bodyguards will earn more, given their scarcity, and many female clients would prefer to choose female bodyguards.

Emotte Information Technology Co Ltd, a major home services provider in China, recently reached a cooperation agreement with Tianlang International Special Bodyguards, a top private special bodyguard service company in China.

The two firms will together provide special bodyguard and household management services like household security guards, personal, family and travel bodyguards, cash safety escorts, drivers and business assistants.

Soon, the two will also provide services like female bodyguards, conference escorts, special airport pickups, business dispute negotiations and security expert services.

“We aim to create a high-end lifestyle for consumers, and enable families to not have any worries,” said Fu Yansheng, founder and president of Emotte.

The Beijing-based Tianlang International recruits its security guards from recent retirees of special forces. They receive international-standard training at the company’s special training bases for three to 18 months. Some of them have carried out tasks in war areas of Iraq and Libya, according to the company.

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Big increases reported in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia

It is an annual ritual throughout Southeast Asia: As the rainy season starts and the humidity spikes, the mosquitoes come out. And they come with various diseases, including dengue which seems to be hitting hard this year.

Thailand is experiencing its biggest outbreak in more than two decades. The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia have also reported significant upticks in cases this year. The World Health Organization said there are big increases in Cambodia, Laos, China and Australia too.

Health authorities throughout Southeast Asia track the dengue outbreaks every year. Between 2017 and 2018, the numbers dropped but spiked up again this year.

According to statistics from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, until May 13 this year, 20,733 people were infected with dengue and 25 of them died.

The peak season for dengue has just started, according to the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers, which is advising care, particularly in Trat Province along the border with Cambodia and Samut Skhon, southeast of Bangkok.

The Philippines reported more than 60,000 cases and more than 237 deaths as of last month. Vietnam reported more than 52,000 cases, three times as many as in 2018, but only a handful of deaths.

In Malaysia, there were 67 deaths through to the end of April with more than 43,000 cases of dengue reported, also three times as many as last year.

In Singapore, the National Environment Agency said earlier this month that there have been more cases of dengue this year than in 2018.

The NEA reported 3,455 cases until May 16 this year, almost 200 more than were reported in the same period in 2018 and far more than the 2,772 cases reported in 2017. Three people have died.

The number of cases “have been on an upward trend and more than doubled in the past seven weeks”, the NEA noted.

As it does every year, the NEA has taken active steps to prevent the outbreak from expanding, with public campaigns to encourage the removal of any pools of water and to educate the public on prevention steps.

“The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades,” says the WHO. “A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic and hence the actual numbers of dengue case are underreported and many cases are misclassified.”

The WHO estimates that there are about 390 million infections every year.

An acute infectious disease, dengue is caused by a virus transmitted by a specific type of mosquito, the aedes mosquito. It causes headaches, joint pain, rashes and fever.

In the more severe cases, it can lead to death. There is no specific treatment, beyond rest and plenty of fluids.

There is no single factor for the rise in dengue cases, according to Gawrie Loku Galappaththy, a medical officer with the WHO’s global malaria program.

“As the Philippines is in the middle of the El Nino weather pattern, more people have been collecting water, leading to more breeding areas. Then there’s increased urbanization and further environmental changes,” Galappaththy said.

Effective vaccine

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Developing an effective dengue vaccine has proved difficult, in part because there are four different types, or serotypes, of the disease; but a vaccine was developed and released in 2015 by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

Sanofi said that while the vaccine is effective for patients who have had dengue before, some claim it may put others at an increased risk of a more severe form of dengue.

Still, Sanofi is sticking by its vaccine and says it could help minimize outbreaks. “Public vaccination programs targeting previously infected individuals have the potential to… be a cost-effective intervention,” Sanofi said.

Galappaththy at WHO noted that the increase in dengue cases have caused primary level health services, like community clinics, to be overburdened.

Without the capacity or knowhow to handle it, these clinics transferred patients to higher levels of healthcare, causing a bottleneck at those levels, he said.

“The WHO is working with the Department of Health on training the primary level health services on how to handle such cases. This creates a more effective filtration system that won’t create a burden on the upper levels,” said Galappaththy.

In Thailand, the government has urged all parents and teachers to be on the lookout for the mosquito-borne disease and find ways to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in and around their homes.

“Fifty-two percent of the dengue fever patients are children. We hope all the parents and teachers pay more attention to children, as they are the most vulnerable group for the disease,” said the ministry’s permanent-secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Additional reporting by Jihyun Kim in Hong Kong.

For China Daily

 

 

Chef Marcus Medina and his brother Martin Medina have been treating you to top-class Mexican fare since 2012.

Forty years ago, Mexican chef Marcus Medina and his brother Martin Medina opened a burrito shop in New York and everyone asked the same question – what is a burrito?

They had to invite an artist to draw a burrito on the wall – beans, rice and other fillings with sour cream, avocado and guacamole, all wrapped in a tortilla.

After more than two decades of cooking in New York when burrito shops became common in the city, Medina brought his burritos and tacos to Beijing in 2012 – and this time he just put a picture of it on the menu.

In February, Medina took his culinary team to a food safari trip back to New York, seeking new inspiration for Mexican food. He brought back many ideas. Now, Medina is ready to surprise foodies in the Chinese capital.

Adventure in New York

Born and raised in east Los Angeles, California, which is a Mexican neighborhood, Medina and his brother grew up with their mom’s homemade Mexican cuisine.

They then opened a taqueria, which is a casual restaurant specializing in tacos, in their hometown serving Cal-Mex style burritos back in the 1980s.

During that time, Medina went to a tiny chef school in Mexico City which was the only one then, and he was sent out to learn from all the regional Mexican restaurants.

After that, the duo decided to take Cal-Mex food to New York and opened up a series of restaurants there over around 20 years – from a food cart to a burrito shop to a fancy Mexican food restaurant.

Each year, the two brothers would take several months of “vacation”.

While Medina’s brother likes to be “Jack Sparrow” by serving on cruise ships, Medina takes a more dangerous path – to be a deep sea crab fisherman in the Bering Sea.

The Discovery channel’s documentary Deadliest Catch gives viewers a glimpse of the real life aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab fishing season.

However, Medina’s own experiences have been much harsher and more dangerous.

Sometimes, he could sleep only three to four hours a day for four days or even a week until the vessel is full with crabs.

“It was winter, and it was always 24 hours black with no sun at all. It was insane,” Medina recalls.

When he brought some king crab that can sell for hundreds of dollars back home, his parents just used them to make tacos.

He thought it was a waste while at the same time, it made him realize that even to serve the most common family or street food, he must use the best ingredients.

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A carbon dioxide leak on a ship that killed 10 people in Shandong province was likely caused by improper repair procedures, local authorities said on Sunday.

The gas leaked as work was being done on the fire prevention system of a cargo ship on Saturday, the emergency management team said.

The leak occurred at around 4 pm at Longyan Port in Rongcheng, Weihai.

Nineteen people who were injured were being treated in local hospitals, according to the information office of Weihai. All are in stable condition.

Those suspected of being responsible for the accident are in police custody.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, State Councilor Wang Yong and Huang Ming, Party chief of the Ministry of Emergency Management, have all instructed local authorities to properly handle the aftermath of the incident.

The cargo ship, Jinhaixiang, is owned by Fujian Shipping Co. The company sent staff to Weihai to handle the aftermath of the accident.

The ship was built in Japan in 1994. It arrived at the port on May 17.

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After facing his own hardships because of blindness, Mu Mengjie has dedicated the last 20 years to improving opportunities for others with impaired sight

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“If you have a sunny heart, there is no fear of darkness.” This motto is posted on the wall of a classroom at the Mengjie School for the Blind in Pingxiang county, Xingtai, Hebei province. For the students here – whose degree of sight varies from the partial, to complete loss – it is the right kind of motivation required to confront life’s challenges.

In the third grade classroom, Zhang Zhibo, who has finished his last lesson, is still “reading” the book. His hand touches the raised Braille dots and his face carries a happy expression. On the blackboard, four large Chinese characters “Longing for the light” are written in chalk. Reading makes him happy, and also fills him with positivity. Apart from the textbooks, Zhang also likes to do extracurricular reading. Reading – as the motto above suggests – is like a beam of light, giving him the power to overcome the darkness.

Twelve Chinese celebrities are part of a food TV show called Taste of China where they share their favorite Chinese dishes and recall their paths to stardom.

The 12-episode show, produced and aired by China Central Television, with each episode lasting 50 minutes, premiered on March 30. It aims to showcase traditional Chinese culture via food, and explore the relationship between people and food.

The TV show also focuses on introducing the history and cooking techniques of the 12 dishes, with the help of the senior cook from Beijing Hotel, Liu Zhong, and Li Bo, a scholar of Chinese culture from Nanjing Normal University.

Speaking about the show, director Huang Xianfei says: “Food carries people’s life stories, and the stories relate to cultural inheritance.

“We want to present traditional Chinese culture through food to the audiences.”

The opening episode has Peking Opera actress Wang Peiyu performing excerpts from classic Peking Opera pieces while making a dish called yanduxian, or stewed pork with bamboo shoots in soup, on the TV show.

Wang, 41, who was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, graduated from Shanghai Normal University and did further studies at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts before becoming a Peking Opera performer. She has been performing with the Shanghai Jingju Theater Company since 2001.

Peking Opera, or jingju, has a history of more than 200 years, and in 2010 UNESCO declared it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It combines singing, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics.

Wang specializes in playing laosheng roles, or old male roles, and is credited with broadening the appeal of Peking Opera, especially among the younger generation.

Wang learned to cook yanduxian, a soup made of bamboo shoots and hams, from her late grandmother, who used to cook it for Lunar New Year’s Eve every year.

Bamboo shoots are abundant in southern China and Wang says that her grandmother was good at cooking with bamboo shoots.

“The dish is full of her life wisdom. And though I travel around the world to give performances and eat food from different countries, I will never forget the taste of the yanduxian she made for me,” says Wang.

Recalling her path to stardom, Wang adds that her grandmother was the only one in the family, who supported her decision to be a Peking Opera actress. “She was always proud of me and was always on my side. I can still remember that she made the dish to celebrate my graduation,” says Wang.

Other celebrities who are part of the show are 70-year-old Xia Boyu, who reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma, the highest mountain in the world; Chinese dancer-choreographer Huang Doudou; Chinese singer Wang Erni and dubbing artist Li Lihong.

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Premier calls for full implementation of measures to consolidate growth

Premier Li Keqiang called for full implementation of tax cuts and fee reductions to better stimulate market vitality and consolidate economic growth during an inspection trip in Shandong province on Friday and Saturday.

The tax and fee cuts are crucial measures to coping with complicating circumstances and to withstanding new downward pressure on the economy, the premier said while visiting Weichai Group, a manufacturer in Weifang, on Friday.

Over a longer period, such measures can also bolster growth potential and broaden the tax base, so it is important to ensure the lasting impact of the tax and fee reductions, he said.

In March, China rolled out a series of measures to reduce businesses’ tax burdens and social insurance contributions by nearly 2 trillion yuan ($290 billion), with manufacturing sector companies being the largest beneficiaries.

Li encouraged businesses like Weichai to step up international cooperation in innovation to ensure unrelenting growth in China’s manufacturing sector.

At Goertek Inc, an acoustic components maker, Li learned that the tax cuts had already reduced its corporate burdens by 100 million yuan.

The premier voiced appreciation for Goertek’s efforts to prioritize research and innovation and to explore the domestic and international markets.

There is huge potential in the Chinese market, he said, and it is important to win over consumers and the market with innovations in science and technology and through extensive cooperation.

Li pledged better policies to encourage businesses to increase research and development and to improve the level of innovation across the board in China.

Li also presided over a symposium on the tax and fee reductions in Jinan on Friday, the second meeting of its kind within two weeks.

The Chinese economy, despite its good start in the first quarter, has not yet consolidated its stable momentum as it faces increasing unstable factors and challenges from abroad, Li said at the symposium.

Although the tax and fee reductions will temporarily decrease fiscal revenues, they will bolster businesses’ confidence to increase investment for further growth, thus creating jobs and shoring up economic growth, he said.

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It is important to ensure that all sectors see their tax burdens lowered and that the prices of materials used in agriculture remain stable, he said.

Li also called for local authorities to fully implement the tax and fee reductions and to maintain balance between fiscal revenues and expenditures.

He cautioned that they should not bend rules in ways that increase burdens on businesses to alleviate the pressure on government finance.

The Chinese economy is highly resilient, and the government has adequate room to maneuver in its macro-regulation policies, he added.

China will introduce further relaxed terms and refined procedures for deductions of the VAT in the manufacturing sector and come up with support policies for R&D and innovation in businesses, he said.