Fang Daining, a key scientist in China’s hypersonic weapons programme, has died at the age of 68, according to an image of an obituary notice that began circulating on Chinese social media last week. Early online discussions included claims that Fang, who was also a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) member, the country’s highest academic title in science and technology, suffered an unexpected medi...
Fang Daining, a key scientist in China’s hypersonic weapons programme, has died at the age of 68, according to an image of an obituary notice that began circulating on Chinese social media last week. Early online discussions included claims that Fang, who was also a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) member, the country’s highest academic title in science and technology, suffered an unexpected medical episode during a work trip to South Africa. The South China Morning Post could not confirm the online claims. Advertisement Some social media users said they were told not to photograph the obituary, a claim the SCMP was also unable to verify. Fang, who studied super-strong materials for spacecraft and advanced engines at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), a key defence research university, “died of illness on February 27”, the obituary said. Advertisement “Fang’s passing is a major loss to China’s mechanics community, the field of advanced materials and structures, and higher education. We mourn his death with deep sorrow.”
The authorities in a grass-roots community in eastern China have trended on social media for its “redundant flesh in exchange for beef” weight-loss initiative targeting local residents. Since the Shanbei Community in Liangxi District, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, launched the creative health campaign on social media on March 9, more than 2,400 people applied to take part within three days, according to...
The authorities in a grass-roots community in eastern China have trended on social media for its “redundant flesh in exchange for beef” weight-loss initiative targeting local residents. Since the Shanbei Community in Liangxi District, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, launched the creative health campaign on social media on March 9, more than 2,400 people applied to take part within three days, according to the news website The Paper. Internet users have shown immense interest in the move, with many people living elsewhere saying they would like to move to the community. Hanging beef for sale at a market in China. Hundreds of people have signed up for the initiative. Photo: Getty Images According to the “weight-losing health challenge event” organised by the Shanbei Community, only employees who pay their social security or medical insurance in the region can apply to join. Advertisement Applicants must be at least “slightly chubby” with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 23. Also, women must have a waist measurement of more than 80cm while men’s waistline has to be 90cm or more. They can apply by March 20 and have their weight measured at a designated venue during the period between March 23 and March 27. The authorities will build a dossier for each applicant, the poster said. Advertisement Applicants can try to lose weight from then on and check their new weight with the authority between January 1 and January 10 of next year.
California Democratic Lawmaker Seeks To Create Two New Muslim State Holidays Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, Multiculturalism is on the march in California: A Democratic state lawmaker has introduced a bill to recognize two Muslim holidays as official state holidays. Fox 11 reports that California State Assembly member Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) has introduced AB 2017, which would...
California Democratic Lawmaker Seeks To Create Two New Muslim State Holidays Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, Multiculturalism is on the march in California: A Democratic state lawmaker has introduced a bill to recognize two Muslim holidays as official state holidays. Fox 11 reports that California State Assembly member Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) has introduced AB 2017, which would designate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays and would, in Haney’s words, ensure that Muslims are “seen, valued and treated with the same dignity as every other community in our state.” According to the New York Post , Eid al-Adha is among the most important holidays in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan—the month in which faithful Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. A bill introduced by California State Assembly member Matt Haney would make Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha official state holidays in California. Supporters say the measure would allow students and workers to observe the holidays without penalties and better recognize the state’s… pic.twitter.com/OjDXwB2F2w — Hot Takes Nobody Asked For (@HotTakesNobody) March 17, 2026 Haney says the California Muslim community is among the largest in the country, yet they do not have major holidays recognized by the state in the way Christianity does—for example, Christmas or Easter. In a news release, Haney said, “No student should have to choose between celebrating one of the holiest days of their faith and showing up to school, and no worker should feel they have to sacrifice their religious observance.” AB 2017 is cosponsored by the California chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR–CA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. CAIR–CA Legislative & Government Affairs Director Oussama Mokeddem celebrated the introduction of AB 2017, saying, “This is a historic moment for California’s over one million Muslims. The climate of heightened fear and ...
(RTTNews) - In February 2026, VINCI Airports reported a 1.6% increase in passenger traffic compared with the same month in 2025. Growth was particularly strong in several regions. Portugal (ANA) saw traffic rise by 3.4%, while Serbia posted a notable 9.4% increase. Hungary also performed well, with traffic up 7.0%, and Mexico (OMA) registered a 5.7% gain. The Dominican Republic (Aerodom) reported ...
(RTTNews) - In February 2026, VINCI Airports reported a 1.6% increase in passenger traffic compared with the same month in 2025. Growth was particularly strong in several regions. Portugal (ANA) saw traffic rise by 3.4%, while Serbia posted a notable 9.4% increase. Hungary also performed well, with traffic up 7.0%, and Mexico (OMA) registered a 5.7% gain. The Dominican Republic (Aerodom) reported a 6.8% increase, Costa Rica surged by 13%, and Brazil recorded a robust 12% rise. Cabo Verde stood out with the highest growth, at 17%. By contrast, some markets experienced declines. The United Kingdom registered a 1.8% drop, France fell by 1.4%, and the United States saw a sharper decline of 7.2%. Japan's Kansai Airports reported a 2.6% decrease, while Chile (Nuevo Pudahuel) slipped by 0.6%. Cambodia Airports managed modest growth of 3.0%. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with gains in energy and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in gold mining and technology stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Inde...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with gains in energy and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in gold mining and technology stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 5.40 points or 0.07 percent to 7,416.00, after touching a high of 7,419.90 and a low of 7,381.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 1.90 points or 0.03 percent to 7,739.80. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday. Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding more than 1 percent, while OZ Minerals is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.5 percent. Rio Tinto is flat. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Petroleum and Beach energy are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Santos is adding almost 2 percent, Oil Search is rising more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is advancing almost 1 percent. In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent, Xero is edging down 0.4 percent, Afterpay is declining more than 1 percent and Appen is slipping almost 2 percent. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging up 0.4 percent. Westpac is flat. Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are declining more than 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is losing more than 1 percent, Evolution Mining is slipping almost 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is down 1.5 percent. Shares in Technology One are plunging more than 9 percent despite the enterprise software company reported net profit and revenue for the full year that increased and declared a final dividend. In economic news, the total value of construction work done in Australia was down a seasonally adju...
Just as New Zealand’s fragile economic recovery shows flickers of improvement – with economists predicting its annual growth could surpass that of its larger neighbour Australia – it is facing a new threat: the war in the Middle East. New Zealand is particularly exposed to the energy shocks produced by the conflict – and to economic crises generally – with the small, isolated nation highly depende...
Just as New Zealand’s fragile economic recovery shows flickers of improvement – with economists predicting its annual growth could surpass that of its larger neighbour Australia – it is facing a new threat: the war in the Middle East. New Zealand is particularly exposed to the energy shocks produced by the conflict – and to economic crises generally – with the small, isolated nation highly dependent on global trade and tourism. It is susceptible to disruptions in supply chains and shipping. “We would far prefer this wasn’t happening to the New Zealand economy, and it’s not good for the New Zealand economy,” finance minister Nicola Willis said this week. The economy and cost of living will be the central issues in elections, set to take place in November, and while confidence had been building – and New Zealand is showing signs its economy is finally drawing a line under its worst stretch in almost two decades – the war creates new uncertainty. “We’ve been through an economic trough that’s been just as deep and prolonged … as that which followed the global financial crisis,” said Benje Patterson, an independent economist. New Zealand’s economy has been battered by recession and stagnation that arrived in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country struggled to find its feet as inflation piled pressure on businesses and drove households to rein in spending. “It’s been a tough couple of years – like, really tough. We’ve had significant reduction in the economy, job losses, business closures, all that kind of stuff,” says Shamubeel Eaqub, an economist. “But [there are] signs that things are kind of bottoming out and beginning to improve.” On Thursday, New Zealand will release its latest economic figures, assessing growth before the impact of the conflict. Gross domestic product (GDP) data is expected to show New Zealand’s economy grew 1.6% over the course of 2025, according to a Westpac forecast. Growth in New Zealand is then set to accelerate to 2.8% this year, the ...
酒店房租稅｜去年第三、第四季合共稅收4.2億元 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】政府去年重新徵收酒店房租稅，去年第三及第四季合共稅收4.2億元。 財經事務及庫務局局長許正宇書面回覆立法會議員查詢，說...
酒店房租稅｜去年第三、第四季合共稅收4.2億元 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】政府去年重新徵收酒店房租稅，去年第三及第四季合共稅收4.2億元。 財經事務及庫務局局長許正宇書面回覆立法會議員查詢，說過去8個月，每月平均約300間酒店及130多間賓館須繳付酒店房租稅，涉及約9萬間房間，佔總數約八成四，去年第三季及第四季稅收分別1.8億元及2.4億元。許正宇強調稅額只佔房租3%，而根據旅發局統計，去年平均酒店入住率及過夜旅客人次按年上升2%及6%。重申酒店房租稅提供穩定收入，亦不會影響普羅市民，現時沒計劃調整稅率。
iQoncept/iStock via Getty Images This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Baker Brothers' 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Baker Brothers' regulatory 13F Form filed on 02/17/2026. The 13F portfolio value increased from $13.84B to $17.08B. Although there are ~100 positions in the 13F portfolio, the holdings are concentrated am...
iQoncept/iStock via Getty Images This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Baker Brothers' 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Baker Brothers' regulatory 13F Form filed on 02/17/2026. The 13F portfolio value increased from $13.84B to $17.08B. Although there are ~100 positions in the 13F portfolio, the holdings are concentrated among a few large stakes. There are 31 positions that are significantly large (more than 0.5% of the portfolio each), and they are the focus of this article. The largest five stakes are Incyte, BeOne Medicines, Madrigal Pharma, Insmed, and ACADIA Pharma. They add up to ~54% of the portfolio. Please visit our Tracking Baker Brothers Portfolio series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and our previous update for the fund's moves during Q3 2025. Baker Brothers, a biotech investment firm, was founded by Julian & Felix Baker in 2000. Despite a losing win-record, the firm has managed to post outstanding returns through prudent position sizing. As a percentage of AUM, allocation to the highest conviction picks can be very high at over 30%. Note 1: Although the position sizes relative to the overall portfolio are very small, Baker Brothers has significant ownership stakes in the following businesses - Cerus Corporation ( CERS ), Entrada Therapeutics ( TRDA ), KALA BIO ( KALA ), Monte Rosa ( GLUE ), Neurogene ( NGNE ), Prelude Therapeutics ( PRLD ), Sagimet Bio ( SGMT ), Sera Prognostics ( SERA ), TScan Therapeutics ( TCRX ), and vTv Therapeutics ( VTVT ). Note 2: Over the years, the firm had a number of home runs as the invested firms got acquired at huge premiums. Recent M&A winners include Pharmacyclics (acquired by AbbVie), Synageva (acquired by Alexion), Salix (acquired by Valeant), Alexion (acquired by AstraZeneca), Global Blood Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer), ChemoCentryx (acquired by Amgen), Seagen (acquired by Pfizer), and Mirati Therapeutics (acquired by Bristo...