Author: KnowledgeHippo
China wants young people to save for retirement. Tao Swift, an unemployed 30-year-old, doesn’t care to hear it.”Retired?” asked. “I don’t have much hope that I can definitely get my hands on it.”Mr Tao, who lives in the southern city of Chengdu, is not alone in thinking this way. In social media forums and among friends, young people wonder whether they should save for old age. Some choose to leave, citing a lack of jobs, low wages and ambivalence about the future.Their skepticism betrays the enormous challenge for China’s leaders. In less than three decades, the country has changed from…
Anyone who works deep in the trenches of the internet will tell you that there is no well-accepted machinery that works without the slightest problem.Rather, it is a set of disorganized parts that have been assembled over decades and that are only kept together thanks to the digital equivalent of adhesive tape and masking tape. A large part of the network depends on open source software that is maintained by the work of a small army of volunteer programmers to whom no one gives thanks for repairing the errors, patching the holes and making sure that the art of dollars…
The federal government is required to “expeditiously” house immigrant children who cross into the United States illegally, rather than allowing them to remain in unsafe open spaces along the border, a Federal District Court judge ruled Wednesday night.The ruling, issued by Judge Dolly M. Gee of the United States District Court for Central California, sided largely with lawyers representing the children in a class action lawsuit. It found that minors on the premises were under the lawful control of the Department of Homeland Security and therefore entitled to certain rights and protections, such as a safe and sanitary environment, even…
On its busiest days, Venice swells with tourists who clog the city’s narrow streets, leave behind piles of rubbish and often frustrate the locals. So the city crossed by the canal fights back.Starting April 25 and for another 29 days scattered mostly around national holidays and weekends until mid-July, day-trippers in the historic part of Venice will have to pay 5 euros, about $5.40, a measure that the city officials hope it will encourage people to come during less busy times.All visitors to Venice will also have to register their presence in the city on designated days, filling out an…
In a television ad, Sister Monica Clare, a nun in northern New Jersey, walks through a church bathed in sunlight and sits in a pew, crossing herself. Her message: TikTok is a force for good.”Because of TikTok, I’ve created a community where people can feel safe asking questions about spirituality,” she says in the ad.Sister Monica Clare is one of several TikTok fans — along with ranchers, a Navy veteran known as Patriotic Kenny and business people — whom the company is targeting in ads as it faces intense scrutiny in Washington.”TikTok definitely has a branding problem in the United…
Ford Motor Co. on Thursday delayed production of at least two new electric cars and said it would shift to making more hybrids. Its decision was the latest sign that major automakers have been forced to rethink their strategy for electric vehicles as sales for those models slow.The shift by Ford and automakers such as General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which have also pushed back their electric car plans, was largely driven by the companies’ difficulties in building and selling enough electric cars and doing so profitably. .Sales of such vehicles are still growing, but the pace has slowed sharply in…
If you’re 50 or older and reading this article, chances are you’re wearing a pair of inexpensive reading glasses to correct your presbyopia or farsightedness, the age-related decline in vision that makes it progressively harder to see fine details letters and tiny objects.Eventually, everyone gets the condition.But for nearly a billion people in the developing world, reading glasses are a luxury that many cannot afford. According to the World Health Organization, lack of access to corrective glasses hinders learning among young students, increases the likelihood of road accidents and forces millions of middle-aged factory workers and farmers to leave the…
In late 2021, Mark from San Diego and his wife were flying home on British Airways premium economy from Split, Croatia, via London and Dallas, but missed a connection. They were rebooked in economy on Virgin Atlantic and tried for two years to get compensation when finally, in December 2023, they were told they had agreed to the downgrade, which he denies. (It shouldn’t matter anyway, both Mr. Leff and Mr. Radchenko said.)They finally received $746 from British Airways earlier this week. However, the full cost of their original round trip (two tickets from San Diego to Ljubljana, Slovenia and…
Why do these elections matter?The political crisis has engulfed Panama’s May 5 presidential election, deepening uncertainty in a country grappling with drought and the fallout from widespread protests.Former President Riccardo Martinelli, who had emerged in the polls as the frontrunner, was barred from running after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering. Panama’s Electoral Court allowed its vice president, a former public security minister named Jose Raul Molino, to take his seat. Mr. Martinelli claims he is being politically persecuted.Mr. Martinelli ruled Panama during a period of strong economic growth and was popular despite his conviction.…
Applying for financial aid was supposed to get easier with the new version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which millions of families and thousands of schools rely on to determine how students will pay for college in America.But for months, they’ve had to deal with a bureaucratic mess caused by serious delays and glitches with the new app. As colleges and universities begin to release their admissions decisions, many students are in limbo, waiting to hear how much financial aid they will receive before committing to a school.We want to hear from readers about how issues with…