China successfully launches 1st Mars probe

Live: China's inaugurates first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 in southern Hainan Province

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Mission marks nation's official start of interplanetary probe era

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China's Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket, carrying the Mars probe, blasted off at 12:41 p.m., July 23, 2020, from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.

2020 can be regarded as the year of Mars. Following Sunday's launch of the UAE's Mars probe, China inaugurates its first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 in Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan Province. After the launch via a Long March-5 carrier rocket, the Mars probe will conduct a series of tasks and explorations on the red planet.

Hailed as Earth's sister planet, Mars has become the priority planet in deep space exploration. Can Mars be turned into a second habitat for humans? What will our lives be like if we settle on Mars in the future? Join CGTN to get a closer look at Mars and explore the beauty of the mysterious planet.

Photo: Guo Wenbin/Our SpacePhoto: Guo Wenbin/Our Space 

China successfully launched its first Mars probe, named Tianwen-1, via a Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province into planned orbit on Thursday. The move heralds a new era in China's deep-space exploration, which has steadily progressed beyond moon probes to interplanetary missions, mission commanders and developers said.

After a flight of around 2,000 seconds, the probe entered the planned Earth-Mars transfer orbit, officially embarking on its journey to the Red Planet, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA)on Thursday.

China's Tianwen-1 Mars probe is expected to reach Mars' gravity field in February 2021, about seven months after the launch. If it succeeds, Tianwen-1 will be the first Mars expedition to complete orbiting, landing and roving in a single mission in humanity's history.

According to the CNSA, the project is set to achieve a series of technological advances, including Mars orbit insertion, long-term automatic probe management, long distance communication and Mars surface roving capabilities.

The interplanetary mission will also mark China's establishment of a complete deep-space exploration project system, covering design, production, flight mission and scientific research.

The mission also involves international cooperation, as the European Space Agency and Argentina will participate by taking part in spacecraft monitoring and controlling, the Global Times has learned from the CNSA.

Moreover, China is also working with countries including France and Austria on payload scaling and data analysis for the mission.

Infographic: Global Times

The Thursday launch mission was the fifth flight of the Long March-5 carrier rocket series, the strongest member of China's launch vehicle family. The last launch mission of the Long March-5B, a smaller variant of the Long March 5, took place on May 5, also from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan.

The Thursday launch also marked the first time the Long March-5 was put to practical mission use, the rocket developer China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) under the state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The completion of the first practical mission would indicate that the Long March-5 series has officially joined service," Wang Jue, chief commander of the Long March-5 rocket model, told the Global Times.

Long March-5 has a 5-meter diameter core stage and four 3.35-meter diameter boosters, and is 57 meters long with a take-off weight of around 870 tons and thrust of 1,000 tons. It has raised the country's Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) launch capability from 5 tons to 14 tons.

The Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket has reached an escape velocity of over 11.2 kilometers per second, managing to send the probe into planned orbit, and according to Li Dong, chief designer of the Long March-5, "this speed set a new fastest flight speed record for China's launch vehicles."

The Tianwen-1 Mars probe, which weighs about five tons, is also the heaviest deep space probe that China has ever sent into space, and is one ton heavier than the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which China successfully sent to the dark side of the moon in January 2019, the CALT noted.

The powerful launch capability of the Long March-5 rocket has advanced the country's deep-space exploration to a new starting point in interplanetary expeditions, and a new era of planet probes beyond the moon has officially been ushered in as the first Mars probe begins, Li Minghua, CALT's Party chief, announced upon the successful launch on Thursday.

The Long March-5 carrier rocket is expected to launch another Chang'e-5, weighing about eight tons, which aims to undertake the country's first moon sample return mission, set to take place before the end of this year. The Long March-5B will launch the core module of the country's first space station around March 2021, Lou Luliang, the rocket series vice chief designer, revealed to the Global Times.

Infographic: Global Times

Challenges ahead

Mars, one of Earth's closest neighbor planets in the solar system, has the most similar environment to Earth's. Human beings have made 44 Mars mission attempts, and only 24 of them succeeded.

The minimum distance between Mars and Earth is about 55 million kilometers, and the two planets only come that close every 26 months. The Mars exploration window is open between July and August.

No country other than China has ever set the goals of orbiting, landing and roving the Red Planet in its first mission attempt, and the successful launch will only mark the beginning of a long expedition full of challenges, and uncertainties also remain, observers noted.

According to the CASC on Tuesday, only a handful of Mars missions have been able to land on the planet and conduct roving explorations.

China's Mars orbiter will carry seven scientific payloads, while the rover will have six, according to the CASC. Safely landing the Mars rover after the probe enters the planet's orbit, which will take around seven minutes, will be one of the most decisive stages of the whole mission. During those seven minutes, the probe needs to slow down from more than 20,000 kilometers per hour to zero, which poses a grave challenge to its surface heat-resistance capability.

To overcome that, CALT has developed a new material structure, which is more advanced than that for the US Apollo flight, to ensure the safety of the probe in the deceleration process.

Besides China, the US and the UAE are also launching their Mars missions this summer.

The first Arab space mission to Mars, an unmanned probe dubbed Hope, blasted off from Japan on Monday, in a bid to reveal more about the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

NASA moved its first launch attempt of its Mars 2020 mission to no earlier than July 30, according to the US space agency's official website.

ExoMars, a cooperation program between Europe and Russia, earlier announced that it will be delayed to 2022.

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Anonymity a double-sided shield

 

How to protect your online privacy in 2020 | Tutorial

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Internet anonymity empowers people to speak without fear, and to be trolls

ONLINE anonymity is such a huge topic, often carrying a bad reputation because it appears to incite irresponsible behaviour.

Anyone can say something cruel or nasty, and no one will ever know it was him because he uses a made-up personality.

When you spend more time delving into the subject of Internet anonymity, you will find that it has its fair share of pros and cons.

It is a matter of debate among security researchers, politicians and policy analysts. There are those who say it affords everyone freedom of speech as there is less judgement levelled at an anonymous person who speaks his mind freely, and whistleblowers are able to unearth secrets and share information without fear of being accused of slander or ending up in jail.

It is important to note that freedom of speech doesn’t mean you have freedom to lie.

Online abuse is rampant, it’s easy for lies to be manufactured and spread, and news loses its credibility in the process.

Cloak of anonymity

Assoc Prof Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesa, programme director of Psychology at Taylor’s University, concurs that anonymity allows people to speak without fear.

“If you have to put your name to it, there may be consequences for speaking the truth, ” she said.

Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan will be speaking at the Star Empowerment: Healing Hearts 2020, a forum on grieve management.Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan will be speaking at the Star Empowerment: Healing Hearts 2020, a forum on grieve management.

“When you’re anonymous, you can avoid the consequences. The Internet and social media allow people to remain anonymous and there is a certain power in this.

“In certain situations, when you say your truth, you may be put in jail or you may be harassed and abused by other people because they don’t agree with you.

“In such situations, people choose to be anonymous because they need a voice and there’s no other outlet.

“Of course, even without the consequences, many still hide behind anonymity when they want to insult others or stir up disagreement. Online drama can be an interesting thing for some people!”

Digital culture expert Dr Niki Cheong of University of Nottingham feels that there are many strong arguments that can be made in defence of anonymity – victims and marginalised people and communities rely on the cloak of anonymity to speak truth to power.

“This is particularly so when they have been wronged or taken advantage of. This is also the case when it comes to larger institutions whereby acts like whistleblowing have shown to be a powerful tool.

“Journalism has for the longest time used anonymity for very good reasons – not just to protect the identity of sources speaking out against, among other things, corruption and misdeeds, but also to protect people who share important stories from being stigmatised or targeted.”

Cheong agrees that anonymity has emboldened many to engage in anti-social behaviour, both offline and online.

“We are seeing severe repercussions from an individual level with personal attacks and bullying, and at a more societal level with political suppression and information manipulation.”

Sharing stories

The advent of social media has also seen the rise of citizen journalism – which is the creation or collection, dissemination and analysis of information by the general public.

“It’s trendy to create news these days because when you have more likes, that translates to more interest in your channel, and that’s how you make more money.

“There is a financial reward for being popular – whether you’re a blogger, YouTuber or TikTok artist, ” Anasuya explains the psychology behind the obsession to create content and share it with the world.

“The other reward is an emotional reward. Research shows that when you see ‘likes’ and ‘comments’, there’s dopamine released in your system, and dopamine is a pleasure hormone that makes you feel good.

“So when people get more posts, or become more famous, they feel good about themselves.”

When it comes to sharing, she says that when “news” calls for attention and is fun or shocking, people naturally want to be the first to tell others.

“It’s a high, you get a good feeling when you are the first person to tell somebody some interesting or important.”

Because of this, people often make the mistake of not verifying information before hitting the forward button. Often a headline is enough to make someone share a post without even reading the story. Admit it, many of us have made that mistake, right?

Spreading rumours takes that scenario one step further, because a rumour usually has a negative tilt to it.

So why do certain people get off on spreading rumours? Anasuya says it’s because some people like to create flame wars.

“When you’re anonymous, after all, you don’t even have that platform where you can get popular, so why do people still share and spread rumours or false information? The dopamine is still there.

“They know they are in the midst of a drama unfolding, they are getting hits, creating issues and they enjoy this. They enjoy people ‘believing’ them.

“And sometimes they believe it themselves. Truth can be based on perception, after all, and there are lots of people who perceive truth in a different way from the norm. That doesn’t mean they are crazy, they just perceive truth differently, ” she says.

Cheong reckons that a lot of this boils down to the individual.

“Some people don’t always feel that there are real life consequences to their online actions.

“We’ve seen cases where trolls have been confronted by their victims and regret their actions once they get to know them better because they suddenly realise they are real people with real feelings and real family members feeling threatened.”

He cites the case of American writer/activist Lindy West who responded to the guy who stole her dead father’s identity to abuse her. West received an apology from the person who she had earlier billed her “cruellest troll”, and went on to talk to him which ended in forgiveness.

“There is also this culture on the Internet, from the early days, of doing things just for the sake of it, which may have partially influenced this disconnect, ” says Cheong, explaining the catchphrase

“I did it for the lulz” (IDIFTL) which serves as a description for any trolling you do or any Internet drama you cause. To explain further, “lulz” translates to “fun, laughter or amusement at another’s expense”.

“Increasingly we’re seeing in many cases around the world that there are few consequences for people’s actions especially when they favour those in power or are perceived as ‘public sentiment’, so people feel they can act with impunity, ” Cheong adds.


Check and balance

What can we do to prevent this situation from plunging?

“Censorship isn’t the answer, ” Anasuya offers. “Because then you will be going backwards, and people will find ways around it.

In journalism, anonymity protects sources who provide information, and victims from being targeted, says Cheong.In journalism, anonymity protects sources who provide information, and victims from being targeted, says Cheong.

“Instead we should be educating people about best practices: how to check on false media, how to verify news, how to spot fake accounts, ” she says, using the anti-vaxxer movement as an example of how things can go terribly wrong without proper check and balance in place.

In that case, research fraud – a study led by the now discredited physician-researcher Andrew Wakefield involving 12 children – suggested there was a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism.

This study was subsequently thoroughly debunked, and Wakefield was stripped of his medical licence. Yet, today there is still a growing number of parents who buy into the whole anti-vaxxer argument and refuse to vaccinate their children.

“Because of some fake research and false findings, this ‘correlation between vaccinations and autism’ went viral and people started posting scary stuff, so much so that even a few in the US Congress believe this false news!” says Anasuya.

“So why do people believe it? Because they need somebody to blame, they want to be able to point a finger and say this is why the world is going bad, this is why things are going wrong, this is why my child got sick. It’s not me, it’s something else.

“People feel power in thinking that they are not sheep being told what to do, when in fact that’s exactly what they are. They don’t check their news, they don’t check their facts.

“You have to educate people to recognise what is real news and what is false. And it has to be a repeated learning.

“The checks and balances do exist, if people know how to use websites like FactCheck, Snopes and Sebenarnya.my.

“There’s a huge bunch of very logical, very factual people in cyberspace who are constantly correcting false news but as a user you have to be able to use those channels.

“It is whether each individual who creates and receives news is willing to do all the checking required. And sadly this is not something that we teach our children in school.”

Cheong agrees that education is the best policy, but it needs to be a multi-pronged approach.

“We need better media literacy education at all levels, we need political will to ensure that any response to these actions is fair across the board, we need to pressure digital platforms to take a more proactive role in managing these sort of behaviour.

“And we need better leadership and role models.”

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Ways to Improve Your Blood Circulation for a healthy you

9 Ways to Improve Your Blood Circulation

Anatomy and Circulation of the Heart - WebMD

Oxidized Cholesterol: What You Should Know - Healthline

Circulation is vital to the health of your entire body. However, we are guessing circulation is not something you find yourself thinking about too often unless you find your feet falling asleep.

However, there are many people who suffer from chronic circulation issues, and for them, thoughts about circulation are almost always there.

Your body is constantly circulating fluids throughout your body, most importantly blood. In fact, about 5 quarts of blood is pumped through your body’s blood vessels every minute, thanks to your heart.

As your blood circulates throughout your body, it delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells and helps get rid of excess waste products in your system.

So, when you have poor circulation, that means your blood isn’t flowing through your system as efficiently, and you can end up suffering from a variety of issues, including numbness (your hands and feet falling asleep).

At some point, we have all dealt with poor blood circulation.

And while your feet falling asleep can be somewhat of a nuisance, it certainly isn’t life-threatening.

However, if your circulation is regularly poor, you are likely facing some issues that are more serious than sleepy feet — including bloating, zapped energy, and fluid retention.

If any of these things sound familiar, then we’ve got just what you need: things that you can do to improve your circulation.

How To Improve Your Circulation

1. Exercise

Exercising is beneficial to your body in so many ways. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular exercise can:

• Control weight 
• Combat health conditions and diseases 
• Improve mood 
• Boost energy 
• Improve sleep
• Boost sex life 
• Help you engage socially 
• Be a way to have fun

Exercise is a great way to combat your issues with poor blood circulation.

And the best part?

You don’t have to spend hours on the treadmill to see results.

Any exercise that gets your blood pumping will be beneficial, particularly walking.

Once you feel more comfortable moving on to more challenging exercises, you’ll see your circulation improve even more. However, be sure to take your time in progressing to exercises such as running, swimming, biking, etc., and don’t overexert.

2. Get a massage

Just in case you’re looking for another reason to get a massage . . .

Not only can a massage bring you great relaxation and relief from the stresses of your life, but it can also stimulate your body’s blood flow.

According to Massage Envy, massages can speed up your circulation. The pressure that the massage applies to your body has the power to move blood through the areas that are congested.

In addition, once the pressure applied during your massage is released, new blood is able to flow in where it once may not have been able to.

The motions of a massage aid in flushing lactic acid from your muscles, as well as provide better circulation of your body’s lymph fluid.

What does lymph fluid do?

It “carries metabolic waste away from muscles and internal organs, resulting in lower blood pressure and improved body function.”

3. Drink lots of water

Did you know that it is advised you drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day?

Most people are nowhere near that many ounces a day.

It seems as if you’d have to constantly have to be drinking water in order to achieve that.

And you’re probably right.

However, drinking enough water is a great way to combat circulation issues.

Water helps to keep things flowing throughout your body, including the flush of toxins.

4. Drink green tea

In addition to being ripe with antioxidants, green tea can also help improve your blood circulation.

How exactly does it do that?

Green tea works to widen your body’s blood vessels, which gives your blood a chance to more easily flow.

In order to see the benefits of green tea in your circulation, aim to drink 2-3 cups per day.

5. Dry brush your skin daily

Dry brushing is very simple to work into your daily routine and is great for removing dead skin and improving your circulation.

Every morning before you shower, take a dry brush and scrub your skin. But be sure you scrub it correctly.

Yes, there’s a technique to dry brushing your skin: start at your feet and rub in circles up to your heart.

You will see your skin’s surface become incredibly smooth, and you’ll feel your circulation improve.

6. Get rid of stress

Stress is one of the most damaging things you can do to your body. Your body goes completely out of whack when you are stressed — it goes into what is called “fight or flight” mode.

And stress can cause problems with your circulation as well.

However, by finding ways to reduce your stress, you can save your body from a number of issues, including circulation.

Here are some great ways to fight stress:

Yoga Mediation Limit caffeine intake Chew gum Journal Listen to relaxing music Spend time with friends and family

7. Cut back on alcohol

Moderate alcohol consumption can be okay for your body, but be sure you know how to define what “moderate” means. For most, that means no more than two drinks.

Drinking any more than that can lead to your arteries hardening, which hinders your body’s ability to let blood flow properly.

8. Elevate your legs

Elevating your legs is a great way to take the pressure off of your veins.

Regularly elevating your legs above your heart comes with a number of benefits, including:

Better blood circulation Reducing swelling in the legs Promoting the draining of your veins

Find 20 minutes in your day to elevate your legs, and you will feel a major difference in your circulation.

9. Stretching

With just a few minutes of basic stretching a couple of times a day, you can drastically improve your circulation.

Stretching works to increase blood flow to your body’s tissues and organs.

A majority of people spend their days sitting at a desk in the same position, which as you know, can cause a whole slew of problems.

Making an effort to get up regularly, walk around, and stretch can help fight circulation issues, as well as many other problems that result from spending too much time sitting.

Want to learn more about how to improve circulation?

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Medically Reviewed by

Dr. Satish Vayuvegula

Dr. Satish Vayuvegula is the National Medical Director at Vein Clinics of America. Certified by the American Board of Venous & Lymphatic Medicine, Dr. Satish Vayuvegula is recognized as a physician who has met rigorous standards of knowledge and extensive training in phlebology, the diagnosis and treatment of varicose vein disease and related disorders. Dr. Satish also shares his passion and expertise by serving as a board member of the American Vein and Lymphatic Society, the predominant national organization for venous and lymphatic disease.

Better blood flow for a healthy you

Improving your blood circulation not only helps to strengthen your immunity but also reduces your risk of developing chronic diseases in the future.

The most common symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. There is also emerging data showing that Covid-19 not only causes respiratory illness, but is also associated with neurologic complications such as stroke.


OVER the past few months, the world has been grappling with the effects of the Covid19 pandemic, with more than 12 million people infected and a death toll of 552,000, according to the World Health Organization.


The most common symptoms of Covid-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. There is also emerging data showing that Covid-19 not only causes respiratory illness, but is also associated with neurologic complications such as stroke.

What do all these symptoms have in common? Impaired blood circulation. In fact, several retrospective clinical studies have shown that the Covid-19 virus is prone to attacking the lining of blood vessels all over the body, deteriorating the body defence system and forming blood clots in the blood vessels, which can ultimately lead to poor blood circulation.

Poor blood circulation is reflected in restricted or blocked blood flow to various parts of the body and vital organs such as brain, which is usually due to blockage of the blood vessels caused by blood clots resulted from platelet clumping (platelet aggregation). Subsequently, the lack of oxygen and nutrient supply to the organs may lead to:

• Fatigue
• Numbness and tingling sensations in the hands and feet
• Cold hands and feet
• Chronic or life-threatening diseases

Maintaining healthy blood circulation is important for a healthy life as it warrants the smooth flow of blood that carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, allowing vital organs such as the brain to function properly, as well as ensuring the efficient transport of immune cells around the body. Below are some tips to improve blood circulation:

• Regular exercise
• Massages
• Staying hydrated

A natural health supplement

Fruitflow+ and Omega 3 - Supports healthy blood flow - FREE ...

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Fruitflow, a natural water-soluble tomato extract, is the first natural, scientifically proven ingredient that promotes healthy blood circulation. It consists of a number of bioactive compounds with anti-platelet properties such as nucleosides, polyphenols and flavonoids, which have been clinically proven to improve blood circulation.

A daily dose of just 150mg of Fruitflow natural water-soluble tomato extract can help to improve blood circulation by maintaining normal platelet aggregation, according to a 2010 article titled Scientific Opinion on the modification of the authorisation of a health claim related to water-soluble tomato concentrate and helps to maintain a healthy blood flow and benefits circulation pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 following a request in accordance with Article 19 of the Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 published in EFSA Journal.

While strengthening your immunity to fight against Covid-19 is important now, maintaining healthy blood circulation is vital to reduce your risk of developing serious illnesses in the future.

This article is brought to you by Biogrow.

• For more information, call 03-7956 2220 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), visit www. biogrow.com.my and like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/biogrowmy

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China to catalyze entrepreneurship, innovation, boosting employment for key groups

 “Stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation is highly important for providing employment for key groups of people and increasing their income" - Premier Li Keqiang

China will roll out new measures to catalyze entrepreneurship and innovation with special focus on employment of and business start-up by college graduates and other key populations, the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided Wednesday.

The nationwide initiative spurring entrepreneurship and innovation is a crucial underpinning for sustaining and expanding employment, and nurturing new drivers of growth. Premier Li Keqiang highlighted the need to further take forward the entrepreneurship and innovation initiative, and catalyze its role in promoting employment, especially for college graduates.

The meeting underlined the imperative to make all-round efforts to maintain stability on the six fronts and security in the six areas.

Given the shocks caused by COVID-19 and shifting environment for development, the meeting urged keeping to the strategy of innovation-driven development, and spurring society-wide entrepreneurial activities and innovation, to unleash market vitality and people’s creativity.

New drivers of growth will be fully harnessed to support jobs and market entities, with a particular focus on the employment of college graduates, rural migrant workers who have returned to their hometowns and other key populations.

“Stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation is highly important for providing employment for key groups of people and increasing their income. Competent departments should work out greater support for the employment of college graduates and rural migrant workers,” Li said.

A series of concrete measures were adopted at the meeting. Support for entrepreneurs and innovators will be scaled up. Special funds will be earmarked from central budgetary investment for the development of the entrepreneurship and innovation demonstration centers.

Idle factory buildings and under-used land will be brought into full play as part of greater support for key entrepreneurial and innovation projects.

Government-invested incubators will provide a portion of their venues free of charge to college graduates and rural migrant workers.

One-off subsidies may be granted to first-time entrepreneurs returning or moving to the countryside, who have kept their business start-ups in regular operation no less than a year.

Demonstration programs for boosting employment by entrepreneurial activities will be carried out. Enterprises, entrepreneurship and innovation demonstration centers, and online platforms will be encouraged to jointly provide training on entrepreneurial skills in nursing, elderly care, domestic services, tourism and e-commerce to help shape the expectation of job-seekers and broaden their prospects for employment.

“We need to provide proper guidance for college graduates in their expectations for jobs, and encourage them to start their own businesses,” Li said.

The entrepreneurship and innovation demonstration centers will be encouraged to build platforms for integrated cross-regional development involving companies of different sizes. And platforms providing specialized services will be built for the commercialization of scientific and technological research outcomes.

Financial institutions will be encouraged to provide insurance services for the financial leasing of equipment and entrepreneurial activities.

Restrictions on sectors where insurance funds may be used for financial equity investment will be lifted, and the quota transfer of equity investment and venture capital investment will be piloted in regional equity markets.

The meeting urged stepping up basic research in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, and encouraging teenagers to learn and explore basic theories.

“University students need to be further encouraged to study and research basic theories, to underpin the country’s ability to innovate. Without a solid ground in basic research, it is impossible to make significant progress,” Li stressed.

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US dollar downtrend seen

THERE seems to be growing expectations among financial analysts that the US dollar strength will dissipate in the medium term as the global economy recovers from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an analyst survey compiled by Bloomberg, the ICE US Dollar Index, which is a gauge of the greenback’s strength, could weaken about 2% to 94.1 points by the second quarter of next year. The index is currently trading around the 96 level.

Bloomberg also notes that the Deutsche Bank’s Trade-Weighted Dollar Index, which is a gauge of the currency against the United States’ most-important trading partners, has fallen to test the trend line in place since 2011. The report says a breach of that point would be an important signal for dollar bears.

This month alone the index has dropped more than 1% amid the weakening demand for safe-haven assets such as US Treasury bonds, an ongoing rally in risk assets such as equities and a shift in sentiment towards other currencies such as the euro and yuan.

Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart), at a virtual press conference over the week in conjunction with the release of its Global Market Outlook for the second half of 2020, asserts its bearish view on the US dollar over the medium term.

The multinational financial group points to massive US dollar liquidity provision and real interest rate differentials between the United States and other countries as among the factors that should facilitate a reversal in the US dollar decade-long bullish trend.

“The longer-term cyclical US dollar uptrend that began in 2008 has likely peaked, with its downtrend expected to gain momentum over the coming year as the global economy rebounds and US exceptionalism fades, ” StanChart says.

“We expect some bumps on the road for the US dollar downtrend, particularly in the near term. These are likely to be driven by US political and policy uncertainty ahead of the November election, broader geopolitical risks and the evolution of the pandemic, ” it adds.

StanChart says it considers such events as opportunities for medium-term investors to sell US dollar rallies.

“We expect a 5%-7% US dollar decline over the next 12 months, with the euro, Australian dollar and British pound being the primary beneficiaries. There may be a more difficult passage for emerging-market currencies that are sensitive to an uneven global recovery and idiosyncratic risks, ” it says.

Viable alternative

Similarly holding a bearish view on the US dollar, Nomura says it expects the greenback to follow a path of reduced dominance and weaken over the long term.

In its recently released report titled “The World After Covid-19”, the multinational brokerage projects the US Dollar Index (DXY) to see a sharp depreciation of up to 20% in the coming years.

“Macro drivers include the significant deterioration of the US twin deficits, scope for European Union fiscal coordination, the undermining of the US dollar by US President Donald Trump through verbal and potential policy actions, and substantial foreign exchange (FX) overvaluation, ” Nomura says of what will lead to the weakness of the greenback.

“However, there are other developments that could reduce the role of the US dollar, some of which are structural, such as deglobalisation, yuan internationalisation, digital FX, Bitcoin and Facebook Libra, ” it adds.

Nomura also points out that the end of the US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency has long been foretold, but it has yet to materialise due to the lack of a viable alternative. For instance, it notes, the greenback accounted for 88% of all global FX trades last year, up from 85% in 2010.

Nevertheless, Nomura says, the process of creating a viable alternative is gathering momentum, thanks to innovations from other global central banks and private financial institutions.

“Combined with worsening fundamentals for the US dollar, the risk over the coming years is not only one of a reduced role, but also what could be a relatively sharp DXY depreciation, possibly 20%, ” it says.

According to Nomura, the US dollar is overvalued by an average of 17.5%. The greenback on the real effective exchange rate model is overvalued by about 22%, while on the fundamental equilibrium exchange rate model, it is currently overvalued by about 15%.

Positive for emerging market

A weakening US dollar, Nomura says, will provide some breathing space for emerging-market currencies, especially those of countries with sizeable current account deficits. This is because they tend to be more vulnerable to capital outflows and hence, FX volatility.

The brokerage expects in a world of low interest rates in developed markets and ample liquidity due to global central bank easing, investors will be on the lookout for economies that offer higher risk-adjusted returns.

“Emerging markets, which offer a relative growth advantage, could benefit from such easy developed-market policies, by tapping low cost funds for high-return investment projects, ” Nomura says.

StanChart is positive on the FX of Asian emerging markets as US dollar weakness feeds through.

“Gradual emerging market FX appreciation should continue amid a recovery in global growth, easing restrictions and a broadly weaker US dollar, ” it says.

Nevertheless, it reckons a pick-up in US-China trade tensions and an uneven global economic rebound could pose a risk to its optimistic view on emerging-market FX.

Gradual ringgit recovery

On the ringgit, StanChart says further policy rate cuts by Bank Negara could potentially weigh on the performance of the Malaysian note. It points out that the ringgit remains relatively more exposed to external financing shocks.

At present, StanChart expects Bank Negara to keep the overnight policy rate at its current level through 2020. The central bank early this month cut the benchmark interest rate for the fourth time this year by another 25 basis points to 1.75%, the lowest since 2004.

Meanwhile, the longer-term valuations for US dollar to the ringgit remain attractive, StanChart says, adding that this should limit a sharp sell-off in the ringgit, while a stronger-than-expected rebound in commodity prices will bode well for the Malaysian currency.

Year-to-date, the ringgit is among the worst-performing currencies in Asia.

It has weakened by around 4% against the US dollar since the start of the year due to a number of factors, including political uncertainties following the fall of the Pakatan Harapan-led government, and risk aversion amid geopolitical tensions and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ringgit is currently trading around 4.27 against the US dollar, compared to around 4.09 to the greenback at the start of 2020.

According to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB), the still positive yield differentials between Malaysia and the United States should be supportive of the ringgit over the medium term. A potential return to emerging-market assets as risk appetite improves should also support the local note, the brokerage says.

HLIB projects a gradual improvement in the ringgit, which it expects to end this year at 4.20 against the US dollar, before improving further to 4.15 against the greenback by end-June 2021.

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王外長震怒，對美嚴肅警告! Wang Yi’s response during a press conference on Trump’s demand !

https://youtu.be/dSdpvQyGzYw



It's neither moral nor just for the US & the West to refuse to coexist with the Chinese system https://youtu.be/qvjVDedLY-g

Below is the excerpt of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s response during a press conference on Trump’s demand for a US investigation on Wuhan epidemic-related situation.

王外長震怒，對美嚴肅警告，200萬軍隊隨時做好準備？

1、在記者會上，現場有記者問外聯部發言人王毅：美國總統特朗普想向中國派遣自己的調查員，來調查疫情相關情況，如果中國對病毒蔓延負有故意責任，就 需要承擔後果，請問你有何評論？

2、王毅的回答：病毒是全人類的共同敵人，可能在任何時間、任何地方出現，中方同其他國家一樣，受到了新冠病毒的攻擊，是受害者，而不是加害者，更不是病毒的 “同謀”。 當年H1N1流感首先在美國確診並大面積爆發，蔓延到214個國家和地區，導致有將近20萬人死亡，有誰讓美國賠償了嗎？ 上世紀80年代，艾滋病首先在美國發現，並迅速蔓延至全世界，給多少人多少家庭造成痛苦，有誰找美國賠償了嗎？ 2008年發生在美國的金融動盪，雷曼兄弟公司破產，最終演變為全球金融危機，有誰要求美國賠償了嗎？ 美國必須清楚，他們的敵人是病毒，不是中國。

3、王毅接著說：如果特朗普和蓬配奧之流不是犯有老年狂想症，那他們就應該清楚，中國不是任由“八國聯軍”踐踏時的那個中國，中國更不是伊拉克，不是 委內瑞拉，不是敘利亞，不是你想來就來，你想查就查的。 中國不是心虛怕事，而是你不夠資格，你也沒有資格！ 我們在疫情初期，就主動邀請世衛組織與中國專家深入疫區進行聯合考察，並就新冠病毒的爆發、傳播等相關問題提出了初步考察結果。 而特朗普提出的調查要求，純屬無理要求，是霸權主義的表現。 他們把美國凌駕於國際組織之上，凌駕於全人類，似乎只有他們自己才是可信的。 但美國果真可信嗎？ 伊拉克、委內瑞拉就是前車之鑑。

4、我們要警告特朗普，想打中國的算盤，最好還是想好了再說。 因為14億人民不會答應，中國的200萬軍隊不是擺設，而是中國的鋼鐵長城。 中國的東風導彈也不是用來打耙的，而是用來打狗豺狼的。 中國的核潛艇不是用來在海底旅遊的，而是用來打擊不速之客的。 中國核武器不是用來嚇唬誰的，而是用來自衛的，有誰想嚐嚐滋味兒，想好了你告訴我。

5、我們要警告特朗普，想要中國賠償，那就從八國聯軍侵華時開始算起，一直到王毅剛剛提出的這幾宗一起算。 你先把中國的、世界的歷史舊賬賠償了再說。

6、現在中國在全世界處於非常好的位置，最先控制住了新冠肺炎，最先進入經濟復甦的階段，現在更是加大馬力向全世界出口抗疫物資，中國在經濟總量上趕 超美國的時間也大幅度提前，這是特朗普無法接受的，美國已經被特朗普拖入了泥潭，這個時候特朗普想讓中國、讓全世界都不好過。 害人之心不可有，防特朗普之心絕對不可無，惡人自有天收！

希望每一個中國人都能把這篇文章轉出去，讓我們的中國變得越來越強大，支持所有愛國團體。

Foreign Minister Wang was furious and seriously warned the United States that 2 million troops are ready at any time?

1. At the press conference, a reporter asked Wang Yi, a spokesperson for the outreach ministry: US President Trump wanted to send his own investigator to China to investigate the epidemic-related situation. If China has deliberate responsibility for the spread of the virus, China need to bear the consequences, do you have any comments?

2. Wang Yi’s answer: The virus is the common enemy of all mankind and may appear at any time and anywhere. Like other countries, China has been attacked by the new coronavirus and is the victim, not the perpetrator, nor the virus’s "accomplice". During the time, H1N1 flu was first diagnosed in the United States and broke out in a large area, subsequently, spreading to 214 countries and regions, resulting in the death of nearly 200,000 people, has anyone asked the United States to compensate? In the 1980s, AIDS was first discovered in the United States and quickly spread to the world, causing pain to many people and many families. Has anyone sought compensation from the United States? The financial turmoil that occurred in the United States in 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and eventually evolved into a global financial crisis. Has anyone demanded compensation from the United States? The United States must be clear that their enemy is a virus, not China.

3. Wang Yi went on to say: If Trump and Pompeo were not guilty of geriatric madness, then they should be clear that China is no longer the China of yesteryear , to be trampled on by the "eight-nation coalition". Neither is China like Iraq, Venezuela, Syria, where you can come as you please & investigate as you please. Its not that China is afraid, but, rather China feels that US is neither qualified, nor have that right. In the early stage of the epidemic, we took the initiative to invite WHO and Chinese experts to conduct a joint inspection in the epidemic area, and put forward preliminary inspection results on the outbreak and spread of new coronavirus. The investigation request made by Trump is purely unreasonable and is a manifestation of hegemony. They purport the United States as above all international laws and humankind, and that only they can be trusted. But is the United States really that credible? Iraq and Venezuela are lessons to be learnt.

4. We have to warn Trump that if they want to mess around with China, they better think it through. Because 1.4 billion people will not agree, China's 2 million army is not a decoration, but China's Steel Great Wall. China's Dongfeng missiles are not used to rake, but to fight dog jackals. China's nuclear submarines are not used for touring the seabed, but to combat uninvited guests. Chinese nuclear weapons are not used to frighten anyone, but for self-defense. Anyone who wants a taste of it, once you have thought it through clearly, let me know.

5. We want to warn Trump that if US demands compensation from China, US should first account for & compensate back when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, including all the cases that Wang Yi has just mentioned above added together. US has to first account & compensate China & the rest of the world for those historical cases, before we even begin to talk.

6. Now China is in a very good position in the world, the first to control the new covid virus, the first to enter the stage of economic recovery, and now, its time to accelerate the export of anti-epidemic materials to the world. China is catching up in the Global economy, and the time to overtake the United States is also greatly advanced. It is apparent that this is unacceptable to Trump. The United States has been dragged into the quagmire by Trump. At this time, Trump wants to make China and the rest of the world suffer. Harmfulness to humankind is absolutely wicked and the wicked will have their just dessert.

I hope that every Chinese can turn this article out so that our China becomes stronger and stronger and support all patriotic groups.



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Long March-5 rocket in position for China's first Mars probe

Infographic: GT

Photo: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China has taken another major step toward its first Mars probe mission, Tianwen-1. The Long March-5 Y4, the carrier rocket commissioned for the probe, was vertically transported to the launch area at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province on Friday morning ahead of the launch scheduled to take place between the end of July and the beginning of August, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA.)

According to a CNSA press release the Global Times attained on Friday, the Long March-5 Y4 rocket arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in late May this year, and has completed preparation work including assembly and pre-launch tests.

On Friday Morning, the carrier rocket was transferred to the launch area after a smooth roll-out from the assembly building, which took around two hours, the CNSA said.

Propellant will be injected into the rocket after further functional checks and final inspections. And then the rocket will be launched according to schedule.

The minimum distance between Mars and Earth is about 55 million kilometers, and the two planets only come that close every 26 months, state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the mission's contractor, told the Global Times in June. The Mars exploration window is open between July and August.

The final launch date of China's Mars probe mission will be determined by environmental factors including weather conditions, the distance between Earth to Mars and the launch center's overall condition, as well as a small but more decisive factor, the technical readiness inspection before launch, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Friday.

There must be no rainfall, with a ground wind speed of below 8 meters per second and horizontal visibility above 20 kilometers, Beijing-based space expert Pang Zhihao told the Global Times.

Moreover, from eight hours before launch until one hour after launch, 30 to 40 kilometers of surrounding areas should have no thunder activity, and wind speeds should be weaker than 70 meters per second in skies 3 to 18 kilometers above the launch area, Pang said, noting that winds at 8 to 15 kilometers above ground would affect the rocket's flight form.

A wind speed difference in the lower and upper air could twist the rocket's body, leading to failure, he said.

The UAE's mission to Mars has been rescheduled for launch between July 20 and 22, the UAE government announced on Thursday.

The launch of Japan's Hope probe was postponed twice this week due to unstable weather at its launch site on Japan's Tanegashima island.

"Weather conditions in Hainan are in general better than those in Japan. That was one of the factors China took into consideration when deciding to construct the launch center in the southern island of Hainan," Wang said.

The mission will mark the first application launch of the Long March-5, currently the strongest member of the Chinese carrier rocket family. It will be China's first rocket launch into the Earth-Mars transfer orbit.

The Tianwen-1 Mars probe mission was approved by Chinese authorities on January 2016, and aims to achieve orbiting, landing and roving on the Red Planet in a single mission.

The upcoming launch will be the fourth flight of the Long March-5, following the successful comeback of the state-of-the-art rocket at the end of 2019, more than two

years after a July 2017 launch failure on the rocket's second test flight due to engine problems. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that spacecraft developer, the China Academy of Space Technology, had revealed the Mars probe which had arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center.

Space experts expressed confidence in the success of China's Mars mission as the country has amassed rich experience from previous lunar probe missions, with the Chang'e-4 landing on the far side of the moon being the major highlight.

"The relay communication technology applied in the Chang'e-4 mission will be particularly valuable for the Mars mission, overcoming the distance challenge for interplanetary spacecraft communication," Wang said.

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Update:

Rocket to lift Mars probe moved to launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan

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US a troublemaker

https://youtu.be/argUC9uFPKA

https://youtu.be/nh1j6HH_aro



https://youtu.be/SeUiZ6uszlI

https://youtu.be/Hm3YJKdblrE

China said it was not afraid of any sanctions the United States might impose over the South China Sea issue, and accused Washington of stirring up trouble in the region and driving a wedge between regional countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying made the remark at a daily news briefing after Reuters reported that David Stilwell, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, warned that Washington could respond with sanctions against Chinese officials and enterprises involved in the South China Sea issue.

Stilwell spoke one day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful”.

Urging Washington to reconsider its policies, Hua said, “As the world’s most developed and powerful country, the only superpower, the US arbitrarily talks about sanctions, which is very pathetic.”

Hua said that Stilwell’s remarks again showed that the US wishes nothing but chaos in the South China Sea and makes the utmost efforts to sow discord between China and other regional countries.

The US has dispatched advanced military aircraft and warships to flex its muscles in the South China Sea, while it also issued a statement to undermine the efforts of regional countries to jointly maintain peace and stability.

Such practices will only make the world more aware of US hypocrisy and hegemony, she said.

According to the US military, a US Navy destroyer carried out a freedom of navigation operation on Tuesday near the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

China will continue to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and rights on the South China Sea issue and maintain friendly cooperation with regional countries, Hua said. — China Daily/ANN

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