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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Arran Yuan who wrote (177112)	8/23/2021 10:42:55 PM
From: gg cox	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219496

To: Arran Yuan who wrote (177112)	8/24/2021 5:53:26 AM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 219496

Whilst at the same time there might still be a breakout ... Oops, I am getting Afghanistan and the Covid all mixed up. ft.com Taliban attacks resistance fighters in last holdout region of Afghanistan Clashes erupt in Panjshir valley as Kamala Harris says ‘robust analysis’ needed of US evacuation August 23 2021 Afghan security forces have massed in a mountainous region north of Kabul © AFP via Getty Images The Taliban has attacked opposition fighters in the Panjshir valley, the last pocket of resistance against the group’s takeover of Afghanistan, threatening hopes of building a unity government in the country. The clashes came as Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, admitted on Monday that the American-led evacuation from Afghanistan would require “a robust analysis” after intense criticism that the Biden administration had botched the operation and blindsided international allies. Resistance forces pushed back the Taliban in Panjshir, a mountainous area north of Kabul, in battles that began on Sunday night, said Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, a coalition of anti-Taliban fighters. “They were trying to attack Panjshir, but they were unable to do that,” said Nazary. “They faced defeat today and retreated back.” The Taliban said it sent hundreds of fighters to the mountainous region, posting videos on social media of its special forces travelling by road to the area. Ahmad Massoud, the son of a renowned mujahideen who fought the Soviet Union invasion in 1979, and leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, has called for international support to fight off the Taliban if a peaceful settlement cannot be reached. The Taliban is working to consolidate control of the country after routing the government of Ashraf Ghani, the former president who has taken refuge in the United Arab Emirates. The militant group has sought to project a moderate tone in its public statements, saying women’s rights will be protected according to Islamic law. But the UN has warned that Afghanistan is facing a “gender emergency”, after reports of Taliban militants preventing women from leaving home and participating in public life. When the group ruled in the 1990s, women were banned from the workplace and schools. “We have some evidence or reports from different provinces saying women are not allowed to leave their domicile without?.?.?.?a male chaperone,” said Mohammad Naciri, UN Women’s Asia-Pacific director. “We do understand that in some provinces women have been asked to continue to stay at home.” The US vice-president was speaking on a trip to Singapore where she sought to reassure allies in the Asia-Pacific region that Washington would stand by its partners. “There’s no question: there will be and should be a robust analysis of what has happened,” Harris said, adding that President Joe Biden had “shown great emotion in expressing sadness over the images we’ve seen”. “But right now we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children, and that is our singular focus at this time,” she said. The US has been criticised for its handling of the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul © US MARINE CORPS/AFP via Getty Im The Taliban has offered amnesty to its opponents, but there have been reports of fighters tracking down collaborators and allegations that the group killed the relative of a journalist for Deutsche Welle, the German public broadcaster. Other political leaders, including Hamid Karzai, the former Afghan president, are holding talks with senior Taliban officials to form a power-sharing government. Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Pakistan and China, have suggested that an inclusive government is a precondition for recognising the new Taliban regime. But the assault on Panjshir undermined the Taliban’s pledge to form such a government with representation from all of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups, said Nazary. “What we see is that the Taliban are intoxicated with victory, they aren’t even listening to these regional countries,” said Nazary. “The Taliban believe they have defeated the superpower, even their allies can’t stop them. They are willing to test their limits, that’s what they are doing in Panjshir.” Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after two decades has led to a mass evacuation of foreigners and thousands of desperate Afghans who helped the US and its international allies. But the effort has been marred by violence, with a Nato official saying at least 20 people had died over the past week. Germany’s armed forces said a firefight on Monday morning broke out at Kabul’s international airport between Afghan security personnel and unknown attackers. “An Afghan soldier was killed and three others were wounded,” it said on Twitter. The US said on Sunday it was considering extending the August 31 pullout of American personnel and ordered civilian airlines to help move Afghan refugees from bases in the Middle East.

To: Arran Yuan who wrote (177112)

8/25/2021 12:06:08 AM

From: TobagoJack

Respond to of 219496

what a phucking concept, that civilisation-nation should come before private profit enabled by same domain

the CCP must be mad, leading China China China astray, cart before horse, etc etc

recommendation: buy gold

I remember the Koreans dominating their hard-saved gold to the nation, for the greater good, at the depth of the Asian Financial Crisis

It was heart-warming

bloomberg.com

Country Now Comes Before Profit For Companies in Xi’s China

Coco Liu
25 August 2021, 11:11 GMT+8
China’s biggest companies are starting to make a habit out of giving away their earnings.

In the latest example, Pinduoduo Inc., an e-commerce company known for giving big discounts to customers when they buy produce together, said it will donate all of its first net profit since going public to support the country’s farmers and agricultural areas. The company will keep giving away earnings at least until the donations reach 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).

“Improving agriculture has been at the front and center of our business from the very beginning. Agriculture touches the daily lives of everyone and has a relatively low digitization rate,” Chief Executive Officer Chen Lei told analysts on a post-results call. “We want to bring even more farmers on board and work with them to improve their lives and livelihood.”

PDD’s announcement comes after a series of similar contributions from the country’s biggest companies and wealthiest people. Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s most valuable company, said last week it will double the amount of money it’s allocating for social responsibility programs to about $15 billion. PDD co-founder Colin Huang had earlier pledged to personally bankroll research into sciences.

MonthBillionaireAmount Donated

August	Colin Huang, Pinduoduo	Company pledges $1.5 billion in profit to help agriculture development; In March, Huang’s foundation donated $100 million to Zhejiang University; In July 2020, Huang and Pinduoduo’s founding team transferred shares worth $2.4 billion to a charitable trust
July	Lei Jun, Xiaomi	$2.2 billion in shares
June	Zhang Yiming, ByteDance	$77.3 million of personal wealth
June	Wang Xing, Meituan	$2.3 billion in shares
April	Pony Ma, Tencent	About $7.5 billion of company money set aside (In August, Tencent doubled the pledged amount to roughly $15 billion)

President Xi Jinping has increasingly emphasized the idea of “common prosperity” as the Communist Party tries to address the country’s wealth gap. Regulators are forcing most private education companies to convert into non-profits, while they’ve pushed other tech players to boost pay for low-skill workers at the expense of earnings. PDD’s decision squarely targets one of Xi’s top priorities: alleviating rural poverty.

Xi Doubles Mentions of ‘Common Prosperity,’ Warning China’s Rich

In the U.S., companies used to make charitable contributions out of corporate profits, but the practice declined after criticism that CEOs were using shareholder money for their own glory. Investors had no such qualms about PDD’s pledge. Shares soared 22% in U.S. trading after the company unveiled the news and a surprise profit for the quarter.

“The move shows the company’s willingness to take social responsibility and explore new opportunities in a blue ocean, though profit margin may be pressured again by these investments,” analysts at China International Capital Corp. wrote in a research note. “We expect 2H21 non-GAAP profit to break even, reflecting all the profits will be invested in the initiative.”

— With assistance by Shiyin Chen

(Updates with table on contributions)

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