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Criticism in China of president Xi Jinping mounts as the tariff war with the U.S. Trump administration escalates. The recent vote in the People's Congress abolishing term limits also comes under criticism.

Some of the criticism comes from the view that president Jinping adopted too high profile a role for China with the "Made in China 2025" and other policy that suggested China was trying to supplant the U.S. These critics suggest China should have adopted a low profile in such matters. Under previous administrations China preferred to act in a cooperative way. The issue about artificial islands in the South China Sea aggravated sensibilities of western nations without adding much to China's security, being another issue that disturbed U.S. relations with China.

 

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American men took the biggest hit for life expectancy in an Oxford University study, with life expectancy dropping by 2.2 years in 2020. American women life expectancy dropped by 2.65 years. Lithuanian men had a decline of 1.7 years. This is the largest decline going back to the days of the Great Depression in the 1930's

Elsewhere in Europe, life expectancy declined in many countries for the first time since the Second World War. This happened in Spain, Italy, England, Wales and Belgium. Women in 8 countries and men in 11 countries had drops in life expectancy over more than 1 year.

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Epidemic of betel nut addiction that affects China is the subject of this report in The Times. Chinese doctors study in 2017 shows that oral cancer patients related to use of the betel nut for chewing in recreational use could reach 1 million b y 2030. Betel nut is being banned in some cities. Advertising of betel nut online or on television is now banned. Over $10 billion is made by the betel nut producers and it has become a part of the local economy in the province of Hunan says this report. This shows the problems of public health that remain to be tackled in China, as well as India, after achievements in sanitation tackled the basic problems of disease. Tobacco use is a major problem in both countries, and a major danger to public health, with awareness happening only now.

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Brandy Melville is an Italian brand emerging as an exclusive skinny girl brand for young women. It is now number 8 in the top ten for female clothing. 

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The Labour Party in Britain pulls the plug on further talks with the ruling Conservative government of Theresa May. No agreement could be reached on whether a customs union should be forged with the EU after Brexit, or on whether there should be a second referendum on Brexit as most Labour Party members want. Mrs. May has struggled to get her agreement negotiated with the EU passed in British parliament after trying several times, leading to most observers calling it a huge mess.

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The risks to Republicans of losing sight of their narrative by tea-party leader comments such as calling Latino voters "illiterate." This is balanced by the careful and considered respose of presidential candidates, Kasich of Ohio, Rand of Kentucky, and Jindal of Louisiana, and of senior party leaders such as McConnell and McCain.

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Amazing pictures in black and white from another era of the 1950's and 1960's of Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.  Including a picture of Nehru and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan the president of India, in cricket caps and holding bats in a cricket match at the National Stadium. Some from the Indian Express archives that you may never have seen before. Taking a walk in the mountains with Edwina Mountbatten of Britain, and holding the Dalai Lama's hand closely as he walks with him. Nehru is remembered for his leadership of post colonial India in 1947 with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as deputy prime minister, for his work at the Constituent Assembly drafting India's Constitution, and taking India through its first 15 years and building India's democratic structures through linguistic state creation and border conflicts. His work with leaders like Vallabh Pant, Mohandas Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Sarojini Naidu, Subhash Bose and others in the 1930's laid the ground for the first home rule assemblies under the British and made it possible for India to gain the experience needed to sustain democratic institutions for its first 100 years which come up in 2047. ...

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The debate in the U.S. Congress about whether pandemic jobless benefits are deterring people from returning to work. Are extra $600 weekly payments affecting the way people return to work. The surge in the pandemic in many states in July could also be a factor. The extra weekly jobless benefits amount to about $18 billion a week and are set to expire unless Congress renews them.

The enhanced payments of about $15 an hour in the U.S. for a 40 hour week amount to $600, before regular state unemployment benefits are added in. Researchers say 68% of unemployed workers receive more benefits than they did working. Some of this added benefit during the pandemic helps people to stay home for work that involves contact with people such as in travel and food increasing risk of spread, which can be a good investment in prevention. In other work such that involves no contact or which can be done from home, there is good reason for incentives for gradual return to work.

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The dire situation for basic education in the U.S. states during the pandemic in 2020 and what this means for children growing up is the subject of this WSJ report. Early retirements and quarantines have forced some school administrators to have parents, even bus drivers to conduct classrooms with children. Asymptomatic teachers are allowed in classrooms. Public school employment in U.S. in November was down 9% from February lowest since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. The shortage is compounded by layoffs of support staff such as teachers' aides and clerical workers, leaving the burden to be taken up by teachers.  More than 40 states in the U.S. report shortfalls in math, science and special education. The worse off states include Arizona, where school districts were not able to hire certified teachers for 78% of 6,145 open positions in August, and one third of the positions are still vacant. This report looks at the situation and the damage as teachers handle larger classes of over 50 children, do online and in person classes simultaneously, deep clean their classrooms, and take turns as crossing guards. The result burnout for teachers, more teachers quit, parents are frustrated and students do not make progress. Much of the capital investment allocation in the U.S. has gone badly wrong with capital chasing a tech industry with the industry reaching saturation and diminishing returns in, in speculative ventures, at the neglect of infrastructure, manufacturing, health and education. A recent WSJ article points to dilapidated or outdated infrastructure as one of the reasons American manufacturing has suffered. ...