Day: December 12, 2024

“HOW DID this cleaning lady steal everything from me? I’ll kill her!” yells the villainous Miss Wang in “Cleaning Mom, the Return of the Infinite”, a soap opera released in October. In the finale, the titular heroine knocks Miss Wang out with a karate chop and then (spoiler alert) marries a millionaire who is young enough to be her son. So ends a storyline featuring multiple betrayals and knife attacks. It unfolds at a frenzied pace over 36 two-minute episodes. The Economist

NEWS OF THE hack began trickling out in September, but the American government waited weeks to confirm the reports. Only this month did it begin briefing members of Congress and the media. Officials say a Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon compromised at least eight of America’s telecoms networks. The intruders stole the call-record metadata of a “large number” of Americans. They gained access to the wiretap requests of security agencies—meaning they could work out if any Chinese spies or agents were under American surveillance. And they targeted phones used…

IN PREPARATION FOR the summer Olympics in 2008, the authorities in Beijing, the host city and China’s capital, launched a campaign to teach English to residents likely to come in contact with foreign visitors. Police, transit workers and hotel staff were among those targeted. One aim was to have 80% of taxi drivers achieve a basic level of competency. The Economist