Beijing | ICT magazine

Posts Tagged ‘Beijing’

China bans web addiction shock cure

July 14th, 2009 | No Comments

Statement follows release of first definition of internet addiction last year â€“ but critics say criteria for condition are too vague

China’s ministry of health has banned the use of electric shock treatment to cure internet addiction.

The move follows growing concern in the country about young people’s compulsive use of chat rooms, websites and online gaming â€“ but also the methods used to wean them offline.

Doctors released the first diagnostic definition of internet addiction late last year, based on a study of more than 1,300 intensive users. It says addicts are those who spend at least six hours online a day and have shown at least one of a range of symptoms â€“ including yearning to get back online, fear of social contact, irritation and difficulty concentrating or sleeping.

Other experts argue that the definition is far too general and that many non-addicts qualify under it because the criteria are so vague.

But critics warned that some of the “cures” promoted to anxious parents were as worrying as the original problem.

A notice on the ministry’s website said that the safety of the technology was not clear so use of the therapy should be stopped immediately.

Today’s ban follows reports that Dr Yang Yongxin from Linyi City’s psychiatric hospital in Shandong province was using electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

According to the Beijing News, Yang said he had created the unique “xingnao” (“brain-waking”) therapy which involved sending a small current through the brain. He added that the stimulation might cause pain but was very safe and would not harm children in any way.

An earlier report by the Information Times claimed patients received electroconvulsive therapy if they broke any of the centre’s rules, which included eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal and sitting on Yang’s chair without permission. It said parents had to sign a contract acknowledging their child would be given ECT before admission.

The ministry of health asked Shandong’s health department to stop the use of “electrical stimulation” for internet addiction while experts investigated. The researchers said both the safety and the effectiveness of the method was unclear.

The ministry added that people wanting to conduct medical research required official approval as well as full consent from patients. But there are said to be hundreds of internet addiction treatment centres across China and others are believed to use similar methods.

The centre’s public relations chief said it had stopped using electric shock treatment for internet addicts due to the pressure of public opinion, but was still treating them through other means.

According to the Beijing News, its reporter was unable to reach Yang. When the reporter called the centre posing as a consumer, staff said the treatment fee for internet addiction was 5,500 yuan (Â£500) a person every month.

Asked whether or not electric shock therapy would be used, the employee said it should be called “pulse therapy” and was only used in special circumstances.

Kong Lingzhong, who runs a website on ending internet addiction, said that electric shocks are usually used on mentally ill patients.

He added: “Most experts in the field do not agree with this therapy. No one knows whether there are side-effects or not.”

Tao Ran, who runs a well-known centre for curing internet addiction in the suburbs of Beijing, said: “There are about 300 million net users in China and 200 million of them are young people. More net users means more chances to be addicted to the internet. Young people are weaker in controlling themselves and when they find the computer games gripping they will quickly become addicted.”

He said his clinic treated around 200 patients a month for addiction, 80% of whom were aged 15 to 18 and 90% of whom were male. Most required around three months of treatment.

“We treat them in two ways: with psychological treatment and medicine. About 60% of the patients need medicines because they have other symptoms like depression, anxiety,” he said.

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Al-Qaida threatens China over Uighur deaths

July 14th, 2009 | No Comments

Algeria-based group issues threat to Chinese workers and projects within north Africa in retaliation for Uighur deaths

Al-Qaida’s north African wing has threatened to target Chinese workers and projects in the region in retaliation for Muslim deaths in Urumqi last week.

It is the first time Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has directly targeted Chinese interests, according to experts at a London-based risk analysis firm.

Stirling Assynt’s report says that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) â€“ based in Algeria â€“ has issued a call for vengeance, basing its statement on information from people who have seen the instruction.

But the assessment does not suggest there is any direct link between Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province and al-Qaida. It also suggests it is unlikely that al-Qaida’s central leadership has decided to stage attacks within China.

Justin Crump, head of terrorism and country risk at Stirling Assynt, said: “For al-Qaida central, it is really not in their interests or part of their plan at all. I think you will see action where it is easy by al-Qaida franchises, but it won’t be al-Qaida policy.

“Strategically it would be highly counter-productive for them if you look at the fact their main assets are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

He suggested that AQIM’s decision was partly “opportunistic”, reflecting the ease with which they could target Chinese nationals and anger in some Muslim communities worldwide. Indonesia saw anti-Chinese protests yesterday.

At least 184 people were killed and 1,680 injured in the inter-ethnic violence in Urumqi, which first broke out on 5 July, officials say. According to government figures 137 were Han Chinese, 46 Uighurs and one a Hui man. But Uighurs have alleged that far more of them died â€“ either in a crackdown by security forces or at the hands of Han Chinese during revenge attacks for vicious assaults by Uighurs.

Muslim Uighurs make up almost half the 21-million population of China’s vast north-western region of Xinjiang. Many have long chafed at strict rules restricting their religion, which include banning under-18s from mosques, as well as Han migration and policies which they believe favour Han Chinese.

“Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of al-Qaida to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow,” adds the note.

“The general situation (and perceived plight) of China’s Muslims has resonated amongst the global jihadist community. There is an increasing amount of chatter … among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China. Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China’s interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes.”

Stirling Assynt estimates that hundreds of thousands of Chinese work in the Middle East and north Africa, including 50,000 in Algeria alone.

The firm’s report points out that AQIM attacked an Algerian security convoy protecting Chinese engineers on a motorway project three weeks ago, killing 24 paramilitary police. The workers themselves were not targeted or injured, but the note adds: “Future attacks of this kind are likely to target security forces and Chinese engineers alike.”

It also suggested that other al-Qaida groups in the Arabian peninsula “could well target Chinese projects in Yemen”.

Despite the huge security presence in Urumqi, violence broke out again yesterday. Officials said police shot dead two Uighur men armed with knives and sticks and injured a third as the trio attacked another Uighur man.

But a Han man in the area told the Associated Press that he saw three Uighurs with knives come out of a mosque and attack paramilitary police.

In a separate development, more than 100 Chinese writers and intellectuals have signed a letter calling for the release of an outspoken Uighur economist who disappeared from his Beijing home last week and is believed to be detained.

“Professor Ilham Tohti is an Uighur intellectual who devoted himself to friendship between ethnic groups and eradicating conflicts between them. He should not be taken as a criminal,” said the letter, posted online yesterday.

Xinjiang’s governor accused Tohti’s website of helping “to orchestrate the incitement” of last week’s riot â€“ but the letter’s authors said it was an important site for dialogue between Han Chinese and Uighurs.

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Nathan Gardels: California’s Crisis of Consumer Democracy

July 14th, 2009 | No Comments

California’s fiscal crisis says as much about the state of the American Dream as it does about the state of California’s economy. And it is…

Logan Campbell Opens Brothel To Fund Olympic Dream

July 14th, 2009 | No Comments

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – A New Zealand taekwondo athlete has opened a brothel to help fund his bid to compete at the 2012 London Olympics, local media reported Sunday.

Logan Campbell, 23, told the Sunday Star-Times newspaper he hoped hi…

Sheldon Filger: Will China’s Economic Crisis Worsen Due to Stimulus Spending?

July 13th, 2009 | No Comments

How ironic that the savior of global capitalism is determined to be the largest Communist state still in existence.

Chinese miners freed after 25 days

July 13th, 2009 | No Comments

Rescuers reach three men who survived in flooded mine by chewing coal

Three miners survived 25 days in a flooded mine in southern China by drinking dirty water and chewing coal before rescuers burrowed through a collapsed tunnel to reach them, a local official and state media said today.

The men and 13 others were trapped when the Xinqiao coal mine flooded on 17 June. Yesterday rescue workers digging into the mountainside cleared a path to the miners and saw their lights, which still gave off a dim glow, said Wang Guangneng, a Communist party spokesman in Qinglong county, Guizhou province.

The miners stayed alive by drinking water that seeped through the earth and were in a stable condition, Wang said.

The Guiyang Evening News said the miners chewed coal to stave off their hunger pangs.

It was not clear whether the men had any information about the miners who were still missing. Rescuers found the body of one miner a week after the flooding, Xinhua said.

A Xinhua photo showed one of the rescued miners, Wang Kuangwei, his bones prominent through his skin, getting medical attention yesterday, with his eyes covered to protect them from the light.

During an interview with Shenzhen Media Group television, 36-year-old Zhao Weixing, who was lying down with his eyes and face covered, said: “I feel OK.”

The miners’ rescue after 604 hours underground was a rare tale of survival in China’s coal mines, the world’s deadliest, where an average of 13 workers are killed every day. Most accidents are blamed on failures to follow safety rules, including a lack of ventilation or fire control equipment.

In August 2007, two brothers survived nearly six days in a mine tunnel by chewing coal and sipping urine from discarded water bottles. They even managed to crack jokes about their wives remarrying after they were declared dead.

The miners rescued yesterday â€“ all from central Henan province â€“ were found 500-600 metres from the entrance to the mineshaft, on a level intersection that protected them from the flood, the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper reported. The ceiling had collapsed, blocking a path to the tunnel opening.

The county’s head of work safety, Li Xingwei, was digging a channel into the mountain and found an unblocked pathway, then noticed the miners’ lights. “We crept along the tunnel in excitement,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Rescuers shouted to the men to remain calm, the Beijing Youth Daily report said. Once rescued, it said, the miners did nothing but ask for water.

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Olympic hopeful opens NZ brothel to fund 2012 bid

July 12th, 2009 | No Comments

An Olympic hopeful from New Zealand has opened a brothel in a bid to raise cash for a tilt at taekwondo glory in 2012.

Logan Campbell, 23, competed at Beijing in 2008, but has now opened a 14-room "gentleman’s club" after becoming tired of seeking funding from his parents.

New Zealand decriminalised prostitution six years ago, and brothels are allowed to operate with few restrictions.

But NZ Olympic officials say Campbell’s business venture may count against him when choosing a team for London 2012.

"Selection takes into account not just performance but also the athlete’s ability to serve as an example to the youth of the country," Team NZ funding manager John Schofield told the country’s Sunday Star Times newspaper.

Training schedule

Logan Campbell says he began looking for alternative ways of raising Olympic funding when he realised how difficult it was proving to raise adequate cash to make support his training towards a place at the London Olympics.

"Mum was hesitant but she met the girls, a couple came over to her house and she was sweet as"

Logan Campbell

Competing in Beijing a year ago, Campbell lost to a Taiwanese fighter, Sung Yu-Chi, who eventually won a bronze medal.

Speaking to the Sunday Star Times, Campbell noted that his opponent was the equivalent of a "movie star" in his homeland.

His own costs leading up to Beijing totalled some NZ$150,000 (£58,000), much of it provided by his hard-working parents, Campbell noted.

To take the financial strain from his parents Campbell has gone into partnership with a Hugo Philiips, 20-year-old accountancy graduate, to set up what the pair insist is a "high-class" escort agency.

He hopes to take a couple of years off to work full-time on the new venture, before returning to training in 2011 with a NZ$300,000 Olympic kitty.

NZ PROSTITUTION REFORM ACT

Brothels allowed to operate
Up to four prostitutes can set up collective as equal partners
Advertising sale of sex legalised
Brothels require certificate and registration by court
Sex work subject to normal employment and health and safety standards

"When people think of a pimp they think of a guy standing around on a street corner with gold chains," he told the Sunday Star Times.

"Pimps are more tough-type guys. I’m an owner of an escort agency."

He accepts that his chosen profession carries with it a certain reputation.

"Mum was hesitant but she met the girls, a couple came over to her house and she was sweet as. She realised they were just normal people supporting their kids and stuff." </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Most Xinjiang dead Han Chinese

July 11th, 2009 | No Comments

Chinese security forces line uop on a square in Urumqi, 11 July

Some three-quarters of the victims of the violence in China’s western Xinjiang region were ethnic Han Chinese, the official death toll shows.

Of 184 people known to have died, 137 were Han Chinese, 46 were from the indigenous Uighur community and one was an ethnic Hui, local officials said.

Beijing flooded the regional capital Urumqi with security forces to stem the violence which erupted last Sunday.

Correspondents say some Uighurs believe their own death toll was much higher.

"I’ve heard that more than 100 Uighurs have died but nobody wants to talk about it in public," one Uighur man in Urumqi who did not want to give his name told the Associated Press news agency.

Uighurs living in exile outside China have also disputed the Chinese figures. Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based head of the World Uighur Congress, said she believed about 500 people had died.

According to the Chinese death toll released by state media, 26 of the 137 Han Chinese victims were female, while all but one of the 45 Uighurs killed were male.

The single death recorded in the Hui community, which is similar to the Uighurs ethnically and religiously, was that of a male. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Turkey attacks China ‘genocide’

July 10th, 2009 | No Comments

Turkish protesters burn a Chinese flag at a rally in Istanbul. Photo: 10 July 2009

Turkey’s prime minister has described ethnic violence in China’s Xinjiang region as "a kind of genocide".

"There is no other way of commenting on this event," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

He spoke after a night-time curfew was reimposed in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, where Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese clashed last Sunday.

The death toll from the violence there has now risen from 156 to 184, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reports. More than 1,000 people were injured.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, shares linguistic and religious links with the Uighurs in China’s western-most region.

Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Urumqi

After Friday’s prayers, a small group of Uighur Muslims marched along an Urumqi street demanding the release of men detained for their alleged role in last Sunday’s riot.

A large number of riot police surrounded the group, they punched and kicked the protestors – one officer used his baton to beat one of the Uighurs. A number of foreign journalists had their equipment seized, some have been detained.

Earlier the group said they feared for their safety. There’s no word from the authorities as to what happened to them.

In pictures: Closed mosques

New media openness

Q&A: China and the Uighurs

Quentin Sommerville

"The event taking place in China is a kind of genocide," Mr Erdogan told reporters in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

"There are atrocities there, hundreds of people have been killed and 1,000 hurt. We have difficulty understanding how China’s leadership can remain a spectator in the face of these events."

The Turkish premier also urged Beijing to "address the question of human rights and do what is necessary to prosecute the guilty".

Mr Erdogan’s comments came a day after Turkish Trade and Industry Minister Nihat Ergun urged Turks to boycott Chinese goods.

Beijing has so far not publicly commented on Mr Erdogan’s criticism.

But it said that of the 184 people who died, 137 were Han Chinese.

Uighurs defiant

Earlier on Friday, the Chinese authorities reimposed a night-time curfew in Urumqi.

The curfew had been suspended for two days after officials said they had the city under control.

Mosques in the city were ordered to remain closed on Friday and notices were posted instructing people to stay at home to worship.

XINJIANG: ETHNIC UNREST

Main ethnic division: 45% Uighur, 40% Han Chinese
26 June: Mass factory brawl after dispute between Han Chinese and Uighurs in Guangdong, southern China, leaves two Uighurs dead
5 July: Uighur protest in Urumqi over the dispute turns violent, leaving 156 dead – most of them thought to be Han – and more than 1,000 hurt
7 July: Uighur women protest at arrests of menfolk. Han Chinese make armed counter-march
8 July: President Hu Jintao returns from G8 summit to tackle crisis

Taboo of ethnic tensions

Profile: Rebiya Kadeer

Xinjiang: Views from China

But at least two opened after crowds of Uighurs gathered outside and demanded to be allowed in to pray on the holiest day of the week in Islam.

"We decided to open the mosque because so many people had gathered. We did not want an incident," a policeman outside the White Mosque in a Uighur neighbourhood told the AP news agency.

After the prayers, riot police punched and kicked a small group of Uighurs protesters, who demanded the release of men detained after last Sunday’s violence, the BBC’s Quentin Sommerville says.

Meanwhile, the city’s main bus station was reported to be crowded with people trying to escape the unrest.

Extra bus services had been laid on and touts were charging up to five times the normal face price for tickets, AFP news agency said.

"It is just too risky to stay here. We are scared of the violence," a 23-year-old construction worker from central China said.

The violence began on Sunday when a Uighur rally to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han Chinese several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province turned violent.

Tensions have been growing in Xinjiang for many years, as Han migrants have poured into the region, where the Uighur minority is concentrated.

Many Uighurs feel economic growth has bypassed them and complain of discrimination and diminished opportunities.

Are you leaving Urumqi What has been your experience of the unrest in the city in recent days Please send us your comments using the form below:

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The premier event

July 10th, 2009 | No Comments

How can we keep the Olympic Games as a premier event? This is one of numerous questions that will be debated at the Olympic Congress in Copenhagen between 2 and 3 October 2009, where approximately 900 delegates will get together to shape the future of the Olympic Movement. The recent successes of the Olympic Games in Athens, Turin and Beijing will allow the IOC to reflect on lessons learned and to find even better ways to position the Olympic Games.

The athletes are at the heart of the Games, and at the end of the day it is their outstanding performances that are remembered. Mexico City 1968 with Bob Beamon’s historic jump; Grenoble 1968 with Jean-Claude Killy’s triple medal win; Munich 1972 when Mark Spitz became a legend; Montreal 1976 with Nadia Comaneci’s perfect tens. Not forgetting Eric Heiden, Carl Lewis, Hermann Maier, Björn Daehlie and most recently Shaun White, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. It’s these performances and memorable Olympic ceremonies that drive the IOC, Organising Committees, National Olympic Committees and International Sports Federations to work hard to provide the most adapted environment in which to compete and perform. The Copenhagen debate will strive to provide solutions to make the Olympic Games stronger and even more enjoyable. Enjoy watching all the highlights of previous Games in this video.

Learn more on the Olympic Congress 2009

Now you’re talking …

July 4th, 2009 | No Comments

Want to speak like a native but don’t fancy spending your entire trip in a classroom? These holidays combine lessons with activities and the chance to hang out with locals

French

Surfing: Biarritz

If only school could have been this relaxed. At a solar-powered surf camp in a 300-year-old farmhouse close to Les Casernes beach, near Biarritz, language lessons take the form of informal two-hour chats over beers in the afternoons. Mornings are spent riding the waves, and five days of surf lessons (for 1½ hours per day) are included. The camp has plenty of places for practising tenses in your free time – in the garden, hydro-pool, hammam, tree hut, canoe or hammock. Suitable for beginners and improvers.

â€¢ A week costs £606pp, including surfboard and wetsuit hire. 08445 020 445, golearnto.com.

Outdoor adventure: Verdon

Perhaps you’re more likely to remember new words if you learn them while scared out of your wits. A French immersion course in Moustiers, in the Parc Naturel Regional du Verdon, includes morning lessons (beginner to advanced available) in a converted hilltop monastery, plus afternoon exploration of the river Verdon by canoe, treks into the Garrigue with a forest guard, games of pétanque in the village square, dances at a bal populaire or viewings of French films, all accompanied by teachers to ensure French is spoken throughout. At the weekend, the adventuring ratchets up a gear with canyoning, rafting, kayaking and abseiling where no doubt you will learn the French for “Help!” and perfect your pronunciation of merde

â€¢ Course €1,670pp for 14 days, accommodation €458 per week, 0121 430 7660, experiencelanguage.co.uk.

Wine: Bordeaux

Many people’s language priority is being able to order food and drink. But imagine how impressive you’ll sound when you can not only stammer out “Un verre de vin, s’il vous plaît”, but are also capable of ordering a fine Bordeaux, commenting on its complexity of flavour and describing the time you visited the very vineyard where it was created. This seven-day French and Bordeaux wine course will set you well on the way to talking about terroir like a native, with four 45-minute sessions of French a day (there’s a test on day one to establish your level), three afternoon sessions on Bordeaux wines, including tastings at l’Ecole du Bordeaux, and excursions to Saint-Emilion and Médoc vineyards.

â€¢ Courses start 20 July, 17 August, 14 September, 12 October, £705pp. Homestay accommodation from £170 per week, flight from £115pp return. 0871 230 8512, statravel.co.uk.

Spanish

Walk the talk: Pyrenees

“When we visit my neighbour Hilaria’s vegetable garden, if you pick tomatoes, you’ll learn how to talk about them,” says Georgina Howard, who runs the Pyrenean Experience, a language course in the Baztan valley that teaches Spanish by living Spanish. Language tutors are always on hand to help guests in conversation practise while they ramble through the Pyrenean mountains, meet local farmers, visit bars and hamlets, have lunch with the neighbours or host parties at the seven-bedroom farmhouse, and generally live the Basque life. There are more formal morning lessons on a terrace, and weeks for beginners, intermediate and advanced speakers are run separately.

â€¢ Full board £850pp per week, 0121 711 3428, pyreneanexperience.com.

Surfing: Tenerife

Insted runs language courses in Austria, Spain and France that are combined with skiing or surfing. Its Tenerife course runs year-round from a central base in Puerto de la Cruz, a thriving town with busy bars and restaurants serving Latin American and African-influenced dishes. Minutes away from the classroom are the beaches, where the breaks have earned the Canaries the title “Hawaii of the Atlantic”. Accommodation is with a local family, or in an apartment sharing with other students from the course.

â€¢ Homestay with family from €165pp per week B&B in private room, €200 half board. Apartment from €165pp for private room. Two week minimum, €220 per week for the course. 00 33 450 530 366, insted.com.

Tango: Buenos Aires

“Bailamos?” is Spanish for “Shall we dance?” – as those returning from this trip will know. In the historic centre of Argentina’s capital, near the bohemian San Telmo district, pupils take a daily four-hour classroom lesson of Spanish, and Argentinian and Spanish culture, politics and history in groups of up to seven. Afterwards they don their dancing shoes to learn one of the world’s sexiest dances at a nearby milonga, or tango hall.

â€¢ Six nights including homestay with from £467pp, tango classes £4 per hour. Hotel accommodation available. Journey Latin America (020 8747 8315, journeylatinamerica.co.uk).

Portuguese

Capoeira: Brazil

Practise whirling your limbs to the moves of capoeira while learning to twirl your tongue around the Portuguese language on a two-week course combining the two in Salvador. Classes of eight study beginners’ Portuguese for 20 hours a week, then concentrate on the acrobatic Brazilian dance/martial art twice a week; both take place in a language centre. A samba lesson and cookery class are also included, and homestay accommodation is available so that you can practise over dinner (the language, not capoeira).

â€¢ Course £285 pp for 14 days, homestay accommodation from £89 per room per week. 08445 020 445, golearnto.com.

Italian

Food and cookery: Tuscany

For an indulgent foodie break with a side serving of language lessons, Sanctuary Villas puts up large groups of friends or two families in a luxurious converted farmhouse villa with an outdoor pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi, near the medieval village of San Gimignano. The company can arrange extras including cookery classes with local chef Giuseppina and language lessons, taken in your villa, the garden which overlooks rolling, cypress-lined Chianti hills or wherever you prefer. Villa La Terme consists of two large houses, together sleeping 10 plus two children.

â€¢ From £5,824 per week (£69 pp per night) accommodation only, language lessons from £41 pp per hour with Sanctuary Villas (01242 547 902, sanctuary-villas.com).

Photography and cycling: Umbria

Northern Umbria is a very untouristy part of Italy, a bonus for language learners as locals are unlikely to revert to English when you chat, and because they have more time to do so. Guests at the Labbazia school in the Upper Tiber Valley will meet plenty of them on trips to local markets and bars in the nearby medieval villages, where they’ll put into practise all they learned that day in class (three levels available). There’s usually some sort of local pageant, dance or festival to attend, and many other activities are arranged on demand, from photography classes to tai chi, cycling or horse-riding.

â€¢ From €1,050pp per week, full-board at the agriturismo where lessons are held, including 20 x 45min lessons, transfers from Perugia and guided trips. 00 39 075 857 3004, labbaziaschool.com.

Greek

Beach and culture: Syros

On this two-week course at the OMILO centre on the Cycladic island of Syros, there are classes at the Pension Echo in Azolimnos (which is also one of the self-catering accommodation options) from 9.30am to 1.30pm each day. Then it’s time to hit the beaches right by the centre for swimming and sunbathing, before moving a short distance to the village’s lively tavernas. Excursions such as Greek dance lessons, museum visits, guided walks and local concerts are included and everyone goes along to a sociable first night meal. The island’s capital, Ermoupolis, an affluent harbour of neo-classical buildings, mansions, marble-paved streets and white houses, is 4km away.

â€¢ Catch a ferry from Athens. Next dates September, €590 for two weeks. Rooms from €35 per night. 00 30 210 612 2896, omilo.com.

German

Watersports: Bavaria

Lindau is a beautiful town on its own island in the eastern side of Lake Constance, with a historic medieval centre and pretty harbour. It’s a great base for learning German – after classes, pupils cool off by sailing and waterskiing on the lake, cycle around it or go on excursions to Meersburg, Salem Castle and Liechtenstein.

The Dialoge language school provides 20-25 lessons per week, and has a sports hall for basketball, volleyball and football games. Social evenings with barbecues, wine tastings and the cinema are arranged too.

â€¢ From €490 per week including accommodation with a host family or the school’s apartments, €330 without. 0808 234 8578, studytravel.com.

Arabic

Interaction: Cairo

Pupils of the Bridge Abroad programme will learn the Egyptian dialect (one of the easiest to pick up) as well as classical Arabic on a week’s beginners’ course in Cairo. The focus is on learning through interaction with some of the city’s 14.5million residents, after daily lessons in a school 15 minutes from the centre. Afternoons are spent among the throng, picking up more vocabulary in the souks, cafes and squares, and at lectures, concerts, cinemas and the famous sites.

â€¢ Three weeks (minimum) including accommodation costs from $878pp, $399 without accommodation, or from $711 per week private tuition, from $855 with accommodation. 0808 120 7613, bridgeabroad.com.

Japanese

Cooking and karaoke: Tokyo

Nowhere gives a culture shock like Japan, so throwing yourself into the local way of life is as important as learning the lingo if you are to have a hope of ever fitting in. Alongside a beginners’ course that also covers Japanese culture in a centrally-located school, pupils can take workshops on calligraphy, tea ceremonies, noodle cooking, judo and karate, and interact with native Japanese speakers on nights out bowling, to quizzes and, of course, singing karaoke.

â€¢ From $2900 for two weeks including accommodation with a host family, in student dorms or apartments with World Link Education (0046 5580 3720, wle-japan.com).

Mandarin

Live-in learning: Beijing

Moving in with your teacher would have been an abhorrent notion when you were a teenager, but now it could be the best way to develop your language skills. Instead of trawling through a textbook twice a day, you can chat to your tutors from breakfast to bedtime while staying in their home on Go Learn To’s “home language courses”. These suit all levels and give the option of staying with your teachers, couples and families around Beijing as well as informal tuition. Guests get a set of keys and are free to come and go as they please, but are usually invited to join in with their teacher’s life, to meet relatives and friends, go shopping and explore the nightlife.

â€¢ Seven days from £864pp per week full board, 08445 020 445, golearnto.com.

Russian

Culture: St Petersburg

Russia is one place where you’re unlikely to pick up much of the language without some serious tuition. A course that includes 20 lessons per week in St Petersburg is a good place to start. After class, it’s time to absorb the city’s rich culture at its many sites.

Bi-weekly group activities include visits to the theatre and ballet and to other places such as the riverside city of Novgorod. Go in the summer and you can join in many vercherinkas – small parties with caviar, vodka and Russian folk songs. Beginners’ and advanced courses are available, but everyone is asked to learn the Cyrillic alphabet before arriving.

â€¢ Two weeks from $2,170pp all inclusive, but excluding flights, languagesabroad.com.

â€¢ Don’t miss our free phrasebooks every day next week, plus Italian the week after

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Opel Magna deal uncertainties

July 1st, 2009 | No Comments

It would seem that negotiations between Magna and GM have hit some choppy waters. GM is reportedly concerned over giving away too much technology to Magna and a prospective Opel/Vauxhall Mark 2 with its Russian connections. There’s also the issue of carving up territories for future Opel sales. GM is wary of creating a monster that hurts its own future chances in key markets.

Is the deal really moving towards being off? I somehow doubt it. The German government is still right behind Magna’s bid and has already provided bridging finance and loan guarantees for Opel. Berlin is not seeking to fuel the press speculation about other bidders being invited back to the table, though it has been acknowledging that we don’t have a done deal yet.

But it looks like there has been a bit of press manipulation emanating from Detroit. Anonymous sources said to be close to events are popping up everywhere. By creating the impression that the deal is far from done and that other bidders are very much in with a chance, GM puts added pressure on Magna in the negotiations. But if the Magna consortium bid does unravel, a whole load more uncomfortable questions get asked about other bidders, Berlin has a heart attack and, apart from anything else, even more GM management time likely gets diverted to the Opel/Vauxhall sale. They have more than enough on their plates in the Ren-Cen at the mo.

The competition for Opel/Vauxhall is still not over, but Magna’s consortium is still by far the front-runner due to its strong backing from Germany – government and labour unions. Marchionne may look on with interest, but his bid caused much consternation in Germany before and would do so again. If holding company RHJ has really improved its offer, it may well get a hearing, but it should be wary of being ‘used’ by GM as a lever to chivvy Magna. Oh, and by the way, RHJ has just posted a big loss suggesting it’s perhaps not really in position for anything more than a small role or stake. Beijing Auto? I don’t think so.

That said, if a seismic shift is coming, and Magna is really on its way out, expect an announcement very soon. Time is short. The German government needs to be on-side. And Opel is already eating into bridging finance.

US/GERMANY: GM eyes Opel deal with RHJ – report

Red Bee Media Opens In S’pore

November 12th, 2007 | No Comments

Red Bee Media, an award-winning multimedia and channel management firm,
opened its Singapore office last Tuesday as part of its global expansion.

It joins its network of global offices in London, Paris, Beijing and
Sydney.

Red Bee Media, with its 40 years of expertise in digital media, works for
clients like the Discovery Channel, ESPN, Star and Virgin Media. It is a
key player in the European video on demand market, helping its clients to
distribute and promote multimedia content through a variety of platforms,
including Web-based and mobile media.

The Singapore office will offer interactive design, media management,
branding and editorial services to media players in Singapore and
throughout the region.

Mr Petri Nikula, Red Bee Media’s vice-president of business development,
will head the office in Singapore.

- Joseph Yadao

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