As the incidence of depression in the elderly continues to rise, the risk of death caused by ideation, plans, and behavior toward suicide among the elderly is likely to be higher than that among other age groups. A study from HKU’s State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences found that brain connection patterns can help predict suicide risk in elderly patients with depression. The findings have been published in Nature Mental Health, a sister journal of Nature. A research team led by Tatia Lee Mei-chun, director of HKU’s State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, used brain imaging data and advanced computer algorithms to predict the severity of suicide risk in patients with depression in later life. The team used a predictive model based on connectomics to predict through whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (brain active connections when not performing any specific cognitive tasks) and white matter structural connectivity (structural connections between brain regions) data to predict suicide risk....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/brain-connectivity-patterns-a-reliable-indication-of-suicide-risk-in-elderly-patients-suffering-from-depression-hku-5510636
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Beijing on Tuesday to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a first major international trip since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant and accused him of committing a war crime over Ukraine. China rolled out the red carpet and arranged a military honor guard as Mr. Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday morning, footage provided by China’s state media shows. China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, greeted the Russian leader at the airport. The Russian leader will attend a high-level forum marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a China-led multi-billion ambitious infrastructure project that is aimed at extending the regime’s global influence.... 
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has devised a system where Chinese community leaders abroad have no option but to become involved with its apparatus to help their fellow citizens, according to Laura Harth, campaign director for Safeguard Defenders, a Spain-based nonprofit rights group. Since they are forced to cooperate with the CCP, community leaders may become implicated in criminal behavior and liable to criminal charges, Ms. Harth told EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program. The CCP operates over 100 secret overseas stations in 53 countries, according to Safeguard Defenders. The stations are “a setup between public security authorities in China, in cooperation with United Front linked groups around the world,” explained Ms. Harth. The United Front Work Department is an agency responsible for coordinating the CCP’s influence operations abroad....
China’s real estate crisis is now directly impacting other sectors of the Chinese economy. Although the property implosion is affecting trade in a variety of construction materials, its first aftershocks may have been felt in the cement and steel industries. In 2022, according to official data, a whopping 336 Chinese construction companies filed for reorganization bankruptcy. This worsened the crisis in the construction materials industry and led to inevitable price wars. Steel and cement are in severe oversupply as development stalls. Meanwhile, price wars within China have extended overseas, affecting the global market. The total economic fallout from the crisis is unknown at this point. While its impact on the global materials market is relatively limited in the cement sector, it is more pronounced in the global steel market....