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HONG KONG — Gently unwrapping clingfilm covering the old man's damaged feet — skin darkened and cracked, nails lumpen and deformed — the Hong Kong beautician doesn't flinch. Instead she picks up her tools and starts working.

Once to twice a month, Cass Ng and her team of beauticians swap out their nail polish collection for tough scissors, nail files, an electric drill.

Her initiative CHANGE (Caring Health Anywhere Nails Goal Elderly) offers free pedicures for low-income elderly people who cannot afford healthcare and do not have family to fall back on.

"We want to serve these people the most because they lack others' love the most," the 37-year-old told AFP.

After three years of giving volunteer manicures, Ng was inspired to start her own social enterprise to help those — often over 65 and on social benefits — unable to afford the city's expensive private healthcare.

While Hong Kong has a public healthcare system, many complain they have to wait for long periods to be seen with various ailments getting worse.

One of those visiting Ng's free clinic for the first time was Martin Sun, 71, who said he had been troubled by ingrowing toenails and fungal infections for years.

He describes that day's treatment, a full pedicure, as a blessed relief.

"If not, I would do it myself, bend down, then take a deep breath, and endure the pain," he said of trying to do the same work himself.

Kwan Lung, 86, gave a thumbs up and beamed during her visit to the clinic at the Kwai Chung community centre.

"The more they [the manicurists] come, the happier we old people are," the grandmother explained.

She described "sweating like it's raining" when she tried her own pedicures before.

Although the day seems light-hearted, Ng explains, when the elderly don't treat their fungal nail infections — the most common problem — they can face difficulties walking. 

"Slowly, they might tend not to go out and they will become lonelier," she said. 

"If the nails are fixed, they feel more comfortable with their feet and can... take a walk and chat with friends." 

"When you manicure, the smell and level of dirtiness are very difficult to accept," she said, describing how difficult it was to help one man who was particularly filthy.

"But after half a year to a year, his situation has changed," she said. 

Ng said: "This service should not be just a small thing in community centres, but a service that might be needed by people from all Hong Kong," adding that she hoped everyone could one day be set on equal footing.

NEW YORK — Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo are leading a splashy class of pop stalwarts and newbies nominated for this year’s Grammy awards.

But it’s Jon Batiste — the jazz and R&B artist, television personality and bandleader, whose prizes include an Oscar for his soundtrack to the movie “Soul” — who has the most chances at Grammy gold, snagging 11 nominations including in the top categories.

Bieber will vie for eight trophies at the January 31 gala in Los Angeles, as will R&B favourite H.E.R. and singer-rapper Doja Cat.

Grammy darling Eilish is in the running for seven, as is Olivia Rodrigo, a former Disney channel actress who exploded onto the pop scene this year with her breakout “drivers licence”.

The 18-year-old Rodrigo was expected to be a top contender and did not disappoint, landing nods for her much-touted debut album “Sour”.

Like Eilish in 2019, Rodrigo has the opportunity to sweep the top four categories, including Best New Artist where she’s competing against Kid Laroi, Japanese Breakfast, Saweetie, Eilish’s brother Finneas, and a smattering of lesser-known acts.

The 64th annual show has once again expanded the number of nominees in its prestigious general categories, taking the count from eight to 10, in the wake of perennial criticism that it lacks diversity.

The longtime musical director of the popular “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”, Batiste in recent years has emerged as a voice of social justice and protest.

The Black artist born to a prominent New Orleans musical dynasty will compete with work including his “We Are” LP and its rousing single “Freedom”.

The sleeper frontrunner — who has been nominated for three Grammys in past years but never won — will go up against flashy, big-budget releases from artists including Bieber and Rodrigo in major categories including Album and Record of the Year.

Batiste is also up for awards in fields spanning genre and medium, including R&B, jazz, American roots and classical, along with nods for Best Music Video along with his composition work on the acclaimed Pixar animated film “Soul”.

“Wow!! Thank you God!! I love everybody! I’m so grateful to my collaborators and to my ancestors,” he tweeted.

Taylor versus Kanye

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, the beloved 95-year-old crooner, posted a strong showing with six nominations for work related to their album “Love For Sale”.

And rap mogul Jay-Z is now the most nominated artist in the show’s history, with 83.

He was previously tied with legendary producer Quincy Jones, who had 80. At last year’s ceremony Jay-Z’s wife Beyonce became the show’s most decorated singer in history, with 28 career wins.

Kanye West meanwhile scored several nominations for his album “Donda” — and will face off with longtime nemesis Taylor Swift in the best album category, where she has her sole chance at Grammy gold for her record “evermore”.

Swift did not submit “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” — her 2021 re-recorded album of her 2008 release — for Grammy consideration this go-around. The original record already won her four Grammys in 2010.

Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” was conspicuously left out of the general field categories but is up for two awards in the rap categories that include West along with Nas, J. Cole and Tyler, the Creator.

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion will compete in the Best Rap Performance category, the only field in which the artists behind the smash “WAP” — which still hasn’t been submitted for consideration — are in the running.

Another prize 

for the Obamas?

Pop star Lorde was snubbed completely despite releasing her album “Solar Power”. Fellow pop superstar Ariana Grande snagged a handful of chances at a win for her album “Positions”.

Korean pop juggernauts BTS scored one nomination in the pop categories for the huge commercial hit “Butter” — less than expected for the massively popular boy band act that’s struggled to make inroads at the Grammys.

In a rare occurrence last year’s rock categories heavily featured women and women-led acts — but this year the four fields of that genre were almost completely run by men.

AC/DC, Foo Fighters and the late Chris Cornell are among the top contenders, with Paul McCartney up for two awards.

Swedish pop sensation ABBA — who staged a recent comeback with their new album “Voyage”, nearly 40 years after they split up — could win the coveted Record of the Year for the track “I Still Have Faith In You”.

And in the ever-eclectic Spoken Word Album category, which includes poetry, audio books, and story-telling, Barack Obama once again has the leading chance to win for “A Promised Land”, after his wife Michelle beat her competition to take home the prize last year.

The former president already has two Grammys to his name.

An affordable sub-compact crossover from China’s ever more interesting state-owned auto manufacturer, the Changan CS15 was first launched in 2015 and arrived in Jordan only in recent months after a mid-life 2019 face-lift and re-fresh.

Practical, well-packaged, manoeuvrable and user-friendly, the CS15 is a small but high riding front-wheel-drive city-oriented crossover that competes with vehicles like the Kia Sonet, Renault Stepway and Chery Tiggo 2, in a segment that is increasingly popular with traditional compact saloon and large hatchback buyers.

Sportier re-style

Re-vamped to better integrate with Changan’ quickly evolving and increasingly more fashionable design language, the CS15’s face-lift treatment is transformational in creating a decidedly more assertive and contemporary aesthetic, in place of its predecessor’s aged and generic styling sensibility. 

Ditching the outgoing model’s heavy-handed shiny chrome grille and clunky and chunky bumper, the freshened-up and feisty new CS15 instead features a tall and pinched-in grille frame with big bold and uncomplicated horizontal slats to emphasise a greater sense of width.

With a more pronounced horizontal emphasis, the revised CS15’s re-worked headlight signature and now prominently creased clamshell bonnet create a more squinting and dramatic character, while a more complex bumper design with defined lines, sharp lip and big faux intakes bring out a sportier, hungrier and more eager demeanour to the CS15. 

This is echoed at the rear where a re-deigned and more complex bumper and clear cased lights are connected by a gloss black panel to detract from the CS15’s tall and narrow dimensions.

Perky performer

Powered by the same naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine and 5-speed dual-clutch gearbox combo as its eager and refreshingly unpretentious Changan V3 saloon sister model, the CS15’s delivery is perky and progressive in character. Developing 105BHP at 5,500rpm in a peaky if low-revving fashion, and 107lb/ft torque through a 3,500-4,500rpm plateau, the CS15’s engine is tractable and eager from idling to redline. 

Pulling confidently and building output in a linear manner, the CS15 delivers decent low-end commitment, mid-range flexibly and top-end willingness for its segment.

With eager engine and quick and crisp throttle and gearbox shifts the CS15 might not be quite as brisk as the lighter V3 saloon, but is nevertheless a rewarding and engaging drive in a segment that isn’t typically driver-oriented. Lightweight for a crossover at just 1,235kg, the CS15 feels quicker in the city than its estimated 14-second 0-100km/h acceleration time. However, on particularly demanding steep inclines, one felt that slightly closer first to second gear ratios would allow for sportier and more seamlessly progression.

Responsive and manoeuvrable

Responsive and eager in most circumstances, the CS15’s good throttle control and responses allows one to precisely dial in or pull back power to accurately modulate cornering grip at the driven front wheels. Eager and agile with quick, light and accurate steering, it enters corners tidily and with nimble manoeuvrability. Grippy and committed into a corner, the CS15 well controlled body lean and seemed for it height, and seemed ready to tackle multiple direction changes, had conditions allowed during a brief test drive opportunity.

A manoeuvrable runaround with fun handling traits, the narrow CS15 effortlessly zips through busy and tight city streets, while a tight turning circle provides added ease of use. With generous 190mm clearance and comparatively short wheelbase, it makes short work of big bumps, lumps and other imperfections, and can easily mount kerbs when necessary. Placing the CS15 on road is easy with its responsive manners and small size, while visibility is generally good, even when peering around its thick A-pillars occasionally.

Small but spacious

Stable and reassuring as speed briefly picked up slightly during test drive, the CS15 is, however, estimated to be capable of 160km/h or more. With a refined and seemingly rigid feel to its build quality, the CS15 meanwhile dispatches imperfections and road cracks with a settled confidence and good vertical control. Taking larger bumps in its stride, the CS15 remains composed on dismount, with neither an overly stiff feel nor the lax over compression that mars a number of even significantly pricier vehicles.

Affordable and accessible at JD15,850 with a generous warranty and moderate 6.6l/100km fuel efficiency, the CS15 is also a practical car with excellent in-class rear head and legroom, and minimum 230-litre luggage volume that expands to 560-litres to the roof, and 1,100-litres with rear seats folded. Well-equipped at its price point, the CS15 features numerous safety and convenience features, including user-friendly infotainment screen. Design is pleasant and contemporary, and materials are of good in-class quality, while driving position is comfortable and high, with steering tilt adjustment.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1.5-litre, transverse, 4-cylinders

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC

Gearbox: 5-speed dual clutch automated, front-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 105 (107) [78.5] @5,500rpm

Specific power: 71BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 85BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 107 (145) @3,500-4,500rpm

Specific torque: 98Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 117.4Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: approximately 14-seconds (estimate)

Top speed: approximately 160km/h (estimate)

Fuel consumption, combined: 6.6-litres/100km (estimate)

Fuel capacity: 44-litres

Length: 4,135mm

Width: 1,740mm

Height: 1,630mm

Wheelbase: 2,520mm

Track: 1,470mm

Ground clearance: 190mm

Luggage volume, min/mid/max: 230-/560-/1,100-litres

Unladen weight: 1,235kg (estimate)

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/torsion beam

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs

Tyres: 205/55R16

Price, on-the-road, with comprehensive insurance: JD15,850

Warranty: 10-years or 500,000km

By Dr Tareq Rasheed
International Consultant and Trainer

We are born as a result of someone else’s choices, not ours. We can’t choose the family or country we are born in. And everyone must die – we don’t have a choice in that either. However, between ‘B’ (birth) and ‘D’ (death) lies ‘C’ – Choice!

Proactivity Model of Choice

Mastering the art of choice is in our mindset. Not having a choice in the parents you have doesn’t mean you keep blaming everything on them. And are you going to continue to blame your gloomy mood on the gloomy weather? Reactive people often find external sources to blame for their behaviour. The external environment surrounding us (parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, spouses, society) stimulate our responses. 

Most people allow the stimulants to determine their reactions rather than controlling own reactions towards the stimuli. They feel hopeless to change the environment, thus letting the external environment control their lives. Stress, worry, and in severe cases, depression ensues Why? Because they believe they don’t have decision-making powers when in fact, they do. 

In contrast, successful individuals apply the third element of the Proactivity Model: The freedom to choose one’s response. A proactive person uses proactive language – I can, I will, I prefer. A reactive person uses reactive language – I can’t, I have to, if only.

Components of choice

• Self-awareness: We can control our choices and direct them towards what we want to achieve when we first become self-aware. Self-awareness means knowing one’s skills, abilities, motivators, desires, fears and controls 

• Self-responsibility: Once we feel responsible for our choices in life, we can choose, based on what is meaningful for us. Logically, once self-awareness increases, self-responsibility should increase as well

• Commitment: Unless we are committed, we will never transfer our self-awareness and responsibility into actions. The main aim for the freedom to choose is to achieve and without commitment, we will never succeed

Triangle of Control

I apply the Triangle of Control (see illustration) to make me feel happy and powerful, whatever my choices are. It is composed of three entities: 

• God: Everything is under God’s control. I believe, thank and move ahead 

• Me: I control my reactions 90 per cent of the time 

• Environment: Whatever the environment (external circumstances) throws at me, I will never give the environment more than 10 per cent because I can choose, control and move ahead. Yet people who feel hopeless give the environment 90 per cent of the control. But they cannot change their parents, spouses, or colleagues. What they can change is their reactions whatever the stimuli may be

Good luck on your journey of choosing your actions rather than simply responding to outside stimuli.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

ISTANBUL — An empty can, the base of a lamp and string: what sound like rubbish to some are music to the ears of a Turkish band that turns waste into instruments to promote recycling.

Fungistanbul, a trio that began experimenting with a sound they call “Trash Oriental” in 2019, have joined a growing global movement of groups that bang, strum and blow into things they find in dustbins.

“We had no idea we would come up with this sound when we first started,” band member Roni Aran admitted in the group’s studio, tucked away in a grimy part of Istanbul filled with auto repair shops.

“We were all surprised with the result, and so was the audience.”

Fungistanbul’s emergence on the local music scene coincides with a steady rise in the environment’s importance to Turkish voters — especially the young, where it ranks next to the economy in importance in opinion polls.

The vast country was ravaged by wildfires, flash floods and other deadly disasters this year, heaping pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan less than two years before the next scheduled election.

Aran and his two middle-aged friends, who are all professional musicians, say they are promoting “up-cycling” — the process of adding value to old items that would otherwise have been thrown away.

“I found this near a garbage dump,” Aran said, showing off a large plastic can with a grin. “Luckily, it was clean.”

Playing an eclectic mix of melodic folk music, the three friends say it takes thought and effort to turn pieces of scrap into reliable instruments with consistent sounds.

They include a “can drum” made from a large plastic container on to which they attached a glasses case and a bell whose sound is sometimes enhanced using a small brush.

“No matter how primitive it may sound, there’s technology behind all these instruments,” Aran said.

The focus on garbage is especially poignant in a city that last summer saw a thick layer of muck — dubbed “sea snot” — cover patches of the Sea of Marmara on Istanbul’s southern shores.

Scientists blamed the slime on a combination of factors, including years of improper disposal of industrial waste.

The mucilage took months to hoover up with hoses placed along the surface of the sea.

But while fishermen and beachgoers were complaining about the mess, much of the country’s attention shifted to a rapid series of floods and fires that killed around 100 people across Turkey’s northern and southern coasts.

The conflation of disasters forced Erdogan’s government to end a more than five-year wait and finally force the Paris climate agreement through parliament last month.

Now, Turks must hold their government to account and “make sure the agreements it signs up to do not remain on paper alone,” fellow band member Herman Artuc said.

“Global warming, marine pollution... all these catastrophes remind us we urgently need a solution before we reach a point of no return,” Artuc said.

A percussionist who specialises in Latin jazz, Artuc bangs on discarded plastic mannequins to produce various thumping sounds for Fungistanbul.

“They turned into a multipercussion instrument after adding some artistic flair,” he said of his mannequins.

The band have two music videos in their “Trash Oriental” series and are working on a third, this one involving scrap metal.

Fungistanbul follow in the steps of groups such as Latin Latas (Latin Cans), formed in Colombia a decade ago who now have an international following and a strong social media presence.

The Turkish trio are still novices by comparison.

“We had to question ourselves,” Artuc said. “It took time before we could go on stage and really play these instruments.”

The band still suffers an occasional mishap on stage, although their fans usually take it in stride.

“The instruments sometimes fall out of tune in the middle of a concert,” Aran said.

“But you can lift the mood by saying ‘hold on, I will retune,’ and the audience will tolerate it knowing that the instruments are serving a more important purpose.”

LOS ANGELES — US actor Alec Baldwin "chose to play Russian roulette" with safety in the minutes leading up to the fatal movie set shooting of a cinematographer, a new lawsuit alleged Wednesday.

The suit is the second to be filed in a week over the killing of Halyna Hutchins during rehearsals for low-budget Western "Rust" in New Mexico last month.

Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell — who made an emotional 911 call moments after the accident — is accusing Baldwin and his fellow producers of assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm.

"The events that led to the shooting by Mr Baldwin of a loaded gun do not constitute simple negligence," Mitchell's attorney Gloria Allred told reporters in Los Angeles.

"Instead, in our opinion, Mr Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking and without having the armorer do so in his presence.

"His behaviour and that of the producers on 'Rust' was reckless."

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls are also named in the suit.

Cinematographer Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed as Baldwin rehearsed a scene in which he fires a gun at the camera.

The Emmy-winner was handed the firearm by Halls, who declared it "cold" — industry lingo for an inert weapon. Halls later told investigators he had not fully checked it.

The live bullet passed through Hutchins and hit director Joel Souza in the shoulder. 

"Mr Baldwin, and industry veterans knew that the gun in question should never have been given to him by the assistant director. And then he could not rely upon any statement by the assistant director as to whether or not the gun was safe to use," said Allred.

Industry practice is for the armorer to demonstrate the gun is safe and for that person to hand it directly to the actor, she said.

"Mr Baldwin knew that this was the norm and that it was not followed. And he did not check the gun himself."

Last week chief lighting technician Serge Svetnoy sued Baldwin and others alleging negligence.

Experts say a rash of civil legal action is expected in connection with the tragedy.

Adan Mendoza, sheriff of Santa Fe County, where the incident happened, has spoken of "complacency" on the set.

Mendoza said previously his officers seized more than 500 rounds of ammunition from the set, which they believed to be a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and some suspected live ammunition.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has previously refused to rule out criminal charges over the incident, which has sparked calls for the banning of functional weapons on Hollywood sets.

TOKYO — A screening test using tiny worms to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer in urine has been developed by a Japanese biotech firm, which hopes it could help boost routine screening.

Scientists have long known that the bodily fluids of cancer patients smell different to those of healthy people, with dogs trained to detect the disease in breath or urine samples.

But Hirotsu Bio Science has genetically modified a type of worm called “C. elegans” — around one millimetre long, with an acute sense of smell — to react to the urine of people with pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously difficult to detect early.

“This is a major technological advancement,” CEO Takaaki Hirotsu, a former academic who studied the tiny worms known as nematodes, told AFP.

The Tokyo-based firm has already used the worms to detect cancer in screening tests, though without specifying which type.

The new test is not meant to diagnose pancreatic cancer, but could help boost routine screening as urine samples can be collected at home without the need for a hospital visit, Hirotsu said at a press conference on Tuesday.

And if the worms raise the alarm, the patient would then be referred to a doctor for further testing, he said.

He is hopeful it could help boost cancer detection rates in Japan, which like many countries has seen screening rates drop during the pandemic as people avoided medical visits.

Even before the pandemic, Japanese patients showed up for cancer screenings less often than many of their peers in developed countries, according to OECD data.

“This is a game-changer... People need to change the way they think about cancer screening,” said Eric di Luccio, head of the firm’s research centre.

Hirotsu and Osaka University detailed C elegans’ cancer-detecting skills in a joint study published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal “Oncotarget”.

In separate tests conducted by the firm, the worms correctly identified all 22 urine samples from pancreatic cancer patients, including people with early stages of the disease.

Tim Edwards, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, who has studied dogs’ ability to detect lung cancer, said using the worms appeared “promising”.

Edwards, who is not affiliated with the Japanese firm, noted that unlike dogs, the worms needed no training to sniff out cancer in patients.

Daniel Kolarich, an associate professor at the Australian Centre for Cancer Glycomics, pointed out that the “unconventional” nature of the method could be “one reason why this has not received more attention”.

“Personally, I think we need to pursue every sensible strategy to develop and identify tests that can help us identify cancer as early as possible,” he told AFP.

But he cautioned that new diagnostics must “have superior specificity and sensitivity to ensure that cancer is detected as early as possible and that false-positive cancer diagnoses can be avoided”.