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👋 Hi friends,
Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.
Image of the week, above:
I queried the Stable Diffusion XL text to image generator to see what a futuristic Hong Kong might look like. What do you think?
My WSJ latest:
A story out Friday with my colleagues Chip Cutter and Elaine Yu: China Is Becoming a No-Go Zone for Executives. <– 🎁 Free link
It begins:
Foreign executives are scared to go to China. Their main concern: They might not be allowed to leave.
Beijing’s tough treatment of foreign companies this year, and its use of exit bans targeting bankers and executives, has intensified concerns about business travel to mainland China. Some companies are canceling or postponing trips. Others are maintaining travel plans but adding new safeguards, including telling staff they can enter the country in groups but not alone.
“There is a very significant cautionary attitude toward travel to China,” said Tammy Krings, chief executive of ATG Travel Worldwide, which works with large employers around the world. “I would advise mission-critical travel only.”
Krings said she has seen a roughly 25% increase in cancellations or delays of business trips to China by U.S. companies in recent weeks. A U.S. government-linked survey, published in September and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, found that nearly a fifth of respondents are reducing business travel to China.
Here are 10 items worth your time this week:
1) 🇮🇱 The latest from Israel: the country’s defense minister has ordered a total siege of the Gaza Strip following Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas. This WSJ page has live updates.
2) 👉 More from Reuters: how Hamas planned its assault using a “careful campaign of deception.”
3) 🇪🇨 A sad story by my WSJ colleague Ryan Dubé about how Ecuador is being shaken by violence from drug gangs.
4) 🏃♂️ Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum broke the men’s world’s record for the marathon with a 2 hour, 35 second run – wearing “supershoes.”
5) 🥬 Being vegetarian might be in one’s genes.
6) 📸 A detailed review of the iPhone Pro Max’s camera. (Spoiler alert: It’s superb.)
7) 🧶 On knitting, domain names, and the power of online communities.
8) 📺 The 50 best TV shows of this century so far, according to Hollywood Reporter critics.
9) 🇵🇱 Headline of the week: “Poles rally to support dog accused of eating 100 cabbages in neighbouring farm.”
10) 🗣 A woman named Siri has changed her name due to the incessant triggering of Apple’s voice assistant.
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🦴 Dog-related video of the week:
Otto’s just doing his laps with everyone else.
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💡 Quote of the week:
“Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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👊 Fist bump from Hong Kong,
Newley