Author: Steven Sahiounie

After his father died of Covid last fall, Donkan Martinez was overwhelmed by grief and turned to an unlikely outlet: virtual reality. The 24-year-old found himself wading into an emerging field of virtual mental health care, via a service called Innerworld, which offers peer-led mental health support through its app. The idea is to bring the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, into the metaverse and enable users to interact with others as anonymous avatars through voice- and text-based chat. CBT aims to help patients change unhealthy thinking or behavioral patterns by developing relevant skills and coping strategies. The American…

Jennifer Lopez announced Friday that she will be releasing a new album titled “This Is Me…Now.”The news comes on the 20th anniversary of her third studio album, “This Is Me…Then.”Lopez shared a video of herself recreating the “This Is Me…Then” album cover. As the camera zooms in on her face, she takes off her beanie and the shot changes to show her in a different outfit with her hair blowing in the wind. “This is me now,” she says. Described as a “new era” for Lopez per a press release, “This Is Me…Now” will include “confessional songs, reflections on the…

Editor’s note: Ruqiya Anwar, a PhD scholar of Media and Communication Studies from Pakistan, is a researcher and socio-political analyst. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. As the world’s focus swings to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most renowned corporations have entered a commercial race in which Chinese corporations are among the leading players. China Railway Construction Corporation developed and built the Lusail Stadium, which will host the final game. The athletes’ lodgings are energy-efficient mobile homes manufactured by a Chinese firm. Through their sponsorships of the World Cup, several Chinese enterprises…

CNN — Shortages of key medications used to treat common childhood illnesses like flu, ear infections and sore throats are adding to the misery of this year’s early and severe respiratory virus season.“Right now, we are having severe shortages of medications. There’s no Tamiflu for children. There’s barely any Tamiflu for adults. And this is brand-name and generic,” said Renae Kraft, a relief pharmacist in Oklahoma City. Additionally, “as far as antibiotics go, there’s not a whole lot.”Kraft often works in rural areas of the state, floating between pharmacies when extra help is needed. On Monday, she worked in Holdenville,…

Hong KongCNN Business — A violent workers’ revolt at the world’s largest iPhone factory this week in central China is further scrambling Apple’s strained supply and highlighting how the country’s stringent zero-Covid policy is hurting global technology firms. The troubles started last month when workers left the factory campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid fears. Short on staff, bonuses were offered to workers to return. But protests broke out this week when the newly hired staff said management had reneged on their promises. The workers, who clashed with security officers wearing hazmat suits, were eventually…

New YorkCNN Business — Elon Musk is ready to try his troubled new verification system for Twitter once again. This time, in color.The CEO of Twitter announced – via a tweet of course – that Twitter will roll out its tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week. There’s changes to the program that he apparently hopes will stop people from paying the $8 a month fee just to impersonate celebrities or companies. “All verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates,” he tweeted. “Painful, but necessary.”Musk didn’t specify what will be done manually, or how much that might delay…

Hong KongCNN Business — Hikvision, a leading Chinese surveillance company, has denied suggestions that it poses a threat to Britain’s national security after the UK government banned the use of its camera systems at “sensitive” sites. The restrictions, announced Thursday, will prevent authorities from installing technology that is produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law, which requires Chinese citizens and organizations to cooperate with the country’s intelligence and security services. In a statement to CNN Business on Friday, Hikvision said it was “categorically false to represent Hikvision as a threat to national security.” The company said it was hoping to engage with…

CNN Business — Elon Musk said Thursday that he will begin restoring most previously banned accounts on Twitter starting next week, in his most wide-reaching move yet to undo the social media platform’s policy of permanently suspending users who repeatedly violated its rules.“The people have spoken,” Musk tweeted on Thursday. “Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”The announcement comes after Musk on Wednesday polled his followers about whether to offer “general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.”The poll, which closed around 12:45 pm ET on Thursday, finished with…

Defending champions France became the first team to secure a place in the knockout stages at the Qatar World Cup as they beat Denmark 2-1 thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappe. France broke the deadlock in the 61st minute of the Group D encounter at Stadium 974 in Doha when Mbappe linked up with Theo Hernandez before side-footing a finish past Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Denmark hit back seven minutes later when Andres Christensen headed in a flick-on by Joachim Andersen at a corner, but Mbappe struck again in the 86th minute when he arrived at the back post…

Russia is aiming to remain part of UEFA and sees more benefits in staying with the European organization than moving to its Asian counterpart, according to football official Aleksandr Alaev.Russian teams are currently banned from UEFA competitions at all levels following a decision imposed alongside FIFA at the end of February because of the conflict in Ukraine.Reports in Russia have suggested that the Russian Football Union (RFU) could seek to move to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), where it would presumably be more welcome and avoid similar sanctions.But Russian Premier League president Alaev has detailed why his country would be…