Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their cars on Sunday in protest against unlicensed cars using taxi-hiring apps (打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy(补贴) by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.

    On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.

    It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators(交通管理机构) have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.

    Such regulations (规定) will cause a setback(挫折) to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.

    Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China's big cities. To be fair, these companies' business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for business-people through the Internet and mobile phone apps.

    Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.

    When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father worked outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there'd be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping(砍) some wood — his coat thrown aside — wearing a shirt, a cap, and a pair of gloves.

    “Aren't you cold, Dad?” I'd ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I'm not cold—working too hard to be cold.”

    Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.

    One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.

    After we'd been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.

    “Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.

    “Yeah, it's cold out here today,” he replied.

    “Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”

    I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.”

    But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.

    Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren't you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I'm not cold—working too hard to be cold.”

    I hope my husband has decided I'm both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I'm foolish.

    Wherever Dad is on that great big farm in the sky—I'm sure he can't help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I'm working outside in the winter.

    Malka and Shaindle are sisters. Although they live an hour's drive from each other and don't see each other often, they are in touch. Malka has a large family. Shaindle, however, has had difficulty having children.

    Malka had just given birth to another son. Shaindle , married three years and still childless, was receiving fertility(生育) treatments. Involved with work, doctor's visits, and medical treats, she was unable to make the trip to visit her sister after she had given birth.

    Malka knew her sister's problem and was quite understanding. Shaindle and her husband Feivel would be at the haptismal (洗礼) ceremony，of course.

    On the day of the haptism, Shaindle and Feivel arrived early, earlier than Malka and her family. Malka's mother-in-law, Yehudit, was already at the hall. “Hello,” said Shaindle cheerfully, never thinking what was about to happen.

    Yehudit turned to her angrily and said, “What a selfish sister you are! Never once did you see fit to visit Makla this entire week! No wonder you have no children!”

    Shaindle went into shock at her words. She turned away, her eyes filled with tears. The accusation（控诉） had cut Shaindle like a knife. She was psychologically bleeding. Poor Shaindle couldn't calm down. It took a while before she could regain her calmness. She couldn't look at Yehudit; it was just too painful for her to do so.

    The minute the words had escaped Yehudit's mouth, she knew she had crossed a red line. She had stepped on very raw toes and felt regretted for her words –but it was too late. Her attempts to apologize were ineffective. The celebration had suddenly turned sour in just a matter of seconds. After all these years, the memory of that happening lingers on …

    Women make better drivers than men for many reasons. Why is that? If you ask me, I'd like to say, men know that women are better drivers but do not have the courage to admit the truth—women are queens of the road.

    Unlike men, women stop for directions when they have no idea as to where they are going. We don't drive around for hours pointlessly wasting a tank of gas only to find ourselves heading in the wrong direction. Have you ever been in a car with a man who is lost? He tells you to shut up when you begin to open your mouth. And every five minutes or so he takes a turn going forty-five miles per hour only to find out he's made another wrong turn.

    Speeding is what men do best on the road. There is a reason why men get more speeding tickets than women. Not because we trick to get out of tickets but only because we don't get pulled over as frequently. We don't speed. We have more intelligence than senselessly to put our own lives as well as the lives of others in danger.

    My largest issue with male drivers is how a majority of them drive with one hand on the wheel and the other hand doing only God knows what. The seat is backed as far as possible, and they're totally lost into loud music beyond a necessary level. You don't ever see women driving like that.

    I feel that the above evidence more than proves my points that women are not only better drivers but also safer drivers than men. We women rule the road. Oh, and men, if you want to continue criticizing（批评）women for being bad drivers, bring it on.

    A new restaurant in Indonesia is on a mission (使命) to support locals trapped in poverty, many of whom are earning less than $25 a month, by providing them with an alternative way to pay for their food.

    The Methane Gas Canteen, run by husband and wife team Sarimin and Suyatmi, is located in an unexpected place for an eatery — Jatibarang Landfill. The landfill is a mountain of purifying waste, where poor locals spend their days collecting plastic and glass to sell. Meanwhile, the couple, who spent 40 years collecting waste before opening the restaurant, is busy cooking.

    What makes the restaurant unusual, aside from its location, is that no cash is required to pay for meals. Poor people have the option to pay for their food with recyclable waste instead of cash. Sarimin weighs the plastic customers bring in, calculates its worth, and then deduct that value from the cost of the meal, giving any extra value back to the customer. The scheme is part of the community's solution to reduce waste in the landfill and recycle non-degradable plastics.

    “I think we recycle 1 tonne of plastic waste a day, which is a lot. This way, the plastic waste doesn't pile up, drift down the river and cause flooding,” said Saimin. “It benefits everyone.”

    The restaurant seats about 30 people and serves meals that cost between $0.40 and $0.80 each. Since opening the canteen Sarimin and Suyatmi have seen their daily income more than double to $15 a day.

    “I'm happy to see our customers enjoying their meals,” Sarimin told NHK World. “The poor must also have the right to enjoy healthy eating. I want to give them that chance as much as possible.”

    When athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics collect their medals, they'll not only be wearing something that celebrates their sporting performance, but something that symbolizes lastingness. For both the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, organizers aim to make all of the gold, silver, and bronze medals out of used electronics. This strong message about how to make use of e-waste has gotten a lot of Japan involved.

    Starting in April 2017, the Japanese Olympic Committee began collecting old laptops, digital cameras, smartphones, and other abandoned electronics. The initiative (倡议) has achieved great success. Already, the quantity needed for bronze medals has been met, and they're in the homestretch for silver and gold medals, meaning the collection process can pack up at the end of March.

    When looking just at the number of cell phones collected, the amount of waste is shocking. In a period of about 18 months, a little over 5 million smartphones were collected thanks to cooperation with NTT DOCOMO. Japan's largest mobile phone operator allowed the public to turn in phones at their shops, which counted a lot in the project's success.

    After being taken apart and sorted, the small electronics underwent a smelting process to extract (提炼) all the gold, silver, and bronze elements. Thanks to this initiative, the worldwide struggle with e-waste will have a global platform. According to a study published by the United Nations University—44.7 million metric tons of e-waste were made in 2016. Only 20% of that was actually recycled. Unfortunately, this figure is set to rise significantly in the coming years, moving to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. So while the Tokyo Olympics initiative might be just a drop in the bucket, it's a good start in showing what the public can do if they're made more aware of the issue.