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China Faces Catastrophic Floods, Braces For Typhoon

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Dongfang Zaobao (Oriental Morning Post) — July 7, 2016

This Thursday edition of Shanghai-based Dongfang Zaobao features emergency forces at work in the Yangtze River basin, with the headline "Flood emergency! President Xi deploys Disaster Relief Forces." At least 120 people are dead or missing, and an estimated 16 million people have been affected by the disaster in central and eastern China.

After weeks of torrential rain, 26 Chinese provinces are now facing flooding risks. About 50,000 houses collapsed and more than 1.6 million people have been relocated since the end of June. Prime Minister Li Keqiang went to the flood line to assess conditions and relief efforts.

This is the worst disaster of its kind in China since 1998, when flooding killed 3,000 and affected 220 million others across 24 provinces.

The country is now bracing for super typhoon Nepartak, heading towards Taiwan with winds up to 174 mph (280 kph).

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Society

Sleep Divorce: The Benefits For Couples In Having Separate Beds

Sleeping separately is often thought to be the beginning of the end for a loving couple. But studies show that having permanently separate beds — if you have the space and means — can actually reinforce the bonds of a relationship.

Image of a woman sleeping in a bed.

A woman sleeping in her bed.

BUENOS AIRES — Couples, it is assumed, sleep together — and sleeping apart is easily taken as a sign of a relationship gone cold. But several recent studies are suggesting, people sleep better alone and "sleep divorce," as the habit is being termed, can benefit both a couple's health and intimacy.

That is, if you have the space for it...

While sleeping in separate beds is seen as unaffectionate and the end of sex, psychologist María Gabriela Simone told Clarín this "is not a fashion, but to do with being able to feel free, and to respect yourself and your partner."

She says the marriage bed originated "in the matrimonial duty of sharing a bed with the aim of having sex to procreate." That, she adds, gradually settled the idea that people "who love each other sleep together."

Is it an imposition then, or an overwhelming preference? Simone says intimacy is one thing, sleeping another.

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