Wild Card Run Ends for Williams and Fernandez

Williams and Fernandez after losing their match today

The US Open run for Montreal's Leylah Fernandez and American tennis champion Venus Williams is sadly over, after they were soundly defeated by top seeded American Taylor Townsend and her Czech Republic partner Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-2 in a 57-minute match in the quarterfinals.

Nevertheless, it was still a win for both Fernandez and Williams, who have a mutual admiration for each other.

"I was so inspired by Leylah," Williams said. "I really got so much confidence playing with her, having an opportunity to play more matches in the doubles, and it was just an amazing experience to be able to do that."

The wild card pair enjoyed their time on the court 

For Fernandez, it was a thrill to play with her tennis idol, and a reminder of why she pursued the sport.

"The most important thing is that I started playing tennis for the love of the game and for bringing joy on court, not only for myself but also for the fans."

But wait -- the run for Canadian women in doubles is not over yet.

Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and New Zealander Erin Routliffe are getting closer to possibly clinching a second US Open women's doubles title.

The third seeds had a shaky start but eventually defeated 11th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Brazil's Luisa Stefani 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Who's Happy and Who's Not in the World

Are you happy where you are, according to the report?

The World Happiness Report 2024 is out and perhaps no surprise the Nordic countries are at the very top with Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden in the top four spots respectively. Israel is ranked at no. 5, as the surveys were completed before the deadly Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

Australia is at no. 10, and New Zealand close behind, and Canada is at no. 15 (previously 13), the United States at no. 23 (previously 15). It was found people in the US and Canada are happier if they are over 30 years old. The United Kingdom is at no. 20, France no. 27. 

Singapore is at no. 30 behind Kosovo, but before Taiwan at no. 31 which is described as "province of China", and then a block of Asian countries -- Japan, South Korea, Philippines and Vietnam at nos 51 to 54 respectively.

Nordic countries rank the top four happiest in the world

China is ranked a bit further down at no 60, but Hong Kong (SAR of China) is waaay down at no. 86.

The worst? Afghanistan is at the bottom at no. 143, and Zimbabwe is no. 138.

In general women were not as happy as men, but in east Asia, it's the women who are happier than men. The survey found in general people are happier living in countries where the equality of happiness is greater.

In Taiwan, those 30 and younger were happier, while the older generation were less happy. Meanwhile in China, the elderly were happiest enjoying the fruits of their labour, though lower middle class were least happy, perhaps finding it hard to deal with inflation, or housing costs, or not having the means to immigrate.

For Hong Kong, it's the upper middle class who are very happy, the lower middle class not happy. 

Loneliness does affect happiness, and the report says social interactions add to one's happiness, that in turn helps increase social support, and reduce loneliness.

Nevertheless in broad strokes it is promising to see people around the world do care about others. The report has graphs that show people from boomers to Gen X and Millennials are more helpful to strangers, donate more and volunteer more post-pandemic than before 2020.  

Perhaps there is still hope for humanity after all!

Hong Kong No Longer World's Freest Economy

The mighty has fallen -- HK loses its freest economy title

Hong Kong is no longer the city with the freest economy of 165 in the world -- it is now Singapore. 

That's according to the Fraser Institute, a public policy research organisation based in Vancouver. It had ranked Hong Kong as the freest economy "since the first time comprehensive data became available in 1970", but now it has been demoted.

Singapore gains top spot in institute's ranking

The Fraser Institute cites China and its interference in the city's affairs as the reason for Hong Kong's second spot, though the government denies this.

It went on the defensive, rejecting several of the institute's conclusions, and insisted it had been "fully, faithfully and resolutely implementing the principles of the 'one country, two systems'," with "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high level of autonomy based on the Basic Law.

But the institute warned the city's ranking could deteriorate even more.

"This is the first year Hong Kong has not ranked number one on the index since its inception, and the expectation is that its score will only fall further as the Chinese Communist Party continues to suppress freedom of all sorts," said Fred McMahon, the holder of a research chair in economic freedom and a resident fellow with the Fraser Institute.

The report examined regulation, openness to international trade, the size of government, the legal system, and property rights of the 165 places.

Implementation of NSL caused HK ranking drop

Other criteria the institute looked at were new regulatory barriers to entry, limits on the employment of foreign labour and rising business costs as reasons to lower the scores for Hong Kong in its regulatory freedom component.

The survey also claimed the city allowed "increased military interference" in its rule of law and diminished confidence in its courts and judicial system, which had caused a decline in its legal system and erosion of property rights.

However, a government spokesman says the think tank's judgment of the regulatory environment are "factually wrong", and that Hong Kong continued to strive as an international financial hub.

He also said the city's judicial system was robust, as it is enshrined in the Basic Law. 

"Equality before the law is a fundamental principle observed in Hong Kong. The allegation against the independence and impartiality of our judiciary is totally groundless and unsupported by objective evidence," he insisted.

Survey says HK's legal system has declined

The spokesman also said the institute was biased in its opinion about the implementation of the national security law...

In case you were wondering, Switzerland ranked third, followed by New Zealand, and the United States in fifth place. Venezuela was in last place.