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North Koreans flocked to Munsu Water Park in Pyongyang to escape the summer heat, one day after leader Kim Jong-un declared victory over Covid-19, state media reported on August 11, 2022. The video, provided by Pyongyang’s official news agency KCNA, could not be independently verified. Kim’s declaration came despite…
Forest City, a US$100-billion property development by a China-linked company in southern Malaysia, was built to house up to 700,000 people once completed in 2035. But the huge residential and commercial project resembles a ghost town today, with an estimated 2,000 residents living on the site. The clampdown on capit…
Visually impaired baristas handle the coffee machine skilfully at this cafe in Shanghai. The coffee house is a branch of Hinichijou, a cafe chain that has become popular because it employs people with disabilities. At the company’s newest outlet, that opened in the eastern Chinese city in July, 2022, baristas who ar…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory in the country’s fight against Covid-19, lifting maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, according to state media on August 11, 2022. His sister Kim Yo-jong revealed that Kim himself was “seriously ill with a high fever”. The reclusive state has never released …
The nights are abuzz once again in parts of China, where diners and partygoers are venturing out despite the nation’s determination to stick to a zero-Covid policy. A report by Chinese data company iiMedia Research has projected that the nation’s nighttime economy will grow to about 40 trillion yuan (US$6 trillion) …
Around 80,000 tourists have been left stranded in a resort city popularly known as China's Hawaii after a Covid-19 flare-up led authorities to impose strict travel restrictions. Tourism hotspot Sanya is a city of more than a million people on the southern island of Hainan, where 483 Covid cases were reported on Augu…
The “death map” tells the story of decades of sickness in the small northwest New Mexico communities of Murray Acres and Broadview Acres. Turquoise arrows point to homes where residents had thyroid disease, dark blue arrows mark cases of breast cancer, and yellow arrows mean cancer claimed a life.
Hong Kong will ease Covid-19 entry rules for international arrivals from August 12, 2022. The city will require uninfected travellers to stay in a hotel for three days then stay at home, or in a hotel, for the following four days. Current rules require travellers to spend a week in quarantine at a designated hotel o…
The Mexican Navy carried out a high-speed chase off the coast of Michoacan state on August 3, 2022, in an attempt to catch a fleeing speedboat. According to a press release from the Mexican government, authorities seized 1,600kg (3,527lbs) of drugs believed to be cocaine and 432 litres (114 gallons) of fuel. A Navy …
Thailand’s cannabis market is expected to bloom to US$3 billion over the next five years, and already the industry is taking root on weed-infused items offered by restaurants and cafes as well as health products like toothpaste and soap. The latest example is cannabis bubble tea brewed up by a shop in Chonburi provi…
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With borders shut and travel restrictions in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in interest in hiking among Hong Kong residents seeking new activities. But the trend has also led to an increase in the number of accidents and hikers going missing. A group of volunteers has come together to for…
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One of Shanghai’s oldest neighbourhoods faces demolition as the city’s authorities press ahead with redevelopment plans. Laoximen or “Old West Gate”, named for its position in Shanghai’s 16th century defensive walls, was once the city’s cultural centre. Thousands of residents, a mix of old Shanghai families and migr…
Peruvian Zoila Lecarnaque Saavedra served eight years in a Hong Kong prison after she was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Hong Kong from Peru in 2013. Saavedra claims she was hired by a woman who offered her US$2,000 to travel to the city to pick up a shipment of tax-free electronics that would be sold for prof…
North Korean state-run media aired footage of a mask-free event honouring Korean war veterans on July 26, 2022, mere days after Pyongyang declared that its fast-spreading “fever” outbreak was nearly over. For much of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the reclusive nation has claimed that Covid-19 cases did not exist wit…
Men who have sex with men should limit their sexual partners and take additional precautions to curb the spread of monkeypox, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, on July 27, 2022. There are currently more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide, with Europe report…
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A caring son used his legs as a makeshift chair for his mother, who was having her blood pressure taken at a hospital in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.
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One of the most symbolic tools in China’s fight against Covid-19 is its health code system, which is used to visualise a person’s risk in relation to Covid-19. But how does it work in reality?
Since North Korea admitted its first Covid-19 outbreak more than two months ago, Pyongyang has been reporting an average of 157 fever cases each day in mid-July 2022, a significant drop from the peak of about 400,000 a day in May. Some outside experts say the North may soon declare a victory over the disease, with a…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its highest-level alert for monkeypox as the viral infection continues to spread across the globe. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the disease is now a “public health emergency of international concern”. More than 16,000 cases and five deaths had be…
Hong Kong’s classic green and white Star Ferry has been carrying passengers between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon for more than 120 years. But in March 2022, the company announced that it had lost more than HK$70 million (US$8.9 million) over the past two years, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 social unrest…
The World Health Organization on July 23, 2022 declared monkeypox to be a global health emergency. The outbreak has affected nearly 16,000 people in 72 countries. (Source: AFP)
For 15 years, a hospital in southern Japan has been the only place in the country where a child can be anonymously and safely abandoned. Jikei hospital in the Kumamoto region also offers a 24-hour pregnancy support hotline and Japan’s only “confidential birth” programme. Expectant mums are offered health checks and …
A tech company in Hong Kong says it has developed the world’s first artificially intelligent laser skin treatment, which scans and detects the heat, sensitivity and shape of a customer’s face. Rods Technology spent over five years developing the technology to help reduce the number of injuries caused by manual treat…
The first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia in 36 years is raising alarm across Asia. As of July 21, 2022, more than 400,000 cows were reported to be infected with the virus that spreads rapidly through livestock populations and is difficult to eradicate. The disease is distinct from a viral infection …
An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda under human care, was euthanised on the morning of July 21, 2022, at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. The park said the animal, aged 35, equivalent to 105 human years, had refused solid food and only drank water or liquids with electrolytes in the final days leading up to his death.…
North Korea says it is on the path to “finally defuse” the country’s Covid-19 crisis, according to a state media report issued July 18, 2022, claiming that the country has beaten the pandemic and that several provinces are reporting zero new cases. The report said 99.99 per cent of the nation’s 4.77 million “fever c…
Southern Europe has been hit by a week-long heatwave, triggering dozens of wildfires and causing hundreds of heat-related deaths. Thousands of firefighters were deployed to battle forest fires across Spain, Greece, Portugal and France. As of July 17, 2022, 659 people in Portugal, mostly elderly, died in the past wee…
Thousands of people including foreign tourists have gathered for a laughing yoga session on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The July 17, 2022, session was a way to promote healing and foster world peace, according to organiser and the founder of the laughter yoga movement, Madan Kataria. He said just 10-15 min…
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The mental health among the elderly in Hong Kong has suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many confined to elderly care homes since the start of the pandemic. A pilot programme developed by the Hong Kong Society for the Blind aims to address the problem by preventing mental illnesses such as anxiety a…
Eight original and reconstructed dinosaur fossils have taken centre stage at a new exhibition at the Hong Kong Science Museum. Original skeletons from the late Jurassic and Cretaceous eras, including the Allosaurus, Hesperosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and a baby Sauropod, are on display until November, as are …
Japan has issued a warning on July 14, 2022, that a new wave of Covid infections appeared to be spreading rapidly and urged people to take precautions ahead of an approaching long weekend and school summer holidays. The head of the government’s pandemic advisory panel said that Japan is in the midst of its seventh w…
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that Covid-19 remains a global emergency nearly two and a half years after the disease was first declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus referred in a press conference on July 13, 2022, to a statement released by the UN hea…
Surgeons at New York University (NYU) have successfully transplanted genetically engineered pig hearts into two brain-dead patients, moving a step closer to a long-term goal of using pig organs to address the shortage of human organs for transplants. The hearts functioned normally, with no signs of rejection. The ex…
Hundreds of people in hazmat suits were seen lining the streets of Wuxi, China, on July 1, 2022, waiting to be transported to a quarantine facility. This came after a cluster of 27 new asymptomatic Covid-19 cases were detected that day. China has adhered to its hardline zero-Covid approach, despite the world’s attem…
Hong Kong Secretary for Health Dr Lo Chung-mau said any reduction of hotel quarantine from people coming into the city will be based on Covid-19 infection data and whether case numbers go up or down. In an interview with the Post on July 12, 2022, Dr Lo said he is considering a range of options that would allow inbo…
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As the globally prominent BA.5 variant of the coronavirus continues to drive a surge in Covid-19 cases in many countries, a new sub-lineage known as BA.2.75 is also on the rise, particularly in India. Although health experts are not yet sure if the mutation can cause severe illness, its ability to spread rapidly and…
Three people were gored and several others trampled on day 5 of Spain’s famous running of the bulls event on July 11, 2022. The annual San Fermin festival in Pamplona, which runs from July 7-14 and starts at 8am each day, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions. Despite the dangers, the event has co…
Macau has closed all of its casinos for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. The world’s largest gambling hub has struggled to contain the latest outbreak caused by the Omicron variant. From July 11, 2022, nearly all business activities have been suspended for at least one week.
Macau has closed its first landmark casino since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. The Grand Lisboa, one of the city’s most prestigious casinos, was shuttered on July 7, 2022, after 13 employees tested positive for Covid-19. The world’s largest gambling hub has been battling to curb the rapidly spreading Omicron …
The year 2022 marks the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that Indonesian Muslims will be allowed to embark on once-in-a-lifetime haj pilgrimages. Among those heading to Mecca is an Indonesian couple who are making the trip as proxies for elderly parents unable to go because of health issues and Co…
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was reportedly unconscious and unresponsive after collapsing following an apparent attack during a speech he was delivering in Nara, Japan on July 8, 2022. Public broadcaster NHK reported that two shots were heard before Abe collapsed, and that a local fire department said h…
After living in Shanghai for around 16 years, American expatriate Heather Kaye and her family became part of a wave of residents leaving Shanghai. Due to crushing Covid-19 lockdowns, the deteriorating health of her parents in the United States and strict border controls, the family has made the decision to leave. Ch…
