Hello, 2023: How PH stars welcomed the New Year
MANILA, Philippines – Is it even New Year without the stream of year-end essays taking over social media? Celebrities, just like the rest of us, also couldn’t help but look back on 2022 and share what they’re looking forward to in 2023. From posting their favorite memories of the past year, uploading snaps from their […]
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen offers assistance to China over Covid surge
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. AP Taipei: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen extended an olive branch to Beijing on Sunday, pledging to offer assistance if needed as coronavirus cases surge in China after its abrupt lifting of pandemic restrictions. “As long as there is a need, we are willing to provide necessary assistance based on humanitarian concerns,” Tsai said in […]
China Censors Covid Related Content Online As New Year’s Eve Prompts Reflection By Some
New Year’s Eve in China prompted an outpouring of reflection online, some of it critical, about the strict zero-Covid policy the country adhered to for almost three years. China this month scrapped repeated mass testing, centralised quarantine for infected people, and lockdowns, the hallmarks of a policy aimed at eradicating all outbreaks of Covid-19. The sudden […]
China appoints anti-West hawk as new foreign minister
A new central cabinet called the State Council, replacing the present one headed by Premier Li Keqiang, will take charge during the annual session of China’s parliament — the National People’s Congress (NPC) — scheduled to be held from March 5 Image Courtesy AP Beijing: China has appointed its envoy to the US Qin Gang […]
Aryna Sabalenka looking to keep WTA Finals momentum going in Australia
Aryna Sabalenka lost in the decider of the WTA Finals in Texas in November. AP Adelaide: World number five Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to hold onto the momentum from her season-ending run at the WTA Finals when she starts as the second seed at the Adelaide International next week. The Belarusian lost in the decider […]
North Korea fires three ballistic missiles amid tensions over drone flights, caps record year of tests
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s rocket with the test satellite during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. AP Seoul, South Korea: North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles Saturday, Seoul’s military said, adding a final salvo to Pyongyang’s record-breaking blitz of launches this year. […]
WHO asks China to regularly share data on COVID-19 situation
Representational image. AP United Nations: The World Health Organization has again urged China to regularly share specific and real-time data on the COVID-19 situation in the country, amid a surge in coronavirus cases after Beijing relaxed its strict “zero-COVID” policy. The global health agency has asked Chinese health officials to share data on genetic sequencing, […]
This lucky bag of Tokyo snacks is full of delicious treats to take home-wherever home is!
There are 11 different items in this box–and they aren’t sample size either!! You might already know that Japan has a culture of gifting people food after coming back from vacation. It’s kind of genius, actually, because then you don’t have to worry whether your best friend is going to hate the gaudy Hawaiian shirt […]
What the papers say – December 31
The last day of 2022 is marked with stories about gongs, heart health and new rules for those coming to the UK from China. he Daily Mirror and The Sun both focus on Queen’s Brian May and the Lionesses leading their country in a New Year Honours list. We need your consent to load this […]
Pakistan floods to drought in Europe: Major climate change-related events in 2022
The devastating flood in Pakistan, heatwave and drought in Europe, and above average wildfires in the US put the focus back on climate change in 2022. As the year draws to a close, we take a look at the important events in 2022. Catastrophic floods in Pakistan Pakistan witnessed one of the worst floods in […]
Real intention is to sabotage, says China, calls Covid curbs for Chinese travellers ‘discriminatory’
Passengers coming with an Air China flight from Guangzhou, China, leave a COVID-19 testing area set at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci international airport in Fiumicino on December 29, 2022. AP. Beijing: Several countries have announced mandatory testing for travellers from China in response to a surging wave of Covid-19 infection in the Asian nation. However, […]
Brazil’s Lula da Silva picks Amazon defender Marina Silva for environment minister
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil´s President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Thursday that Amazon activist Marina Silva will be the country´s next minister of environment. The announcement indicates the new administration will prioritize cracking down on illegal deforestation even if it means running afoul of powerful agribusiness interests. Both attended the recent UN climate conference […]
China’s Covid-19 wave sparks scramble for vital drugs across region
BEIJING – A tsunami of coronavirus infections in China is causing shortages of key drugs across the region as relatives and friends living overseas ship painkillers and antivirals from abroad, driving up prices and forcing some stores to cap purchases. South Korea’s health ministry warned on Wednesday that it would punish the sale of “excessive […]
Ten of the best bars to visit in Birmingham
We’re sure there’s loads of benefits to doing dry January following an action-packed Christmas but, we’re not going to bother. How could we when they are so many amazing bars that could do with our support during such a quiet time of the year?! In this article, we wanted to take a look at the […]
South Korea imposes restrictions on travellers from China over COVID-19 surge
Representational image. AFP Seoul: South Korea took steps on Friday to limit travellers from mainland China, imposing visa restrictions, testing requirements and limiting flights as Beijing grapples with a surge in COVID-19 infections. Seoul’s decision comes after countries including Italy, Japan, India and the United States announced their own measures, which they say are a […]
Border reopening will boost recovery: China Daily
BEIJING – Foreign diplomatic missions and chambers of commerce have welcomed China’s decision to ease the restrictions on cross-border travel, noting that this will clear the way for the resumption of people-to-people exchanges and business travel, rebuild foreign investors’ confidence in the Chinese market and contribute to restoring optimism and reinstating China as a popular […]
Bangkok-Kolkata flight scuffle: Police complaint filed against passengers
The airline, in a report submitted to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the scuffle started sometime after a passenger refused to return his reclining seat to the straight position despite requests from the cabin crew. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Thursday, December 29, filed a police complaint regarding the scuffle […]
Pele conquered America with the New York Cosmos even before the 1994 World Cup
New York: Pele was 34 and semi-retired when the New York Cosmos fended off interest from Juventus and Real Madrid to lure the world’s greatest player to the footballing backwater that was America in 1975. “If you go there all you can do is win a championship. You come here, you win a country,” Englishman […]
US House of Representatives, Kansas governor bans TikTok on govt. devices, app faces risk of nationwide ban
Mehul Reuben DasDec 29, 2022 14:10:55 IST TikTok received a major blow in the United States, as the US House of Representatives has ordered staff to delete TikTok from any House-issued mobile phones. Moreover, the governor of Kansas has also issued a similar ban. Other states are also planning to come up with similar legislation, […]
China, HK stocks fall as fears grow of knock-on virus surges
China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday in thin turnover, tracking global market weakness, as worries grow that surging infections in China could trigger fresh outbreaks elsewhere after Beijing dropped its zero-COVID policy and reopened the economy. ** Both China’s blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite index fell roughly 0.4% each. In Hong […]
Casino fire kills at least 10 in Cambodia border town
Victims jumped to their deaths from burning buildings in a frantic attempt to escape a deadly fire that engulfed a casino in Cambodia Wednesday, Thai rescue workers said. The rescuers said at least 11 people were killed but the death toll was expected to rise from the blaze at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and […]
‘We are so proud of you!’
MANILA, Philippines – The first day of SIM card registration was not smooth sailing for many Filipinos as telco websites faced glitches due to the high volume of people attempting to register. Filipinos online took the chance to turn their hard-fought registration into tarpaulin-designed congratulatory memes, with some going viral in the process. Secondary education […]
Twitter back online after global outage hits thousands
Twitter Inc suffered a major outage on Wednesday, leaving tens of thousands of users globally unable to access the popular social media platform or use its key features for several hours before services appeared to come back online. The incident is the social media site’s first apparent widespread service disruption since billionaire Elon Musk took […]
Travel misery grinds on as US digs out from superstorm
BALTIMORE: Thousands more flights were canceled across the United States on Wednesday, with no end in sight to days of travel misery as the country digs out from a deadly superstorm. Officials in Erie county in western New York — the area of the country hardest hit by the massive winter storm — lifted their […]
US seeks multidimensional cooperation with Africa as continent’s relevance grows in post pandemic world
As the year comes to a close, most summits are done with. The rarely held US- Africa Leaders’ Summit was held in Washington,13-15 December. It seemed like a well-prepared summit to signal the reengagement of the US with Africa whose importance is growing in the post-pandemic period. The last summit was held by President Barack […]
Liverpool and Manchester United’s all-time greatest Irish XI
On Sunday, February 9, 1986, Liverpool and Manchester United faced each other at Anfield. It was billed as potentially decisive in a delicately-poised title race although the world was spared hyperbolic taglines such as Judgment Day back then. Still, it felt pivotal in a campaign which Ron Atkinson’s United had begun by winning their first […]
The Year In Gaming Apologies
As always, video games had plenty to be sorry for this year. Big delays, busted launches, offensive remarks, you name it. None of us are perfect. Everyone’s trying to do better. Except for Babylon’s Fall. No second chances there. While Platinum Games is sorry its game sucked and is already shutting down, there were a […]
Fog causes major car crash on bridge in China’s Zhengzhou: State media
BEIJING – Dozens of vehicles crashed in major car pileup on a bridge in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou in Henan province because of extremely foggy conditions on Wednesday morning, state media CCTV reported. Several cars and trucks could be seen crumpled and piled on top of each other on the Zhengxin Huanghe bridge […]