MUMBA: India will start randomly testing 2 per cent of international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19, Mansukh Mandaviya, the country’s health minister, told parliament on Thursday (Dec 22), as the country steps up surveillance for new coronavirus variants. “The global pandemic is not yet over. The virus is changingContinue Reading
TOKYO: Japan has approved a blood test kit to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, its manufacturer announced on Thursday (Dec 22), a rare advance in tackling a condition that affects tens of millions worldwide. Sysmex Corporation said it was now working to get the kit, which measures the accumulation of a proteinContinue Reading
TOKYO/BEIJING: The government in Tokyo is investigating a report that China has set up covert police stations inside Japan, amid similar checks by authorities in European countries, the United States and Canada. Safeguard Defenders, an Asia-focused rights group based in Spain, has published two reports since September alleging that ChineseContinue Reading
CHONGQING: Attached to a breathing tube under a pile of blankets, an old man racked with COVID-19 lay groaning on a stretcher in the emergency department of a hospital in central China on Thursday (Dec 22). In Chongqing, and across the country, the virus is surging. Authorities say the numberContinue Reading
MONTREAL: A new conservation deal adopted this week at the UN summit in Montreal puts the world on a strong track to halt the rapid decline in nature – but only if wealthy nations deliver enough funding and all countries prioritise conservation. Goals set out in the agreement, known asContinue Reading
China’s National Health Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the country’s COVID statistics and excess mortality. Even if China were to continue defining COVID deaths more broadly, the official data is still unlikely to reflect the situation on the ground, given how quickly infections are nowContinue Reading
Experts say China could face more than a million COVID-19 deaths in 2023, given relatively low full vaccination rates among its vulnerable elderly population.Continue Reading
In an effort to prevent the virus from letting rip across China, Shanghai residents endured a two-month lockdown which ended on Jun 1, with many losing income and having poor access to basic necessities. Hundreds died and hundreds of thousands were infected during those two months. Experts say China couldContinue Reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that his administration is reviewing several government agencies and those found to be with overlapping duties will be dissolved. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (Dec 21), Mr Anwar announced that the National Recovery Council (NRC) led by Perikatan Nasional ChairmanContinue Reading
Many of the aircraft flew over a waterway known as the Bashi Channel to an area off the island’s southeastern coast, according to a map provided by the ministry. Three Chinese navy ships were also detected near Taiwan, the ministry said. Taiwan sent unspecified combat aircraft to warn away theContinue Reading