World

The United States will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travelers from China, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday, joining India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan in taking new measures after Beijing’s decision to lift stringent zero-Covid policies. The officials told reporters that beginning on Jan. 5, all air passengers 2 years …

A man in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday turned over a python he had kept for seven years to the Forest Management Department. Nguyen Thu Tran, 44, handed the python, weighing 53kg and stretching more than 5m long. This is the biggest python the department has ever received. Tran …

Binh Tan District will apply artificial intelligence to help identify violations in the construction sector, the district’s deputy chairman Vu Chi Kien said Tuesday. The AI that is to be used was developed by the district in collaboration with the information-technology center under the city’s Department of Natural Resources and …

International travellers to Hong Kong will no longer need to do a mandatory PCR COVID-19 test on arrival, local broadcaster TVB said on Wednesday citing sources, adding that the city’s vaccine pass required to enter most venues would also be scrapped. Hong Kong leader John Lee is due to hold …

Japan’s government will make raising wages a top priority in its economic policy next year, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said on Wednesday. “The biggest challenge for Japan’s economy is a lack of wage growth. Unless wages rise, consumption won’t pick up and companies won’t increase investment,” Kihara said, …

A man in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday handed over a python he has kept for seven years to the city’s forest rangers. The python, 53kg and more than 5m long, was the biggest python ever received by the HCMC Forest Management Department. Nguyen Thu Tran, 44, in District …

This was supposed to be the comeback year for the world economy following the Covid pandemic. Instead, 2022 was marked by a new war, record inflation and climate-linked disasters. It was a “polycrisis” year, a term popularised by historian Adam Tooze. Get ready for more gloom in 2023. “The number …

The U.S. government may impose new Covid-19 measures on travelers to the United States from China, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The move comes after Japan, India and Malaysia announced stepped up rules on travelers from China in the last 24 hours, citing a rise in infections there. Japan has …

Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced on Wednesday to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year. The national disaster agency on Wednesday said casualties reported so …

Singaporean Soif Noor has already bought furniture and appliances for his new home, four months before he can move in. Like many residents, he’s been on a spree – because on Jan. 1Singapore’s sales tax goes up for the first time in 15 years. From next year, the sales tax …