The number of birds that migrate through Vietnam has dropped significantly in recent years and six of them are on the verge of extinction. The six species that are currently in a critical state are spoon-billed sandpiper, Nordmann’s greenshank, great knot, far Eastern curlew, Chinese egret and Saunders’s gull, said …
Read More »Japan to allow mass tourism, but only in tour groups
Japan announced this week it will reopen to tourists from 36 countries starting June 10, ending a two-year pandemic closure, but travelers will only be allowed in with tour groups. The decision comes after the government last week said it would test allowing small group tours with visitors from the …
Read More »EU in talks for common purchase of vaccine, antiviral against monkeypox
The European Union is working on a common purchasing agreement for vaccines and antivirals against monkeypox, as cases of the viral disease usually endemic to Africa gather steam in Europe and beyond. A broad consensus was reached in principle with member states for the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority …
Read More »US issues sanctions targeting North Korean weapons of mass destruction program
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on two Russian banks, a North Korean company and a person it accused of supporting North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program, increasing pressure on Pyongyang over its renewed ballistic missile launches. The latest American move came a day after China and Russia …
Read More »Taiwan lowers 2022 GDP growth forecast, hit by Covid and inflation
Taiwan’s economy is likely to grow at a slower pace this year that initially forecast, the statistics office said on Friday, downgrading its outlook due to global inflation and Covid-19 dampening consumer demand at home and abroad. The downward revision came even as the statistics office raised its export growth …
Read More »North Korea says new fever cases under 100,000 as virus fight heats up
North Korea’s daily fever cases dropped to below 100,000 for the first time, state media said on Saturday, less than three weeks after the country’s first acknowledgement of a Covid-19 outbreak. The isolated country has been in a heated battle against an unprecedented Covid wave since declaring a state of …
Read More »HCMC plans border temperature scanners to detect monkeypox
HCMC is ramping up health surveillance measures and preparing responses after the monkeypox outbreak has spread to more than 20 countries. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Thursday requested the municipal Center for Disease Control (HCMC CDC) to use body temperature scanners at the city’s border gates and …
Read More »Mekong Delta’s degrading environment keeps endangered cranes away
For the second time in three years, no red-crowned crane wintered at the Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta. The park in Dong Thap Muoi in Dong Thap Province is famous as a natural habitat for the large East Asian red-crowned crane, among the rarest in the world …
Read More »Chinese arrested for running usury ring charging 2,000 pct yearly interest rate
A Chinese man and six others were arrested on charges of usury, Hanoi police said Thursday. The Chinese mastermind Zhang Min, 36, Nguyen Quang Vu, 35, along with five others, are being investigated for “usury in civil transactions.” They were involved in a transnational usury ring that was busted two …
Read More »Evergrande discussing staggered payments, debt-to-equity swaps for $19 bln offshore bonds
China Evergrande Group is considering repaying offshore public bondholders owed around $19 billion with cash instalments and equity in two of its Hong Kong-listed units Evergrande, whose entire $22.7 billion worth of offshore debt including loans and private bonds is deemed to be in default after missing payment obligations late …
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