Month: December 2022

Experts Weigh Risk of New COVID Mutations from China

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Washington —  The explosion of COVID infections in China since it relaxed its prevention and control measures has experts weighing the risks of new mutations that could prove to be more contagious or deadly that the currently dominant omicron strain. According to an internal estimate from China’s top health officials reported by Bloomberg and the Financial Times, almost 250 million people in China may have caught COVID-19 in the first 20 days of December. Ziyad Al-Aly, director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center at Washington University in St. Louis, told VOA…

Hong Kong Expecting Influx of Tourists From Mainland China

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HONG KONG —  As mainland China prepares to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions starting Jan. 8, Hong Kong, one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, is eagerly awaiting and apprehensively bracing for an influx of visitors. Of the 154 million Chinese outbound travelers in 2019 before COVID-19 struck, more than one-third — 36% — came to Hong Kong, according to World Bank and Hong Kong Tourism Board statistics. The special administrative region is a favorite travel destination because of its proximity, popular Cantonese cuisine and abundant shopping. “There will…

At least 7 dead, 30 injured in Cambodia casino fire

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UPDATED AT 3:29 a.m. ET on 12-29-2022 A massive fire in a Cambodian casino complex has killed at least seven people and injured more than 30, news agencies reported. The blaze at the Grand Diamond City Casino in Poipet, on the border with Thailand, broke out shortly before midnight on Wednesday. Photographs showed people shining lights from windows and clambering onto ledges to escape the flames as firefighters tried to control the blaze. Media in Thailand reported that many of the injured were Thai staff and customers of the casino. …

Alibaba appoints new CTO, replaces cloud business chief in top management reshuffle

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“Over the past four years, Jeff has led the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence team to deliver outstanding results in technological innovation and industry influence,” Zhang wrote. Zhou Jingren, who has been serving as deputy head of Damo Academy and will retain his current roles, has been appointed CTO of Alibaba Cloud. Advertisement In another key change, Wu Zeming, 42, has taken on the role of Alibaba’s CTO, replacing Cheng Li, while remaining in his current position as CTO of local services. Cheng, who will transition to an “adviser” role, is one…

Predictions that global economy is heading for a recession are premature | Jeffrey Frankel

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The world’s leading economists spent most of 2022 convincing themselves that, if the global economy was not already in a recession, it was about to fall into one. But with the year’s end, the global slump has been postponed to 2023. Clearly, the reports that the US was in recession during the first half of the year were premature, especially given how tight the country’s labour market is. And, despite the confidence with which many again proclaim the inevitability of a downturn, the chances of one in the coming year…

10 Killed, 30 Injured in Cambodia Hotel-Casino Fire, Police Say

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA —  As many as 10 people have died in a fire at a Cambodian hotel-casino on the border of Thailand, police said Thursday. The blaze at the Grand Diamond City casino-hotel in Poipet broke out late Wednesday night at around 11:30 p.m. local time (1630 GMT), Cambodian police said. A provisional police report seen by AFP said “about 10 people died and 30 people injured,” adding that around 400 people were believed to be working at the casino. Video footage shared online showed the massive complex ablaze,…

Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software

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Chinese police can set up “alarms” for various protest activities using a software platform provided by Hikvision, a major Chinese camera and surveillance manufacturer, the Guardian has learned. Descriptions of protest activity listed among the “alarms” include “gathering crowds to disrupt order in public places”, “unlawful assembly, procession, demonstration” and threats to “petition”. These activities are listed alongside offenses such as “gambling” or disruptive events such as “fire hazard” in technical documents available on Hikvision’s website and flagged to the Guardian by surveillance research firm IPVM, or Internet Protocol Video…

Rural China races to boost medical facilities ahead of expected Covid surge

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China’s sprawling and thinly resourced countryside was racing to beef up its medical facilities amid a surging Covid-19 wave as hundreds of millions of migrant factory workers prepare to return to their families for the lunar new year. Each year, hundreds of millions of people, mostly working in factories near the southern and eastern coasts, return to the countryside for the lunar new year festivities, due to start on 22 January next year. The travel rush is expected to last 40 days, from 7 January to 15 February, the Ministry…

Australia Approves Extradition to US of Ex-Marine Pilot

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sydney —  Australia has approved a request to extradite former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan to the United States where he faces charges of money laundering and breaking U.S. arms control laws, the Attorney-General’s Department said on Thursday. Duggan, who was arrested in Australia in October and remains in custody, is accused of breaking U.S. arms control laws by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, according to a 2017 indictment unsealed by a U.S. court in December. Australia received an extradition request from the U.S. for…