A Singapore company says it has developed a sustainable, medical-grade face mask using natural products. The N95, CE, and Oeko-Tex certified reusable Vi-Mask is made from biodegradable ingredients derived from cashew nuts, soybeans, and chitosan from crab shells, and is said to offer antimicrobial protection. The company, N&E Innovations, so far has upcycled more than 1 tonne of cashew nut waste from producing the Vi-Mask.

More than a decade ago, American Caroline Clarin worked in Afghanistan developing a US Department of Agriculture programme to turn a dry and impoverished area in eastern Afghanistan into gardens and orchards that still feed local families today. Clarin formed a close bond with the 12 Afghan agricultural specialists on her team known as “Caroline's guys”. But since the programme was shut down in 2011 forcing Clarin to head home, she has grown increasingly concerned about the men and their families who faced Taliban retaliation for working with Americans. Over the past four years, she and her partner have invested their time and savings to try and get them out of Afghanistan, and away from risks which have grown since the militants recently regained control of the country. The latest of five they have rescued so far is Ihsanullah Patan, who moved with his family in May 2021 to a farming area in the state of Minnesota where Clarin lives.

A group of Vietnamese migrant workers recruited to build a Chinese-owned car tyre factory in Serbia has accused their employer of ill treatment. Said to be the first Chinese car tyre factory in Europe, Shandong Linglong Tire Co set up shop in northern Serbia where it’s being touted as the largest foreign investment project in the landlocked eastern European country. But workers have complained of inhumane living conditions and of having their passports seized. Their plight has caught the attention of local activists and the European Parliament amid calls for an investigation into possible human trafficking.

Members of the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe are helping to keep Chinese opera alive by incorporating new and more modern elements in the programme. As a result, Peking opera, considered the most influential of all the Chinese operatic genres, has reportedly been attracting a growing number of younger members in the audience.

Many ice hockey fans including a group of Chinese veteran amateur players are sceptical about China’s chances in the sport at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. The host nation was granted an automatic entry for its ice hockey without having to prove its performance in events leading up to the Games. But former player Yu Xin  said it would be an honour for China’s team to “just score one goal” against a strong team from overseas. The member of the 1979 Beijing ice hockey squad is among those who believe that, despite the national team’s growing pains, the Olympics are growing the base of Chinese fans of the “coolest game”.

Frequently changing Covid-19 restrictions and quarantine rules at the border between Hong Kong and mainland China could soon be lifted for travellers. Tam Yiu-chung, a member of China's National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said he has been told he can attend a meeting in Beijing in December 2021. Only weeks after he had been unexpectedly barred from a similar trip by authorities citing the risk of infection posed by a single, untraceable case in the city. Tam said change signals that border restrictions could be eased soon.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has a reason to celebrate after it was recognised as the world’s first accredited centennial upper air observing station. The honours from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization were awarded in June 2021, 100 years after the facility started in 1921 in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district. In the early days, scientists launched pilot weather balloons by hand, tracking them with telescopes to calculate wind speeds and directions. The arrival of radiosonde in the 1940s, allowed the station to start tracking temperature, humidity, and air pressure. Now relocated to the nearby King's Park, the centenarian observatory is focused on understanding the impact of extreme weather related to climate change, and on sharing their insights with counterparts around the world.
 

A team of fewer than 40 Chinese railway workers is on track to finish in under 20 days a project to lay track for a new Beijing-Binhai line that will connect the capital Beijing with the northern municipality of Tianjin. The crew is equipped with a tractor pulling a trailer loaded with components including large bolts to secure the rails, and unique equipment tools developed in China. The workers have been able to lay as much as 6km (3.7 miles) of track per day for the nearly 172 km (107 miles) long line.

The northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is trying to deal with piles of unprocessed rubbish polluting its mountains and rivers. Despite efforts by local NGOs and a recycling plant to convert non-biodegradable waste into energy, minimal improvement has been made on the polluted landscape. An alarming lack of awareness, accountability and strategy from locals and government officials threaten the region's biodiversity and future livelihood.