https://www.scmp.com/rss/501160/feed Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, southern India. She reports on human interest, health, development, gender issues and has been published in the New York Times, BBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, NPR’s Goats & Soda and more. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan As Asia grappled with the impact of the Iran war, a major pharmaceutical milestone quietly made the headlines. On March 20, the patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, expired in several countries, crucially India and China – two countries renowned for their production of generic drugs, which are drugs with the same active ingredient as the branded original but typically sold at much lower prices. Ozempic, first approved in 2017 by the US Food... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349193/asias-flood-cheap-ozempic-generics-opens-gates-weight-loss-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349193/asias-flood-cheap-ozempic-generics-opens-gates-weight-loss-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan In a year already brimming with threats of war and unrest, 2026 has brought some health scares for Asia. In January, two cases of the deadly Nipah virus emerged among healthcare workers, both nurses, in West Bengal, India. One of the two nurses has since died. The Nipah virus has one of the highest fatality rates of any known viral disease, typically ranging from 40 to 75 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 1998, when the first outbreak of the disease was recorded... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344544/nipah-and-mpox-expose-asias-urgent-need-stronger-disease-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344544/nipah-and-mpox-expose-asias-urgent-need-stronger-disease-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan Looking back on 2025, we may be justified in calling it an annus horribilis for the world. There seems to be no end to the bad news: the war in Ukraine, the destruction of Gaza, the terror attack in Australia and the significant economic and political setbacks faced by many nations in Asia and across the world. All these paint a rather grim picture. However, there is more than a glimmer of hope on the horizon. International science cooperation has strengthened significantly this year, in spite... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338041/year-conflict-global-science-cooperation-has-shown-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338041/year-conflict-global-science-cooperation-has-shown-way?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 08:30:07 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan China’s pharmaceutical industry is on the brink of enormous growth and transformation. In just a few years, it has moved on from being the world’s cheapest source of active pharmaceutical ingredients to becoming a major hub for pharmaceutical innovation – a place where new, more effective drugs are born. It is now the second-largest developer of drugs, trailing only the United States. In the global drug development pipeline, China’s growth rate is phenomenal, leaping from 3 per cent in 2013 to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334948/how-china-went-generic-drug-factory-biomedicine-innovator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334948/how-china-went-generic-drug-factory-biomedicine-innovator?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan Earlier this month, China National Nuclear Corporation quietly marked a groundbreaking achievement. It announced that Linglong One – which it has billed as the world’s first commercial land-based small modular reactor – had successfully completed its “cold functional test”. This is the first comprehensive assessment of a reactor, done before fuel loading, checking how the system functions under high pressure. Linglong One, which has been much cheaper to construct than the larger Hualong One... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3330563/can-energy-hungry-asia-embrace-nuclear-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3330563/can-energy-hungry-asia-embrace-nuclear-power?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan The Indian textile industry is staring down its worst crisis yet, as an additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on India for buying Russian oil came into effect on August 27, taking the total levy on India’s exports to the United States to a staggering 50 per cent. Trump’s astounding tariffs not only threaten the successful 25-year-old trade partnership between the two countries but are also becoming a defining moment for India’s textiles, posing an existential threat... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323947/indian-textile-industry-must-dig-deep-survive-us-tariff-shock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3323947/indian-textile-industry-must-dig-deep-survive-us-tariff-shock?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 22:30:08 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan Few people know that the great auction houses of the United States and Europe are not only some of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery and collectibles, they are also catering to the booming demand for prehistoric fossils. Auction houses are involved in selling these specimens to rich private collectors. Last week, a juvenile specimen of Ceratosaurus nasicornis, one of four skeletons of the ancient species known to exist, was auctioned off by Sotheby’s for US$30.5... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3319007/blockbuster-auctions-dinosaur-skeletons-dont-do-science-any-favours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3319007/blockbuster-auctions-dinosaur-skeletons-dont-do-science-any-favours?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Like it or not, Christie’s “Augmented Intelligence” sale, which runs on to March 5, marks a major milestone in the world of art. It is the first time a major auction house is selling an entire art collection created with artificial intelligence (AI). Major auction houses have dabbled in AI art in the past. In 2018, Christie’s auctioned Edmond de Belamy, a portrait of a blurry male figure generated by an algorithm, for US$432,500. Last year, A.I. God, a portrait of English mathematician Alan... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3300118/rather-resist-ai-art-asia-embracing-its-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3300118/rather-resist-ai-art-asia-embracing-its-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:30:07 +0000 After two moribund years, the global smartphone market recovered in 2024, with new shipments forecast to rebound strongly by over 6 per cent. But a rising trend for refurbished phones threatens to derail that recovery in the coming years. Last year, the average selling price of refurbished smartphones in emerging markets such as China, Southeast Asia and Africa was expected to exceed the global average selling price for new phones for the first time, according to Counterpoint Research. This... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3292956/asias-embrace-refurbished-smartphones-trend-dial-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3292956/asias-embrace-refurbished-smartphones-trend-dial-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2025 21:30:08 +0000 How do kids get interested in anything these days? It was a YouTube video that first hooked Alexander Choi, 10, and his brother, Roman, eight, on Rubik’s Cubes last year; the clickety-clack of the cube, the flash of colours and precise turns that restored order to chaos. The Hong Kong-based siblings have been obsessed with cubing ever since seeing that first puzzle-solving tutorial, says their mother, Joy Suh Choi, a homemaker. We connect over a video call as the family drives home after a day... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3284492/meet-growing-community-rubiks-cube-champions-hong-kong-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3284492/meet-growing-community-rubiks-cube-champions-hong-kong-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Nov 2024 23:15:07 +0000 The tragic case of a 26-year-old Ernst & Young employee who, her parents have claimed, worked herself to death has been dominating headlines in India. Four months into her first job as a chartered accountant in the western city of Pune, Anna Sebastian Perayil died of cardiac arrest, leaving behind shattered parents and a federal investigation into India’s toxic work culture and labour laws. Her grief-stricken mother wrote to the chairman of EY India to point out how work stress had taken a toll... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3280255/its-time-asia-stopped-normalising-long-working-hours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3280255/its-time-asia-stopped-normalising-long-working-hours?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Sep 2024 21:30:09 +0000 The Church of St Augustine, which forms part of the Churches and Convents of Goa Unesco World Heritage site in Old Goa, in western India, is a major tourist attraction with an interesting history. The religious monument is linked to Ketevan the Martyr, a queen consort of the Kingdom of Kakheti – a monarchy formed in eastern Georgia in the late medieval period – who is considered a saint in the Georgian Orthodox Church. Her story dates back to the 1600s, with September 13 marking the 400th... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3278067/indian-site-where-dna-tests-confirmed-story-georgian-saint-killed-400-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3278067/indian-site-where-dna-tests-confirmed-story-georgian-saint-killed-400-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:45:07 +0000 In her first major interview as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, US Vice-President Kamala Harris said she would not ban fracking, a reversal of her position during her first presidential run in 2020. The discourse around November’s election is going beyond the usual issues of illegal migration or the need for tougher laws on guns and crime. This year, hydraulic fracking is taking centre stage. Fracking involves injecting water, sand or chemicals into a well to break up tightly... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3277008/us-china-fracking-boom-reshaping-global-energy-sector-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3277008/us-china-fracking-boom-reshaping-global-energy-sector-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:30:08 +0000 The recent tragic explosion at a lithium battery manufacturing facility in South Korea that killed 22 people should be a wake-up call to the world. The Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on its second floor, where they were inspected and packed. More batteries were stored elsewhere. While the cause of the explosion is unclear, lithium-ion batteries’ flammable properties are well known. Lithium-ion batteries can produce dangerous levels of heat, short circuit easily and can... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3268411/its-time-asia-reckoned-lithium-ion-batteries-sustainability-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3268411/its-time-asia-reckoned-lithium-ion-batteries-sustainability-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:30:10 +0000 On May 29, India woke up to the news that its capital city was burning up with extreme heat. Reports said New Delhi had recorded a staggering temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius (127.2 degrees Fahrenheit). News outlets were quick to point out that this was the second highest temperature on record globally, second only to the 56.7 degrees recorded in Death Valley, California, in 1913. Not long after the record-breaking temperature was publicised, the India Meteorological Department said it could... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3265190/how-asias-demand-air-con-threatens-its-climate-change-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3265190/how-asias-demand-air-con-threatens-its-climate-change-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 07:30:10 +0000 Federico Porci No, 30, grew up in Tirano, a small city in the Alps, in northern Italy. Living in the mountains, trekking was a way of life for him. However, when he visited Nepal for the first time, in 2018, to attempt the Annapurna Circuit, he found it enormously challenging both physically and mentally. “Trekking there is a vastly different experience compared to other parts of the world.” Nevertheless, “I just fell in love with Nepal,” he says. Like Porci No, trekkers from all over the world... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3261688/how-overcrowding-peaks-everest-and-himalayan-trails-leads-danger-and-rise-trash-despite-nepals-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3261688/how-overcrowding-peaks-everest-and-himalayan-trails-leads-danger-and-rise-trash-despite-nepals-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 May 2024 03:15:15 +0000 Imagine applying for a job with 67,000 openings. You’d assume that with a fairly decent resume, your chances would be quite high. But, as many young people in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh found out in February, all is not what it seems. Vying for those 67,000 openings in the state police department were nearly 4.8 million jobseekers. It’s a reminder of India’s growing unemployment crisis: a ticking time bomb. And it’s a problem that disproportionately affects young people. The... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3261237/no-jobs-no-hope-how-india-and-china-are-grappling-youth-crises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3261237/no-jobs-no-hope-how-india-and-china-are-grappling-youth-crises?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 May 2024 21:30:20 +0000 You may think the peas, potatoes or the smidgen of rice you line up by the side of your plate because you just can’t manage another bite are perfectly harmless, but they contribute to one of the most pressing global concerns and could keep Asia from reaching its environmental goals. The UN environment programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index report of 2024 shows the sheer magnitude of the problem that is the link between food waste and the environment. When we waste food, we also waste the resources... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3258613/why-asia-must-solve-food-waste-hit-its-environmental-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3258613/why-asia-must-solve-food-waste-hit-its-environmental-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:30:10 +0000 In recent months, two gamers have made waves globally. Teenager Willis Gibson, a competitive Tetris player from Oklahoma in the United States, became the first person to beat the original Nintendo version of the game. He even caused the popular game, which requires players to get falling blocks of different shapes to fit together and create solid lines inside a box, to freeze because there was no more code to support further advancements. Another gamer broke a three-year-old record to win an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250563/video-games-are-not-just-commercial-gold-mine-they-can-be-force-good?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250563/video-games-are-not-just-commercial-gold-mine-they-can-be-force-good?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:30:13 +0000 In 2014, Travis McNamara, now 35 and a police officer in Melbourne, Australia, savoured his first football Fifa World Cup matches live, in Brazil. But on the last night of what he describes as the best month of his life, he’d hoped to watch a match between France and Ecuador at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracanã Stadium. Tickets were extremely hard to come by and so he made a “Tickets wanted” sign, in Portuguese, and stood at the stadium’s railway station for hours. Disappointingly, fans with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3248160/asian-cup-2023-next-football-fans-group-help-each-other-buy-tickets-and-see-worlds-biggest-matches?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3248160/asian-cup-2023-next-football-fans-group-help-each-other-buy-tickets-and-see-worlds-biggest-matches?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jan 2024 10:15:10 +0000 The business world is no stranger to senior management making eye-popping, even eccentric demands on their employees, sometimes for the sake of their own health. Nowhere is this practice more evident than while handing out those coveted year-end bonuses. A company in Guangdong province, Dongpo Paper, controversially cancelled its traditional annual performance-linked bonus for employees earlier this month. Instead, it said the year-end bonus would be spread across 12 months, but there's a catch:... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246613/why-psychology-behind-year-end-bonuses-flawed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246613/why-psychology-behind-year-end-bonuses-flawed?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Dec 2023 08:31:50 +0000 Politics around the world has long been tied to the health of the labour market. Compared to the West, activists and trade unions across Asia have been fragmented, lacking the ability to lobby and make major changes to workers’ rights or lifestyles. But this is changing. Events in Bangladesh over the past few months are showing that labour unrest has the power to threaten governments. Since the last week of October, Bangladeshi authorities have been engaged in a battle of wills against one of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244469/bangladesh-garment-worker-protests-living-wage-make-clear-price-fast-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244469/bangladesh-garment-worker-protests-living-wage-make-clear-price-fast-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Dec 2023 21:30:08 +0000 She stands rather tall at 5ft 7in (170cm), with ever so lightly freckled skin and not a hair out of place. Her motto is the somewhat bohemian-sounding hakuna matata, a Swahili phrase meaning “no worries” that was immortalised in the wildly popular Disney animation The Lion King. She’s from Seoul, South Korea. Her name in Korean means “one and only” and indeed, her emergence has marked a new era in influencer marketing in Asia. The sporty type, she loves surfing, skateboarding and running. Her... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3237721/rise-asias-virtual-influencers-are-we-being-manipulated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3237721/rise-asias-virtual-influencers-are-we-being-manipulated?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Oct 2023 07:30:17 +0000 Airbnb superhost Princess Lou Marzo, 47, says it was her adventure-loving father who convinced her to register their family properties on the online accommodation marketplace in 2016. The former sailor wanted to bring the multicultural atmosphere he had encountered on his voyages back home to San Fernando, in the Philippine province of La Union, but he didn’t have the patience to answer email inquiries or manage day-to-day business affairs. Those chores would fall to his daughter. They had... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3237531/airbnb-hosts-know-theres-no-place-home-thats-why-they-open-theirs-people-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3237531/airbnb-hosts-know-theres-no-place-home-thats-why-they-open-theirs-people-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Oct 2023 03:15:07 +0000 On August 23, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation didn’t just make a soft landing on the little-explored south side of the moon, it also moonwalked its way into a billion hearts. As with all things Indian, however, the sense of deep pride in this victory is also complex. As I found out during these past few days, it can have wildly different implications for different people based on their age, where they live and their outlook on life. But first, one... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3232457/moon-landing-triumph-young-india-not-panacea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3232457/moon-landing-triumph-young-india-not-panacea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Aug 2023 22:15:10 +0000 In mid-November last year, 70,000 people queued for hours to buy tickets to Born Pink, the popular girl band Blackpink’s world tour concert in Jakarta that took place in early March. The British band Coldplay recently announced in an Instagram post that all tickets for its upcoming Music of the Spheres world tour in Jakarta, scheduled for November, were sold out. For music lovers in Indonesia, there is no doubt that this is a great time to enjoy international music, and not just because... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3227416/indonesians-going-debt-blackpink-coldplay-tickets-shows-dark-side-fintech-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3227416/indonesians-going-debt-blackpink-coldplay-tickets-shows-dark-side-fintech-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:15:25 +0000 Aravind’s yellow wooden fishing boat recently capsized in the Indian ocean, taking with it his wallet, ID cards and phone. He was lucky he didn’t lose his life, or his boat. “Everything else can be earned back,” says the 40-year old fisherman, with a cheerful grin. The day began like many others – he and three friends had set off on a fishing expedition at around 5am in calm conditions. And then, suddenly, there was water everywhere, he says. Aravind lives in Danushkodi, a town at the end of a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3222141/life-edge-indian-town-battered-cyclone-was-left-abandoned-decades-now-it-attracting-tourists-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3222141/life-edge-indian-town-battered-cyclone-was-left-abandoned-decades-now-it-attracting-tourists-again?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 May 2023 04:47:10 +0000 Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan The happiness-seeking Himalayan nation of Bhutan made headlines recently when Forbes reported it has been secretly mining bitcoin for years. Local newspaper The Bhutanese confirmed reports that the early investor in the bitcoin bandwagon was Druk Holding and Investments, the commercial and investment arm of the Bhutanese government. It appears that the company entered the market in 2019, when the price of bitcoin was around US$5,000. The earnings, officials said, went towards subsidising the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220525/despite-bitcoins-star-fading-digital-currencies-are-catching-asia-and-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220525/despite-bitcoins-star-fading-digital-currencies-are-catching-asia-and-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2023 20:00:12 +0000 Across Asia, fintech collaborations are gathering pace. The profound effects of these projects will be felt not just economically, in terms of enhanced trade and commerce, but also geopolitically. In February, India and Singapore announced the linking of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, their respective real-time digital payments systems. The move will help with the smooth transfer of US$1 billion worth of cross-border transactions between the two countries. That same month,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217410/how-asias-fintech-revolution-helping-small-businesses-build-better-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3217410/how-asias-fintech-revolution-helping-small-businesses-build-better-future?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:00:18 +0000 In May 2022, while at work as a photographer for Ocean Eco Adventures, Ollie Clarke was exploring the depths of Ningaloo Reef, off Western Australia. Swimming just a few feet away from him was a whale shark surrounded by a huge bait ball. A bait ball is a spherical, dense swarm of often panicked fish, assumed when large predators are nearby and there’s no nook or cranny to cower in. Fish hide behind one another in a thick, ball-like shape, which exposes the fewest to the predator. “Whale sharks... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3215915/underwater-photography-how-photographers-take-incredible-photos-ocean-life-and-bring-light-issues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3215915/underwater-photography-how-photographers-take-incredible-photos-ocean-life-and-bring-light-issues?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Apr 2023 10:15:09 +0000 Financial fault lines are widening in India’s neighbouring countries – after Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, it’s now Pakistan’s turn. In recent months, the Pakistani rupee has repeatedly hit record lows against the US dollar and inflation has surged to 27.6 per cent, the highest since May 1975. The country has barely recovered from the unprecedented floods last year, which devastated an economy already reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. The floods affected 33 million people, displaced 8... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209017/pakistans-crumbling-economy-fuelling-rise-terrorism-south-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209017/pakistans-crumbling-economy-fuelling-rise-terrorism-south-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:00:09 +0000 Just as 2022 bowed out, India’s capital experienced a major disruption to its healthcare services that had nothing to do with Covid-19. On November 23, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), India’s leading public health institute in New Delhi, was the victim of a cyberattack that left services in shambles. According to a media statement issued by AIIMS, the institute’s “e-Hospital” application run by the National Informatics Centre, a department of the Indian government,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3205674/asia-rapidly-digitalising-its-cybersecurity-scratch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3205674/asia-rapidly-digitalising-its-cybersecurity-scratch?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Jan 2023 19:30:12 +0000 A sore throat is a huge irritant – it can play havoc with your productivity and during Covid times, it’s also a source of fear. That’s why many turn to antibiotics at the first sign of one coming on. People worldwide have a high level of dependence on antibiotics, especially when it comes to treating common respiratory conditions such as sore throats, a new global study suggests. The results of the study, called Sore Throat and Antibiotic Resistance, were unveiled during World Antimicrobial... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3200987/sore-throat-antibiotics-most-likely-wont-help-you-experts-say-and-overuse-causing-deadly-resistance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3200987/sore-throat-antibiotics-most-likely-wont-help-you-experts-say-and-overuse-causing-deadly-resistance?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:15:12 +0000 Birdwatching, they say, is largely about waiting. But on this cool, sunny spring morning, as we trek through fragments of rainforest on a trail in southern India’s Western Ghats, it seems as if one particular bird is lying in wait for us. Whipping out of the canopy, it is exquisite, with its curved beak and black, white and yellow wings. The great pied hornbill is native to Valparai and there’s a story behind its continued presence here, a tale of scientists and ecologists who, for two decades,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3200109/rainforest-restoration-creates-wildlife-corridors-and-preserves-habitats-southern-india-its-never?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3200109/rainforest-restoration-creates-wildlife-corridors-and-preserves-habitats-southern-india-its-never?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Nov 2022 09:15:14 +0000 After years of being accused of protectionism and wariness of Chinese investments, Indian government officials told Economic Times this month that the country was ready to accept proposals for hi-tech electronic joint ventures from not just mainland China but also South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and European countries. The hope is that this will bolster the growth of India’s electronic manufacturing. While companies such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Apple and Oppo have invested in India, this has mostly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3199710/indias-hi-tech-joint-venture-plan-olive-branch-china-will-it-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3199710/indias-hi-tech-joint-venture-plan-olive-branch-china-will-it-work?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Nov 2022 08:15:11 +0000 It’s no secret that Chinese phones are thriving in India, and have been outcompeting local models for years. According to tech market tracker Counterpoint, smartphones under 12,000 rupees (US$150) contributed a third of India’s sales volume for the second quarter of the year, with Chinese companies accounting for up to 80 per cent of those shipments. Chinese vendor Xiaomi retained its lead in the Indian smartphone market for the quarter, according to the research, while three of the top five... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189112/why-blocking-cheap-chinese-phones-would-be-wrong-call-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189112/why-blocking-cheap-chinese-phones-would-be-wrong-call-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Aug 2022 03:30:19 +0000 She is the size of a multi-storey building, towering over passers-by while dressed in a black shirt and purple trousers. Her dark hair is tumbling around her shoulders, as she appears to inspect those below through an enormous magnifying glass clutched in her hand. For many visitors to Glasgow, this hauntingly lifelike mural of a beautiful woman (allegedly the artist’s partner at the time), on Mitchell Street, is their first introduction to the genius of street art and to the Scottish city’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3188530/glasgows-extraordinary-street-art-and-artists-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3188530/glasgows-extraordinary-street-art-and-artists-who?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2022 05:15:10 +0000 The economic consequences of China’s zero-Covid policies are now growing more apparent. Since last year, economists have warned of a downturn in the Chinese economy, pointing to weakening industrial profits and slowing retail sales growth. One multinational company deeply burned by China’s Covid-19 policies is at the heart of Big Tech – Apple Inc. With more than 90 per cent of Apple’s iPhones, iPads and Macbook laptops manufactured in China by independent contractors, according to analyst... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3180966/will-india-benefit-chinas-covid-19-lockdowns-hit-apple-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3180966/will-india-benefit-chinas-covid-19-lockdowns-hit-apple-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jun 2022 17:30:14 +0000 After Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Nepal is adding to the political turmoil in Asia. The country has been forced to restrict its imports of luxury items including gold, cars and cosmetics after foreign exchange reserves fell by more than 16 per cent over the seven months to the middle of February. Adding to the troubles are the disagreements between Nepal’s finance minister and its central bank governor, which came to a head on April 8. Maha Prasad Adhikari, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, the central... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174453/nepals-economic-woes-following-sri-lankas-crisis-turn-heat-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174453/nepals-economic-woes-following-sri-lankas-crisis-turn-heat-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Apr 2022 19:30:16 +0000 India has chosen to stay neutral over the war in Ukraine, having persistently abstained from voting in the UN General Assembly this month to condemn Russia’s aggression. A long-time ally of the US and the world’s largest democracy, India’s actions seem contradictory to its interests, especially as the conflict has led to the emergency evacuation of 20,000 Indian citizens from Ukraine and the deaths of two Indian students since February 24. Young Indians make up almost a quarter of Ukraine’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3171565/how-russian-soft-power-has-divided-young-and-old-indians-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3171565/how-russian-soft-power-has-divided-young-and-old-indians-over?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Mar 2022 01:45:11 +0000 When Jenny Chan’s maternity leave ended in September, the compliance officer for a Hong Kong bank realised it had been a while since she’d had to contend with a rigid office schedule. Her company had initiated a 100 per cent work-from-home policy in February 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. In April 2021, when the staff were asked to return to the office for half of the work week – so it was at maximum 50 per cent capacity for social distancing – she went on maternity leave. “It was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3157842/stressed-about-return-office-after-working-home-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3157842/stressed-about-return-office-after-working-home-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2021 20:15:18 +0000 When Stephanie Ko found herself facing a two-week quarantine in Shanghai, she scheduled more video calls than she had at any other time during the coronavirus pandemic. The director of Hong Kong-based LQ Pacific Partners had travelled for work and did not relish the idea of 14 days in isolation. “Those two weeks were so lonely, and as a coping mechanism, I had set up six to eight calls a day,” she says. There were days when she was up at 4am to get ready for a 6am meeting, and she would have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3152331/insomnia-exhaustion-feeling-trapped-zoom-fatigue-too-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3152331/insomnia-exhaustion-feeling-trapped-zoom-fatigue-too-much?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Oct 2021 07:15:21 +0000 Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began, Asians have been vocal about hate that has rocked their communities worldwide. Much of that unreasonable prejudice has been in the form of targeted racist attacks. However, discrimination can take many forms. Often, it is far more insidious and subtle than blatant threats or outright physical or bodily harm, especially when it creeps into social discourse through official policy. This kind of hidden bias is exactly what we witnessed with the European... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3140118/european-unions-covid-19-travel-pass-discriminates-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3140118/european-unions-covid-19-travel-pass-discriminates-against?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jul 2021 08:30:09 +0000 Wealth is health. Never has this been more apparent than in the way the Covid-19 pandemic has played out across the world. According to data from UNAids, rich nations are vaccinating one person every second, while the vast majority of poorer nations are yet to give even a single dose. Indeed, economic recoveries are diverging dangerously, the International Monetary Fund warned earlier this week. While it comes as no surprise that higher-income nations have used their financial might to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135609/how-rich-worlds-vaccine-nationalism-will-cost-everyone-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135609/how-rich-worlds-vaccine-nationalism-will-cost-everyone-end?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jun 2021 01:15:13 +0000 After lawyer Kam Dhaliwal realised how much of her life in Hong Kong revolved around staring at digital screens, she bought a pair of blue-light-blocking eyeglasses. The HK$300 (US$39) purchase from a local ophthalmologist required no prescription, and she quickly came to appreciate their value. A casual discussion with her friends had helped her recognise she might be harming her eyes by spending long hours poring over legal documents on-screen at work. The 29-year-old was also mostly going... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3118856/how-stop-blue-light-devices-ruining-your-sleep-and-skin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3118856/how-stop-blue-light-devices-ruining-your-sleep-and-skin?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jan 2021 12:15:06 +0000 The world, it seems, has gone mad for dumplings, with fans of the plump pillows of perfection getting all steamed up about them. But it’s not just on the dining table that these doughy parcels of deliciousness inspire rapturous delight. Dumplings have moved from the back burner to the front and center of the show from China to Hong Kong, America, and India, where artists create dumpling-themed designs for products gaining popularity worldwide. “I think dumplings have become a shorthand for... https://www.scmp.com/arts/artistic-movement-emerges-around-dumplings/article/3118832?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/arts/artistic-movement-emerges-around-dumplings/article/3118832?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jan 2021 10:29:25 +0000 Dumplings are Elizabeth Fry’s ultimate comfort food. The designer, entrepreneur and founder of the Hong Kong-based Liz Fry Design company says the steamed variety are her favourite. Fry, 38, has lived in Hong Kong for the past six years; her mother was born in the city and moved to Britain as a child. “Dumplings are such an integral part of Hong Kong’s identity and culinary heritage,” she says. “I have friends who are obsessed with them.” In 2019, Fry created a range of Hong Kong-themed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3118184/chinese-and-indian-dumplings-become-pop-culture-icons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3118184/chinese-and-indian-dumplings-become-pop-culture-icons?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jan 2021 23:15:17 +0000 When Thomas Wong Chang-hung began his career as a social worker in Hong Kong in 2000, he saw how rarely families spent time playing together. After a hard day at work, parents had little energy left to play with their children. Kids, in turn, were increasingly addicted to mobile and electronic devices. One evening in 2009, as an experiment, Wong now 43, took several board games to a community centre in Tung Chung, a new town on Lantau Island near Hong Kong’s international airport, to play with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110944/politics-climate-change-menstrual-cycle-board-games-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110944/politics-climate-change-menstrual-cycle-board-games-use?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Nov 2020 23:15:16 +0000 After her parents divorced when she was a child living in Chandigarh, northern India, Tarini Chawla struggled to cope. Her father’s alcoholism and abuse had badly affected her. Today, the 28-year-old financial consultant for KPMG, a business advisory in Bangalore, is also a vocal advocate for mental health. Medication and therapy helped her a great deal, she says, but it wasn’t until she spoke openly about her problems that she began to see real change. Chawla began to blog about her struggles... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3104701/world-mental-health-day-2020-digital-library-survivor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3104701/world-mental-health-day-2020-digital-library-survivor?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Oct 2020 06:15:16 +0000 When she’s not painting walls, Riya Chandiramani says she’s breaking them down. An artist born and raised in Hong Kong to Indian immigrant parents, and an advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment, Chandiramani, 26, says her art challenges restrictive ideas that define how women “should” be. She is now working on her first solo series called Cereal Box, a commentary on consumerism, nourishment and the female body. “It draws inspiration from Indo-Persian miniature paintings, Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3100821/indian-artists-who-hit-their-stride-hong-kong-i-had-chance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3100821/indian-artists-who-hit-their-stride-hong-kong-i-had-chance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2020 23:45:15 +0000