https://www.scmp.com/rss/503456/feed An outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China. It has since spread across the world and the World Health Organisation has declared a global pandemic. Seeking to distinguish the virus from the disease it causes, the virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease Covid-19. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com dpa dpa The world is a significant step closer to a universal vaccine for cold, flu, Covid and allergies, scientists believe. Experts at Stanford Medicine ⁠in the US have developed a universal ⁠vaccine that could be given as a nasal spray and ⁠could protect against a wide range of respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergy triggers. Although the study, published in the journal Science, was in mice, they said the vaccine offered broad protection in the lungs for several months. Vaccinated mice were... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344056/scientists-test-universal-vaccine-cold-flu-covid-and-allergies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344056/scientists-test-universal-vaccine-cold-flu-covid-and-allergies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:46:26 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso Established in 2018, Thai fashion brand Gentlewoman has rapidly ascended to become one of Asia’s hottest names thanks to its signature tote bag, now ubiquitous on the streets of Hong Kong and across the region. Along with co-founders Raya Wannapinyo and Siripa Rueangwutthisakulchai, Jitpon Siriwattanamathangkur helped steer the ship through economic uncertainties during the pandemic, emerging with a stronger and more successful business model based on timely, trendy fashion drops and hit... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3342628/how-thailands-gentlewoman-became-asias-hottest-fashion-brand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3342628/how-thailands-gentlewoman-became-asias-hottest-fashion-brand?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Vincenzo La Torre Vincenzo La Torre When Remo Ruffini acquired Moncler in 2003, down jackets were utilitarian basics relegated to the back of the closet. Ruffini – back then an under-the-radar entrepreneur from a family in Como’s textile and clothing trade – has been single-handedly responsible for transforming a functional wardrobe staple into a de facto status symbol that is the clothing equivalent of a high-end handbag. The current chairman and outgoing CEO of Moncler, Ruffini didn’t set out to build an empire when he took over... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/luxury-ceos/article/3342585/how-remo-ruffini-made-moncler-luxury-powerhouse-grenoble-winter-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/luxury-ceos/article/3342585/how-remo-ruffini-made-moncler-luxury-powerhouse-grenoble-winter-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 22:00:16 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Scientists have identified 22 genes that increase the risk of conditions such as lupus, stroke and rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have caught the virus behind mono, an illness known as the “kissing disease”. The research, published in the journal Nature, tried to unravel why some people who contract the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) go on to experience other medical conditions later in life. The hope is that by understanding who is most at risk, scientists might be able to better target... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3342227/how-mono-or-kissing-disease-may-increase-your-risk-other-illnesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3342227/how-mono-or-kissing-disease-may-increase-your-risk-other-illnesses?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:15:37 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former British finance minister Nadhim Zahawi defected to ‌Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK Party from the Conservative Party on ‍Monday, saying the country was broken and needed Farage as prime minister to fix it. Zahawi, who had a short spell in charge of the nation’s finances under former prime minister Boris Johnson ⁠in 2022, becomes the latest in a long line of former Conservatives to switch to Farage’s populist Reform UK. Reform is currently leading the polls in Britain, far ahead of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339647/former-uk-finance-minister-nadhim-zahawi-defects-nigel-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3339647/former-uk-finance-minister-nadhim-zahawi-defects-nigel-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:32:36 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In 2025, even as US President Donald Trump sought to stabilise trade ties with Beijing, two Republican-led states were moving in the opposite direction, securing nearly US$50 billion in federal lawsuits for what they say was economic damage caused by China’s deliberate stripping of US hospitals and businesses of essential Covid-19 supplies. Using a new reading of the “commercial activity” exception to a 50-year-old US law that generally blocks lawsuits against foreign governments, a federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:59:08 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier A mistrial was declared on Monday in the closely watched case of a former senior New York official charged with acting as a Chinese agent after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The jury remained deadlocked on all 19 counts after several days of deliberation in the case of Linda Sun, a former aide to New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, on charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara). She and her husband and co-defendant Chris Hu were also charged with... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3337399/mistrial-case-ex-top-aide-new-york-governor-charged-working-china-agent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3337399/mistrial-case-ex-top-aide-new-york-governor-charged-working-china-agent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:13:56 +0000 Carol Yang,Ji Siqi Carol Yang,Ji Siqi China’s central bank has unveiled a credit-rehabilitation policy to help individuals who defaulted on small loans rebuild their financial standing – part of a broader push to bolster the economy and repair household balance sheets. The People’s Bank of China said the measure targets borrowers with a single instance of overdue debt incurred between 2020 and 2025 and not exceeding 10,000 yuan (US$1,421). If the debt is fully repaid by March 31, the default record will be hidden from credit... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3337354/china-hide-bad-debt-records-pandemic-hit-borrowers-who-repay-small-loans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3337354/china-hide-bad-debt-records-pandemic-hit-borrowers-who-repay-small-loans?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 13:00:28 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell This week, exactly six years ago, as we were gliding cheerfully into the 2019 festive Christmas season, the Covid-19 virus was spreading in Wuhan, China. I was preparing for an important Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Australia in February (the last overseas trip I would make for three years), oblivious to the looming pandemic. The world in general had no inkling of the terrible three years that would follow, with death estimates ranging from 7 million to 36 million, over 700... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336967/six-years-are-we-better-prepared-next-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336967/six-years-are-we-better-prepared-next-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:31:28 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang China’s top science academy is among three parties suing Missouri for roughly US$50 billion for alleged damage to reputation and economic losses from the US state’s legal action over the Covid-19 pandemic. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said on Tuesday that her office was notified last week of the civil lawsuit filed in the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court. According to court documents, the case was brought by the municipal government of Wuhan, where Covid-19 was first detected,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336780/chinese-city-sues-missouri-us50-billion-tit-tat-covid-19-litigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336780/chinese-city-sues-missouri-us50-billion-tit-tat-covid-19-litigation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:00:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson slammed an inquiry report critical of his government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as “hopelessly incoherent” in a social media post on Saturday. “More than three years after the end of the pandemic, they are still wrangling about what went wrong,” Johnson, 61, also wrote in an article for the Daily Mail tabloid, days after the inquiry slammed his government for its “chaotic” response to the global pandemic costing thousands of lives. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333803/uk-ex-pm-boris-johnson-hits-back-incoherent-covid-inquiry-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333803/uk-ex-pm-boris-johnson-hits-back-incoherent-covid-inquiry-report?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 12:35:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A public inquiry report released on Thursday slammed the UK’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic in the early months of 2020 as “too little, too late”, saying the failure to lock down the country earlier “led to an unacceptable loss of life”. The inquiry, chaired by former judge Heather Hallett, found that chaos at the heart of the then Conservative government and a failure to take Covid-19 seriously potentially cost 23,000 lives in England alone during the first wave of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333600/too-little-too-late-former-uk-government-slammed-its-initial-covid-19-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333600/too-little-too-late-former-uk-government-slammed-its-initial-covid-19-response?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:20:26 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Meir Ben Tovim’s wake-up call came in the middle of the night as he was struck with excruciating heartburn and struggled to breathe. He rushed to the hospital and was told he was having a panic attack. That terrifying moment triggered an incredible transformation. He embarked on a fitness journey that saw him shed 41kg (90lbs), going from 126kg in November 2020 to 85kg in June 2021. His story may have a familiar ring. Growing up in Israel, Ben Tovim had always been on the heavier side. He played... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3333191/how-losing-41kg-7-months-saw-hongkonger-go-panic-attack-best-shape-his-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3333191/how-losing-41kg-7-months-saw-hongkonger-go-panic-attack-best-shape-his-life?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 03:00:10 +0000 Ji Siqi Ji Siqi Lu Feng is a professor of economics and a former deputy dean at Peking University’s National School of Development. In more than 40 academic papers, six books and numerous magazine articles, he has studied issues critical to China’s economy, including the exchange rate, industrial development, food security and external imbalances. Lu has also served as an adviser to several government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. SCMP Plus... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3332628/chinas-weak-consumption-and-how-economist-lu-feng-would-fix-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3332628/chinas-weak-consumption-and-how-economist-lu-feng-would-fix-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Nov 2025 02:00:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A former aide to two New York governors went on trial on Wednesday on charges she sold her influence to the Chinese government and illegally profited from the state’s bulk purchase of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested last year during a US crackdown on alleged Chinese secret agents. They were charged again in June as part of the government’s efforts to root out pandemic fraud. “Linda Sun was for sale,” prosecutor Amanda Shami told jurors... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332560/ex-ny-governors-aide-linda-sun-trial-acting-chinese-agent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332560/ex-ny-governors-aide-linda-sun-trial-acting-chinese-agent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:59:55 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Apple’s latest generation of iPhones is off to a faster start than usual, with its most basic model surging in popularity in the US and China. The iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 range by 14 per cent over their respective first 10 days on sale in the US and China, according to Counterpoint Research. The data, giving the first quantified indication of consumer response in Apple’s top two markets, shows the standard iPhone 17 is in much higher demand than the corresponding US$799 model last... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329640/apples-new-iphone-17-outsells-previous-generation-14-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329640/apples-new-iphone-17-outsells-previous-generation-14-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 06:15:04 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Correction: A previous headline incorrectly linked Hu’s return to funding cuts. His return to China was unrelated to the NIH funding, and the funds were not frozen or reduced. The Post apologises for the inconvenience caused. A top biomedical scientist has left the United States after more than two decades to become the founding dean of a new school of biomedical engineering at his alma mater, Tsinghua University. The move means that Hu Ye, a critic of US funding cuts to science, has given up... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3329273/top-biomedical-scientist-hu-ye-quits-us-take-up-founding-role-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3329273/top-biomedical-scientist-hu-ye-quits-us-take-up-founding-role-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 01:00:13 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang Chinese novelist Yan Lianke is considered a strong contender to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yan uses magical and absurd imagery to depict the realities of rural China, particularly the lives of ordinary people in the Mao Zedong era. His awards include the Franz Kafka Prize, the Dream of the Red Chamber Award and the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature. Yan is a professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing and a chair professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3326870/yan-lianke-chinese-novelist-and-nobel-prize-contender-writers-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3326870/yan-lianke-chinese-novelist-and-nobel-prize-contender-writers-role?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:05:30 +0000 Yanzhong Huang Yanzhong Huang Last month, I joined a US think tank delegation to China, participating in a round table at a top university in Beijing. A remark by a leading professor of diplomacy struck me: “If China and the US can’t cooperate on health issues, they can’t cooperate on others.” His words underscore the dire state of bilateral relations. Even during peak Cold War tensions, public health challenges such as polio and smallpox transcended geopolitical rivalries and forged unlikely alliances. Yet between 2017 and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326268/why-us-china-health-and-drugs-cooperation-must-top-trump-xi-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3326268/why-us-china-health-and-drugs-cooperation-must-top-trump-xi-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Douglas Bray has overcome more challenges than most of us in the last four years. The Hong Kong business owner was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in September 2021. Three months later, he and his wife separated. A few weeks after that, he was in a scooter accident and suffered a serious tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Here is how, after hitting rock bottom, Bray took charge of his physical and mental health and underwent a transformation to compete in daunting athletic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3324822/how-hong-kong-bone-cancer-survivor-overcame-illness-and-divorce-be-stronger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3324822/how-hong-kong-bone-cancer-survivor-overcame-illness-and-divorce-be-stronger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:00:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jnr’s family are calling for him to step down as health secretary following a contentious congressional hearing this past week, during which the Trump cabinet official faced bipartisan questioning about his tumultuous leadership of federal health agencies. Kennedy’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, and his nephew, Joseph P. Kennedy III, issued scathing statements on Friday, calling for him to resign as head of the Health and Human Services Department. The calls from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324624/rfk-jnrs-family-members-say-hes-threat-americans-health-call-his-resignation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324624/rfk-jnrs-family-members-say-hes-threat-americans-health-call-his-resignation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 19:18:43 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr said on Thursday that firing a top government scientist was “absolutely necessary”, as he faced blistering criticism from Democrats urging him to resign over his steps to curb vaccines. The Senate hearing, marked by sharp exchanges that often erupted into shouting matches, came days after the ousting of Sue Monarez, the former director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her dismissal, accompanied by several high-level resignations... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324395/rfk-jnr-defends-cdc-shake-democrats-call-his-resignation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324395/rfk-jnr-defends-cdc-shake-democrats-call-his-resignation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:49:44 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump has promised to impose hefty import taxes on pharmaceuticals, a category of products he has largely spared in his trade war. For decades, in fact, imported medicine has mostly been allowed to enter the United States duty free. That is starting to change. US and European leaders recently detailed a trade deal that includes a 15 per cent tariff rate on some European goods brought into the United States, including pharmaceuticals. Trump is threatening duties of 200 per... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323971/trump-plans-hefty-tax-imported-drugs-risking-higher-prices-and-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323971/trump-plans-hefty-tax-imported-drugs-risking-higher-prices-and-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 17:16:58 +0000 Victoria Bela,Holly Chik Victoria Bela,Holly Chik In the fourth instalment of a series to mark the 10th anniversary of the Future Science Prize, Victoria Bela and Holly Chik look at Professor Malik Peiris’s contributions to public health and virology, which earned him the 2021 award in life science. Click here for parts one, two and three. The next pandemic is inevitable, yet the world may not be any better prepared than it was before Covid-19, a top virologist has warned, and to prevent it, a more resilient world integrating human, animal and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3322249/next-pandemic-inevitable-top-hong-kong-virologist-says-and-world-may-not-be-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3322249/next-pandemic-inevitable-top-hong-kong-virologist-says-and-world-may-not-be-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 22:00:22 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu China has changed the Greek capital in both visible and less obvious ways. On the one hand, authentic Chinese restaurants – from spicy hotpot to Cantonese cha chaan teng – have sprung up in central Athens, where many patrons speak the northeastern Chinese dialect and work for China Ocean Shipping Company, an industry giant managing Europe’s fifth-largest port. On the more discreet side, Chinese buyers have snapped up thousands of flats in a rush to apply for the Greek investor residency scheme,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3321996/how-chinese-investors-quietly-transformed-athens-one-visa-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3321996/how-chinese-investors-quietly-transformed-athens-one-visa-time?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 08:00:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A Georgia man who opened fire on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official said on Saturday. The 30-year-old shooter also tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late Friday afternoon, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3321339/us-cdc-shooter-had-distrust-covid-vaccines-neighbour-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3321339/us-cdc-shooter-had-distrust-covid-vaccines-neighbour-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Aug 2025 17:45:42 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Hong Kong has welcomed a new wave of travellers combining business and leisure, who have revitalised the city’s luxury hotel sector, according to Benjamin Vuchot, the executive director and CEO of Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH), operator of The Peninsula Hotels. “The opportunity is primarily driven by business trips, but it evolves into leisure as well,” Vuchot said in an interview with the Post on Wednesday. “That’s a very important trend from a growth perspective.” He noted that what... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3320997/hong-kongs-peninsula-hotels-sees-bleisure-boom-after-pandemic-curbs-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3320997/hong-kongs-peninsula-hotels-sees-bleisure-boom-after-pandemic-curbs-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:44:35 +0000 Anthea Rowan Anthea Rowan Scroll through Shanghai-based Thomas Derksen’s Instagram feed from the oldest post to the newest and you will notice a metamorphosis in the Mandarin-speaking German influencer. In the early days, there were a lot of photos of him enjoying food: a slap-up English breakfast, cookies while working at his laptop, a rich birthday cake in 2018 and what looks like an enormous bacon sandwich in 2019. Then there is a shift, with fewer photos of heavy meals and more photos that record him seemingly... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3319819/how-influencer-china-lost-60kg-5-years-without-weight-loss-drugs-or-crash-diets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3319819/how-influencer-china-lost-60kg-5-years-without-weight-loss-drugs-or-crash-diets?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 03:00:07 +0000 He Huifeng He Huifeng Passenger traffic at airports across China’s Greater Bay Area continued to rise in the first half of 2025, with Guangzhou and Shenzhen leading the region’s aviation rebound. Guangzhou’s Baiyun Airport handled 40.04 million passengers during the period, up 9.2 per cent year on year, while Shenzhen’s Baoan Airport served 32.55 million – a 10.8 per cent increase, according to figures released by the two airports. Both have now surpassed their pre-pandemic highs. International traffic at both... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3319980/chinas-shenzhen-guangzhou-airports-hit-record-highs-surpass-pre-covid-passenger-levels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3319980/chinas-shenzhen-guangzhou-airports-hit-record-highs-surpass-pre-covid-passenger-levels?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:30:08 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Oakland Chinatown, one of the oldest in the United States, almost feels as lively as Hong Kong on a busy afternoon. Shoppers squeeze along narrow pavements lined with hanging lanterns and sacks of oranges, while a variety store welcomes customers with racks of clothing and slippers. While many of the shoppers are Chinese, a considerable number could come from anywhere – a sign that Chinatown draws people from the wider San Francisco Bay Area. Despite signs of a recovery since the Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3319564/landmark-us-chinatown-survived-covid-anti-asian-violence-tariffs-pose-new-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3319564/landmark-us-chinatown-survived-covid-anti-asian-violence-tariffs-pose-new-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Elizabeth Cheung Elizabeth Cheung The Hospital Authority’s outgoing chief executive has said Hong Kong public hospitals are on the right path in terms of finances, manpower and infrastructure, with his term as the organisation’s top man being a “complete and abundant” experience. Dr Tony Ko Pat-sing, who will retire by the end of the month, described his past six years as a “joyful time” despite having to overcome challenges brought by anti-government protests and the Covid-19 pandemic. “I feel reassured,” Ko said on Thursday.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3319646/hong-kong-public-healthcare-moving-right-path-outgoing-hospital-authority-head?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3319646/hong-kong-public-healthcare-moving-right-path-outgoing-hospital-authority-head?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 23:00:09 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong doctor has been jailed for nine months for issuing Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates to four people without making a proper medical diagnosis, as a court heard how he raked in more than HK$4.6 million (US$585,980) from those who wanted to avoid the inoculations. The District Court on Friday sentenced Dr Wong Ping-leung for his dishonest use of the government’s electronic health record system to generate the certificates at his clinic in Chai Wan’s Hing Wah Plaza between... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3317934/hong-kong-doctor-jailed-issuing-covid-vaccine-exemptions-without-medical-checks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3317934/hong-kong-doctor-jailed-issuing-covid-vaccine-exemptions-without-medical-checks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 13:57:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Chinese man arrested in Italy on a US warrant over alleged industrial espionage has opposed extradition, claiming he is a victim of mistaken identity, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Xu Zewei, a 33-year-old IT manager at a Shanghai company, appeared on Tuesday before an appeal court in Milan, which will decide whether to send him to the United States. The man was arrested last week after he arrived at Milan’s Malpensa Airport for a holiday in Italy with his wife. US authorities allege that he was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317447/chinese-man-fights-us-extradition-italy-claims-mistaken-identity-vaccine-hack-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317447/chinese-man-fights-us-extradition-italy-claims-mistaken-identity-vaccine-hack-case?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:11:16 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier A former top New York official earlier charged with acting as a Chinese agent was handed a second federal indictment alleging she received kickbacks for steering some US$35 million worth of healthcare contracts to favoured suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. The new charges against Linda Sun, 41 – once an aide to New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo – and against her husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, 40, included wire fraud, bribery, tax... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3316006/ex-new-york-official-facing-chinese-agent-charge-indicted-us35-million-kickbacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3316006/ex-new-york-official-facing-chinese-agent-charge-indicted-us35-million-kickbacks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 21:56:33 +0000 Anthea Rowan Anthea Rowan American biohacker Bryan Johnson invests big money – an estimated US$2 million yearly – trying to turn back his body clock. His quest for eternal youth includes specialised nutrition, supplements and personalised medicine – from stem-cell injections to DNA editing. You do not have to be rich or a risk-taker to slow the ageing process, though. There are more accessible options that are a lot less costly, and may be even more successful, as two British authors reveal in books that describe how... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3315037/how-reverse-ageing-2-women-their-60s-shaving-decades-their-biological-ages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3315037/how-reverse-ageing-2-women-their-60s-shaving-decades-their-biological-ages?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Covid-19 variant that may be driving a recent rise in cases in some parts of the world has earned a new nickname: “razor blade throat” Covid. That is because the variant - NB.1.8.1. or “Nimbus” - may cause painful sore throats. The symptom has been identified by doctors in the United Kingdom, India and elsewhere, according to media outlets in those countries. Other Covid-19 symptoms of any variant include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell. Experts have said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3314998/nimbus-covid-19-variant-may-cause-razor-blade-throat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3314998/nimbus-covid-19-variant-may-cause-razor-blade-throat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jun 2025 02:47:49 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk When US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr removed the vaccine advisory panel of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he framed it as a move for the “restoration of public trust”. But the implications stretch far beyond domestic politics. In dismantling one of the world’s most respected sources of vaccine expertise, the United States is not just undermining its public health, it is ceding global scientific authority to China. Trump’s elevation of figures like Pete Hegseth,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314065/us-vaccine-sceptics-are-now-charge-thats-bad-news-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314065/us-vaccine-sceptics-are-now-charge-thats-bad-news-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Covid-19 activity in Hong Kong is starting to show signs of decline from a recent peak, but levels are expected to remain high for the next month or two. The Centre for Health Protection on Thursday also urged high-risk groups to receive booster vaccinations to reduce the chances of serious complications or even death. According to the centre, the latest data as of May 24 shows that both the viral load of Covid from sewage surveillance and the test positivity rate of respiratory samples have... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3312355/hong-kong-covid-levels-ease-recent-peak-set-persist-coming-months?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3312355/hong-kong-covid-levels-ease-recent-peak-set-persist-coming-months?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 May 2025 15:17:40 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Covid-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world. The World Health Organization said Wednesday the rise in cases was primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions. Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travellers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York. The new variant is called NB. 1.8.1. It arrives as the United States’... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3312210/new-covid-variant-may-be-driving-cases-parts-world-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3312210/new-covid-variant-may-be-driving-cases-parts-world-who?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 May 2025 02:31:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A log burns in the hearth in the artfully lit drawing room. The armchairs look plush and inviting. Glasses and a bottle of wine stand ready as a grandfather clock keeps time. It is all straight out of a glossy magazine, and yet every carefully crafted item in the room could fit into the palm of one hand. “I love Victorian [19th century] houses and always wanted to live in one but it never happened,” laughs doll’s house enthusiast Michele Simmons, admiring the cosy miniature scene by historical... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311798/dolls-house-hobby-has-mental-health-benefits-even-if-prices-make-it-far-childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311798/dolls-house-hobby-has-mental-health-benefits-even-if-prices-make-it-far-childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 May 2025 20:15:07 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang Covid-19 infections in China are reaching a peak and will start to decline next month, the country’s best known respiratory diseases specialist has said, as the authorities urged the public to take precautions. Zhong Nanshan told the opening of the Guangzhou Science and Technology and Activity Week on Saturday that people with symptoms – particularly the elderly – should seek medical treatment within 48 hours. He said that in the current cycle, the virus was more infectious and the symptoms were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311722/covid-cases-reaching-peak-china-and-will-start-falling-next-month-leading-expert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311722/covid-cases-reaching-peak-china-and-will-start-falling-next-month-leading-expert?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 11:00:14 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Taking time out for regular exercise and sticking to a balanced diet are keys to losing weight. So how does a chef who works long hours around food hope to shed extra kilos? Ngo Xing Jun, a chef at his family’s hawker stall in Singapore, found the answer when he shed 11kg (24lbs) to weigh 61.5kg and his body fat percentage dropped to a healthy 10.5 per cent over five months in 2024, from August to December. Ngo’s family runs Xing Long Food Stall at a hawker centre in Singapore’s Chinatown... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311368/how-did-singaporean-chef-lose-11kg-5-months-weight-loss-journey-was-tough-he-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311368/how-did-singaporean-chef-lose-11kg-5-months-weight-loss-journey-was-tough-he-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 03:15:08 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo Much of the world may have moved on from the coronavirus pandemic, but a painful legacy lingers in Japan: hospitals continuing to restrict patient visitations, even in the case of people wishing to see terminally ill loved ones. In early 2025, Japan marked five years since its first Covid-19 case, after which the disease claimed more than 130,000 lives up until August 2024. Infections have reappeared in seasonal waves even after the government downgraded the threat in May 2023 and placed... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3311321/why-japan-still-clinging-excessive-covid-19-visitation-curbs-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3311321/why-japan-still-clinging-excessive-covid-19-visitation-curbs-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 May 2025 04:45:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States will limit Covid-19 boosters to people over 65 or those at risk of serious illness, while requiring vaccine makers to run fresh clinical trials before offering shots to younger and healthier individuals, officials said Tuesday. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Food and Drug Administration’s Vinayak Prasad and Commissioner Martin Makary framed the policy shift as “evidence-based” and would align the US more closely with guidance in Europe. But it comes as US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3311141/us-limits-covid-19-boosters-over-65s-or-those-high-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3311141/us-limits-covid-19-boosters-over-65s-or-those-high-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 May 2025 23:30:28 +0000 Reuters,Associated Press Reuters,Associated Press Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a landmark agreement on Tuesday on how to prepare for future pandemics following the Covid-19 outbreak, which killed millions of people between 2020 and 2022. After three years of negotiations, the legally binding pact was adopted by the World Health Assembly in Geneva. WHO member countries welcomed its passing with applause. The pact was widely seen as a victory for members of the global health agency at a time when multilateral... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3311067/who-assembly-adopts-landmark-global-pandemic-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3311067/who-assembly-adopts-landmark-global-pandemic-agreement?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 May 2025 08:15:52 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu The head of a paediatric infectious diseases unit at a Hong Kong public hospital has said his ward is now full of young, unvaccinated Covid-19 patients, urging parents to get their children inoculated to prevent severe symptoms. Mike Kwan Yat-wah and another medical expert said on Saturday that they expected the current wave of infections, which started in April, would peak soon following a recent surge in the number of cases, including children. “As a frontline paediatrician, I now notice the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3310747/hong-kong-children-urged-get-covid-jabs-whole-paediatric-ward-full?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3310747/hong-kong-children-urged-get-covid-jabs-whole-paediatric-ward-full?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 06:14:19 +0000 Sammy Heung Sammy Heung Hong Kong health authorities have recorded 30 Covid-19-related deaths among 81 severe adult cases in the past four weeks, with the proportion of positive respiratory samples in the same period hitting a one-year high. But experts have said the overall impact of the virus on the community is weaker than in the past, while there is no evidence suggesting the prevalent strain will lead to more severe disease. The Post unpacks the current Covid-19 situation in the city and what residents can do to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3310682/covid-19-hong-kong-guide-resurgence-cases-and-how-stay-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3310682/covid-19-hong-kong-guide-resurgence-cases-and-how-stay-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 11:17:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press There were 30,000 fewer US drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before – the largest one-year decline ever recorded. An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centres for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That is down 27 per cent from the 110,000 in 2023. The CDC has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. The previous largest one-year drop was 4 per cent in 2018, according to the agency’s National Center for Health... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3310366/us-overdose-deaths-fall-27-last-year-largest-one-year-drop-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3310366/us-overdose-deaths-fall-27-last-year-largest-one-year-drop-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 May 2025 14:57:19 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has identified suspected Covid-19 contamination in a batch of flocked swabs used in five public hospitals, with two patients found to have shown false positive results. The authority said on Saturday that a laboratory at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung detected weak positive results for Covid-19 in some of the flocked swab samples after routine tests were conducted on a batch of specimen collection kits. Following the discovery, authorities took... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3309852/hong-kong-investigates-suspected-covid-19-contamination-swabs-5-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3309852/hong-kong-investigates-suspected-covid-19-contamination-swabs-5-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2025 09:56:36 +0000 Graeme Green Graeme Green Thor Pedersen’s wedding day was a strange affair. Wearing a new suit he’d had tailored in Hong Kong, he was alone in his Kwai Chung flat while his Danish fiancée, Le, was more than 8,000km away in Denmark. Due to the different time zones, they didn’t even get married on the same day. “It was lockdown in Denmark because of the pandemic,” explains Pedersen. “Le was alone in her apartment and couldn’t have any friends or family over. We were getting married through an agency in Utah, in the United... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3308623/how-one-mans-globetrotting-tour-was-waylaid-covid-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3308623/how-one-mans-globetrotting-tour-was-waylaid-covid-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 May 2025 01:00:15 +0000