Bare-faced robbery: thieves steal 6,000 hygiene masks in Japan
Tokyo (AFP) - Thieves in Japan have made off with some 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital, with the country facing a mass shortage and a huge price hike online due to the coronavirus.Four boxes containing the face masks disappeared from a locked storage facility at...
Actor Ashraf Sinclair dead at 40
Popular actor Ashraf Sinclair has passed away, aged 40 in Jakarta, Indonesia.The sad news was confirmed by Doddy, who is the manager of Bunga Citra Lestari, the Indonesian singer to whom Ashraf was married.He told Kompasthat Ashraf had suffered a heart attack.Ashraf,...
A place to turn for help
Recent data from the Mental Health Department has shown that there are 1 million young Thais dealing with clinical depression and around 2 million at risk of developing this and other mental illnesses.This situation along with the increase of suicide rates among Thai...
‘Tiger widows’ shunned as bad luck in rural Bangladesh
Shyamnagar (Bangladesh) (AFP) - Abandoned by her sons, shunned by her neighbours and branded a witch. Mosammat Rashida's crime? Her husband was killed by a Bengal tiger. Women like her are ostracised in many rural villages in Bangladesh, where they are viewed as the...
Taiwan embraces cute mascots for virus prevention campaign
Taipei (AFP) - While China deploys stern communist slogans in its battle against a deadly new coronavirus, democratic Taiwan has embraced cuddly mascots and humour to ease public anxiety and educate on best practices.Images of cute animals have featured in daily...
People without the smelling part of their brain can still smell — and it’s puzzling scientists
Think about the last time you had a cold. Think how weird it felt to not be able to smell or taste anything just because your nose was clogged up. That is, to an extent, the life of people with anosmia: the term for not being able to smell.Some patients are born with...
Unchained melody: Traditional music revived as security improves
Peshawar (Pakistan) (AFP) - For years the distinctive twang of Pashtun music was drowned out by rattling gunfire and deafening explosions as musicians in Pakistan's northwest were targeted by militants. But, as security improves, a centuries-old tribal tradition is...
Why is Hong Kong full of white elephant monuments and what can we do about them?
By Eric WongThe landslide loss of seats by the so-called “loyalist” district councillors in November’s District Council Elections was followed by queries over whether they have faithfully served the community over the years while in power. One of the areas most...
Love boat: Valentine’s Day on a quarantine cruise
Tokyo (AFP) - "Cupid's avocado" for dinner, heart-shaped messages for the crew, but also painful separation: for those trapped on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, Friday is no ordinary Valentine's Day.Wearing a red dress and a red hair tie, the...
Couples exchange vows high above Chiang Rai
Happy couples flocked to district offices across the country to register their marriages on Valentine’s Day, with many opting to exchange their vows in hot-air balloons floating above Chiang Rai.Twenty-five “Balloon Love’’ couples tied the knot in the sky above Singha...
Love in the time of coronavirus: A quiet Valentine’s Day in China
Beijing (AFP) - It was supposed to be a whirlwind tour of China for Jiang Lanyi's boyfriend: classical gardens in Suzhou, modern art in Shanghai, ice-skating in central Beijing.Instead, the 24-year-old and her Ukrainian partner have spent more than two weeks holed up...
Antarctica registers record temperature of over 20 C
Sao Paulo (AFP) - Scientists in Antarctica have recorded a new record temperature of 20.75 degrees Celsius (69.35 Fahrenheit), breaking the barrier of 20 degrees for the first time on the continent, a researcher said Thursday."We'd never seen a temperature this high...