Bangkok, Thailand CNN — Smoke from fires in northern Thailand is making it hard to breathe, and at least one hospital in Chiang Mai says it’s reached “full ward capacity” as people present with respiratory issues from breathing air pollution. Air pollution has been a longstanding problem in Thailand, usually caused by heavy road traffic … Read more
CNN — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending personnel to Africa to help stop outbreaks of Marburg virus disease and is urging travelers to certain countries to take precautions. The CDC is also taking steps to keep infections from spreading to the United States. Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania are facing their … Read more
Tokyo CNN — When Kentaro Yokobori was born almost seven years ago, he was the first newborn in the Sogio district of Kawakami village in 25 years. His birth was like a miracle for many villagers. Well-wishers visited his parents Miho and Hirohito for more than a week – nearly all of them senior citizens, … Read more
Minneapolis CNN — The US economy added 311,000 jobs in February, according to the latest monthly employment snapshot from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday. That’s a pullback from the blockbuster January jobs report, when a revised 504,000 positions were added, but shows the labor market is still emitting plenty of heat. The unemployment … Read more
CNN — US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to press Taiwan and try to undercut US influence in the coming years as he begins a third term as president. While Beijing has stepped up its public criticism of the US, Haines told the Senate … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — A Chinese city says it has destroyed a billion pieces of personal data collected during the pandemic, as local governments gradually dismantle their coronavirus surveillance and tracking systems after abandoning the country’s controversial zero-Covid policy. Wuxi, a manufacturing hub on China’s eastern coast and home to 7.5 million people, held a … Read more
Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN — The US Department of Energy’s assessment that Covid-19 most likely emerged due to a laboratory … Read more
Hong Kong CNN — Even for a famously frugal nation, Chinese people saved a lot last year. Stuck at home due to Covid restrictions, they socked away a record $2.6 trillion. Now that life is returning to normal, hopes are high that consumers will spend with a vengeance, providing a much-needed boost to the world’s … Read more
Johannesburg, South Africa CNN — Car crashes, opportunistic criminals, rotting food, decomposing bodies, bankrupt businesses, and water shortages. Welcome to life under South Africa’s power blackouts. Last week the grim extent of the outages was laid bare when South Africans were advised to bury dead loved ones within four days. In a public statement, the … Read more
London CNN — Most winters, headlines warn that Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is at “breaking point.” The alarms sound over and over and over again. But the current crisis has set warning bells ringing louder than before. “This time feels different,” said Peter Neville, a doctor who has worked in the NHS since 1989. … Read more