Asia news

• Tonga tsunami: Race for vital supplies to reach volcano-hit islands

  18-01-2022 23:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Teams work desperately to clear ash from runways so planes can deliver food and drinking water.
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong seizes hamsters from pet store for mass cull

  18-01-2022 22:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A pet shop outbreak in "zero Covid" Hong Kong will result in the euthanasia of 2,000 small mammals.
  
  Read more

• How widespread is Covid in animals and what are the risks to humans?

  18-01-2022 20:51 via ft.com
  Hong Kong announces cull of more than 1,000 hamsters amid fears of transmission from pets to humans
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on China’s baby bust: let people choose | Editorial

  18-01-2022 19:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Beijing faces a demographic timebomb, with population growth at its lowest for six decades“Of all things in the world, people are the most precious,” Mao Zedong said soon after taking power, believing China needed more soldiers and workers. The advent of peace saw the population rocket from 540 million to 969 million over the next three decades. Authorities abruptly switched to curbing births and brutally implementing the “one-child” policy.These days, most Chinese couple
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tonga says volcanic eruption and tsunami an ‘unprecedented disaster’

  18-01-2022 18:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Government issues first official update since huge blast on Saturday, saying death toll could riseTonga is facing an “unprecedented disaster” from a massive volcanic eruption that covered the nation in ash and 15-metre tsunami waves that destroyed almost all the homes on two small islands, the government has said.Hampered by a communications breakdown caused by the severing of a major undersea cable, authorities had not released an official update since the blast on Saturday, when th
  
  Read more

• Patriotic Gen Zs fuel pandemic jewellery boom in China

  18-01-2022 18:15 via ft.com
  The country’s biggest retailer Chow Tai Fook is banking on the youth’s love of traditional designs
  
  Read more

• Backlash as US billionaire dismisses Uyghur abuse

  18-01-2022 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chamath Palihapitiya says he and most Americans "don't care" about alleged human rights abuse of the Uyghur minority.
  
  Read more

• Winter Olympics: Athletes advised to use burner phones in Beijing

  18-01-2022 15:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A mandatory Covid monitoring app to be used by all Games attendees has security risks, analysts warn.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tonga tsunami: Before and after eruption

  18-01-2022 15:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Satellite and aerial images show impact of eruption of underwater volcano near Tonga island chain.
  
  Read more

• Indonesia names new capital that will replace Jakarta

  18-01-2022 14:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lawmakers approve proposals to relocate the capital from Jakarta, which is sinking at an alarming rate.
  
  Read more

• Renewables: China will breeze into offshore wind top slot

  18-01-2022 13:58 via ft.com
  Three new plants will turn Three Gorges into the world’s largest offshore operator
  
  Read more

• Tonga volcano: islands covered in ash, as three deaths confirmed

  18-01-2022 13:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Pictures from New Zealand defence force surveillance flight and UN satellite images show land and trees coated in ashSome of the first images have emerged from Tonga’s volcano and tsunami-hit islands, after a New Zealand defence force surveillance flight returned from the cut-off country, as three deaths from the disaster have been confirmed in Tonga.Aerial photography of Nomuka, a small island in the southern part of the Haʻapai group, shows land and trees coated with ash and other d
  
  Read more

• Chinese activist told he could not visit dying wife is re-arrested

  18-01-2022 11:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Yang Maodong held ‘on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power’ two days after death of his wifeA Chinese human rights activist and writer who was detained following repeated pleas to be allowed to visit his terminally ill wife has been formally arrested days after she died for allegedly “inciting subversion of state power”.Yang Maodong, who goes by the pen-name Guo Feixiong, was formally arrested on Monday last week by the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, two day
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong to cull hamsters and quarantine pet store visitors over Covid fears

  18-01-2022 11:51 via ft.com
  About 150 people will be sent to government facility after suspected human-to-animal transmission
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong to kill thousands of hamsters after Covid found on 11

  18-01-2022 11:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities call for animals to be surrendered for ‘disposal’ after traces of virus detected at pet shopCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHong Kong has ordered thousands of hamsters be surrendered for “disposal” after traces of Covid-19 were found on 11 animals in a pet shop.The order includes pets that were bought days before Christmas be handed over, with a warning not to “kiss or abandon them on the street” as Hong Kong and m
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong to cull thousands of hamsters after Covid found on 11

  18-01-2022 11:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities call for animals to be surrendered for ‘disposal’ after traces of virus detected at pet shopCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHong Kong has ordered thousands of hamsters be surrendered for “disposal” after traces of Covid-19 were found on 11 animals in a pet shop.The order includes pets that were bought days before Christmas be handed over, with a warning not to “kiss or abandon them on the street” as Hong Kong and m
  
  Read more

• Australian Open: Tennis Australia 'deeply regrets' impact of Novak Djokovic saga

  18-01-2022 10:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Novak Djokovic visa saga was "a significant distraction for everyone", say Australian Open organisers.
  
  Read more

• China forced 2,500 ‘fugitives’ back from overseas during pandemic, report finds

  18-01-2022 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Methods used in Sky Net program range from family intimidation to state-sanctioned kidnappings, says rights groupChinese authorities captured more than 2,500 “fugitives” from overseas and brought them back to China during the pandemic, under a program using methods ranging from family intimidation to “state-sanctioned kidnapping”, according to a new report.Human rights group Safeguard Defenders estimates in its report published on Tuesday that the continued repatriations
  
  Read more

• Indonesia names new capital Nusantara, replacing sinking Jakarta

  18-01-2022 07:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Government offices will relocate to province of East Kalimantan, easing burden on Java metropolis as it battles environmental problemsIndonesia plans to name its new capital Nusantara, which translates as “archipelago”, when government offices are relocated to the province of East Kalimantan from Jakarta, on the island of Java.President Joko Widodo first announced the plan to move Indonesia’s capital in 2019, in an effort to relieve the huge environmental challenges facing Jaka
  
  Read more

• Tonga’s volcano eruption: in pictures

  18-01-2022 07:43 via theguardian.com
  
  The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai undersea volcano eruption is thought to be the largest volcanic event in 30 years. Here are a selection of images of what we have sen so far Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Leaked New Zealand military photos show scale of damage caused by Tonga volcano eruption

  18-01-2022 07:34 via theguardian.com
  
  The 40 images paint a much fuller picture of the damage to the country following a volcanic eruption and tsunamiAerial images prepared by the New Zealand defence force for the Tongan government have been leaked online and show some areas have had “catastrophic” devastation inflicted by the tsunami and volcanic eruption while others were relatively unscathed.The 40 aerial pictures show some areas blanketed with ash, with damaged buildings, while others show parts of the country that a
  
  Read more

• What we know about Evergrande’s ‘black-box’ restructuring

  18-01-2022 06:50 via ft.com
  Beijing’s orchestrated collapse of the indebted property developer is an attempt to limit contagion
  
  Read more

• China's Xi Jinping defends 'common prosperity' crackdowns

  18-01-2022 06:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Chinese leader made the comments during an address to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.
  
  Read more

• Bank of Japan revises inflation projection for first time since 2014

  18-01-2022 06:17 via ft.com
  Prices have finally begun to rise but increases still lower than elsewhere in the world
  
  Read more

• Tehran boasts of ‘economic resistance’ against US sanctions

  18-01-2022 06:00 via ft.com
  Iran feels emboldened in Vienna nuclear talks but inflation is fuelling public discontent
  
  Read more

• Afghanistan twin quakes kill at least 22 in poorest areas

  18-01-2022 05:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Officials say the death toll could rise from two earthquakes which hit the north-west of the nation.
  
  Read more

• Tonga could be cut off for weeks amid efforts to repair undersea communications cable

  18-01-2022 05:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Threat of new volcanic eruption could prevent access by repair ship, which is en route from 4,000km awayThe mission to repair the undersea communications cable that connects Tonga with the rest of the world could take up to a fortnight, the cable operator has warned, due to risks that a subsequent volcanic eruption could endanger a repair ship.Thousands of families remained without word from loved ones across Tonga, four days after the massive eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volc
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong police arrest two Cathay flight attendants accused of Covid rule breach

  18-01-2022 03:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Police allege staff at the beleaguered airline ‘conducted unnecessary activities’ during home isolation as China presses on with zero-Covid strategyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHong Kong police have arrested and charged two former Cathay Pacific flight attendants over allegations they broke the city’s coronavirus rules.The statement did not name the airline but the two – reportedly men aged 44 and 45 – were later confirmed by lea
  
  Read more

• Tonga volcano: first pictures after eruption show islands blanketed in ash, as two deaths confirmed

  18-01-2022 03:38 via theguardian.com
  
  A New Zealand defence force surveillance flight has returned from Tonga. Pictures show land and trees coated in ashSome of the first images have emerged from Tonga’s volcano and tsunami-hit islands, after a New Zealand defence force surveillance flight returned from the cut-off country, as two deaths from the disaster have been confirmed.Aerial photography of Nomuka, a small island in the southern part of the Haʻapai group, shows land and trees coated with ash and other damage inflict
  
  Read more

• ‘She will not become dull and unattractive’: The charming history of menopause and HRT | Niki Bezzant

  18-01-2022 02:30 via theguardian.com
  
  HRT was first successfully marketed as a ‘cure’ for menopause in the 1940s before a misreported study crashed sales in 2002 For centuries the symptoms of menopause were documented, but women went through it with little intervention. It wasn’t until the advent of science as we know it that physicians (all male at the time obviously) started more commonly “treating” its symptoms. It’s clear now they had no idea what they were dealing with, since treatments range
  
  Read more

• Slowdown in Chinese town highlights potential pitfalls of property reforms

  18-01-2022 01:30 via ft.com
  Homeowners’ struggles demonstrate challenge of cooling sector without damaging wider economy
  
  Read more

• China slowdown highlights potential pitfalls of property reforms

  18-01-2022 01:30 via ft.com
  Homeowners’ struggles demonstrate challenge of cooling sector without damaging wider economy
  
  Read more

• Collarwali: Remembering India’s ‘super mum’ tigress

  18-01-2022 01:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Charismatic Collarwali played a key role in boosting tiger numbers and made her sanctuary famous.
  
  Read more

• Tonga volcano: distress signal detected in low-lying islands after eruption, as first death reported

  18-01-2022 01:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Regular contact with Tonga may not resume for weeks after confirmation the communications cable was cut in at least one placeA distress signal has been detected in an isolated, low-lying group of Tongan islands after Saturday’s huge volcanic eruption, even as most external communications remain down, and diaspora families anxiously await news.Reuters reports that the UN detected the distress signal on Monday, prompting particular concern for the inhabitants of Fonoi and Mango. According to
  
  Read more

• China’s record trade gap a symptom of struggle to rebalance its economy

  18-01-2022 01:01 via ft.com
  Surpluses will continue as Beijing struggles to rein in burgeoning debt and increase domestic consumption
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Asia_News on Twitter!