This day, this match, had to come, of course, for Roger Federer, and for tennis, just as it inevitably must for every athlete in every sport. Federer bid adieu Friday night with one last contest before he heads into retirement at age 41 after a superlative career that included 20 Grand Slam titles and a […]
General
Japan to Ease COVID Border Controls to Boost Tourism
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Japan will abolish a series of COVID-19 border restrictions in hopes of reviving its tourism industry. As of Oct. 11, Japan will allow individual visitors to enter the country, reinstate visa waivers and end the cap on daily arrivals. Kishida announced the long-awaited policy shift at a […]
New Study Says There Are 20 Quadrillion Ants on Earth
A new study released this week “conservatively” estimates there are 20 quadrillion ants on the planet Earth—or about 2.5 million ants for every person. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Germany’s University of Wuerzburg, who noted ants are some of the most successful and dominant forms of life […]
Most Global Deaths Are From Preventable Noncommunicable Diseases
The World Health Organization warns noncommunicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74 percent of all deaths globally. A new global report by the World Health Organization finds noncommunicable diseases now outnumber infectious diseases as the top killers globally. Each year, it says 17 million people under age 70 die prematurely from […]
Beijing’s Zero-COVID Policy Draws New Anger After Fatal Bus Crash
Commenters in China’s tightly controlled online communities are raising an angry howl at what they see as the latest outrage stemming from President Xi Jinping’s draconian zero-COVID policy. After at least 27 people died when a bus in southwest China’s Guizhou Province crashed while transporting them to a coronavirus quarantine facility, online comments revealed the […]
High-Level Consultation on the 9th NSEDP Financing Strategy
A High-Level Consultation was convened on last Friday with those that have been technically engaged to discuss the advanced draft of the Financing Strategy for the 9th NSEDP containing concrete policies and actions to ensure the sustainable financing of national development priorities. The half-day meeting which was chaired by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, […]