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World Health Organization (WHO)
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Residents wear masks inside a shopping centre in Tai Kok Tsui. Photo: Karma Lo
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Explainer | As ‘super flu’ spreads worldwide, how can Hongkongers protect against it?

Researchers find 82.8 per cent of flu specimens collected from Queen Mary Hospital between December 6 and 11 were subclade K.

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Israel-Gaza war

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

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Israel-Gaza war

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

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Haneen al-Mabhouh, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home, sits in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on November 6. Photo: AP
Britain

UK ‘super flu’ crisis and doctors’ strike spark ‘worst-case’ Christmas fears

Flu cases hit record highs with a 55 per cent weekly jump as the NHS faces a planned doctors’ strike next week.

Vietnam

‘I have to wear a mask all the time’: Hanoi’s smog hits crisis levels

On Thursday, Hanoi was the world’s fourth most-polluted city, with officials citing vehicles, industry, and crop burning for the poor air quality.

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Britain

New mpox strain found in UK after travel to Asia

New recombinant mpox strain raises concerns over global spread and viral evolution.

A colorised electron micrograph shows green mpox particles within a pink and purple infected cell cultured in a lab. Photo: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/AFP
Africa

63 children among 114 dead in strikes on Sudan kindergarten, hospital: WHO

Reports paramedics were also targeted during rescue efforts, as WHO director general condemns attack.

India

New Delhi’s smog surge linked to 200,000 respiratory cases

Acrid smog chokes Delhi’s skyline each winter, when cool air traps a deadly mix of pollutants from crop burning, factories, and traffic.

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Thailand

Thais in good spirits after government lifts ban on afternoon alcohol sales

The eased rules permit alcohol sales from 11am to midnight during the six-month trial period.

A customer shops for alcoholic beverages at a grocery store in Bangkok. Photo: EPA-EFE
Environment

No more mercury in your mouth: toxic metal’s use as tooth filling to end by 2034

The move is a win for human health: the WHO lists mercury as one of the top 10 chemical elements of major public health concern.

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A man in Bolivia shows off his gold decorated teeth. Photo: AFP
Earthquakes

International condolences pour in after deadly Afghanistan earthquake

A powerful 6.3 earthquake hit northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 20 and injuring hundreds.

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Africa

Sudan war sparks global alarm after hundreds killed at hospital

The Rapid Support Forces have been accused of mass executions and other atrocities after capturing the provincial capital of North Darfur state.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong biotech firm to back controversial sanitary pad HPV test with evidence

Dr Choi Pui-wah, founder of WomenX Biotech, also says she remains optimistic about Hong Kong as a tech destination despite government warning.

Dr Choi Pui-wah, founder of WomenX Biotech, also says she remains optimistic about Hong Kong as a tech destination. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Africa

UN rights chief warns of ethnically motivated ‘atrocities’ in Sudan’s El-Fasher

Volker Turk said ‘urgent and concrete action’ was needed to protect civilians as paramilitary forces said they had taken control of the city.

Sudanese children, who fled from a camp for internally displaced persons, rest in April while on their way to another camp amid their country’s devastating civil war. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong warns against HPV screenings involving sanitary pad self-collection

Department of Health says it is addressing claims made by businesses, citing ‘insufficient’ scientific evidence for such methods.

India

India’s capital celebrates Diwali cloaked in a blanket of acrid smog

Levels of cancer-causing PM2.5 microparticles have soared to more than 16 times the WHO’s recommended safe limit.

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Science

Top biomedical scientist Hu Ye quits US to take up founding role in China

Hu has been appointed founding dean at the new school of biomedical engineering at his alma mater, Tsinghua University.

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Biomedical scientist Hu Ye has returned to China to become the founding dean of a new school of biomedical engineering at Tsinghua University. Photo: Handout
Israel-Gaza war

Aid resumes in Gaza with Rafah crossing set to reopen after hostage body dispute

The dispute over the return of bodies still has the potential to upset the ceasefire deal, along with other yet to be resolved issues.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong’s summer flu season very active, may last until November: expert

Centre for Health Protection controller Edwin Tsui also says that the summer and winter flu seasons are likely to overlap.

India

Indian state cancels licence of cough syrup maker linked to child deaths

The domestic-only medicine sale revives global concerns over India’s major pharmaceutical exports, linked to the deaths of 10 children in 2023.

A photograph shows collected cough syrups in Banjul, India in October 2022. Photo: AFP
Women and gender

Growing ‘medicalisation’ of female circumcision in Asia sparks risk warnings

The practice is increasingly being performed by health professionals, which risks giving it a veneer of legitimacy, rights advocates say.

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The World Health Organization and other UN agencies have described female genital mutilation as a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights with no health advantages and well-documented physical and psychological harm. Photo: VII Network
Mental health

Letters | Mind the mental health impacts of climate and economic upheavals

Readers discuss a society-wide view of mental health, and tree care in Hong Kong.

United Nations

UN to slash 25% of global peacekeeping force due to funding strains

The US, the UN’s largest donor, reduced its contribution by hundreds of millions, forcing cuts to peacekeeping missions.

Diplomacy

US retreat from UN may create ‘tremendous opportunity’ for nations like China

Global body is at a crossroads, and observers say a ‘leaderless’ era could emerge during second Trump administration.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Malaysia

Drug-resistant sepsis threatens newborns across Southeast Asia, study warns

Researchers found antibiotic-resistant bacteria driving nearly 80 per cent of sepsis cases in newborns in a number of Asian nations.

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Researchers found antibiotic-resistant bacteria driving nearly 80 per cent of sepsis cases in newborns in five Southeast Asian countries. Photo: Shutterstock
Donald Trump

Trump revives debunked ‘MedBed’ conspiracy theory in deepfake video

The phoney clip posted on Trump’s Truth Social shows the president announcing that ‘every American will soon receive their own MedBed card’.

Indonesia

Religious beliefs hinder measles vaccinations in Indonesia amid outbreak

Despite special dispensation by religious leaders, some parents are hesitant to use the vaccines as they contain pork gelatin.

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