VIETNAM: Compared to the same period in 2021, dengue fever cases in Vietnam have more than doubled this year, the health ministry reported on Thursday (July 14), advising its hospitals to prepare for additional infections. There is no vaccination for dengue fever, a virus that is ubiquitous in Southeast Asia and causes symptoms similar to the flu. Internal bleeding can …

PHILIPPINES: Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, less than a year removed from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to safeguard free speech, is currently fighting to avoid jail time while her news site Rappler faces possible closure. A strong critic of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and his bloody drug campaign, the intrepid veteran reporter refuses to be intimidated …

SCOTLAND: Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch post-Impressionist artist, painted a self-portrait behind another of his works. The discovery was uncovered by conservators at the National Galleries of Scotland during an x-ray inspection of Van Gogh’s 1885 painting “Head of a Peasant Woman” for an upcoming show, the organization announced on Thursday. According to the x-rays, this was the case “bearded …

US: It was announced on Wednesday (July 13) that a former CIA software engineer has been found guilty of the largest theft of secret information in the agency’s history. During his retrial in New York City, Joshua Schulte claimed in closing arguments that the CIA and the FBI made him the scapegoat for WikiLeaks’ embarrassing 2017 leak of a cache …

US: US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday (July 13) to begin a trip to the Middle East, where he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to strengthen Israel’s ties to the area as they prepare to take on Iran. A visit to Saudi Arabia by Biden, who will be making his first regional trip since assuming …

SINGAPORE: It’s not an easy task to make it into the top 12 Singaporean home cooks, much less the top two. Nevertheless, Nares, 32, accomplished just that in MasterChef Singapore’s third season, which concluded on July 3 with a fiery finale involving S Nareskanna, also known as Nares. While he missed out on the MasterChef title by just 1.5 points, …

JAPAN: Coronavirus cases appear to be spreading swiftly across Japan, prompting the country’s health ministry to issue a public health alert and urge residents to exercise extra caution ahead of the forthcoming long weekend and upcoming summer school breaks. Japan’s new COVID-19 cases have climbed to levels not seen since early this year, with Tokyo reporting 16,878 new cases on …

SOUTH KOREA: Ioniq 6, Hyundai’s first electric sedan, was unveiled on Thursday, July 14th, and the South Korean automaker hopes it will help them gain market share in the electric vehicle market, which is now dominated by Tesla Inc. More than 31 electric vehicles, including Hyundai Motor, its sister business Kia Corp, and the premium brand Genesis, will be introduced …

INDONESIA: For the time being, Indonesia has halted the recruitment of its people to work in Malaysian plantations, claiming a breach of a worker recruitment agreement struck between the two nations on Wednesday (July 13). As the world’s second-largest palm oil producer and a vital supply chain component, Malaysia is now dealing with a labor shortfall of approximately 1.2 million …

MALAYSIA: De facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has said that a new anti-party switching Bill will be filed in Malaysia’s parliament on Monday (Jul 18) and that if enacted, the law could come into effect by September. A draft of the anti-party jumping law was finalized and studied on Wednesday by the bipartisan select committee appointed to look …