BEIJING: After purchasing face masks and ventilators from China in prior months, North Korea unexpectedly ceased importing COVID-19 prevention and control products in May, according to trade statistics supplied by Beijing. Since the isolated government initially announced it was combating a COVID-19 outbreak in mid-May, daily new cases of fever in North Korea have been falling, according to its state …

TOKYO: On Monday, a Japanese court declared that a prohibition on same-sex marriage is not unconstitutional, striking a blow to LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven country that does not allow persons of the same gender to marry. After a court in the city of Sapporo ruled in March 2021 that prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, activists’ …

SINGAPORE: According to the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), social media providers may soon be required to “limit access” to dangerous content or to block accounts that include such content. To improve online safety, the government is consulting on two proposed rules of practice. The first is for selected social media services with a large user base or a …

NEVADA: Former Tesla workers have filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s intention to perform a “mass layoff” violates federal law by neglecting to provide advance warning of the job losses. Two Tesla factory workers filed the complaint in Texas late Sunday (June 19), alleging that they were sacked from the Sparks, Nevada, factory in June. According to the lawsuit, …

SEOUL: On Tuesday, South Korea’s central bank said it expected inflation to be higher than previously forecasted, and that it will examine debt repayment difficulties closely to determine whether a half-percentage-point interest rate hike in July is reasonable. The Bank of Korea, which recently raised its 2022 annual average inflation projection to 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent, said it did …

AUSTRALIA: One of Australia’s least-visited and least-understood places is located in the country’s far north. However, thanks to indigenous entrepreneurs like Fraser Nai, change will be coming. The Torres Strait is a group of 247 islands off the coast of Queensland, close to Papua New Guinea. There are Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Australian Torres Strait Islanders living there. Patty Mills, who …

MALDIVES: A city is rising from the Indian Ocean’s depths. A floating metropolis, large enough to house 20,000 people, is being built in a beautiful lagoon approximately 10 minutes by boat from Male, the Maldivian capital. The city will be built in the shape of brain coral, with 5,000 floating units including housing, restaurants, businesses, and schools, connected by canals. …

SWEDEN: After decades of neutrality, Sweden and Finland agreed to join NATO, the world’s most powerful military alliance, on May 18, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a turning point. The Nordic countries’ bids appeared to be on track to receive the necessary unanimous backing from all 30 NATO members. Then they are thrown a problem: Turkish opposition. President Recep …

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health and the expert committee on COVID-19 vaccinations are now conducting investigations on the efficiency and safety of Moderna and Pfizer’s BioNTech vaccines in children. From the age of six months up to four year olds, the trial will evaluate the use of the aforementioned vaccines. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended COVID-19 …

JAKARTA: Due to concerns from two creditors, the ratification of Garuda Indonesia’s deal to restructure the airline’s more than 9 billion dollar debt has been postponed for a week, according to an administrator. Garuda’s restructuring proposal was approved by the majority of its creditors last week, and the agreement was set to be formalized in a meeting on Monday. The …