Headline

China Battles Surge In Respiratory Illnesses Amidst Fears Of New Outbreak

Published

8 months ago

January 4, 2025

A mysterious viral outbreak is overwhelming some hospitals in China and prompting people to wear face masks again.

Videos circulating on social media show overcrowded hospital units, parents waiting in long lines with sick children, and patients wearing face masks in packed facilities.

Unverified reports have also emerged claiming crematoriums and funeral homes are overwhelmed, prompting concerns and comparisons to the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

According to Dailymail on Friday, Local news outlets have attributed the outbreak to human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a virus that typically causes mild cold-like symptoms. However, Chinese health officials have not confirmed this as the cause.

READ ALSO: Biden To Honour Messi, Denzel Washington, 17 Others With Top US Award
.
The outbreak bears similarities to winter 2022/23 when mycoplasma pneumonia cases—referred to as “white lung”—spiked among children with weakened immunity due to prolonged lockdowns and school closures during the pandemic.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the latest outbreak is largely driven by seasonal flu. Official data indicates that 30% of tests are positive for influenza, and one in seven hospitalized with severe respiratory illnesses has tested positive for the virus.

In its latest report, covering the week leading up to December 29, the Chinese CDC noted a rise in flu-like illnesses across the country. In northern provinces, 7.2% of outpatient visits were attributed to flu-like symptoms, a 12% increase from the previous week and higher than any corresponding week since 2021. In the south, 5.7% of outpatient visits were linked to flu-like illnesses, marking a 21% weekly increase, though still below 2022 and 2023 levels.

Videos showing overcrowded hospitals in Hunan province and other regions surfaced around New Year’s Eve. According to Aboluowang News, a U.S.-based outlet covering China, a farmer in Hunan, identified as Mr. Peng, reported a surge in illnesses in his area.

‘A lot of people have caught colds, and most of them have [illness],’ he said in quotes translated to English.

‘About seven or eight people died this week in this area. Some were in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 40s.’

The outlet also quoted a funeral director, Ms. Wang, who described long lines at her crematorium:

“There are long lines for cremation now,’ she said in translated quotes. Today, three VIP furnaces were opened.

“They were all burning and emitting a lot of smoke. It was terrible. If you don’t know about the crematorium, you would think it is selling New Year goods, just like holding a trade fair during the Chinese New Year.’

A Chinese video blogger, known as “Please Fei Ge,” shared his personal experience of falling ill after returning to their home province, which was not named, He said he and his wife both had a fever, body aches and headaches — and isolated from their children for three days to avoid transmitting the infection.

He was quoted saying: ‘This feeling is exactly the same as when I got “yang” back then. It’s very uncomfortable. If you still remember that feeling, wear a mask when you go out in crowded places.’

Last year, a surge in mysterious pneumonia cases among children led to similar viral videos showing packed hospitals in Beijing. At the time, Chinese authorities attributed the outbreak to a resurgence of diseases following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

Headline

Argentina’s President Suffers Crushing Defeat In Provincial Elections

Published

2 hours ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

Argentina’s President Javier Milei vowed Sunday to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections.

The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023.

He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the centre-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse.

A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda.

“We will deepen and accelerate it,” he said at a muted election night event in the resort of Mar del Plata, where he took the stage in silence, in marked contrast to his usual dramatic entrance to rock music.

With 91 percent of the votes counted, the centre-left Fuerza Patria coalition had taken over 47 percent of the vote against nearly 34 percent for Milei’s ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA), official results showed.

Buenos Aires’s votes are telling as a bellwether for Argentina. The province contributes more than 30 percent of Argentina’s GDP and accounts for 40 percent of all eligible voters.

The 13-point gap between Milei’s party and the left was far greater than opinion polls had predicted.

Turnout in the election was high, at around 63 percent.

The result poses major concerns for Milei, coming just six weeks before the midterm elections.

Some members of his party downplayed the extent of the defeat, pointing out that the LLA had nonetheless increased its share of legislators in Buenos Aires.

The government went into the election under a cloud following a corruption scandal at the National Disability Agency involving the president’s sister and right-hand woman, Karina Milei.

In a sign of the anger among many Argentines over the affair, Milei and his sister were pelted with stones on the campaign trail outside Buenos Aires in late August, with skirmishes breaking out among supporters and opponents.

The ruling party’s election drubbing comes three days after Milei suffered a major setback when Congress overturned his veto of a law increasing allowances for disabled people.

On the economic front, the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” is struggling also, despite success in fighting inflation and erasing a fiscal deficit.

Last week, his government began selling treasury dollars to stem the depreciation of the local currency, the peso, which had been accelerating in recent weeks despite high interest rates.

“We must learn from this (election defeat),” LLA candidate Diego Valenzuela told AFP, claiming that the result “was due to not engaging in economic populism, which is new in Argentina.”

His remarks were aimed at the Peronists, accused by Milei of leading South America’s second-biggest economy to ruin through excessive spending and protectionism.

Headline

Trial For South Korean Woman Accused Of ‘Suitcase Murders’ Starts Today

Published

2 hours ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

The trial of a South Korean woman accused in New Zealand of killing her children, stuffing their bodies in suitcases and leaving them in a storage locker began on Monday.

The case caused widespread shock in New Zealand when the bodies of Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, were found in an abandoned storage locker by an Auckland family in August 2022.

Police believe Hakyung Lee killed her children in June or July 2018, a year after her husband’s death, and then returned to South Korea.

She was extradited from South Korea in November 2022 at the request of the New Zealand police.

Appearing before the Auckland High Court on Monday morning, New Zealand media reported Lee refused to answer Justice Geoffrey Venning’s calls for a plea.

Despite the silence, Venning said he took Lee’s actions to be a not guilty plea, and continued with the case. He told jurors he expected an insanity defence to be presented.

Lee has elected to represent herself in the trial.

Two defence lawyers, Lorraine Smith and Chris Wilkinson-Smith, are serving as standby counsel.

The prosecution is expected to open its case on Tuesday.

Headline

Generation Z Protests In Nepal Over Social Media Ban, Corruption

Published

2 hours ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

Thousands of young Nepalis marched in the capital Kathmandu on Monday, demanding that the government lift its ban on social media platforms and end the culture of corruption pervading the country.

Several social media sites, including Facebook, YouTube, and X, have been inaccessible in Nepal since Friday after the government blocked 26 unregistered platforms, leaving users angry and confused.

Popular platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal who rely on them for entertainment, news, and business.

Waving national flags, Generation Z demonstrators started the protest with the national anthem before unleashing chants against the social media prohibitions and corruption.

“We were triggered by the social media ban, but that is not the only reason we are gathered here,” said student Yujan Rajbhandari, 24.

“We are protesting against corruption that has been institutionalised in Nepal.”

Another student, Ikshama Tumrok, 20, said she was protesting against the “authoritarian attitude” of the government.

“We want to see change. Others have endured this, but it has to end with our generation,” she told AFP.

Since the ban, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which is still operating.

“There have been movements abroad against corruption, and they (the government) are afraid that might happen here as well,” said protester Bhumika Bharati.

The cabinet decided last month to give the affected companies seven days to register in Nepal, establish a point of contact, and designate a resident grievance handling officer and compliance officer.

The decision came after a Supreme Court order in September last year.

In a statement on Sunday, the government said it respected freedom of thought and expression and was committed to “creating an environment for their protection and unfettered use”.

Nepal has restricted access to popular online platforms in the past.

The government blocked access to the Telegram messaging app in July, citing a rise in online fraud and money laundering.

It lifted a nine-month ban on TikTok in August last year after the platform agreed to comply with Nepali regulations.
AFP