SEOUL — Over the years, the average energy intake of Koreans has been on a decrease. The percent of energy intake from carbohydrates dropped from 64.9 percent in 2012 to 59.4 percent in 2021. On the contrary, the percentage of energy intake from fat increased from 20.4 percent to 24.6 percent. The average energy intake from protein was 16.4 percent for men and 15.5 percent for women. The numbers show why Koreans’ rice consumption has dropped over the years.
Hong Kong’s civil service chief said over 11,000 people have booked their booster shots that protect against both the highly-infectious Omicron variant and the original Covid strain, with the jabs available in the city starting Thursday. The BioNTech bivalent jabs would only be available as a fourth dose alternative. She added that the 1.9 million doses of the vaccine procured by the government should be enough to handle the demand. He worried the vaccine authorities procured would not be enough for everyone, with people willing to take up the jabs for overseas travel. Chui also called on authorities to make the Omicron boosters available as a third dose option.
The Competition Commission started a joint operation with other government departments at Aberdeen to search and locate wholesalers that were reported to be involved in price fixing when selling fisheries products. The city’s competition watchdog, together with the Hong Kong Police, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and several other departments conducted the operation early this morning at Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market. Competition Commission stated that they have received a complaint regarding the price fixing and therefore carried out survey to understand better the situation from the responses of the fish wholesalers. The Commission surveyed practitioners from over 30 wholesalers in the market. The Commission calls on fisheries practitioners and public members who can provide information on the case or the practices in the industry to contact the Commission.
OTTAWA — Canada launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, vowing more resources to deal with a “disruptive” China while working with the world’s second-biggest economy on climate change and trade issues. But the focus is on China, which is mentioned more than 50 times, at a moment when bilateral ties are frosty. “China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” said the strategy. Official data for September show bilateral trade with China accounted for under 7% of the total, compared to 68% for the United States. Canada needed to keep talking to nations it had fundamental disagreements with, it said, but did not name them.
NEW DELHI — An octogenarian man burned himself to death in southern India in protest at what he called New Delhi’s attempts to impose nationwide usage of Hindi, a language mostly spoken in the north, police said Sunday. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the most recent census in 2011, fewer than half of Indian citizens speak Hindi — just under 44 percent. Most southern Indian languages are Dravidian, a completely different language family to the Indo-European group which includes Hindi. MV Thangavel, 85, a farmer in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, doused himself in petrol and kerosene and set himself alight, police said. RELATED STORIESTibetan burns himself to death in China protestJapanese man sets himself on fire in apparent protest at Shinzo Abe’s state funeral–mediaRead Next
File PhotoChairman of the Hospital Authority Henry Fan Hung-ling has tested positive for Covid-19. The HA spokesman said that Fan is undergoing isolation under the guidelines of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health. Fan last attended the HA activity on Saturday. He has no recent travel history. The HA will conduct thorough cleaning and disinfection operation at the Chairman office and the offices concerned.
TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other organizations are planning to establish an observatory on the moon. The observatory may be able to gather information about what the universe was like soon after its birth. The first radio telescope for the facility is expected to be launched in fiscal 2028. “If the project goes well, it would allow the world’s first observation of the Dark Ages. RELATED STORIESJapan counts down to first moon landingJapan space rocket ordered to self-destruct after failed launchRead Next
Hong Kong Customs arrested a female passenger at the Hong Kong International Airport, seizing three kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about HK$2.6 million. The arrested, 43, claimed she was a homemaker and arrived in Hong Kong for "traveling" from São Paulo, Brazil, via Doha, Qatar, during the arrest yesterday. According to Leung Chi-pang, Senior inspector of the Customs’ Drug Investigation Group, officers found two unusually weighted empty pieces of luggage - a hand-carried suitcase and a briefcase - that the woman carried during the clearance. Officers conducted an X-ray inspection of the luggage and found six packs of cocaine weighing three kilograms inside. "Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities," Leung said.
The government confirmed the BioNTech bivalent vaccine will be available for eligible people aged 12 or above from December 1, while online reservations will open from 9am tomorrow (Nov 27). "Vaccination venues providing the BioNTech bivalent vaccine include the Community Vaccination Centres, the Community Vaccination Stations, the Hospital Covid Vaccination Stations, designated general out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority, and the Private Clinic Covid-19 Vaccination Stations," she said. She added that people who have not been vaccinated or received enough vaccine doses are not allowed to choose to receive the bivalent vaccine. However, Yeung said the vaccination rate of children and the elderly in Hong Kong has yet to meet the expectation. "We urged everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves before it is too late," Yeung emphasized.
Government officials claimed that the incident of the national anthem being misplayed at a rugby tournament was out of human error but involved no political motivation, according to the investigation. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Saturday that the investigation into the national anthem incident is ongoing, and the authorities believe there is no evidence to suggest that the incident was deliberately conducted or politically motivated. "The incident was due to human error, entirely without any political or malicious intent, by a junior member of the local organizer," said the president. Police commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said today that the national anthem blunder is still under investigation by the force’s Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, claiming the police have gotten in touch with some employees of Hong Kong Rugby Union. "We may seek communication with international police or South Korea’s police department for further information," he added.
A database containing up-to-date mobile phone numbers of nearly 500 million WhatsApp users was leaked and put up for sale, with the dataset allegedly contains WhatsApp user data from 84 countries, Cyber research publication Cybernews revealed on Thursday. Another huge chunk of phone numbers belongs to the citizens of Egypt (45 million), Italy (35 million), Saudi Arabia (29 million), France (20 million), and Turkey (20 million). Some 2.9 million phone numbers from active WhatsApp users in Hong Kong were also included in the dataset, according to the report. Upon request, the seller of WhatsApp's database shared a sample of data with Cybernews researchers. There were 1097 UK and 817 US user numbers in the shared sample.
ADVERTISEMENTSince early October, Russia has launched missiles roughly once a week in a bid to destroy the Ukrainian power grid. Zelenskiy also accused Russia of incessantly shelling Kherson, the southern Ukrainian city that it abandoned earlier this month. We have to be ready for any developments,” he added, according to Kyiv city council. The vast Zaporizhzhia plant in Russian-held territory was reconnected on Thursday, Ukrainian nuclear power company Energoatom said. Ukraine said Russian forces tried again to advance on their main targets, Bakhmut and Avdiivka, with limited success.
HONG KONG: Asian markets rallied on Thursday and the dollar weakened further after minutes from the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest policy meeting suggested it could slow the pace of its rate hikes. Bets were growing on officials announcing a 50-basis-point lift at their December gathering, down from four straight 75-point hikes. The latest indicators showed that the manufacturing and services sectors continued to contract last month, while jobless claims picked up. "Equities are reveling in the wake of the... minutes after the Fed telegraphed a downshift from jumbo to extra-large rate hikes," SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes said. "A commitment to moving toward restrictive monetary policy remains intact, but the [policy board] is ready to slow the path toward that destination."
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog on Thursday arrested a hiring agent for allegedly disclosing the personal details of a part-time worker over a monetary dispute and disagreement in job allocation. The personal data disclosed included the victim’s Hong Kong Identity Card showing particulars, including her Chinese name, English name, Hong Kong Identity Card number, gender, and photo. The watchdog noted that its investigation revealed that the arrested person is a sourcing agent of part-time workers for different employers. It said a dispute arose between the victim and the arrested person in relation to her salary payment and job allocation in October 2022. The watchdog said the suspect’s action of disclosing the personal data of the complainant without her consent is in contravention of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
KUALA LUMPUR — As Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim prepares on Thursday to take over as prime minister, one of his recent comments serves to sum up the persistence that secured him the job he has eyed for three decades. But the uncertainty ended on Thursday, when Malaysia’s king appointed Anwar, 75, to be prime minister. Time and again, the job of prime minister had eluded Anwar, despite getting within striking distance over the years, first as deputy prime minister in the 1990s and later, as official prime minister-in-waiting, in 2018. His strained relationship with the veteran leader shaped Anwar’s own career, as well as Malaysia’s political landscape, for nearly three decades. Fried and foeAnwar started off as a firebrand Islamic youth leader before joining the prime minister Mahathir’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which leads the Barisan Nasional alliance.
