From 44m ago Press China to release Yang Hengjun, rights group say Daniel Hurst Human rights groups have urged the Australian government to demand the immediate release of Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun and press other human rights issues strongly during meetings with China’s top diplomat today. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Canberra today, with trade, regional security and human rights among the topics expected to be raised. Amnesty International has written to Wong saying it “joins Uyghur, Tibetan,…
Tag: Health
BoM forecasts category three storm – as it happened
<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"65a9f5d48f0819b86aad88ab","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Felim Hanniffy has given an update on the cyclone building off the coast of Queensland. ","elementId":"368c5292-28dd-4f7f-af06-a1cc1ca01ac2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Hanniffy said the storm is expected to intensify into a “serious tropical cyclone”, of at least category three. It could cross the Queensland coast at that size, he said. ","elementId":"9a886f07-0445-4d68-9ffa-6dca678520cf"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" “The atmosphere is certainly conducive for significant tropical cyclone development in the Coral Sea,” he said. ","elementId":"cf6d6b33-ce95-4cce-8df7-88163007b973"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" “I think the bottom line is for next week there’s a high chance of tropical cyclone development…
Teenagers with more siblings have worse mental health, study suggests
From Cain and Abel and the Brothers Karamazov to Cinderella, the warmth and support provided by siblings has hardly been taken for granted. Now, researchers have found that children who moan about their brothers and sisters may have good reason to complain: the more siblings teenagers have, the more it hits their happiness, they claim. A study of secondary schoolchildren in the US and China found that those from larger families had slightly poorer mental health than those from smaller families. The greatest impact was seen in families with multiple…
AstraZeneca buys Chinese cancer therapy firm Gracell for $1.2bn
AstraZeneca has struck a deal to buy a Chinese cancer therapy company for up to $1.2bn (£950m), as Britain’s biggest drugmaker expands its footprint in its second-largest market. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm announced on Tuesday it would acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, which is focused on a type of cancer therapy known as CAR-T that modifies a patient’s cells to fight the disease. The deal marks a further investment in cancer research and treatment, which accounts for about one-third of AstraZeneca’s business, as well as its continued push to expand in China.…
Respiratory infection clusters in China not caused by novel virus, says health ministry
A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday. Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of common viruses such as the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus, as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a common culprit for respiratory tract infections, a National Health Commission spokesperson said. The ministry called…
AstraZeneca makes bigger push into weight-loss market with new drug deal
AstraZeneca is making a bigger push into the weight-loss drug market, striking an exclusive licence agreement with a Chinese company for an obesity and type 2 diabetes pill that is in early stage development. Britain’s biggest drugmaker said it had agreed a deal with Eccogene, based in Shanghai, for an experimental drug named ECC5004 that would also treat other cardiometabolic conditions such as heart disease and stroke. It is in phase 1 development but AstraZeneca hopes it will enter phase 2 clinical studies by the end of next year. If…
Australia news live: fires in Queensland and NSW threaten homes amid strong winds, high temperatures
<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"6540db478f08dbed308c77d3","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ve got some of our overnight and breaking stories for you before my colleague Emily Wind gets settled in for the day. ","elementId":"5669eb8c-6020-4ee3-89ec-8a46b95d6103"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Our exclusive top story today reveals that ports giant DP World has paid no tax in Australia despite generating revenue of more than $4.5bn over eight years. A new report by the union-backed lobby group Cictar says that DP World’s top Australian subsidiary may have “artificially reduced profits” to…
China fuels global surge in mpox cases as LGBTQ+ stigma hampers response
China is fuelling a global surge in mpox cases, accounting for the majority of new cases reported in September, according to the World Health Organization. The number of weekly cases reported globally increased by 328% in the week to 10 September, data shows. Most of that rise came from China, where more than 500 new cases were reported in August. The WHO said China was experiencing “sustained community transmission” of the virus, which was first detected as an imported case in September last year. Mpox was previously known as Monkeypox…
Australia news live: Philip Lowe reportedly to be replaced as RBA governor; Wong meets top Chinese diplomat
<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"64b067568f08df2847003b8c","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" The Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe will reportedly be replaced when his seven-year contract concludes in mid-September, according to the ABC. ","elementId":"449618a1-4dac-41f8-89a6-8ee101ef6d71"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" An announcement from treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to follow today’s cabinet meeting, when the topic of Lowe’s replacement will be discussed. ","elementId":"50b6d4b9-5044-401e-970b-55fcaa10010f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Guardian Australia has not yet been able to confirm this. We will bring you updates as they come. ","elementId":"1b8f1abd-e9b3-4fa3-a690-4bf8f7709bdb"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" In the meantime, here is more on what the future may look like for the Australian economy, the RBA and Lowe, from…
Chinese woman appeals in battle for right to freeze her eggs
A single Chinese woman has begun an appeal in her legal battle for the right to freeze her eggs, a procedure only available in China to married couples. Xu Zaozao took legal action in 2019 after a Beijing hospital refused to freeze her eggs but a Beijing court dismissed her case in July 2022. Her case is widely followed in China, where women’s rights have become an increasingly prominent issue and the falling birthrate is of growing concern. Xu says she wants to freeze her eggs to give herself the…