The temporary facilities, with a combined capacity of 50,000 beds, will be spread across Hong Kong, including on private land lent for free by developers.

Authorities said two women, aged 21 and 24, had used social media to "incite hatred and incite others to violate anti-epidemic regulations"

The RBI has come under criticism from several quarters, including economists, for not unwinding its extraordinary monetary stimulus

Residents need a vaccine record to access venues including supermarkets, malls and restaurants and must wear masks for all outdoor exercise

China also approved 74 million tonnes of replacement coal-based steel production capacity last year, more than the whole of the rest of the world

The flag carrier, majority owned by the New Zealand government, said half-year losses blew out almost four-fold to NZ$272 million

A research team examined emissions estimated by companies in their applications and compared these with data reported to a regulator

However, this year's festival in mid-April is expected to be another dry one, as Thailand faces an upward wave of the Omicron coronavirus variant

The city registered 105 confirmed coronavirus cases and 28 asymptomatic cases since new infections were first reported on February 13

The result compares with a A$1 billion underlying before-tax loss in the same half a year earlier, as flights fell to just 18% of pre-pandemic levels

More than 53,000 cases were reported in the city of 7.5 million people since this latest wave of infections began in January, according to official data

City will offer tax breaks, handouts and subsidies to small businesses and residents to mitigate the impact of a new restrictions to curb Covid-19 infections, the country's top finance official said