Traditional Medicine

1. Asian ice-hockey players are making their mark in the ‘whitest sport on Earth’

   He’s a wide-shouldered defenceman from Canada’s ice-hockey heartland, currently playing with the Calgary Hitmen in North America’s Western Hockey League (WHL), a junior league for players aged under 20. At 182cm tall and 93kg, the 19-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, is an old-style rearguard with a game built around hulkish power in a league that gets faster every year. In June 2018, he was drafted by the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. The name on his shirt stands out among the…

2. Stray Kids trolls warned to respect K-pop band’s privacy or risk legal action

   By Dong Sun-hwaK-pop boy band Stray Kids’ management agency has warned it will take legal action against people who violate the privacy of band members.“There have frequently been cases in which people violate Stray Kids’ privacy using the members’ personal information,” JYP Entertainment wrote on the group’s online fan page. “These people have been inflicting psychological damage on the singers by calling them night and day and sending spam texts.“These acts violate the nation’s privacy laws…

3. How having more frequent sex in your 40s can keep the menopause at bay

   Women approaching menopause who have frequent sex are less likely to cross that threshold than women of the same age who are not as active sexually, according to researchers.On average, intimate relations at least once a week reduced the chances of entering menopause by 28 per cent compared to women who had sex less than once a month, they reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science.The difference, the study suggests, reflects the body’s response to evolutionary pressures. “If a woman is…

4. Oscars 2020: how best documentary and international feature nominee Honeyland changed the life of its filmmakers

   Since they first screened Honeyland at the Sundance film festival in January 2019, directors Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska have toured relentlessly, bringing their documentary to dozens of film festivals around the world. Their efforts paid off this week with two Academy Award nominations, for best documentary feature and best international feature (formerly known as best foreign-language film). “We didn’t plan this,” Stefanov said of Honeyland’s success on the festival circuit, when…

5. 8 ways to avoid catching the flu, from wearing a face mask to getting enough sleep

   Flu season is in full swing in the US, Canada, parts of Europe, Japan – and most of all in Hong Kong. Public hospitals in the city have installed extra beds to prepare for the rise in patients, and health officials have been urging Hongkongers for months to get their flu jabs. For good reason: in recent years the city has experienced virulent flu seasons, including the period from December 2018 to April 2019 when influenza landed 601 adults in intensive care units and there were 356 flu…

6. We go a few rounds in Hong Kong’s first VR fighting game, Unbound Fighting League

   The fight is intense and the cheering is loud. I cannot wait for the next round to start so I can knock out this young guy in front of me – again. It has become apparent that his head is his weak spot and that will be the target of my attacks. I have picked a sword so I can deal deadly blows from a distance. But I need to use my shield better – so I don’t lose any points unnecessarily.It’s time to get inside the ring and the crowd starts roaring again. We are not inside some gladiator-style…

7. Van Lear Black, the man who proved the potential for long-haul passenger flights

   Van Lear Black was said to be the world’s most widely travelled air passenger when he landed in Hong Kong on March 20, 1930. His custom-furnished, three-engine Fokker F.VII was reportedly the largest plane ever to have visited what was then called Kai Tack Aerodrome, and the local press were out in force to welcome him. After a brief chat, Black “dressed in a grey suit and wearing kid gloves” left his two pilots to do the talking and “proceeded to his rooms at the Peninsula Hotel”.The arrival…

8. New Chinese New Year pudding flavours: healthy, low-sugar, vegan, gingery – we put them to the test

   Chinese New Year pudding, or neen goh, is a festive food that symbolises good luck and a brighter future, which is why it’s a must-eat during the holidays.While the traditional sticky pudding is typically made with cane sugar and glutinous rice flour, Hong Kong chefs continue to introduce new and intriguing flavour combinations.We tried some of the latest flavours created for the Year of the Rat.Lung King Heen This year, three-Michelin-star restaurant Lung King Heen has a burdock and snow…

9. Exhibition of fossils, skeletons and more shines light on Hong Kong’s early amateur naturalists

   There’s no doubt the world of citizen science is growing, with public participation in research having come a long way from the days when amateur nature lovers collected bugs or spent weekends gazing at birds.Improved technology and an explosion in online citizen-science platforms, like iNaturalist, eBird and Zooniverse, provide today’s amateur naturalists with ways to engage in crowdsourcing, data collection and analysis on subjects such as space, climate, nature and biology. This rise shows…

10. How Johor Bahru in Malaysia, long in Singapore’s shadow, is on the rise and making the most of its Chinese heritage

    Separated from cosmopolitan Singapore by a causeway that spans a muddy strait, the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru tends to be overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbour.Often dismissed as a cheap and cheerful border town for Singaporeans seeking low-cost shopping malls, spas and theme parks, JB, as the locals call it, is challenging that traditional misconception by celebrating its own heritage and Chinese cultural connections.Writer, local historian and Johor Bahru native Peggy Loh has…