[4min intervals]TOKYO SHINKANSEN RUSH

 The COVID19 action restrictions were lifted for the first time in three years, and on April 29, 2022, the first day of a major holiday weekend (known as "Golden Week" in Japan), many tourists took the bullet train, making it crowded.The Shinkansen also ran a large number of trains to meet the demand.This video shows the Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen running every 4 minutes.

China hits back at FBI lab leak theory

 

A new row has broken out between the US and China over the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after the FBI director, Christopher Wray, confirmed on Tuesday that the agency had decided that the origin of the pandemic was "most likely a potential lab incident" in Wuhan.  The coronavirus was first identified in the Chinese city in 2019 - and it is home to a virology lab that conducted research into coronaviruses. Beijing has rejected the claims, accusing Washington of hurting its own credibility.   

Covid-19 in China: Hospitals struggle to battle virus surge

 

Inside the Final Days of the Doctor China Tried to Silence | Visual Investigations

 

A New York Times video investigation reveals new details about Dr. Li Wenliang’s illness and death from Covid-19 based on medical records and an exclusive interview with a key witness.

COVID: The positive side of the pandemic | COVID-19 Special

 

Inside the Final Days of the Doctor China Tried to Silence | Visual Investigations

 

A New York Times video investigation reveals new details about Dr. Li Wenliang’s illness and death from Covid-19 based on medical records and an exclusive interview with a key witness.

Is the COVID-19 pandemic nearly over?

 It has been nearly three years since COVID-19 first emerged.

The disease has killed 6.5 million people and infected more than 600 million others around the globe.

But the World Health Organization says things are starting to improve.

Fighting pandemic stress and burnout | COVID-19 Special

People around the world are longing for an end to the pandemic and a brighter future. But with each new wave, hopes are shattered.

Can China revive its COVID-hit economy?

The Chinese government has announced a 33-point stimulus plan to put the economy back on track.

China has been the biggest source of global economic growth for the past 20 years. And it has long defied predictions it would soon hit a wall.

But, strict COVID lockdowns, a crackdown on tech companies and a real estate slump are challenging the world’s second-largest economy’s expansion. Many financial institutions predict growth will fall well short of Beijing’s target of about 5.5 percent this year, for the first time in decades.

 

UN 'deeply concerned' by rapid spread of Covid in North Korea

The United Nations Human Rights Office has said that it is deeply concerned about the apparent rapid transmission of Covid in North Korea. It believes around 700,000 people are ill with the virus, and that the country's health care system is not equipped to cope.

 

After the pandemic: Left with depression? | COVID-19 Special

 

The pandemic has left many young people feeling isolated, anxious and lonely. Also on the show: How quarantine rules are keeping families apart in Taiwan, and the challenge of getting vaccinated as an undocumented migrant in South Africa.

Covid: What's life like for unvaccinated people in the UK?

 

About five million adults in the UK still haven't had a Covid vaccine, according to government figures and ONS population estimates.

Covid vaccines offer very high levels of protection against infection and are safe.

Leicester's director of public health, who took the city through the UK's first local lockdown, is warning unvaccinated people about the impact their behaviour could have on others.

Some of those who've chosen not to be jabbed have been speaking to the BBC's community affairs correspondent, Adina Campbell.

Will COVID-19 become endemic in Africa?

 WHO hails ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for pandemic on the world’s least-vaccinated continent.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic in Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It says the continent will soon be able to manage COVID-19 as an endemic disease. Doses of vaccines are starting to arrive in large numbers after a slow start. But only 10 percent of Africans are fully inoculated.

Making sense of India's devastating second wave of COVID

 

India is closing out 2021 with relatively low COVID-19 case numbers. But for many, it is still difficult to leave behind memories of the country's devastating second wave earlier this year.

The hidden deaths behind the COVID-19 crisis

 

How many people have died from COVID-19? News magazine The Economist estimates that the pandemic's true death toll is four times higher than the official numbers. Is the official COVID-19 death toll just the tip of the iceberg?

How can Omicron be stopped from spreading?

 

The new variant of the coronavirus is infecting millions worldwide, prompting a reintroduction of restrictions.

The global surge in new COVID-19 cases linked to the Omicron variant is forcing some nations to reimpose strict lockdown measures just before the holiday season.

The Netherlands was the first European country to impose a nationwide lockdown on Sunday. Others are following suit to try to slow the spread of Omicron.

Voices from the Covid frontlines: doctors on two years of fighting a pandemic

 

Healthcare workers around the world have been on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic for almost two years, which put them through the darkest days of their careers. Five doctors who have worked in hospitals in Uganda, New Zealand, the US, India, the UK and Brazil told the Guardian about how the pandemic had tested them personally and professionally, but how they continue to find hope and resolve to keep working.

The doctor fleeing Tennessee over Covid

 

Tennessee was ground zero for America’s Covid culture wars last summer as the death toll soared, the doctor in charge of vaccine rollout was fired and the debate over wearing masks in schools turned violent.

How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting children’s development

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on almost everyone. But some experts say it's children who've suffered most. An important phase in their lives, when they learn how to interact socially, has been interrupted.

Portugal: From hard-hit COVID hotspot to vaccination success story

 

One of the world's worst COVID-19 hotspots last winter, Portugal, has since become Europe's vaccination success story, with nearly nine out of ten people fully immunized. But a new surge in cases has put the authorities back on alert.