Tag Archives: Hong Kong

Hong Kong culls 20,000 chickens carrying bird flu amid fears ahead of Chinese New Year feasts

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Հոնգ-կոնգ,թռչնագրիպ

 

Hong Kong has culled 20,000 chickens and closed a major poultry market after the bird flu virus was discovered.

Authorities have banned local farms from selling to the Cheung Sha Wan poultry market just two days before Chinese New Year, when traders usually see a big boost in sales.

The city has also blocked imports of fresh chicken from mainland China for 21 days after the H7N9 virus was discovered in a shipment from the southern province of Guangdong.

The market will also remain closed for 21 days until February 18 for cleaning and disinfection.

The H7N9 virus passes easily between birds and could develop the ability to spread from human-to-human, causing a global pandemic.

Staff members of Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have carried out the cull today, gassing the chickens with carbon dioxide.

Two people infected with H7N9 bird flu have died in Hong Kong and a third patient is being treated. All three were infected during visits to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

 

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Hong Kong Returns Rhino Horns to South Africa

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Հարավային Աֆրիկա,ռնգեղջյուրների եղջյուրներ

 

South African officials say 33 poached rhino horns and hundreds of chopsticks and bracelets made from elephant ivory that were seized in Hong Kong have been returned to South Africa.

South Africa’s environment ministry said Wednesday that authorities will study the seized items in hopes of identifying and arresting poachers and couriers involved in the illegal shipment.

 

 
ռնգեղջյուրների եղջյուրներ

The ministry says Hong Kong customs officials seized the items in November 2011 from a container that had been shipped from Cape Town harbor.

A forensic study has concluded that very young rhinos, as well as adult animals, were killed for their horns.

Hong Kong phooey! Region’s smog is so bad, desperate tourism chiefs set up posters of sunny skyline so holidaymakers can take some nice photos

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Hong Kong 7The air pollution in Hong Kong has gotten so bad that tourism officials have put up a banner displaying what the skyline looks like on a clear day.

This week, Hong Kong’s Air Pollution Index’ reached ‘Very High’ in Central and Western District, Causeway Bay and Mongkok, with ‘very high’ levels of toxic ozone and nitrogen dioxide recorded at roadside monitoring stations.

Smog is a big problem in China were it was recently reported life expectancy has been by five-and-a-half years for those living in its polluted north.
Researchers estimate that the half-billion people who lived there in the 1990s will live an average of 5 and a half years less than their southern counterparts because they breathed dirtier air from coal burning.

China itself made the comparison possible: for decades, a now-discontinued government policy provided free coal for heating, but only in the colder north.

Earlier this year, air quality in Beijing reached ‘worst on record’ following a sand storm which led to pollution in the city rising to 30 to 45 times above recommended safety levels.