Sleepy hollows

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There was another major milestone on Wednesday morning in the fight to end COVID-19 . At Yankee Stadium, vaccination appointments opened up for the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine. New Yorkers told CBS2’s Christina Fan they were elated to have another option . “I would take any vaccine that was given to me at this point,” Upper East Side resident Mike Smith said. “Any shot is better than no shot at all,” added Kelly Coke of the Bronx. READ MORE: Competitors Johnson & Johnson And Merck & Co. Teaming Up To Increase COVID Vaccine Supply Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo ‘s pilot program, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered at three state-run sites. The locations will be open 24 hours a day and administer the shots overnight, starting Thursday at Yankee Stadium, and then at the New York State Fair and Javits Center on Friday. Appointments open up the day before. “I would have come any time. Any time I can … [Read more...] about COVID Vaccine: Bronx Residents Can Begin Scheduling Appointments For Johnson & Johnson Shots

TOKYO (Bloomberg) - Japan's ambition to hold a successful Olympic Games in the face of the pandemic looks increasingly imperiled, after a top official's sexist remarks undercut public support and sparked rare criticism from sponsors. With less than six months to go until the planned opening ceremony on July 23, Japan is pressing ahead with an event meant to draw attention back to an Asian power often overshadowed by China. But anger is simmering over Yoshiro Mori, the 83-year-old head of the organising committee, who last week publicly disparaged women for talking too much. Despite calls for the gaffe-prone former prime minister to step aside, he remains on the job. The Tokyo Olympics organising committee announced it would hold a meeting of its council and executive board Friday to discuss the latest setback for the virus-delayed event, which the government hopes won't become the first Olympics cancelled since World War II. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) … [Read more...] about Tokyo Olympics sponsors upset, frustrated by Mori’s sexist remarks

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday (Aug 27) declared that foreigners will not be granted visas to live in the giant Forest City project in Johor , a major threat to the marketing strategy for the development. It is not his first broadside against the plan by Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co to create a new city that was envisaged to eventually house 700,000 people on reclaimed land near Singapore, but it could be his most damaging. The company has been targeting foreigners more than Malaysians for sales of the apartments. A top official at the project told Reuters last week that in the weeks immediately after 93-year-old Mahathir came back into power, through a shock election victory in May, demand for the apartments had weakened, and that the uncertainty remained a concern. His latest comments are likely to exacerbate those concerns. "One thing is certain, that city that is going to be built cannot be sold to foreigners," … [Read more...] about Johor Forest City project off limits to foreign buyers: Mahathir

Traditions die hard in Bangkok’s oldest quarters. In the bustling streets and long-established communities that feed down towards the Chao Phraya river, it can feel as though the breakneck pace of change that defines Thailand’s capital is slower. Here, garish gold shops sit cheek by jowl with stores specialising in Chinese medicine, wizened aunties tend sizzling woks, and market holders hawk pirated Cantonese blue movies and Peoples Republic ephemera on the pavements. Closer inspection though reveals an area that is evolving as quickly as any in the city. READ > In Bangkok, venture beyond the Sukhumvit-Silom clusters to find hidden gems While the long tail boats and ramshackle ferries that chug up and down the muddy watercourse hark back to the past, a range of showpiece projects including mixed-use complex IconSiam and the new Chao Phraya Estate, which will encompass a new Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons-branded private residences as well as the first Capella Hotel … [Read more...] about Witness the gentrification of Bangkok’s old quarters down by the Chao Phraya

Executions in South Carolina can now be carried out by firing squad after senators moved to address a shortage of lethal injection drugs. South Carolina 's state senate approved the move 32-11 on Tuesday, with a number of Democrats joining their Republican colleagues in the vote. It means that executions in the state can now be restarted after an almost 10-year delay, with those on death row having been able to exploit a grim courtesy that allows them to choose how they would die. Inmates have been allowed to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection - and prisoners have opted for the latter knowing that it is unavailable, thus delaying their execution. The vote to approve the use of firing squads is effectively a workaround for the supply problems and the bureaucracy surrounding executions. Advertisement The bill passed still allows prison officials to use the lethal injection when it is available, but when it is not, … [Read more...] about South Carolina adds firing squad to execution methods to address lethal injection shortage

These days, more and more island hotels and resorts, especially those camped out in the luxury end of the market, trumpet their eco-friendly credentials. Often, though, it’s the guest who needs to take the proactive role by, for instance, remembering to place a card on the bed to indicate that bed-linen should not be changed. Meanwhile, little is said of the single-use plastic water bottles that are scattered through the room, or the energy-inefficient air-conditioning. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BAWAH RESERVE & ELANG (@bawahreserve) The good news is that a generation of green – literally and metaphorically – boutique island resorts has come to the fore. Each genuinely sensitive to its environment and proactive in minimising its carbon footprint; and, bonus, quite a number of them are within easy reach of Singapore. Exhibit A is the sublime Bawah Reserve. Opened last year in the … [Read more...] about Escape to an eco-friendly luxury resort only hours away from Singapore