- Reuters
UK water sports call for clean-up as sewage crisis deepens
British water sports groups have joined forces to call on the government to clean-up rivers and seas, blaming the country's sewage crisis for causing illness and cancelling events. Raw sewage has been dumped into rivers and seas more and more frequently in recent years by water companies, sparking anger in Britain, where voters blame a privatised system that prioritises profit over investment in infrastructure. The pollution is making swimmers, rowers, sailors and other users of British waters ill, say seven national governing bodies of water-based sports, including the Angling Trust, British Rowing and Swim England.
- The Telegraph
Ten steps to get fit from scratch if you’ve never exercised before
Do you struggle to make exercise a habit that sticks? You’re not alone. Only 56 per cent of UK adults exercise regularly, compared with 77 per cent in Germany, 65 per cent in Spain and 63 per cent in France. A quarter of us are completely inactive, doing less than 30 minutes a week, and, alarmingly, inactivity is now associated with one in six deaths.
- Reuters
Hong Kong businesses shut shop as city struggles to revive post pandemic
When Jacky Yu, 48, opened his Japanese gift shop in Hong Kong more than a decade ago, the tourist and shopping district of Mong Kok was a bustling hub packed with stalls, street food and tourists. Fast-forward 12 years and parts of the area are struggling to stay afloat, a combination of customers emigrating, locals heading across the border to shop in China or travelling to Japan to benefit from a weak yen - and a dearth of tourists. "There are very few tourists on the streets, even the mainland Chinese are very few."
