Around the World

Editor’s Note — Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening and closing, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments. (CNN) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved three high-profile destinations to its highest-risk Level 4 category for travel on Monday. Hong Kong and New Zealand have spent much of the pandemic in near isolation with relatively few infections and had been lauded as Covid success stories. However, the Omicron variant has caused massive spikes in cases in…

Hong Kong (CNN) — Archan Chan recalls her first experience working in a Chinese restaurant, more than 14 years ago. Employed as an apprentice chef, she was one of just two woman in the kitchen — the other’s sole job was to beat eggs. “She was unbelievably fast at beating eggs. I guess for a woman to survive in a traditional Chinese kitchen back then, you had to be the best in something,” says Chan. Today, Chan helms the kitchen of Ho Lee Fook, one of Hong Kong’s most popular restaurants. After spending more than a decade working in fine…

“(The paintings) have the whole diversity of Amazonia. Turtles and fishes to jaguars, monkeys and porcupines,” said study author Jose Iriarte, a professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Iriate calls the frieze, which likely would have been painted over centuries, if not millennia, “the last journey,” as he said it represents the arrival of humans in South America — the last region to be colonized by Homo sapiens as they spread around the world from Africa, their place of origin. These pioneers from the north would have faced unknown animals in…

The Liga MX game between Querétaro and Atlas was abandoned in the second half as fights ensued in the Corregidora stadium. According to Mauricio Kuri, the governor of the state of Querétaro, 24 men and two women were injured. Of those, Kuri said 10 sustained minor injuries and three were deemed in “critical” condition. Photos from the game show fans, some of whom appear bloodied, brawling on the field and in the stands, throwing punches and hitting each other with objects. “We utterly condemn the events that occurred today at the Corregidora stadium,” said a statement from Querétaro. “We are…

Sydney Reuters —   Sydney, Australia’s most populous city that has been drenched in rain for days, braced for more heavy downpours on Sunday as the death toll from flooding across the country’s east rose to 17. A wild weather system that dumped more than a year’s worth of rainfall over a week in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) brought widespread destruction, leaving thousands of people in the states displaced and sweeping away property, livestock and roads. A total of 17 people have been killed since the deluge began, including a Queensland woman, whose body was found…

“I call us the spider women,” she said of her fellow volunteers in an email to CNN. She said some people cut out fabric, some hang up the webbing, others make the braiding and children also come to help. “The process reminds me of rug weaving,” Shevtsova. “The hands are busy and it feels better. Last time when I was there we also sang Ukrainian songs, and it was so cool to uplift the spirit!” She lives in a small town in the Dnipropetrovsk region in southeastern Ukraine with her 10-year-old son and her dog and cat. Shevtsova has been…

Editor’s Note — Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening and closing, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments. (CNN) — After almost 700 days, one of the world’s longest border closures has finally ended Down Under, Yellowstone National Park is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and we have an update on India’s high-speed rail ambitions. Here’s what’s been happening in travel this week. Reopenings and rule changes In some happy news, families and loved ones were reunited in Western Australia…

“The South Korean military is maintaining a readiness posture by monitoring related movements in preparation for additional launches,” JCS said in a statement, condemning the launch as “a serious threat to the international community as well as peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.” The missile was launched from the Sunan area near the capital Pyongyang, said the statement. It flew about 270 kilometers (about 168 miles), reaching an altitude of about 560 kilometers (348 miles), JCS said in a statement released Saturday. The United States and South Korean intelligence are now analyzing further details of the missile, the statement…

All of Ukraine’s Para athletes made it to the Chinese capital — a feat described as a “miracle” by Valeriy Sushkevych, President of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee — and their participation in these Games was met with a show of support from Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Parsons gave a stern speech that asked for peace in the world and expressed his dismay at ongoing conflicts, though stopped short of mentioning Ukraine or Russia by name. “Tonight, I want — I must — begin with a message of peace,” Parsons said. “As the leader of…

The ride-hailing giant’s stock plummeted as much as 37% in New York after reporting disappointing earnings. It posted revenue of $122 million for the fourth quarter, down 44% from the previous year as the firm said it had “preemptively invested to grow” its number of drivers. Grab’s stock was down 0.9% in after-hours trade on Thursday, at about $3.28. The slide came three months after the firm’s debut on the Nasdaq, the largest ever on Wall Street by a Southeast Asian company. Grab (GRAB) went public in December by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The company raised…