lockdown

China ordered an industrial park that houses an iPhone factory belonging to Foxconn to enter a seven-day lockdown, in a move set to intensify pressure on the Apple supplier as it scrambles to quell worker discontent at the base. The Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in central China said it would impose "silent management" measures with immediate effect, including barring all residents from going out and only allowing approved vehicles on roads within that area. The curbs will last until November 9, it said. The lockdown…

Those struggling to get their hands on a brand-new iPhone 14 might continue to do so, with Apple's supply chain hit with a new COVID-19 lockdown.Reports of a COVID-19 outbreak were already coming out of Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory in China, but a new report says that the entire Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone — the industrial park where the factory is located — is now in lockdown. The move comes after a local governor urged tighter restrictions in the area amid ongoing COVID-19 struggles.Infections risingAmid ongoing…

Chinese authorities imposed lockdowns on 600,000 people in the area surrounding the world's largest iPhone factory on Wednesday after workers fled to avoid a coronavirus outbreak and the resulting restrictions. All people except Covid-prevention volunteers and essential workers "must not leave their residences except to receive Covid tests and emergency medical treatment", officials from central China's Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone said. The move comes after images emerged on Chinese social media last week showing…

The world's largest iPhone factory in central China told staff Tuesday it would quadruple their bonuses if they remained at the plant. The world's largest iPhone factory in central China told staff Tuesday it would quadruple their bonuses if they remained at the plant after scores of workers fled a Covid outbreak at the facility. China is the last major economy committed to a zero-Covid strategy, persisting with snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in a bid to stamp out emerging outbreaks. But new…

It was Sunday when Dong Wanwan decided to give up her job at the world’s largest iPhone factory and walk home. It was Sunday when Dong Wanwan decided to give up her job at the world's largest iPhone factory and walk home.The 20-year-old had been working for the past three months on the production lines at Foxconn Technology Group's factory in Zhengzhou, one of tens of thousands helping put together Apple Inc. iPhones that would be sent around the globe. It was a coveted job, among the country's best-paid blue-collar…

Reports and videos online appear to show factory workers at Apple's largest assembly site in Zhengzhou China climbing over barbed wire fences and fleeing factory campuses to avoid COVID-19 lockdown measures, with some reportedly walking more than 100 kilometers back to their hometowns.Zhengzhou, colloquially referred to as "iPhone city", is home to Foxconn's largest assembly plant where Apple manufactures all of its best iPhone models including the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. The plant is reportedly home to around…

In China, droves of migrant workers have been fleeing back to their…

Before Carly Rae Jepsen takes the stage on her new tour, a large animated moon appears on the screen. “I’ll be your host this evening,” it announces in a shimmering voice, surveying the audience with its dark blue eyes. “I am the ambassador of love … I offer you a safe place to feel whatever it is you need to feel.”“I’ve been to James Taylor concerts, or American Utopia, the David Byrne musical,” Jepsen tells me over a video call, on a rare day off during her North American tour, “where I leave and I’m 10lb lighter and I…

Marketing this film as a Blumhouse-style found-footage horror does this genuinely interesting and experimental lockdown effort a bit of a disservice. Conceived during Covid times by Jacob Estes (responsible for the excellent 2004 teen drama Mean Creek) and his children Iris and Lucas, the horror elements are more sweetly vindictive than scary. The film is best described as a kind of pseudo-stalker-flick-cum-Freudian-video-diary-cum-dressing-up-box-raid, with Blair Witch and Lynchian overtones, and a meta fascination in…

After three years of turbulent development and murky promises, Overwatch 2 finally came out this week as an early access-style release. However, while many are excited to get their hands on the follow-up to one of the most beloved games of the 2010s, one particular aspect of it is drawing fire from the game's fans: the decision to lock many of the original game's heroes behind a match limit for new players.Players who haven't played Overwatch 1 will be required to notch 100 matches in order to select all…