Luxury

In India’s slums, social distancing is a luxury that can’t be afforded

By Linda J. Dodson 1 month ago

MUMBAI — Although India enacted the world’s biggest lockdown five weeks ago, the country’s heavily concentrated slums remain potential breeding grounds for the novel coronavirus, putting millions who cannot afford to socially distance at risk.

Dharavi, the country’s largest slum in the heart of Mumbai, sparked a media sensation with its first reported COVID-19 case on April 1. The patient, a 56-year-old man who died that day, initially admitted himself to the hospital on March 23, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown.

The man reportedly had not traveled far, living in one of roughly 300

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Luxury brands bid adieu to Hong Kong amid coronavirus and unrest

By Linda J. Dodson 2 months ago

HONG KONG — Causeway Bay, the heart of Hong Kong’s retail landscape and the world’s priciest shopping district by rent, was eerily quiet at noon on Thursday.

In an area usually swarming with tourists, shop staffers sat idle, fiddling with their smartphones. The Times Square shopping center was a ghost town, and the plethora of big-name stores in the vicinity stood all but empty.

A lack of import tariffs made Hong Kong a haven for luxury brands from around the world. But as pro-democracy protests and the novel coronavirus pandemic have driven tourists away from a city whose economy relies

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