Asia

Tokyo’s real life Paw Patrol keeps crime on short leash

by Harumi OZAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — It’s a neighbourhood watch with a difference. A clean-nosed crew, sniffing out trouble and keeping the streets safe for school kids: meet the pups of Tokyo’s real-life Paw Patrol. They might not have the gadgets and gear of their beloved cartoon counterparts, but the dogs of the Wan-Wan (bow-wow) Patrol are firm favourites in Tokyo’s Karasuyama neighbourhood. Twelve-year-old Yurika Igarashi counts on seeing Sakura, a fluffy toy poodle, […]

Iraq market suicide bombing claimed by IS kills nearly 30 on eve of Eid holiday

by Salam Faraj and Ammar Karim BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility early Tuesday for a suicide bombing that ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital ahead of Eid holiday celebrations, killing nearly 30 people, according to medical sources. In a message posted to its Telegram channel, the militant group said a suicide bomber named Abu Hamza al-Iraqi detonated his explosive belt in the middle of a crowd in […]

Saudis wanting to travel need two Covid jabs: official

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Any Saudi citizen wishing to travel abroad will be required to have had two doses of coronavirus vaccine from next month, tightening existing measures, the interior ministry said on Monday. “The second dose of the vaccine against Covid will be a condition of all overseas travel for all citizens from August 9, 2021,” the ministry wrote in a statement published by the official SPA news agency. Children under 12, those […]

Coronavirus hits Olympic Village for first time

  by Talek HARRIS Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The chief of the Tokyo Olympics tried to reassure “worried” athletes on Saturday as the Games Village was hit by its first coronavirus case, six days before the pandemic-delayed event opens. As thousands of competitors pour into Japan for the Games, which will largely take place without spectators, the positive test for an unnamed person in the Village heightened worries over biosecurity. About 11,000 […]

75 children killed, around 1,000 detained since Myanmar coup: UN experts

  GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Dozens of children have been killed and hundreds arbitrarily detained in Myanmar since a coup more than five months ago, UN rights experts warned Friday. The UN child rights committee said it had received “credible information” that 75 children had been killed and around 1,000 arrested in Myanmar since February 1. “Children in Myanmar are under siege and facing catastrophic loss of life because of the military coup,” committee chair […]

Virus cluster at Japan hotel hosting Brazilian Olympians

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At least eight staff at a Japanese hotel hosting Brazil’s Olympic judo team have tested positive for coronavirus, local officials said Thursday. Health and sports officials at Hamamatsu city, west of Tokyo, said virus screenings were done before the judo delegation of around 30 members arrived there on Saturday. None of the infected individuals came in contact with the athletes, they said. The news comes as Tokyo prepares to host […]

Singapore unveils one of world’s biggest floating solar farms

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore Wednesday unveiled one of the world’s biggest floating solar power farms, covering an area the size of 45 football pitches, as part of the city-state’s push to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The project is the country’s most ambitious yet, comprising 122,000 panels on Tengeh Reservoir that will produce enough electricity to run its five water treatment plants. Singapore is among the biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in Asia and […]

UAE opens Israel embassy after normalization deal

TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates opened an embassy in Israel Wednesday, housed in Tel Aviv’s new stock exchange building, in the latest normalization move under a deal brokered by Washington last year. The venue in the heart of Israel’s financial district highlighted the central role economic cooperation has played since the UAE became only the third majority-Arab country to recognize the Jewish state. At the ceremony, attended by new Israeli President […]

13 killed, including 9 Chinese nationals, in Pakistan bus blast: officials

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Nine Chinese workers were among 13 people killed on Wednesday when a blast on a bus sent it careering down a ravine in north-western Pakistan, officials said. The bus was carrying Chinese engineers, surveyors and mechanical staff to the Dasu dam site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is under construction. “The blast sparked a fire in the engine plunging the vehicle into a ravine, a local government official told AFP, requesting […]

US pushes ASEAN to hold Myanmar accountable on coup

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US has “deep concerns” about the situation in Myanmar following February’s coup, urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take action, the State Department said Tuesday. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralyzed since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government earlier this year, accusing it of fraud during 2020 elections. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “called on ASEAN to take joint action to […]

Covid case cuts short Singapore ‘cruise to nowhere’

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — An ocean liner on a “cruise to nowhere” was forced to make an earlier-than-scheduled return to Singapore Wednesday after a coronavirus case was detected on board, reports said. The cruises — starting and ending in Singapore, with no stops — were launched last year as part of the travel industry’s attempt to bounce back from a pandemic-induced crunch. They have proved popular among those seeking an escape from the tiny city-state, […]

Final death toll in China hotel collapse put at 17

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Nine more people have been confirmed dead in the collapse of a budget hotel in eastern China, bringing the final toll to 17, as state media on Wednesday announced the end of search and recovery efforts. Six others were earlier rescued from the rubble of the Siji Kaiyuan hotel, which crumbled in a heap of shattered concrete and bent metal beams two days earlier in the picturesque city of Suzhou. All […]