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Japan’s imperial family is facing extinction due to a shortage of eligible emperors, but some experts say the ideas floated in a government inquiry for boosting the dwindling number of royals are out of touch. With women barred from the throne under male-only succession rules, the place of Emperor Naruhito, 61, will one day be filled by his nephew Prince Hisahito instead of his only child Princess Aiko. But if 15-year-old Hisahito does not have […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin was satisfied with his phone call with Joe Biden but warned the US leader against introducing major sanctions amid tensions over Ukraine, the Kremlin said. Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said the Kremlin was “pleased” overall with the talks, but said Putin warned Biden Moscow needed a concrete “result” from upcoming security talks and warned against introducing major sanctions. “This will be a colossal mistake. We […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A 61-year-old man suspected of starting a fire at a Japanese mental health clinic that claimed 25 lives died in hospital on Thursday, local media said. Morio Tanimoto had been in critical condition due to burns and carbon monoxide poisoning following the deadly attack in Osaka on December 17. Tanimoto, a former patient of the clinic, died without being interrogated by police, public broadcaster NHK said, citing investigative sources. An Osaka […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Residents in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an said they were struggling to find enough food, despite Beijing insisting Thursday that there were now adequate supplies. China has followed a strict “zero Covid” approach involving tight border restrictions and swift, targeted lockdowns since the virus first surfaced in a central city in late 2019. The country’s commerce ministry told reporters on Thursday that Xi’an’s 13 million residents — who were placed […]
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned last week’s massacre in Myanmar of more than 30 people, including two Save the Children staff, that was blamed on junta troops. The killings took place on Christmas Eve in eastern Kayah state, where pro-democracy rebels have been fighting the military, which took over the government from the democratically elected administration in February. In a statement released Wednesday evening, Security Council members “stressed the need to ensure […]
A powerful 7.3 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Maluku province in the early hours of Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of tsunami warnings, nor casualties or damage. The offshore quake took place around 3:25 am local time (1825 GMT Wednesday) and hit at a depth of 166 kilometers (103 miles), about 120 kilometers northeast of the town of Lospalos. Indonesia experiences frequent […]
Hong Kong authorities arrested six current and former staff of local news outlet Stand News on Wednesday on colonial-era charges of “seditious publication”, amid international alarm about the city’s press freedoms. Police said more than 200 uniformed and plainclothes police were deployed to search the publication’s office in the Kwun Tong district. An AFP reporter saw Stand News editor-in-chief Patrick Lam being led into the news outlet’s office building in handcuffs. Stand News is […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an on Monday tightened Covid-19 controls to the “strictest” level, banning residents from driving cars around town in an effort to control the country’s worst outbreak in 21 months. China has stuck to a “zero-Covid” strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors for February’s Winter Olympics. Xi’an — where 13 million residents are facing […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) – Bangladesh police on Monday arrested the owner of an overcrowded ferry that caught fire and killed at least 39 people last week, after investigators blamed the toll on a disregard for safety. The blaze broke out in the middle of the night on Friday when many of the ferry’s 700 passengers were sleeping near the southern district of Barguna. Survivors relayed harrowing stories of having to jump into the Sugandha river from […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Two people were killed and two others injured after a powerful explosion ripped through an Indian court building on Thursday, police said. Footage showed police officers carrying the injured out of the building and asking others to leave the premises after the explosion near a restroom of the judicial complex in Ludhiana, north of the capital New Delhi. “There’s been a blast but we can not confirm the cause,” a […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — A bird flu outbreak has killed more than 2,000 wild cranes on a reserve in northern Israel, an unusually high toll for the seasonal flu, the parks authority said Sunday. In addition to the 2,000 dead, another 10,000 are believed to be infected, Ohad Hatsofe, a specialist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, told AFP. The virus affects Israel annually, but this year’s outbreak is much larger than previous years, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese city of Xi’an, where 13 million residents are currently confined to their homes, announced tightened restrictions on Sunday as the country recorded its biggest Covid-19 infection numbers in 21 months. China has stuck to a “zero-Covid” strategy involving tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. Authorities have been especially vigilant in recent months to avoid an outbreak before February’s Beijing Winter Olympics, but there have been sporadic flare-ups. […]
