Other News

Japan to allow mass tourism, but only in tour groups

Japan announced Thursday it will reopen to tourists from 36 countries starting June 10, ending a two-year pandemic closure, but travellers will only be allowed in with tour groups. The decision comes after the government last week said it would test allowing small group tours with visitors from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore from this month. On Thursday, the government revised border controls to resume accepting package tours from 36 countries and regions […]

Update: Powerful 7.2-magnitude quake rocks southern Peru

A strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Peru on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, with Peruvian authorities adding there were no dead or injured. The quake hit at 7:02 am local time (1202 GMT), at a depth of 218 kilometers (135 miles), according to the USGS, sending people fleeing into the streets. Peru‘s National Seismological Center said the quake had a magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of 240 kilometers. Its epicenter was 20 kilometers […]

Yuka Saso’s golf odyssey: Philippines to Japan via US Open win

by Daniel HICKS When a little-known teenager from the Philippines burst into the global golf spotlight by winning last year’s US Women’s Open it changed her life — but left tricky decisions ahead. Yuka Saso will next week enjoy the new experience of defending a major. But at Pine Needles she will play under a different flag, the crimson red circle of Japan. Saso, who was born in the Philippines and has a Filipino mother […]

‘The pandemic won’t stop us’: the Beijingers skirting Covid rules

by Poornima WEERASEKARA / Michael ZHANG Mothers hosting playdates near cordoned-off parks, mahjong maestros huddled in streets and youngsters slugging night-time beers on barricaded sidewalks — Beijingers are making the most of the small spaces available as China’s coronavirus controls close in. Meanwhile in Shanghai, a growing number of residents are being allowed to briefly venture outside as the city gradually eases out of an extended lockdown, celebrating their first hours outside in weeks with […]

UK readies for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee

by Phil HAZLEWOOD Britain brings out the bunting next week for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, with four days of public events to mark her 70 years on the throne. Across the country, red, white and blue Union Jack are being hung for street parties, picnics and barbecues over four days from Thursday to Sunday. With two public holidays and the weekend, retailers and the hospitality sector in particular are hoping for a sales boost, […]

More than 200 cases of monkeypox worldwide: EU disease agency

The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide has reached 219 outside of countries where it is endemic, according to an update released by the European Union’s disease agency. More than a dozen countries where monkeypox is unusual, mostly in Europe, have reported at least one confirmed case, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in an epidemiological note released Wednesday night. “This is the first time that chains of transmission are […]

Firefighters contain blaze at Sudan Red Sea port

  Firefighters have contained a large blaze that erupted in a cargo area of the Sudanese Red Sea port of Suakin, the port’s director said Thursday. The fire, which raged for hours, broke out in the cargo drop off area of the port on Wednesday sending plumes of acrid smoke into the sky. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. “The fire has been brought under control following the intervention of civil defence […]

Western powers sound alarm on China plan for South Pacific

Western powers sounded the alarm Thursday over leaked plans to dramatically expand China’s security and economic reach in the South Pacific, in what one regional leader called a thinly veiled effort to lock island states into “Beijing’s orbit”. If approved by Pacific island nations, the wide-ranging draft agreement and a five-year plan, both obtained by AFP, would give China a larger security footprint in a region seen as crucial to the interests of the United […]

‘How to murder your husband’ writer found guilty of killing spouse

  A US romance novelist who wrote an essay entitled “How To Murder Your Husband” has been convicted of killing her spouse. A jury in Portland, Oregon, took just eight hours on Wednesday to return a guilty verdict against Nancy Crampton Brophy for shooting dead Daniel Brophy. Prosecutors said the writer, whose “Wrong Never Felt So Right” series of novels include “The Wrong Husband” and “The Wrong Lover,” had been struggling financially before she shot […]

Australia bidding to host UN climate summit, set new emissions target

Australia will present a more ambitious UN emissions target “very soon” and is bidding to co-host a COP summit with Pacific island neighbours, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday, signalling a ground shift in climate policy. During a first solo overseas visit since her centre-left government was sworn in, Wong admitted that on the climate, “Australia has neglected its responsibility” under past administrations. She told hosts in Fiji’s capital Suva that there would be no […]

Russian central bank slashes rate to rein in ruble

Russia’s central bank cut its key interest rate Thursday following an emergency meeting, as authorities seek to rein in the ruble which has surged in value despite the conflict in Ukraine. The Bank of Russia slashed the rate to 11 percent from 14 percent, saying external conditions for the economy remained “challenging, considerably constraining economic activity.” The policy-setting meeting was originally set to take place on June 10 but the central bank surprised the market […]

11 babies killed in Senegal hospital fire

by Malick Rokhy BA Eleven newborn babies died in a hospital fire in the western Senegalese city of Tivaouane, the president of the country said late Wednesday. Just before midnight in Senegal, Macky Sall announced on Twitter that 11 infants had died in the blaze. “I have just learned with pain and dismay about the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire at the neonatal department of the public hospital,” he tweeted. “To their […]