Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that “all options” remained under consideration after North Korea launched a missile over Japan. “Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world,” the White House …
Read More »North Korea does it again, fires ballistic missile over Japan
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday in a major escalation that triggered global alarm and a furious response from the government in Tokyo. A visibly unsettled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was an “unprecedented, serious and …
Read More »Japan’s ‘highway doctor’ does checkup on ageing roads
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | As Japan takes on the mammoth task of upgrading its capital’s outdated roads and infrastructure, a local “highway doctor” is betting that its 3-D technology can led a hand. Tokyo’s sprawling maze of ageing expressways, measuring 320 kilometres (or 200 miles) in length, have long been …
Read More »New US envoy reassures Japan over security pact
Narita, Japan | AFP | The new US ambassador to Japan on Thursday reassured the country of an “ironclad” commitment to their security alliance, but urged Tokyo to step up its role in the pact, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s missile threats. Tokyo remains on alert against potential military provocations …
Read More »Watch out Messi, here come the footballers at RoboCup
Nagoya, Japan | AFP | With steely focus, player number 3 scored a stunning opening goal in the first few minutes of the high-stakes football match between a dominant Bordeaux and their plucky Chinese opponents. But as the crowds cheered, the pint-sized player, known as Arya, showed none of the customary …
Read More »No visitors allowed on Japan’s men-only UNESCO island
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Visitors will not be allowed to set foot on a men-only UNESCO World Heritage island in Japan from next year, an official said Saturday. The tiny landmass of Okinoshima, where women are banned and male visitors must bathe naked in the sea before visiting its …
Read More »MtGox CEO says ‘not guilty’ at missing Bitcoin trial in Japan
Tokyo, Japan | AFP |Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, denied wrongdoing Tuesday as his trial got under way in Tokyo on charges linked to the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency. The French national — once the high-flying head …
Read More »No more district tenders for roads, Museveni tells local govts
President Museveni: Procurement chaos is for making money not helping country Wakiso, Uganda| PPU| President Yoweri Museveni has warned that the whole country is facing procurement chaos because the process benefits those bent on making money and not the country. He said huge resources are wasted in claims of procurement. …
Read More »China rejects ‘irresponsible’ US remarks on South China Sea
Beijing, China | AFP | China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea. Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns that China’s development of artificial islands in the …
Read More »Japan cabinet approves bill allowing emperor’s abdication
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | The Japanese government on Friday approved a one-off bill allowing ageing Emperor Akihito to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the first such abdication in two centuries. The bill will now be sent to parliament for debate and likely receive swift final approval, Chief …
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