JAPAN
Driverless trains planned
Shinkansen bullet trains could be operating without drivers from the mid 2030s, one of its main rail operators said on Tuesday. East Japan Railway is to first introduce trains where many of the driver’s tasks are automated, but they will remain in the cab, on parts of one route from 2028, the firm said. The following year, the company said it hopes to trial driverless trains on a short stretch of out-of-service track before rolling them out between Tokyo and Niigata on the Joetsu Shinkansen line in the mid 2030s.
JAPAN
Fuji activity declines
Fewer climbers tackled Mount Fuji during this year’s hiking season after Japanese authorities introduced an entry fee and a daily cap on numbers to fight overtourism, preliminary figures showed. Online reservations were also brought in this year by officials concerned about safety and environmental damage on the country’s highest mountain. The number of climbers fell by 14 percent between early July — when the volcano’s hiking trails opened for the summer — and early this month, the Ministry of the Environment said.
AUSTRALIA
Arms convention protested
Protesters yesterday clashed with police outside a military arms convention in Melbourne. Protesters hurled bottles, rocks and horse manure, a police statement said. Police used pepper spray, flash distraction devices and foam baton rounds. Police arrested 33 people for offenses including assault, arson and blocking roadways. About 1,800 police officers were deployed to a convention center where the Land Forces International Land Defense Exposition is taking place through tomorrow. Roads have been closed and traffic was disrupted by the protesters organized by the Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars groups. “We’re protesting to stand up for all those who have been killed by the type of weapons on display at the convention,” Students for Palestine national co-convener Jasmine Duff said in a statement.
GERMANY
Dresden bridge fails
A bridge partially collapsed in Dresden early yesterday morning, rescue services said, adding that no one was injured. A roughly 100m section of the Carola Bridge plunged into the Elbe river overnight, the Dresden fire brigade said. The entire area has been sealed off and no river traffic was possible, Dresden police said on X. Rescue services were at the scene and were working on damage control to prevent further parts of the bridge from collapsing, fire brigade spokesman Michael Klahre told reporters, adding that the cause of the collapse was still unknown.
KENYA
Protests stop flights
Hundreds of workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport yesterday demonstrated against a planned deal between the government and a foreign investor. Planes have remained grounded, with hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. The government has said that the build-and-operate agreement with India’s Adani Group would see the nation’s main airport renovated, and an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years. The Kenya Airport Workers Union said that the deal would lead to job losses, and “inferior terms and conditions of service” for those who remain.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
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