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.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS