TOKYO (AFP) – Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe began descending on Wednesday (July 10) for its final touchdown on a distant asteroid, hoping to collect samples that could shed light on the evolution of the solar system. “At 9.58, we made a ‘Go’ decision for the Hayabusa2 probe’s second touchdown,” the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said […]
More than 21,000 solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of six CapitaLand buildings by the year end, in a partnership with Sembcorp Industries, both groups said separately yesterday. When completed, the installation will form the largest combined rooftop solar facility in Singapore by a real estate company. Sembcorp will install, own and operate […]
In many parts of India, Hindus often invoke the popular god Ram’s name as a greeting. But in recent years, Hindu lynch mobs have turned Ram’s name into a murder cry, writes the BBC’s Geeta Pandey in Delhi. Last month, a video that went viral on social media showed a terrified Muslim man tied to […]
KABUL, Afghanistan — On Sunday morning, as Taliban officials in Qatar began discussing with an Afghan delegation the need to reduce civilian casualties, more than a hundred schoolchildren were wounded during a Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan. Early Tuesday morning, Afghan commandos raided a hospital in central Afghanistan, reportedly killing four hospital employees — just […]
Johnny Kitagawa, one of the most influential figures in Japan’s entertainment industry, has died at the age of 87. For more than 50 years the agency he founded, Johnny & Associates, made numerous boy bands household names, including SMAP, Arashi and KAT-TUN. Many of the artists he propelled to fame also became stars of TV […]
They are known as “idols” and their job is “to sell dreams”. For decades, the young pop stars of Japan and South Korea have been the envy of teenagers. But behind the glamour, the lucrative industry is run by talent agencies with an iron fist. Two recent apologies by Japan’s popular band SMAP and Taiwanese […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The District of Columbia sued Marriott International Inc on Tuesday, claiming that mandatory resort fees at its hotels are illegal and deceptive, the attorney general’s office said. “Marriott reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profit by deceiving consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms,” said District of Columbia Attorney […]
CARACAS (Reuters) – A committee representing holders of Venezuelan debt on Tuesday called for opposition leader Juan Guaido and the National Assembly to engage with creditors on a framework for debt renegotiation and to respect their rights going forward. A future opposition-led government must “provide timely and transparent information” to creditors, the committee said in […]
A high-flying Chinese executive has been caught in the centre of a growing geo-political dispute between two of the world’s largest economies. Meng Wanzhou is the chief financial officer of Huawei and the elder daughter of the telecom giant’s founder. She was arrested in Canada last week for allegedly breaking US sanctions on Iran and […]
The owner of the global restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan has lost a last-ditch appeal to avoid a life sentence for murder. P Rajagopal, 71, ordered the murder of an employee because he wanted to marry the man’s wife. He has been battling to avoid jail since he was sentenced in 2009. On Tuesday, he made […]