Wrestler, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, triumphs in Osaka to secure Emperor’s Cup despite injuring his ankle the previous day
The ancient Japanese sport of sumo is celebrating a new hero, after Takerufuji became the first wrestler for more than a century to win a top-division tournament on his debut.
There were wild celebrations at the Edion Arena Osaka on Sunday after he ended the 15-day contest with an unassailable record of 13 wins and two defeats.
Continue reading...Some professors will submit their resignations while others will cut their hours over a government plan to boost medical school admissions
Medical professors in South Korea have said they will reduce the hours they spend in practice, while some say they plan to resign, in a widening of a doctors strike in the country.
The move will begin on Monday in support of trainee doctors who have been on strike for more than a month over a government plan to boost medical school admissions.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden to update MPs on cyber-attacks by Beijing, some of whom may also have been targets
The personal details of millions of voters are believed to have been accessed in an attack by China on Britain’s democratic process, ministers will say.
MPs and peers are thought to be among 43 people who the government looks set to confirm have been targeted by cyber-attacks backed by the Chinese state. The UK could impose sanctions on individuals believed to be involved in these acts of state-backed interference, one of which was a separate attack on the Electoral Commission in which Beijing accessed the personal details of about 40 million voters.
Continue reading...Plant on outskirts of Coventry could create up to 6,000 jobs and will be part of planned Centre for Electrification
A Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry.
EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide, is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands.
Continue reading...Richard Bong downed 40 aircraft in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning before it crashed while being flown by another pilot
A Wisconsin museum is partnering with a historical preservation group in a search for the wreckage of the second world war ace fighter pilot Richard Bong’s plane in the South Pacific.
The Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the non-profit second world war historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Continue reading...Last-minute decision on Tuesday’s match leaves football bodies searching for alternative venue
North Korea has abruptly cancelled its 2026 World Cup qualifying match with Japan next week, leaving organisers frantically searching for an alternative venue.
North Korea reportedly decided it would no longer host the match, which had been scheduled for next Tuesday at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, a day before the teams met in Tokyo on Thursday in the first of their two Asian qualifying Group B qualifiers.
Continue reading...Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese story
Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.
The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.
Continue reading...Several schools have brought in shorts for cheerleaders at baseball tournament while another positioned teachers between the cheerleaders and spectators
High schools taking part in Japan’s annual spring baseball tournament are taking action to prevent spectators from taking sexualised photographs of female cheerleaders.
The invitational tournament – and a regular tournament held every summer at Koshien stadium near Osaka – are supposed to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess and a chance for teenage boys from 32 schools around the country to make their mark and perhaps catch the eye of a professional ball club.
Continue reading...Soaked survivors clung to hull overnight before being taken to safety by Indonesian rescue team
Dozens of Rohingya refugees have been rescued from the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia after spending the night balanced on the hull of their overturned boat.
Seventy-five people were pulled from the stricken vessel, which was spotted on Thursday by an Indonesian search and rescue ship.
Continue reading...Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just over a year, as the country continues its ‘blazing furnace’ anti-corruption drive
Vietnam’s government has announced the resignation of its second president in as many years amid an anti-corruption drive, sparking concerns for the country’s political stability.
President Vo Van Thuong’s alleged “violations and flaws have negatively affected public perception, as well as the reputation of the party and the state”, state media reported on Wednesday, citing an announcement from the Central Committee of the Communist party of Vietnam. No further details of any alleged violations were released.
Continue reading...Beijing dismisses chorus of concern from western governments over punitive new law as slander
China has accused western governments and the United Nations of slander after they criticised Hong Kong’s new national security law, which was rushed through the city’s pro-Beijing parliament this week.
The law, known as Article 23, covers newly defined acts of treason, espionage, theft of state secrets, sedition and foreign interference. Critics said it was ushering in a “new era of authoritarianism”, would further erode the rights and freedoms of residents, and would scare off international business and investment.
Continue reading...Anies Baswedan has refused to concede and alleges there were ‘many problems’ with the vote
Losing Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has filed a legal case at the constitutional court to challenge the outcome of last month’s election, won overwhelmingly by defence minister Prabowo Subianto.
Anies, a former Jakarta governor, said the aim of the case was to ensure democracy was improved and said there were many problems with the election that needed to be corrected.
Continue reading...The interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, the biggest star in baseball and one of the most famous people in Japan, has been fired after lawyers for the player said there had been a “massive theft” from the slugger’s account.
ESPN reported that several sources said Ippei Mizuhara had run up large debts to a Californian bookmaker. Initially a spokesperson for the player said Ohtani had transferred $4.5m to cover Mizuhara’s debts. But when ESPN asked further questions, the spokesperson backed away from their claim and said Ohtani’s lawyers would soon make a statement.
Continue reading...Effigy recovered in 2009 after being thrown into Osaka river by jubilant fans but is in poor state and will be disposed of
A plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s founder, Colonel Sanders, that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball fans has been “disposed of” 15 years after being dredged out of an Osaka river.
Jubilant supporters of Osaka’s Hanshin Tigers, known for being Japan’s most passionate baseball fans, flung the effigy – and themselves – into the Dotonbori River in 1985 after winning Japan’s version of the World Series.
Continue reading...Latest legislative crackdown on dissent and international collaboration likely to scare off some businesses, say critics
Hong Kong was once Asia’s world city, a global financial hub and business gateway to China. But the passage of new national security laws is the latest sign the door is closing.
On Tuesday, article 23 was unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s unicameral, opposition-free parliament. The law covers newly defined acts of treason, espionage, theft of state secrets, sedition and foreign interference.
Continue reading...Coastguard says chemical tanker was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid but no leaks reported
Eight people died after a South Korean-flagged tanker capsized in rough seas off Japan, the coastguard said.
“They were confirmed dead at a hospital,” a spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday. One other person was in a non-life-threatening condition while two others remained missing.
Continue reading...Sydney businessman formally enters not guilty plea in court for charge of reckless foreign interference
A Sydney businessman accused of foreign interference over a series of reports he wrote for two Chinese nationals did not act in a way that “prejudiced Australia’s national security”, a court has heard.
Alexander Csergo, 56, has spent nearly a year in custody after he was arrested at his Bondi home last April and charged with one count of foreign interference.
Continue reading...European Union joins chorus of criticism of Article 23, which includes harsh new penalties for offences such as insurrection, sedition and espionage
The European Union has sounded the alarm over Hong Kong’s new national security bill, saying it had the potential to “significantly” affect the work of the EU’s office and the territory’s status as a business hub.
On Tuesday Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously passed the new bill only two weeks after it was first presented, fast-tracking a major piece of legislation that critics say further threatens the city’s freedoms.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs minister says she raised concerns about China’s human rights record during meeting with Wang Yi, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has told her visiting Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that Australians are “shocked” at the suspended death sentence imposed on the writer Dr Yang Hengjun.
Wong raised the Australian citizen’s case – along with human rights more broadly – during a meeting that was largely aimed at stabilising the previously turbulent relationship with Australia’s largest trading partner.
Continue reading...Police told to rip out tune-playing horns and replace them with standard ones after young people seen dancing to passing lorries
The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet, has ordered a ban on musical vehicle horns after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing lorries blasted rhythmic little tunes.
Hun Manet, who last year took over from his father, Hun Sen – who led Cambodia for 38 years, called on the ministry of public works and transportation and police across the country to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type.
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