Day: January 28, 2023

Sydney —  Heavy rainfall hit New Zealand’s north island again on Sunday, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads, with the death toll rising to four after a person who had been missing was confirmed dead. Battered by rain since Friday, Auckland — New Zealand’s largest city of 1.6 million people — remained under a state of emergency. The nation’s weather forecaster, MetService, warned of severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said. The focus of…

Beijing —  Lunar New Year holiday trips inside China surged 74% from last year after authorities scrapped COVID-19 travel curbs, state media reported Saturday, though the number of journeys was still only half of pre-pandemic levels. According to official data, the number of COVID deaths showed a weekly decline, however. Between January 20-26, a week that overlapped with six days of the holiday period, China registered 6,364 COVID-linked deaths, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday, compared to 12,658 a week earlier. Lunar New Year is the most…

YOKOHAMA, Japan —  A Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its products amid protests from conservationists, has found a new way to cultivate clientele and bolster sales: whale meat vending machines. The Kujira (Whale) Store, an unmanned outlet that recently opened in the port town of Yokohama near Tokyo, houses three machines for whale sashimi, whale bacon, whale skin and whale steak, as well as canned whale meat. Prices range from 1,000 yen ($7.70) to 3,000 yen ($23). The outlet features white vending machines decorated with cartoon…

GENEVA —  United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is condemning the increasing brutality and wholesale repression of Myanmar’s military leaders to maintain their iron grip on power. United Nations rights chief Volker Türk says Myanmar has plunged ever deeper into crisis since the military launched a coup against the country’s democratically elected government nearly two years ago, on February 1, 2021. Türk spokesman Jeremy Laurence says the country has undergone a wholesale regression in human rights. He says violence has spiraled out of control in total disregard…

Authorities in Western Australia say they are looking for a missing radioactive capsule. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the capsule containing radioactive material was lost during transportation from north of Newman to Perth’s northeastern suburbs. Exposure to the material, used in gauges in mining, could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, the department said. The small silver capsule measures 6 mm in diameter and is 8 mm tall. Workers are searching the Great Northern Highway for the capsule. Motorists have been urged to check their vehicles’ tires…

united nations —  Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this week, as seen from the United Nations’ perch. UN deputy chief says Taliban’s desire for recognition is bargaining chip on rights U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Wednesday that the international community’s best leverage to persuade the Taliban to reverse restrictions on Afghan women’s rights is the group’s desire for international recognition. She told reporters that the U.N. and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are discussing holding a conference in…