Japanese transport operators are expanding luggage delivery services, including between train stations and airports, to address luggage congestion as the country continues to face overtourism in major cities. In January, the airport and rail operators in Nagoya ran a luggage delivery trial for tourists on certain flights, according to Japan News, the English edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. Under the trial, tourists would drop off their luggage at the Meitetsu Nagoya railway station. Staff would measure and check the luggage before they were sent to the airport in Nagoya. Tourists on direct flights to Hong Kong or those transiting via Taipei could then travel around Nagoya without bringing along their luggage and receive them upon returning to their home airports, according to Japan News. The delivery fee under the
Category Archives: WORLD NEWS
Feb
The actress was found unconscious and unresponsive on Wednesday morning. American actress Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away at the age of 39. Trachtenberg was best known for her roles in Gossip Girl, Ice Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete and many more. According to ABC News , police sources revealed that she was found unconscious and unresponsive by her mother on Wednesday, 26 February and was pronounced dead at the scene. The police said an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. “Criminality is not suspected. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing,” the New York City Police Department said in a statement. Trachtenberg’s publicist released a statement confirming her passing and requesting
Feb
Sarah Rainsford Europe correspondent in Rome Catholics gathered to pray for the health of the Pope beneath the steps of St Peter’s Basilica for a third night, as his doctors said his condition showed further slight improvement. Nuns dangling rosary beads, tourists and student priests were among those who joined the gentle incantation of the rosary in the Vatican. They were led by a cardinal in a scarlet skull cap who prayed for Pope Francis to be able to resume his duties as soon as possible. The nightly gatherings began on Monday after the 88-year-old’s health took a dramatic dip at the weekend. He was fighting to breathe and needed blood transfusions. But the latest statements suggest the Pope is able to sit in his chair, is eating normally and
Feb
Singapore will inject a further S$60 million (US$45 million) over two years to grow its space technology programme amid a “revolution in the development of space”, officials have said. Wednesday’s announcement follows Singapore’s commitment in 2022 of S$150 million to research and development in space technologies, which has led to 14 space-related technology patents being filed by local entities, according to Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong. Speaking at the Global Space Technology Convention and Exhibition held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Gan said: “Singapore can be a key hub of ideas, innovation and impact for the global space economy, by drawing on our strengths across our business, industry and research ecosystems; focusing on relevant use cases of both economic and strategic value to Singapore; and strengthening
Feb
Japan ’s decision to skip a major nuclear weapon ban summit – despite the efforts of Nobel Prize-winning campaigners – has sparked condemnation from activists, who have said Tokyo is missing a critical chance to advocate for disarmament. The domestic debate over Japan’s position on nuclear weapons intensified after Nihon Hidankyo , or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organisations, won the Nobel Peace Prize in December for its 68-year campaign against nuclear weapons. The government’s decision not to attend the meeting of signatory states to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in New York from March 3 to 7 is “extremely unfortunate”, according to Hajime Matsukubo, secretary general of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Centre. Adopted in 2017, the TPNW is the first legally
Feb
Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior government officials met a group of prominent Chinese tech entrepreneurs in Beijing last week. That neither the property nor finance sector was represented sent a clear signal of the government’s priority. Attendees included Jack Ma , co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding (which owns the South China Morning Post), Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun , Tencent founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng , BYD chairman and CEO Wang Chuanfu and Huawei Technologies founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei . Other business leaders included CATL chairman Robin Zeng Yuqun and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng , as well as Wang Xingxing , founder of robotics company Unitree, and Liu Yonghao , chairman of animal feed producer New Hope. This meeting came at a significant time in
By VNA  February 23, 2025 | 10:05 pm PT A rendered image of Gia Binh airport planned in Bac Ninh Province that borders Hanoi. Photo by Sun Group Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has greenlit the study of the most efficient route linking Gia Binh airport in the northern province of Bac Ninh with the capital city of Hanoi, one that is not only the fastest but also visually appealing and highly effective. Chinh called for taking advantage of the current momentum to save time, effort, and resources, ensuring the 50-km road connecting the airport to downtown Hanoi is completed within two years. This timeline is essential to showcase Vietnam’s image to international partners, attract investment, and boost tourism, he said while chairing a meeting in Hanoi on Sunday, where
Feb
A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world. By THE MEDIA LINE FEBRUARY 15, 2025 00:08 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, 2017. (photo credit: PPO via Getty Images) Trumpism: Risks and opportunities Asharq Al-Awsat, London, February 6 For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org Many assert that the words of Donald Trump, the returning American president, are mere bluster. In my view, Trump could be anything – either an empty sound bomb or a truly destructive force. We are on the brink of four potentially extraordinary years that could either morph into our worst fears, leaving Palestinians without a land, or realize the dream of a Palestinian state. His policies might ignite a dangerous regional
Feb
West’s Swastika-adorned shirts were Censori’s ‘final straw,’ sources say. By SHIR PERETS FEBRUARY 14, 2025 00:56 KANYE WEST and Bianca Censori pose at the red carpet during the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last week. The writer argues: In his latest plunge into the abyss, ‘Jews were better as slaves,’ West has merely vocalized what has been lurking beneath the surface. (photo credit: Daniel Cole/Reuters) Kanye West and Bianca Censori broke up after two years of marriage, following West selling shirts with Swastikas on them, the New York Post reported on Thursday. “She’s had enough,” an anonymous source told the New York Post. “The Swastika shirt was the last straw. She told him that’s not who she is and that she can’t be associated with that.” West allegedly responded that
Feb
A 22-year-old air passenger from Bangkok has been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of bringing in 8kg (17.6lbs) of the key component of the emerging drug know as “space oil”, worth an estimated HK$8.4 million (US$1.07 million). The case was reported on Thursday, a day before etomidate will be classified as a dangerous drug. The government is set to gazette the change and enforce it immediately on Friday. Etomidate and its three analogues – metomidate, propoxate and isopropoxate – will also be listed in the gazette as dangerous drugs. Currently, etomidate, an anaesthetic, is regulated as a Part 1 poison that can only be prescribed by a doctor. The traveller arrived from Bangkok on Thursday, and during customs clearance, a batch of suspected “space oil drug” in powdered form
Feb
Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its Ernie Bot service free to use from April 1, providing wider access to the company’s own artificial intelligence (AI) models, as competition in this nascent field heats up with the rise of innovative newcomers like DeepSeek . Beijing -based Baidu said users of Ernie Bot’s desktop and mobile versions will gain free access to its Ernie large language models (LLMs) on the back of “continued upgrades and inference cost reductions”, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The Ernie Bot platform on Thursday launched a function called Deep Search, which has enhanced capabilities in thinking, planning and providing expert-level response across multiple scenarios. This feature will also be available for free from April 1. Baidu co-founder, chairman and chief executive Robin
Feb
Defense Minister Israel Katz has wasted no time leaving his stamp on the cabinet office, viewed as the most powerful in the government. By YONAH JEREMY BOB FEBRUARY 13, 2025 17:41 Updated: FEBRUARY 13, 2025 17:49 Defense Minister Israel Katz attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense committee discussion at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on January 22, 2025 (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Looking back at Defense Minister Israel Katz’s first 100 days, he cannot be as easily dismissed as many in the media have tried to do. Unlike some new Likud ministers who had little substantive experience or accomplishments and whose main resume was tweeting publicly for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and against all of his perceived opponents, Katz, age 70, has had serious jobs. He has been foreign minister twice
Feb
The emergence of high-profile figures in the Philippines tied to crime-linked offshore gaming hubs (Pogos) may result in a “complicated web of syndicate rings” that may hinder government crackdown efforts, observers warn. Philippine opposition senator Risa Hontiveros, who heads the Senate committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality that investigated alleged human trafficking and scam operations connected to Pogos, said on February 5 there remained “evil elements” from the banned gambling firms and stressed the need to stay vigilant. The Senate panel also recommended filing criminal charges against those that Hontiveros called “Pogo personalities”. These included town mayor Lisandro Calugay of Sual in Pangasinan, who allegedly helped former mayor Alice Guo , an alleged Chinese spy, escape the country; Chinese businessman Tony Yang, whom Hontiveros called the “architect
Feb
Manila’s plan to acquire submarines and additional missiles to counter Beijing’s military might in the South China Sea has been praised by observers as a strategic long-term measure, despite the high costs and questions about the country’s readiness to maintain such technology. One analyst said the move was long overdue, since the Philippines discovered last year that its rival had used drones in mapping out the seabed in the disputed waters. On Wednesday, citing an “increase in China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities” General Romeo Brawner Jnr, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, announced the country’s desire to procure two submarines and additional BrahMos missiles in response to China’s military build-up in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone. Last
Feb
LONDON — Hamas said in a statement Thursday it would release the next group of hostages as planned in accordance with its ceasefire agreement with Israel, adding that Egyptian and Qatari mediators had confirmed they will work to “remove obstacles and close gaps.” The next hostage-prisoner exchange is set to take place Saturday, as previously agreed in the current ceasefire deal. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. MORE: Netanyahu warns ‘ceasefire will be terminated’ if Hamas doesn’t free hostages This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.