Japan to ban cannabinoid HHCH from Dec 2 after gummies make many ill

A Japanese health ministry panel on Tuesday decided to ban HHCH, a synthetic cannabinoid, from Dec 2 after many people who consumed gummies containing the compound had to go to the hospital.

The panel will add hexahydrocannabihexol to the list of illicit drugs in Japan,…[Read more]

Toshiba shareholders OK stock consolidation; set for December delisting

Toshiba Corp’s shareholders approved a consolidation of the company’s shares at an extraordinary meeting Wednesday, paving the way for its delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec 20 and marking the end of its 74-year history as a public company.

The move will allow a…[Read more]

Fast-Rising Number of Japanese Detained in China is an International Issue

A Japanese man in his fifties who was detained in China in the summer of 2019 on espionage charges was recently sentenced to twelve years in prison by a court in Hunan Province. Furthermore, earlier in 2023, a Japanese executive with Astellas Pharma, a major pharmaceutical…[Read more]

Security in the Pacific Islands Region Gets New Priority in the US and G7

Global geopolitics surrounding the Pacific Islands is heating up once again. United States President Joe Biden hosted the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders at the White House in September 2023. It was the second US-PIF Summit in Washington DC.

There, the leaders jointly…[Read more]

Israel kills 7 more Palestinians as West Bank death toll hits 255

At least seven Palestinians were killed Wednesday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, taking the death toll there since Oct. 7 to 225, according to the Health Ministry

A ministry statement said the bodies of six slain Palestinians were taken to Tulkarm Hospital in the…[Read more]

Turkey searches Black Sea for lost sailors following deadly storms

Turkey has launched a rescue mission to hunt for 11 missing sailors after deadly storms sank a cargo vessel, killing one.

The ship sank in the Black Sea amid a burst of stormy weather, killing at least one sailor and leaving the remaining 11 crew members missing, Turkey’s i…[Read more]

Turkey’s ‘Saturday mothers’ allowed to hold vigil for first time since 2018

Members of a group of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances in Turkey held a vigil in central Istanbul without police intervention for the first time since 2018.

Known as the “Saturday Mothers” (“Cumartesi Anneleri” in Turkish), the group has met every Saturda…[Read more]

Complicity unveiled: Israel’s Gaza attacks beyond political figures

In pivotal moments, the actions or inaction of influential domestic and international actors can shape the destiny of societies. The recent indiscriminate attacks by Israel on Gaza highlight the profound impact of such decisions on the course of history. Israel’s occupation of P…[Read more]

خوش قسمت ہے وہ انسان جس کو پروردگار ایسے انسان سے نواز دے ،جو ہرحال میں دوسرے کا ساتھ دے۔ہر خوشی میں، ہر تکلیف میں ساتھ نبھائے۔ بانٹ لے سب کچھ دوسرے کا۔
انسان کو محسوس نہیں ہوتا کہ وہ اکیلا ہے، اسے تکلیف اکیلے ہی برداشت کرنی ہو گی۔
اسے سکون ہوتا ہے کہ کوئی اس سے بات کرنے والا نہ ہو تو وہ انسان تو بات کرنے والا ہو گا۔کوئی عزت کرنے والا نہ ہو،و…[Read more]

Andrew Spira pleads guilty to fraud and drugs charges in Darwin, handed $39K fine

A Sydney entrepreneur who concocted an elaborate plan to flee Australia, become a drug-dealer in South-East Asia, hijack a yacht and fund an armed militia, has pleaded guilty to a string of fraud and drug charges in Darwin Local Court on Friday.

Andrew Spira, the…[Read more]

Tokyo’s busiest train line to be partially shut down this weekend as part of Shibuya renovations

here’s no more convenient way to get around downtown Tokyo than the Yamanote Line. Operated by East Japan Railway, the Yamanote is a loop line the encircles the center of the city, with trains leaving once every few minutes to carry passengers to the…[Read more]

World Food Programme says civilians in Gaza are facing ‘immediate possibility of starvation’

The United Nations said there would be no cross-border aid operation on Friday due to fuel shortages and a communication shutdown.

For a second consecutive day on Thursday no aid trucks arrived in Gaza due to lack of fuel for distributing relief.

WFP…[Read more]

Israel-Gaza: WHO voices concern over spread of disease in Gaza as IDF warns Gazans to flee the south

Fighting continues more than five weeks after the terror attack on Israel by Hamas, which sparked a retaliatory bombing and ground offensive by Israel.

The World Health Organization has expressed worries over the spread of disease in Gaza as…[Read more]

Kishida invited by Biden for state visit in early 2024

apanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday he has been invited by U.S. President Joe Biden to make a state visit early next year, an announcement made as the two countries step up cooperation bilaterally and trilaterally with South Korea in the face of increasing security challenges…[Read more]

China, Japan reaffirm strategic relationship in rare leader talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida committed to pursuing mutually-beneficial relations in their first face-to-face talks in a year, a sign that Asia’s two largest economies are looking to patch up strained ties.

The two leaders also discussed…[Read more]

Japan panel proposes child care plan covering 100% of income

In the hope of encouraging more fathers to take paternity leave, a health ministry panel on Monday proposed a plan to increase child care leave allowance so that it covers 100% of income — up from around 80% — if both parents each take 14 days of leave or more.
When working parents tak…[Read more]

Infrastructure Minister defends withdrawal of funding for Western Sydney Airport link

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King says funding for a critical Western Sydney motorway interchange was axed because an independent review could not determine what it was for.

The interchange between the M7 and the toll-free M12 to the…[Read more]

Mass Production of Bio-Jet Fuel in Japan: Embracing the Challenge

Sanyu Plant Service is working to be the first in Japan to mass-produce bio-jet fuel, answering the aviation industry’s need for sustainable fuel alternatives.

n business for 75 years, Sanyu Plant Service (Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture) has established a reputation for…[Read more]

The 12-hour rush to push through laws concerning the end of indefinite detention was alarming in its chaos

In the space of 12 hours on Thursday, the Australian Parliament passed legislation about what remains, to the public, a largely ill-defined and unknown group of people — but variously described by some of our MPs as “hardened criminals” a…[Read more]

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Israel a ‘terror state’, criticises the West

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state”, stepping up his condemnation of the Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip ahead of a sensitive visit to Germany.

Erdogan said on Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian…[Read more]