Japan's Mount Fuji 'screaming' from too many tourists - CNA

MOUNT FUJI: With its millions of visitors every year and the buses, supply trucks, noodle shops and fridge magnets, Japan's Mount Fuji is no longer the peaceful pilgrimage site it once was.

Now authorities have had enough, saying the number of hikers trekking up the world-famous volcano - night and day - is dangerous and an ecological embarrassment.

"Mount Fuji is screaming," the governor of the local region said last week.

Hailing its religious importance and its inspiration to artists, in 2013 UNESCO added the "internationally recognised icon of Japan" to its World Heritage List.

But as has happened in places such as Bruges in Belgium or Rio de Janeiro's Sugarloaf Mountain, the designation has been both a blessing and a curse.

Visitor numbers more than doubled between 2012 and 2019 to 5.1 million, and that's just for Yamanashi prefecture, the main starting point.

DAY AND NIGHT

It's not just during the day that a stream of people trudges through the black volcanic grit on their way up the 3,776m mountain.

At night, long lines of people - on their way up to see the sunrise - trek upwards with torches on their heads.

The main starting-off point is a car park that can only be reached by taxi or buses that take a couple of hours from Tokyo, around 100km away.

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2023-09-08 03:31:00Z
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65-year-old Australian cycles over 9000km from Australia to Singapore - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – A weather-beaten man and his equally weather-beaten bicycle arrived at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on Wednesday morning. His journey to Singapore did not start just an hour ago from Batam, Indonesia.

Dr Ian Wallis set off from his home in Australia’s capital city Canberra on May 1. In the past four months, he had cycled for more than 9,000km across many places in Australia, Timor-Leste and Indonesia. He took the plane only when he had to fly across the Timor Sea from Darwin to Dili, and hopped onto the ferry when getting from island to island in Indonesia.

On the 129th day of his journey, the 65-year-old retired Australian scientist arrived in Singapore. His wife Cora, 56, flew in from Australia earlier and greeted him at the arrival hall. Both are avid cyclists who love the outdoors.

Looking spirited and energetic, Dr Wallis gamely posed for The Straits Times with his Thorn Nomad bicycle. He also showed ST what he carried with him in his bags – two of them mounted on his bicycle’s front wheels, two on the back wheels and one on the handlebar.

He said the items include his diary, bicycle pump, bolt to attach his bicycle saddle to the seat post, puncture repair kit, spare spokes, chain lube, spare chain links, a few tools, cycling knicks and a sleeping sheet to protect him from filthy bedding in hotels.

Dr Wallis has been documenting his adventures on his blog. While he does long-distance cycling mainly to satiate his appetite for exploration, he said he is also using his trips as an opportunity to raise funds for Australia’s indigo foundation, a non-profit group that he said has lent support to “a youth organisation in Timor-Leste that confronts sexual harassment, and an organisation in Indonesia that funds bursaries (for) girls from female-led households to attend university”.

Dr Wallis added that he had donated everything that had been given to him in kind.

“Many caravan parks let me pitch my tent for free. I donated that money, usually A$30 (S$26) to indigo. This occurred many times,” he said.

He also tries to keep his own expenses low while on the road. His average spending per day is about A$40, and he projects that this trip will cost him around A$5,000 when it comes to an end back in Canberra in September.

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2023-09-08 04:30:00Z
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Record rainfall causes flooding in Hong Kong days after typhoon - CNA

HONG KONG: Record rainfall in Hong Kong caused widespread flooding in the early hours of Friday (Sep 8), disrupting road and rail traffic just days after the city dodged major damage from a super typhoon.

The Hong Kong Observatory, the city's weather agency, reported hourly rainfall of 158.1mm at its headquarters in the hour leading up to midnight, the highest since records began in 1884.

Late on Thursday, authorities in the city said various districts had been flooded and emergency services were conducting rescue operations. Members of the public were instructed to stay in a safe place.

"Heavy rain will bring flash floods," the observatory warned. "Residents living in close proximity to rivers should stay alert to weather conditions and should consider evacuation" if their homes are flooded, it added.

No injuries were reported in the early hours of Friday. 

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2023-09-07 20:58:00Z
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Many Asean air force chiefs to skip Myanmar meeting - Bangkok Post

Thailand will attend but regional bloc remains divided on dealing with military junta

PUBLISHED : 7 Sep 2023 at 20:20

Local residents and defence group members cremate bodies in Pa Zi Gyi on April 13, two days after an air strike in the Sagaing region of Myanmar killed about 170 people. (Photo supplied)

Several Southeast Asian air force commanders plan to shun an upcoming meeting chaired by Myanmar’s military rulers but Thailand will be represented at the talks.

The annual Asean Air Chiefs Conference usually gathers top air force leaders from the 10-nation bloc to discuss cooperation in defence, combating extremism, and disaster relief.

Myanmar is the current chair of the group and is scheduled to host the meeting next week, but at least three Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries told AFP they would not send their top officials.

The junta has been accused of war crimes over air strikes carried out by its jets — mostly Chinese- and Russian-built — in support of ground troops battling opponents of its 2021 coup.

Its air force chief Htun Aung, who will chair the conference, has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain.

ACM Alongkorn Vannarot, who will be retiring as chief of the Royal Thai Air Force at the end of this month, will make the trip to neighbouring Myanmar, a Ministry of Defence official told AFP.

While Asean has halted high-level meetings with Myanmar’s generals, Thailand has pursued its own bilateral talks with the junta and also engaged India and China in parallel discussions abouyt Myanmar in recent months, further dividing the bloc.

The air force chiefs of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will not attend the meeting, officials told AFP.

Malaysia’s air force chief will not attend, a spokesperson said, while the Philippine commander plans to send a video message to his counterpart rather than go in person.

Indonesia’s air force chief “will not be attending and won’t be sending anyone to represent him either”, air force spokesperson Agung Sasongkojati told AFP without giving a reason.

At the Asean leaders’ summit in Jakarta this week, the group accused the junta of targeting civilians in the grinding conflict sparked by its coup, and of ignoring a peace plan agreed with the bloc to end violence.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said there had been “no significant progress” in the five-point plan agreed with the junta more than two years ago.

Asean has barred junta officials from high-level meetings over their refusal to engage with the plan and their opponents.

Cambodian air force commander Soeng Samnang declined to comment on whether he would attend the Myanmar meeting, and the defence ministry could not be reached for comment.

The air forces of Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam did not respond to requests for comment.

War crime claims

Amnesty International said last year the junta was using air strikes as “collective punishment” against civilians supporting anti-coup fighters, and in March the United Nations said the military had carried out more than 300 air strikes in the past year.

Also in March, the junta held a parade to mark Armed Forces Day, with flyovers by Russian-made Yak and Sukhoi Su-30 jets.

The military bombed a gathering in northern Sagaing region in April that media and local residents said killed about 170 people, sparking renewed global condemnation of the isolated junta.

Human Rights Watch said it had evidence the military had used a thermobaric “vacuum bomb” in the attack, saying it likely amounted to a war crime.

Air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group in northern Kachin state killed around 50 people last October.

The junta has said that reports civilians were among the dead were “rumours”.

AFP has contacted a Myanmar junta spokesman for comment.

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2023-09-07 13:20:00Z
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Kremlin: US answerable for health risk from giving Kyiv depleted uranium shells - CNA

The Kremlin said on Thursday (Sep 7) that the United States would have to answer for the "very sad consequences" of its decision to provide depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine.

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced an assistance package for Ukraine including armour-piercing depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks. Britain has already sent similar shells.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said NATO's heavy use of such ammunition in bombing Yugoslavia in 1999 had caused a jump in cases of cancer and other diseases.

"These consequences are also felt by subsequent generations of those who somehow came into contact or were in areas where these weapons were used," he told reporters, saying the same would now happen in Ukraine.

The use of depleted uranium munitions is fiercely debated; the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons says ingesting or inhaling even depleted uranium dust can cause cancers and birth defects.

But a United Nations Environment Programme report on the impact of depleted uranium on Serbia and Montenegro, in then-Yugoslavia, found "no significant, widespread contamination".

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says that studies in former Yugoslavia, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon "indicated that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions".

Some Serbian politicians have disputed this and reported an increased incidence of malignancies, and deaths from them.

Britain's Royal Society said in a report in 2002 that the risks to the kidney and other organs from the use of depleted uranium munitions were very low, both for most soldiers in the field and for those living in the conflict area.

Britain says in its guidance that inhaling enough depleted uranium dust to cause injury would be difficult.

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2023-09-07 11:22:08Z
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Amid global tensions, PM Lee urges ASEAN, major powers to foster strong cooperation under alternative regional initiative - CNA

During his intervention at the ASEAN-India Summit on Thursday, Mr Lee said India’s support is "crucial" in addressing common challenges, such as the problem of Myanmar.

"Our external partners and Myanmar’s neighbours, including India, have important roles, working with ASEAN to facilitate national reconciliation," he said at the summit, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Lee said ASEAN and India should explore "concrete projects" to implement the AOIP and collaborate in emerging areas like clean energy and pandemic preparedness.

"We should also strengthen supply chain resilience and food security to address likely shocks to come," he added.

Mr Lee also said that ASEAN and India must press on with economic integration.

"We hope that the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement will make it more user-friendly and trade facilitative for our businesses," he said. 

AUSTRALIA'S ROLE "IMPORTANT" IN ENSURING SECURITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

During the ASEAN-Australia Summit also on Thursday, Mr Lee said Singapore welcomes the ASEAN-Australia Joint Leaders’ Statement on Food Security.

It reaffirms the countries' commitment to unimpeded trade and flow of food products, and to building more resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

"The war in Ukraine and adverse weather events caused by climate change have disrupted agricultural production and food value chains," Mr Lee said at the forum, attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Lee also welcomed the signing of an upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area two weeks ago, which he said strengthens the countries' supply chains and reduces business costs, while setting standards for emerging areas of cooperation like the digital economy.

He noted that ASEAN has just launched negotiations on an ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and hopes to work with Australia "as a frontrunner in this field". 

Separately, Mr Lee said that he hopes that ASEAN can leverage on Australia's expertise in the deployment of renewable energy.

"The Clean Energy and Climate Transition track for next year's Special Summit with Australia is thus timely," he said. 

But Mr Lee also called on ASEAN and Australia to work on tangible projects under the AOIP to further underpin Australia’s role in the Indo-Pacific, even as Australia's "firm commitment" to the AOIP signals its continued support for ASEAN centrality.

"Australia’s contributions have been an important factor in ensuring the security and stability of Southeast Asia," he added.

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2023-09-07 08:00:00Z
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Japan PM speaks to China's Li about Fukushima radioactive water release - CNA

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday (Sep 6) he explained Japan's stance on the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Indonesia.

Japan started releasing the water from the wrecked plant into the ocean last month, drawing strong criticism from China. In retaliation, China has imposed a blanket ban on all aquatic imports from Japan.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.

Kishida told reporters he spoke briefly with Qiang ahead of a session at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta.

"During the chat, I explained Japan's position on the treated water to Premier Li," Kishida said. He refused to say how Li had responded.

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2023-09-06 13:49:00Z
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