Tokyo, 20 February, /AJMEDIA/
Russian aggression against Ukraine would incur “severe” costs: G-7
MUNICH – The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven major developed countries on Saturday warned further aggression against Ukraine would cause Russia to incur “severe and unprecedented costs.”
Calling Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified” massive military deployment a “challenge to global security and the international order,” the G-7 ministers said in a statement released after their talks in Munich that Moscow should choose diplomacy and de-escalate tensions by implementing the announced reduction of military activities along Ukraine’s borders.
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ASEAN urges Myanmar to facilitate visits by new special envoy
PHNOM PENH – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has called on Myanmar to facilitate visits by its new special envoy to help defuse its political conflict, according to a statement released after a meeting of the group’s foreign ministers earlier in the week.
The statement issued late Friday by the Cambodian chair of the meeting urged the military junta “to facilitate missions of the special envoy of the ASEAN chair, beginning with the first visit to Myanmar as soon as possible in order to move forward implementation of the five-point consensus.”
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U.S. ambassador to Japan arranging visit to Hiroshima next week
TOKYO – An arrangement is being made for U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to visit atomic-bombed Hiroshima with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida next week, a Japanese government source said Saturday.
Under the plan under consideration, Emanuel, once a top aide to former President Barack Obama who visited Hiroshima in 2016, will offer prayers and flowers to those who suffered from the U.S. bombing in 1945 at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Feb. 26, the source said.
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Olympics: Curlers’ bid for gold charming Japan all over again
BEIJING – Four years after captivating Japan with its run to Olympic bronze, the national women’s curling team is one win away from a gold medal at the Beijing Winter Games.
Having scraped through to the semifinals by virtue of a tiebreaker, the Japanese quartet of skip Satsuki Fujisawa, Yumi Suzuki and the Yoshida sisters, Chinami and Yurika, on Friday played the game of their lives to topple round robin winner Switzerland 8-6 and earn a shot at Olympic glory.
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Japanese ship carrying luxury cars ablaze in Atlantic, crew safe
TOKYO – A Japanese-operated ship carrying thousands of vehicles, including German luxury cars, remains adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after it caught fire Wednesday, the vessel’s operator said.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the operator of the Felicity Ace, said all 22 crew members aboard the ship have been safely evacuated to a nearby island.
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Woman who leaked univ. exam question said she did same thing last yr
TOKYO – A 19-year-old female university student from Osaka Prefecture recently referred to prosecutors for leaking a unified university entrance exam question has claimed she also cheated in last year’s exam, investigative sources said Saturday.
She is believed to have been helped both times by a 28-year-old male system engineer from Yokohama near Tokyo, who has also been referred to prosecutors for facilitating the sending of the images during the test last month, they said.
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Olympics: Miura, Kihara ends pairs skating 7th, vows to keep on going
BEIJING – Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan on Saturday finished seventh in the pairs figure skating competition at the Beijing Games, but vowed they will keep on going to pursue a higher level.
China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong won gold. The 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic silver medalists held on to their short program lead and scored 239.88 points in total.
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Australia commemorates 80 years since Japanese bombing of Darwin
DARWIN, Australia – The northern Australian city of Darwin on Saturday marked the 80th anniversary of a Japanese air raid that killed hundreds during World War II.
The bombing of Darwin on Feb. 19, 1942, the first attack by Japanese forces on the Australian mainland, killed at least 250 people and destroyed 30 aircraft and nine ships.
