Tokyo (AFP) – Dozens of excited Haruki Murakami fans queued outside a bookstore in Tokyo for the midnight release of “The City and Its Uncertain Walls”. “I want to read it as soon as I get home,” said Shunsuke Misumoto, a fan among the first to get his hands on the novel.
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s annual Karaage Grand Prix, revamped after allegations of fowl play, has a team of judges committed to eating their way to find the ultimate expression of the fried chicken dish known as “Japan’s comfort food”. “Karaage” refers to the technique used to fry the chicken, which is a dish found at many bars and restaurants. IN SEQUENCE
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urges support for rebuilding in Ukraine, “by rebuilding what has been ruined, we defeat the main goal of terror: we return the normal life,” he said on a video call to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Fairplay (United States) (AFP) – In the Rocky Mountains, tourists and scientists are rejoicing over the snow that has fallen this winter. The thick snowpack feeds the Colorado River and gives hope of a less dry summer to the millions of people in the American West affected by a continued drought.
Chiang Mai (Thailand) (AFP) – Hazardous pollution levels in northern Thailand have left the historic city of Chiang Mai choking under thick smog, with locals worried about the impact on tourism — and their health.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounces Russian “beasts” as as a video supposedly showing the decapitation of a Ukrainian prisoner of war surfaces on social media. “There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill,” he says in a message posted on his social media.
Seoul (AFP) – A dust storm obscures the sky over Seoul, with dust particles affecting air quality in the South Korean capital. South Korea’s Ministry of Environment says that it has raised its yellow dust warning from “attention” to “caution”.
Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan’s Vice President, William Lai, who has been nominated as the candidate for next year’s presidential elections by the country’s pro-independence ruling Democratic Progressive Party, is outspoken on Taiwanese independence: “The 2024 election is apparently not a choice between war and peace, but a choice between democracy and autocracy,” he says during a press conference in Taipei.
Amsterdam (AFP) – Residents of Amsterdam find themselves unexpectedly siding with the city’s sex workers as they oppose plans put forward by Mayor Femke Halsema to move legal prostitution from the historic red light district to a suburban “erotic centre”.
Nakhon Ratchasima (Thailand) (AFP) – One of Thailand’s oldest railway stations is facing demolition as the kingdom presses ahead with a long-delayed Chinese-backed high-speed line that has caused unease about lost heritage and closer ties to Beijing.
