General news

Examples of my general assignment coverage.

Japan expands state of emergency, approves 2 more vaccines

AP – Japan on Friday expanded a coronavirus state of emergency hours after it approved the use of two more vaccines in an effort to contain a worrying surge in infections nine weeks ahead of the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. …

What happened on April 14, 2021

QUARTZ (Contribution to a newsletter item) – Joe Biden’s first face-to-face international summit as US president this Friday will not be with Canada, Mexico, or the UK. He’ll be meeting with Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga, because his global outlook right now is laser-focused on China. …

Japan declares emergency as COVID-19 cases hit record high

AL JAZEERA (Co-byline with Zaheena Rasheed) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared on Thursday a one-month state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding areas, urging residents of the capital to avoid going out and asking bars and restaurants to close by 8pm amid a record surge in COVID-19 infections. …

Hong Kong Disneyland Will Close Down Again as Cases Rise

BARRON’S (Paywalled) – Walt Disney will shut down Hong Kong Disneyland again after it reopened less than a month ago, as additional daily coronavirus cases confirmed by the local government rose to 52 on Monday. …

Wondering Where Your Stimulus Payment Is? How to Check Its Status–and Request a Replacement.

BARRON’S (Paywalled) – Nearly 1 million prepaid debit cards issued by the government as stimulus payments, or about 27% of all distributed cards, have still not been activated, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. …

U.S. Coronavirus Panel Is Scrutinizing Nursing Home Companies. Two of the Stocks Are Falling.

BARRON’S (Paywalled) – The House of Representatives committee overseeing the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic has launched an investigation into the five largest nursing home companies, requesting detailed data on their handling of the Covid-19 deaths and operations at the facilities. …

Hundreds of Flights Canceled as Storm Lashes Southwest Japan

BLOOMBERG (Co-byline with Dave McCombs) – Severe tropical storm Krosa lashed western and southern Japan with torrential rain and wind, causing Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways to cancel hundreds of domestic and international flights, and some train lines to halt services. …

Former minister Syed Hamid awarded Japanese honour

MALAYSIAKINI – Former foreign affairs minister Syed Hamid Albar has been conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of The Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for building a robust relationship between Malaysia and Japan during his time in office. …

Japan’s wedding ring jewelers look to become more LGBT-friendly

THE JAPAN TIMES – While same-sex marriage has not been legalized in Japan, some firms in the country’s wedding jewelry industry have started taking steps to make their products and stores more LGBT-friendly. …

Kansai University to accept refugee student under United Nations program

THE JAPAN TIMES – Kansai University will begin accepting applications from refugees through a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees program and plans to admit one student for the 2019 academic year starting in April. …

In tattoo-taboo Japan, new website offers helping hand for those with ink

THE JAPAN TIMES – In tattoo-taboo Japan, those who are inked-up have received a helping hand — in both English and Japanese — with the launch of a new website that offers information about tattoo-friendly hot springs and other locations nationwide. …

Getting out of campus without a car: Free shuttles in fashion

THE DEPAUW – A white minibus with the DePauw University logo left the Union Building at noon Feb. 24 with 27 students. The bus arrived at the Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis and twelve hours later the shuttle returned to campus. …

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