…gzhou, demonstrators gathered near the Japanese consulate calling on Tokyo to quit the islands. In Shanghai, protesters held a banner reading “down with Japanese imperialism”. An estimated 200 demonstrators also marched through central Hong Kong to the Japanese consulate chanting anti-Japanese slogans, broadcaster RTHK reported. In the south-western city of Chengdu, protests shut down…
…of the islands has been rumbling for years and has flared sporadically. A spokesman from Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said that 58 fishing vessels arrived in the disputed waters at around 05:00 a.m. local time after setting off from a northern Taiwanese port on Monday afternoon. The fishing boats were accompanied by several Taiwanese coast guard vessels. Japan’s coast guard said…
n as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are uninhabited but resource-rich. They have been a contentious issue between the two countries, and were the focus of a major diplomatic row between them in 2010. The dispute flared up again over the weekend after Tokyo said it had agreed to purchase them, leading to thousands of protesters taking to the streets in various parts of China. The demonstrati…
– called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The Japanese coast guard said it was the highest number of Chinese boats in the area since Tokyo nationalized part of the island chain in September 2012. China said its ships had been monitoring Japanese vessels. The State Oceanic Administration issued a statement saying three of its ships had “found” several Japanese ships around th…
US defence secretary Leon Panetta has warned territorial disputes in East Asia have the potential to become wider conflicts if provocations are not reduced. “A misjudgement on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict,” Leon Panetta said at the start of an Asian tour. His comments came as anti-Japanese protests continue to sweep China over a disputed…
Japanese politicians have set sail for a group of disputed islands, in the teeth of protests by China which claims them for its own. A flotilla of some 20 Japanese boats set out for the Senkaku (Chinese: Diaoyu) islands and is expected to anchor off them early on Sunday. The politicians plan to commemorate Japanese dead in World War II, when Japan occupied eastern China. But Japan’s governm…
A huge dock torn from a Japanese port by March 2011 tsunami has washed up in the US state of Oregon – 8,050 km (5,000 miles) across the Pacific. The 20m-long (66ft) concrete dock weighing 165 tons was spotted on Agate beach, south-west of Portland. A Japanese consulate official said a commemorative plaque showed it had come from the fishing port of Misawa. Radiation checks proved negative,…
…ago consists of five islands and three reefs • Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture • The Japanese government signed a deal in September 2012 to purchase three islands from Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara, who used to rent them out to the Japanese state • The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and Chi…
Vanilla Chamu is a Japanese model who has undergone a startling physical transformation that has so far involved more than 30 cosmetic procedures at a cost of 10 million yen ($102,000) just to look like a French doll. Vanilla Chamu has said she intends to keep having surgeries until she has achieved her lifelong goal. Photos of Vanilla Chamu prior to her first procedures reveal a rather mousy Jap…
…llies in Chinese cities. Chinese indignation grew recently when nationalist politicians from Japan visited disputed islands to commemorate the Japanese dead of WWII Japan’s coast guard reported 20 Chinese marine surveillance ships in the vicinity of the islands last week. They confirmed to Kyodo news agency on Sunday that the last such vessel had left. The cancellation of Thursday’s c…
The Japanese yen has reached its lowest level since 2008 against the US dollar after the central bank began the latest round of its stimulus programme. The yen fell as low as 98.85 against the dollar, before rebounding slightly. Investors said the Bank of Japan’s plan to buy assets worth trillions of yen, which has government backing, would continue to weaken the currency. As a result, the yen ma…
orted to police by angry YouTube users. He reportedly said he “wanted people to understand the beauty of a Ferrari”. The six-minute video is titled “Ferrari 458 Italia Drive in Japan 2011″ in Japanese, and was filmed using a camera positioned behind the driver. It shows the car leaving an underground car park and driving along highways and coastal roads in Fukuoka, southern…
The crewless Japanese ship that drifted to Alaska after the 2011 tsunami has been sunk by the US Coast Guard. The coast guard earlier said they would hold off scuttling the Ryou-Un Maru after a Canadian fishing boat claimed salvage rights. But a Canadian official later said that the Bernice C had been unable to tow the 200 ft (61 m) Japanese “ghost ship”. The US Coast Guard has used c…
Lady Gaga was seen heading out to dinner in Juan les Pins, France, with her entourage in typically flamboyant style of dress, on Friday afternoon. Lady Gaga, 26, went down the less-is-more route as she stepped out in her own version of the double denim trend. He showed off her toned dancer thighs by wearing a pair of extremely tiny blue shorts which she teamed with a matching bra. Lady Gaga was o…
Nadine Ascencao, the former girlfriend of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, revealed he slapped her and beat her head against a car because she was wearing shorts. Nadine Ascencao, 25, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she and Tamerlan Tsarnaev split up after he became so abusive she called police. The couple dated for three years and she said he became increasingly religious during that…
Japan’s economy contracted in the third quarter of 2012, as a global economic slowdown and anti-Japan protests in China hurt its exports, while domestic consumption remained subdued. Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 3.5% from a year earlier. Compared with the previous three months, the economy contracted 0.9%. The weak data is likely to put pressure on the government to boost…
Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki has been accused of doing a “racist” impersonation of Serena Williams after stuffing her bra and shorts. At a recent exhibition against Maria Sharapova in Brazil, Caroline Wozniacki stuffed courtside towels down her kit to replicate the body of the curvaceous Grand Slam champion. But now the 22-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend golfer Rory McIlroy was in the crowd, h…
…celebrated her 55th birthday last month Melanie Griffith teamed her look with a striped vest top, exposing a hint of her pink bra, and wore comfortable flat shoes for her outing. She entered rehab in 2008 after admitting she struggled with a pill addiction. Since then she has seen to be dedicated to turning her life around and regularly attending yoga classes has played a big part in this. Melani…
…plant operator Tepco’s response. It also blamed cultural conventions and a reluctance to question authority. The six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was badly damaged after the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems to reactors, leading to meltdowns and the release of radioactivity. Tens of thousands of residents were evacuated from an exclusion zone around…
…ng faded bluejeans and blue puffy vest led to the creation of a blog devoted to his dubious choices in attire called “What the F*** is Michael Jordan Wearing?”. Michael Jordan left the NBA for good in 2003. He is currently owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, one of the worst teams in the league. However, Michael Jordan retains his star power and reportedly rakes in tens of millions of a dollars a year…
Japan’s coast guard has detained a Chinese fishing boat for allegedly fishing inside Japanese waters, Chinese officials say. The boat was seized on Saturday near Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Chinese consulate in Fukuoka, Japan. The captain had admitted entering Japanese waters, Xinhua said. Japan’s coast guard has detained…
Asian markets have dropped in early trading after two explosions hit the Boston Marathon finishing line killing three people and injuring dozens more. Stock indexes fell by as much as 2% in Japan. South Korea and Australia also dropped, as did oil and gold prices. Earlier on Monday, US markets closed lower after the blasts accelerated a sell-off started by weak economic data. Analysts said that i…
Japan has accused China of violating its airspace for the first time after a Chinese government plane flew near disputed East China Sea islands. Fighter jets were scrambled after the plane was seen around 11:00 local time near one of the islands, spokesman Osamu Fujimura said. Japan lodged an immediate protest with Beijing, he said. The islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have…
Japanese women have fallen behind Hong Kong in terms of global life expectancy rankings for the first time in 25 years. This was partly due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March 2011, said an annual report by Japan’s health ministry. The expected lifespan for Japanese women dropped from 86.30 years in 2010 to 85.90 years in 2011. The official life expectanc…
Nissan has slashed its full-year profit forecast by 20% after car sales slumped in China amid anti-Japanese protests. The Japanese carmaker now expects a net profit of 320 billion yen ($4 billion) for the year ending March 2013, down from an earlier estimate of 400 billion yen. Nissan says car sales plunged 35% in China in September. A territorial dispute between Japan and China over islands in t…
Arne Svenson: TriBeCa residents threaten to sue artist for secretly photographed them in their own apartmentsResidents at a luxury TriBeCa apartment block in Lower Manhattan are very furious after discovering that artist Arne Svenson, who is their neighbor at a nearby building, has…
Monika Pon-su-san: The Chinese Girl in Vladimir Tretchikoff's paintingEarlier this year Vladimir Tretchikoff's portrait Chinese Girl, often referred to as The Green Lady, was sold for almost £1 million ($1.5 million) at auction in…
Bob Brozman suicide: Guitarist and ethnomusicologist found dead aged 59 at his Santa Cruz homeGuitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman was found dead aged 59 at his home in Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County, CA, on April 23. Bob Brozman’s death was ruled a suicide,…
Harper Lee sues literary agent Samuel Pinkus over To Kill A Mockingbird copyrightHarper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has sued literary agent Samuel Pinkus, who she says tricked her into assigning him the copyright on the Pulitzer Prize-winning…
1913 Liberty Head nickel sells for $3.17 million at Heritage auction in ChicagoA century-old US five-cent coin, once branded a fake, has been sold for $3.17 million at a Heritage auction in Chicago. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five such…
Iain Banks writes on Banksophilia about astounding messages of support over his terminal cancerAuthor Iain Banks has said the messages of support he has received from fans since announcing he has terminal cancer have been "astounding". On 3 April, the 59-year-old…
Kim Kardashian finally puts her swollen feet in flats
Eva Longoria humiliating wardrobe malfunction at Cannes Film Festival
Imran Khan blames MQM’s Altaf Hussain for Zahra Shahid Hussain’s killing in Karachi
Richard DeCoatsworth: Former police officer once hailed as hero arrested in Port Richmond
Poweball jackpot: One lottery ticket bought in Florida wins its lucky owner $590 million jackpot
Obama administration knew IRS was targeting conservative groups since June 2012
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart split after cheating scandal
EU bans refillable bottles and dipping bowls of olive oil at restaurant tables
Eurovision 2013 winner is Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest with Only Teardrops
Zahra Shahid Hussain shot dead in Karachi
Phil Robertson, Miss Kay and Uncle Si do commercials for Clayton Homes
Manotox: Nip+Fab man only anti-ageing product claims to reduce wrinkles and fine lines without surgery
Eurovision winners over the years. Where are they now?
Mood lipstick: Green lipstick containing Red 27 reacts to your body chemistry to become perfect pink hue
KORA Organics: Miranda Kerr unveils skincare line featuring Noni fruit
Eurovision 2013: 26 countries competing in Malmö Grand Final
Rome: Thousands rally to oppose Italy’s austerity measures
Michelle Obama debuts her new longer hairdo
Ariel Castro’s three dogs found in better health than his victims
Real Housewives of Miami: Adriana de Moura marries Frederic Marq wearing a grey wedding dress
Beyoncé posts defensive note amid pregnancy rumors
US Airways flight makes belly landing at Newark Airport
Rihanna sues Topshop for $5 million over using pictures of her on T-shirts without her permission
Raha Moharrak: First Saudi woman and youngest Arab reaching Everest summit
DSM-5: Controversial updates to mental health manual to be published
North Korea fires short-range missiles from its east coast
Recipe: Super slimming mushroom inspired meal
Mushroom diet: M-Plan promises to help women lose weight still keeping their curves
Photo: George Michael airlifted to hospital following car crash on M1 motorway
US criticizes Russia for sending missiles to Syrian government