Backlash to Japan’s Fukushima waste water plan quietens as South Korea, China assess the real cost

The storage tanks for treated water are seen at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on March 1 2021.Reuters After rebuking Japan last week over its plan to discharge contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean and threatening to petition an international court, South Korea...

Taking a knee, raising a fist to be punished at Tokyo Games: IOC

The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Lausanne, Switzerland, Feb 24, 2021.Reuters Taking a knee during the Tokyo Olympics or lifting a fist in support of racial equality will be punished as the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday (April 21) maintained its ban...

Greece to reopen tourism services on May 15

A man wearing a protective face mask walks with is dog in Alimos, a seaside suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece’s prime minister says the country’s tourism industry will open on May 15 when a ban on travel between different regions in the country will also be lifted. Prime Minister Kyriakos...

Is it finally game on for video game adaptations?

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows the character Detective Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, in a scene from "Pokemon Detective Pikachu." In 2019, “Detective Pikachu,” based on the Nintendo game, grossed more than $400 million worldwide. (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) Is there a more woebegone movie genre than the video game adaptation? This...

Tourism industry recommends water activities at Penghu as firework festival draws near

As the 2021 Penghu International Fireworks Festival is set to open on April 22, online travel agency Klook is recommending five water activities to those who visit Penghu, an archipelago located in the Taiwan Strait. Klook said there is a proliferation of beautiful photos of turquoise seas and cerulean skies every summer, and many will likely...

Thailand’s rich Covid-19 patients get ‘hospitel’ treatment, as the poor are turned away

Local residents queue for a Covid-19 nasal swab test in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 8, 2021.Reuters In the lobby of Bangkok's Pullman Grande hotel, medical teams clad in full-body protective gear shuttle back and forth, greeting well-heeled coronavirus patients as they arrive by ambulance for treatment. About 250 rooms in the five-star hotel have been repurposed as...

Fewer travellers from India to be allowed into Singapore due to Covid-19

The entry approvals are being reduced in response to the worsening Covid-19 situation in India.The Straits Times Entry approvals for non-Singapore citizens and non-permanent residents are being reduced with immediate effect, in response to the worsening Covid-19 situation in India and the emergence of new virus variants, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (April 20). From...

Ultra-rich Asians and Chinese citizens eye Singapore luxury homes amid coronavirus pandemic

In one of the latest big-ticket property deals in Singapore, a sea-facing bungalow in the exclusive residential enclave of Sentosa Cove was reportedly bought in recent weeks for more than $39 million by a Chinese national from Fujian Province. Closer to the city, This Week In Asia understands that a 5,070 sq ft luxury penthouse at South Beach...

‘What is wrong with Indonesia’: Trolls flood Thai couple’s gay wedding photos with death threats in cross-cultural flame war

Suriya Koedsang pictured with his husband Bas at their wedding, in a photo that was uploaded to Facebook.Facebook When Suriya Koedsang uploaded photos of his wedding to Facebook on April 4, the 28-year-old Thai never could have imagined the hate his heartwarming post would soon receive from online trolls in Indonesia. Within days, the pictures of Koedsang...

Fukushima surfer, shop owner alarmed at water release plan, fears ‘contaminated sea’

Koji Suzuki, 66, a surfer and a surf shop owner, holds his surfboard at Karasuzaki beach, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, April 16, 2021.Reuters Koji Suzuki's surf shop, which he first opened in 1989, was washed away by the devastating tsunami that...