Tokyo doctors call for cancellation of Olympic Games due to COVID-19
Tokyo, JapanReuters A top medical organisation has thrown its weight behind calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country battles a spike in coronavirus infections less than three months from the start of the Games. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6,000 primary care doctors said hospitals in […]
Anti-Olympics campaign gains traction online in Japan amid COVID-19 fears
Tokyo, JapanReuters An online petition in Japan calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled has garnered more than 200,000 signatures in the past few days, as public concerns mount over holding the Games in a pandemic. With less than three months to go before the start of the summer Olympics, already postponed for a […]
Most in Japan “interested in Olympics” but don’t want them to happen – Yomiuri poll
Tokyo, JapanReuters An overwhelming majority of Japanese said they were “interested in the Olympics”, although 58 per cent said they did not want them to be held this year because of fears over COVID-19, a Yomiuri daily poll showed on Wednesday. In the survey, conducted between 18th January and 25th February, when much of the […]
Air pollution kills thousands in megacities despite COVID lockdowns
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Air pollution caused tens of thousands of deaths in the world’s five most populous cities last year despite coronavirus lockdowns, researchers said on Thursday, urging governments to ditch fossil fuels and invest in a green recovery. Environmental campaign group Greenpeace Southeast Asia and air quality technology company IQAir measured pollution […]
Japan doubles down on Tokyo Olympics, denies report of cancellation
Tokyo, JapanReuters Japan doubled down on its commitment to host the Tokyo Olympics this year and flatly denied reports on Friday of a cancellation, in a move that is unlikely to temper public fears of holding the event during a global pandemic. Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency due to a […]
London 2012 Olympic Games chief Mills feels Tokyo Games unlikely to go ahead
London, UKReuters The former deputy chairman of the 2012 London Olympic organising committee said on Tuesday he would be planning for a cancellation if in charge of the Tokyo Games. Keith Mills told BBC radio that the delayed Summer Games scheduled for July-August were looking unlikely to happen in his opinion due to the COVID-19 […]
Hoping for economic boost, most Japan firms want Tokyo Olympics to go ahead: Reuters poll
Tokyo, JapanReuters Most Japanese firms want the Tokyo Olympics to go ahead next summer with restrictions on spectator numbers, saying while any boost to the economy would be limited, it would be better than nothing, a Reuters survey showed. The results contrast sharply with public opinion polls earlier this year. One poll conducted by broadcaster […]
IOC chief Bach says Olympic Games cannot be “marketplace of demonstrations”
Reuters International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the Olympic Games are not about politics and must guard against becoming a “marketplace of demonstrations”. Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement to protest racial injustice, calls have increased this year for a change to Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which bans any […]
StrangeSights: Chinese restaurant apologies for weigh-in; “chocolate rain” in Switzerland; and, see-through public toilets in Japan…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
StrangeSights: All the art you can steal; musical ice-cream cones; and, ‘Golden Girls’ house on the market for $US3 million
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…