06/06/2026

SATURDAY | JUNE 6, 2026

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TOKYO: An“extremely intelligent”bear that injured four people in northern Japan remained at large as of yesterday morning, after apparently unlatching a window while evading capture and turning on a water tap, officials said. A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation. After attacking four people at two factories in Fukushima on Tuesday, the bear took shelter inside one of the buildings, local media reported. It dodged capture despite efforts by hunters and responders equipped with traps and anaesthetic guns, escaping on Wednesday. Fukushima City Mayor Yuki Baba told reporters on Thursday that evidence suggested the animal “unlocked the window on its own” to flee, adding that claw marks had been found near the exit. It is also believed that the bear “turned on the water tap” to drink, he added, describing it as “extremely intelligent”. “With the cooperation of hunters, police and firefighters, I believe we took all possible measures available to us to catch it,” he said. “That we failed to achieve our goal despite our best efforts is extremely regrettable.“ In the last fiscal year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data. Bears are thriving thanks in part to an abundance of food, including acorns, deer and boars, under the influence of a warming climate, experts say. – AFP ‘Extremely intelligent’ bear at large in Japan Bangladesh heatwave records four deaths DHAKA: A brutal heatwave that is scorching large parts of Bangladesh is expected to continue, the country’s Meteorological Department said on Thursday, as a fourth person has died from suspected heatstroke in the South Asian country over the past four days, reported Xinhua. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the heatwave is impacting six of the country’s eight divisions, including the capital Dhaka. Department Storm Warning Centre meteorologist Abdul Hamid told Xinhua that there is a possibility of severe to very severe heatwaves later this month, with maximum temperatures reaching up to 40°C in parts of the country. In Dhaka, the temperature rose to 36.8°C on Thursday. Due to increasing moisture incursions, he said the discomfort may increase in the South Asian country, which sits on a massive river delta. In recent years, natural disasters such as floods and heatwaves induced by extreme weather owing to climate change have caused more frequent disasters than usual in the country of some 170 million people. – Bernama-Xinhua

Taiwan, China coast guards in renewed standoff ACT OF REMEMBRANCE ... A resident placing a candle during an event at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei commemorating the 37th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. – REUTERSPIC

hearing in Jakarta. She also said the government is preparing to launch a mandatory 50% biodiesel blend (B50) programme on July 1, requiring palm oil-based biodiesel to be mixed into diesel fuel across all sectors. According to Eniya, the government has completed testing in preparation for the B50 rollout. The expansion of biofuel mandates is expected to reduce fuel imports, increase domestic value-added production from palm oil, create jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions, supporting Indonesia’s broader push towards energy independence and renewable energy adoption. – Bernama-Xinhua visit North Korea from Monday to Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said yesterday, his first trip in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to improve ties with Pyongyang. The announcement follows separate summits Xi hosted in Beijing for US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Xi would be visiting on an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, its state media KCNA said. Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally, back into its fold after the Covid-19 pandemic froze exchanges and Kim deepened relations with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia in the war with Ukraine. Pyongyang will be Xi’s first overseas visit this year. The 72-year-old, whose trips abroad are becoming less and less frequent, last travelled internationally in late October when he went to South Korea, where he also met Trump. Since becoming China’s top leader in 2012, Xi has visited North Korea once and South Korea twice. He also travelled to Pyongyang in 2008 when he was vice-president and Kim’s father Kim Jong Il was the North’s leader. – Reuters

o Ship trying to create false impression of Beijing having jurisdiction over waters around Pratas: Taipei

TAIPEI: The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards were engaged in another tense standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands at the South China Sea yesterday, Taiwan said, the second time in a fortnight that such an incident has happened. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects. China has pressured Taiwan by increasing its military presence around the island over the past five years. Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance (more than 400km) from Taiwan. Taiwan’s coast guard said yesterday morning it spotted a Chinese coast guard ship that then “forced its way” into restricted waters around the Pratas after speeding up and making a sharp turn while disregarding warnings from the Taiwan ship.

The two ships engaged in a “standoff” and “intense verbal exchanges”, the coast guard said. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan’s coast guard said the Chinese ship was trying to create the false impression that China has jurisdiction over the waters around the Pratas. “This not only undermines the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also makes China a troublemaker in cross-strait and regional affairs. Taiwan’s maritime sovereignty must not be challenged.” The last time this happened was almost two weeks ago, during which the Chinese ship ended up leaving. The Pratas, an atoll that is also a Taiwanese national park, is only lightly defended by Taiwan and its coast guard has that responsibility rather than the military. In January, a Chinese reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Pratas, Taiwan said. Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping will

Indonesian volcano eruptions force airport closure JAKARTA: A highly active volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted several times yesterday, spewing towering ash columns into the sky and forcing a local airport to close, authorities said. Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores Island erupted at 11.15am (0315 GMT), sending volcanic material 2.5km into the air, the national volcanology agency said in a statement. The blowupS occurred after several other eruptions earlier yesterday. rain occurs. Authorities have suspended operations at a local airport in the town of Maumere, about 60km west of Lewotobi Laki-Laki, affecting five domestic flights, airport head Partahian Panjaitan told AFP. Laki-Laki means “man” in Indonesian and the 1,584m volcano is twinned with a calmer 1,703m one named Perempuan, after the Indonesian word for “woman”. In other news, Indonesia will implement a mandatory 5% bioethanol blend in petrol, known as E5, starting in the second half of the year, as part of efforts to expand renewable energy use and strengthen energy security, a senior energy official said on Thursday, reported Xinhua.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Director-General Eniya Listiani Dewi said the policy has been incorporated into a draft ministerial regulation and will be introduced gradually, with Java Island designated as the initial implementation area. “All fuel business entities will be required to carry out the blending in the second half of the year,“ she said during a parliamentary

Last July, Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewed a colossal 18km tower of ash, forcing the cancellation of 24 flights at the international airport on the resort island of Bali. Indonesia, an archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Lewotobi Laki-Laki falls under Indonesia’s second-highest alert level for volcanic activity, with a 5km exclusion zone in force around its crater. The volcanology agency said residents near rivers should remain on alert for hazardous floods of volcanic material, known as lahar , if heavy