TOKYO: Two Japanese whaling ships and a surveillance vessel left yesterday for the annual hunt in the Antarctic Sea, Kyodo News said.
The three ships departed from the western port of Shimonoseki to join other ships to hunt up to 935 Antarctic minke whales and up to 50 fin whales through March, the news agency said.
The Fisheries Agency had kept secret the departure date of the whaling fleet as a precaution against obstruction by militant anti-whaling groups such as Sea Shepherd, Kyodo said.
Japan’s whale hunts have long drawn criticism from activists and foreign governments, but Tokyo defends the practice saying eating whale is part of Japanese culinary tradition.
Nepal rattled by EU airline ban
KATHMANDU: Nepal expressed fears on Friday for its tourism industry after the European Union blacklisted its airlines due to safety concerns. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas announced on Thursday that the bloc had placed all of Nepal’s airlines on its safety blacklist, banning them from flying to the EU, saying their safety record “does not leave us any other choice.”
“This is very unfortunate. This will damage our tourism industry,” said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman for the tourism and civil aviation ministry.
Seven charred to death
DAVAO: Seven store employees were killed in the southern Philippines when a paint shop burned down while they were sleeping inside, the provincial police chief said on Friday.
The fatalities — three men and four women — died when the Palomares Paint Store in the rural town of Manay in Mindanao island caught fire late on Thursday, said Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba.
“The victims were stay-in storekeepers and helpers. All of them were burned beyond recognition when found,” he said.
Agencies
