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International News

Japan awakens to Radio Taiso exercise tradition. One face of the country’s longevity.

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Renewable energies overtook global electricity demand last year, led by solar growth in China, India

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After a paralyzing stroke, a South Korean pianist re-creates himself as a one-handed performer

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From The Asian Reporter, V36, #5 (May 4, 2026), page 2.

Massive, unstable ice block stalls climbers on Everest

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A massive ice block on the route just above Mount Everest Base Camp forced hundreds of climbers and their local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak, according to officials. The serac between Base Camp and Camp One was found to be unstable in late April and was risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s Department of Mountaineering. Officials have been working with climbers and expedition organizers to assess the situation as hundreds of climbers and their guides wait at base camp unable to move up the mountain. According to the department, 410 foreign climbers were issued permits to attempt to reach the Everest summit during the spring climbing season, which closes at the end of May. The "Icefall Doctors," the elite guides who lay the yearly climbing route by setting ropes and securing aluminum ladders over crevasses usually finish the task by mid-April. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, which would deploy the team to lay the route, assessed the serac by aerial survey. The risk of avalanche is high and they have been waiting for the serac to melt down on its own to a safe level, committee chairman Lama Kazi Sherpa said. The serac is part of the Khumbu Icefall, a constantly shifting glacier with deep crevasses and huge overhanging ice that can be as big as 10-story buildings. It is considered one of the most difficult and trickiest sections of the climb to the peak. In 2014, a chunk of the glacier sheared away from the mountain, setting off an avalanche of ice that killed 16 Sherpa guides as they carried clients’ equipment up the mountain. It was one of the deadliest disasters in Everest climbing history. Hundreds of foreign climbers and about the same number of Nepalese guides and helpers are expected to attempt to scale the mountain when there are a few brief windows of favorable weather. Thousands of people have climbed the 29,032-foot high peak since it was first climbed on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. At presstime, reports emerged that a group of Sherpa climbers had opened the route that had been blocked for two weeks.

Explosion of invasive "janitor fish" sparks removal operation

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Cheers broke out in Indonesia’s capital as residents, city workers, and environmental volunteers hauled bulging nets of invasive fish to the surface of a reservoir in an operation to crack down on "janitor fish." Authorities are seeking to remove at least 10 tons of the fish from Jakarta’s waterways, an effort officials hope will restore balance to the Ciliwung River and renew public attention on water quality. From the polluted river to the concrete embankments and skyscraper-lined canals of the city’s heart, the dark shapes of the fish cling tightly to the river walls. At first glance, they appear almost prehistoric, with armored bodies gleaming a dull brown beneath the murky surface. Janitor fish, or suckermouth catfish, known scientifically as Pterygoplichthys and locally as "sapu-sapu," aren’t native to Indonesia. Imported decades ago for aquariums because of their ability to consume algae, they were later released and found a home in Jakarta’s heavily polluted rivers. The fish can grow up to nearly 20 inches long and live between 10 and 15 years. Experts have long warned that unchecked populations of invasive species can destabilize freshwater ecosystems, particularly in densely populated urban areas like Jakarta. Dian Rosleine, an ecologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology, said that the adaptability of janitor fish is very high, so that even in polluted conditions, it can survive when other species can’t. "So, these fish are biological indicators that the water is in poor condition," she said. The Ciliwung once carried clear water from the mountains of West Java into Jakarta. Today, it flows through dense neighborhoods, carrying untreated household waste and industrial runoff. Concrete walls replaced riverbanks. During dry months, the water warms and slows — conditions that favor janitor fish over native species, Rosleine said. Jakarta authorities have responded with mass removals, targeting the janitor fish in city waterways.

Bangladesh offers measles vaccinations amid outbreak

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh is conducting emergency measles- rubella vaccinations while trying to contain an ongoing outbreak that has killed more than 100 children in less than a month. The government in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. children’s agency, and the Gavi vaccine alliance began working to vaccinate children age 6 months to 5 years old in 18 high-risk districts and will expand nationwide in phases, a joint statement said. A UNICEF official said the agency was deeply concerned about the sharp rise in cases, which was putting the youngest and most vulnerable children at serious risk. "This resurgence highlights critical immunity gaps, particularly among zero-dose and under-vaccinated children, while infections among infants under nine months, who are not yet eligible for routine vaccination, are especially alarming," said Rana Flowers, the agency’s representative in Bangladesh. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease causing fever, respiratory symptoms, and a characteristic rash, and can sometimes have severe or fatal complications, especially in young children, according to WHO. Vaccination is crucial to preventing the spread of measles, but WHO says 95% of the population has to be vaccinated in order to stop the disease from spreading. Bangladesh’s Health Minister, Sardar Mohammed Sakhawat Husain, responding to questions in parliament, said that the new outbreak was caused by the mismanagement and failures of past governments. Since the launch of a massive immunization campaign in 1979, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress — raising the coverage of fully immunized children from just 2% to 81.6%. But UNICEF warned last year that while Bangladesh has made strong strides to increase immunization coverage, stark disparities persist.

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