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International News

From The Asian Reporter, V36, #3 (March 2, 2026), page 2.

City stunned by anonymous gold bars to fix aging pipes

TOKYO (AP) — Osaka has received a hefty gift of gold bars worth 560 million yen ($3.6 million) from an anonymous donor asking for its specific use: to fix the Japanese city’s dilapidated water pipes. The gold bars, weighing 21 kilograms (46 pounds) in total, were given to the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau in November by the donor who wants to help improve aging water pipes, mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters. "It’s a staggering amount and I was speechless," Yokoyama said. "Tackling aging water pipes requires a huge investment, and I cannot thank enough for the donation." The mayor said his city will respect the donor’s wishes and use the gift to improve waterworks projects. Concern over the safety of Osaka’s waterworks systems grew after a massive sinkhole swallowed a truck and killed the driver last year. It was linked to a damaged sewer in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Osaka had 92 cases of water pipe leaks under city roads in the fiscal year ending March 2025, the city’s waterworks official, Eiji Kotani, told The Associated Press. With a population of 2.8 million, Osaka is the country’s third-largest city that serves as a western Japanese capital. Most of Japan’s main public infrastructure was built during the rapid postwar economic growth. Urban development in Osaka, a regional commercial hub, started earlier than many other cities and its water pipes and other infrastructure are also aging earlier, Kotani said. Osaka needs to renew a total of 160 miles of water pipes, he said. Renewing a 1.2-mile segment of water pipes would cost about 500 million yen ($3.2 million), Kotani said.

DoorDash exits 4 markets, including Japan

(AP) — DoorDash says it’s ending operations in Qatar, Singapore, Japan, and Uzbekistan. The San Francisco-based delivery company said the decision comes after a monthslong review of country-specific conditions. DoorDash said it wants to focus its investments on places were it can build sustainable scale and long-term market leadership. "Our priority is supporting our teams and partners through an orderly transition as we focus on the geographies where we can offer the best products and build for long-term success," said Miki Kuusi, the head of DoorDash’s international division, in a statement. DoorDash was a latecomer to some of the affected markets. The company began operations in Japan in 2021, five years after its rival Uber Eats. Deliveroo, a U.K. delivery company that was acquired by DoorDash last year, has only been operating in Qatar since 2022. That’s almost a decade after Dubai-based Talabat began making deliveries in Qatar. DoorDash also faces stiff competition from entrenched rivals like GrabFood and Foodpanda in Singapore and Russia-based Yandex Eats in Uzbekistan. DoorDash is the dominant delivery provider in the U.S., but it has been playing catch-up to Uber Eats internationally. In addition to its purchase of Deliveroo, DoorDash acquired Finnish delivery service Wolt in 2021 to help it expand into Europe.

Thai police go undercover as lion dancers to nab burglar

BANGKOK (AP) — When Thai police were having trouble catching a serial burglar who repeatedly slipped through their fingers, they came up with a creative plan: going undercover in a traditional lion costume to get close to their elusive quarry. Video footage released by the Bangkok police department showed officers hidden beneath a red-and-gold lion costume dancing toward the suspect as he wandered through a Lunar New Year fair at a temple in Nonthaburi, a province neighboring Bangkok. Moments later, the officer who was holding the lion’s papier-mâché head lunges at the suspect and swiftly pins the man to the ground. Police say the suspect, identified as a 33-year-old man, is accused of breaking into the home of a local police commander in Bangkok three times in early February, making off with valuables worth about 2 million baht ($64,000). In a press release, police said they had attempted to arrest the man several times, but he was quick to spot police officers and ran off. They later identified him by tracing stolen amulets he had sold and learned that he frequently visited temples in Nonthaburi. While the Lunar New Year is not an official holiday in Thailand, celebrations are common and lion dances are often part of the festivities, providing the perfect cover for the operation. Police said the suspect has confessed to the burglaries, saying he stole to buy drugs and gamble. They added that he has previously been convicted of drug-related offenses and burglary.

China grants U.K. and Canada visa-free entry

BEIJING (AP) — British and Canadian citizens can now enter China without a visa, bringing to 79 the number of countries granted visa-free access in a bid to boost tourism and business. China has expanded eligibility for the program significantly in the last two years. Visitors can stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, exchange programs, and to visit family and friends. Most Europeans qualify for visa-free entry, along with some from select countries in other regions including Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Citizens of a few other countries, including the United States and Indonesia, can enter for 10 days if they are in transit — meaning they have a ticket departing for a different country than they arrived from. Business executives and tourists have welcomed the change, as the China visa application process can be a relatively cumbersome one. The U.K. and Canada are being added following visits to China in January by their prime ministers, Keir Starmer and Mark Carney. Both are relatively new leaders who are trying to revamp ties with Beijing after a downturn in recent years. For most countries, the visa-free access expires at the end of this year, but it has been extended in the past.

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