Author: Himalaya Post

TOKYO  – Some 3,000 pieces of military equipment including guns, swords and grenades believed to date back to World War II have been found buried at a Tokyo elementary school, officials said Monday. Construction workers found the weapons last month when they excavated the grounds of Tanashi Elementary School in the city of Nishitokyo in metropolitan Tokyo to build a new storehouse. The weapons included 1,400 firearms, 1,200 swords, eight grenades and 302 bullets. “We were totally surprised to be informed about the discovery,” said Masaki Fujisawa, a city official. “The items are all rusted away and nothing can be used anymore.” “I suspect they were buried during or after the war but we will investigate the case,” Fujisawa told AFP. News reports said the weapons may have been discarded after Japan surrendered in 1945. Unexploded bombs and weapons are still occasionally found in Japan, more than 70 years after the conflict...

HARARE  – Twenty-seven members of Zimbabwe’s MDC opposition appeared in court Monday on violence charges after post-election protests that triggered a security crackdown. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, declared winner of the historic first elections since the downfall of Robert Mugabe, has vowed to protect rights since his re-election but the opposition say their members have been targeted. Police with assault rifles were on duty in the court precinct, with a truck of other officers stationed outside. Prosectors opposed bail, saying the accused — 19 men and eight women — were “linked” to the deaths of six people when the army opened fire on opposition supporters protesting against alleged election fraud. “There’s more than a likelihood that they will reoffend, they will intimidate witnesses, they will interfere with evidence and they will not attend trial,” said prosecutor Michael Reza. “These are people with unfinished work business outside. The deaths of six people… are directly linked to the accused.” Defence lawyers said that among the accused was a man who had been coming out of court after another case. Five other suspects were polling agents who had been visiting MDC headquarters to hand in polling returns and collect travel expenses, they sadded. Six people died after troops in the capital Harare opened fire on demonstrators Wednesday, sparking an international outcry and raising grim memories of post-election repression under Mugabe. Mnangagwa has accused...

ULAN BATOR – Floods in Mongolia have killed 63 people, including 15 children, so far this year, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Monday. “Two deaths were reported last weekend,” the NEMA said in a statement, warning that the water in major rivers had risen to dangerous levels and urging residents living along rivers to take precautions. Heavy downpours have been hitting Mongolia since the beginning of July, triggering massive flooding in some areas. Meteorologists said the heavy rainfall will not stop until mid August. ...

MATARAM, Indonesia – Indonesia Monday sent rescuers fanning out across the holiday island of Lombok and evacuated more than 2,000 tourists after a powerful earthquake killed at least 98 people and damaged thousands of buildings. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake sparked terror among tourists and locals alike, coming just a week after another deadly tremor surged through Lombok and killed 17 people. Rescuers on Monday searched for survivors in the rubble of houses, mosques and schools destroyed in the latest disaster on Sunday evening. National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there were fears a number of people were trapped in the ruins of a collapsed mosque in the northern village of Lading-Lading. Footage he posted on Twitter showed the large concrete mosque had pancaked. A lack of heavy equipment and shattered roads were hampering efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of the island, which had been hardest hit. Najmul Akhyar, the head of North Lombok district, estimated that 80 percent of that region was damaged by the quake. “We expect the number of fatalities to keep rising,” Nugroho said. “All victims who died are Indonesians.” He said up to 20,000 people may have had to quit their homes on Lombok and paramedics, food and medication were badly needed. The spokesman said search and rescue teams also rescued between 2,000 and 2,700 tourists from the...