News Headlines - 18 January 2021

▽Minister Taro Kono to lead Japan's coronavirus vaccination efforts

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday that Taro Kono, Japan's administrative reform minister, will lead coronavirus vaccination efforts, as the country grapples with a third wave of the pandemic and concern about strains on the medical system... The move to tap Kono for this role is to ensure smooth coordination, in his capacity as administrative reform minister, among relevant ministries and agencies, as well as other parties including medical associations, government sources said.

▽Japanese painter Mitsumasa Anno dies at 94 | The Japan Times

Prominent Japanese painter Mitsumasa Anno, known for his unique picture books and landscape paintings, died of liver cirrhosis on Dec. 24, it was learned Saturday. He was 94.

▽China Has Built Village In Arunachal Pradesh, Show Satellite Images

China has constructed a new village in Arunachal Pradesh, consisting of about 101 homes, show satellite images accessed exclusively by NDTV. The same images, dated November 1, 2020, have been analysed by several experts approached by NDTV, who confirmed that the construction, approximately 4.5 kms within Indian territory of the de facto border, will be of huge concern to India. Though this area is Indian territory, according to official government maps, it has been in effective Chinese control since 1959.

▽Trapped China miners send note to rescue teams | Al Jazeera

Rescuers in China have retrieved a note from a group of miners trapped underground following a blast a week ago, saying 12 of the workers are still alive, state media reported on Monday.
The fate of the other 10 miners is “uncertain”, the China Daily said.
Rescuers found the slip of paper after successfully drilling a borehole through to the tunnel where the men were trapped on January 10. They also heard tapping sounds and felt tugging on the iron ropes used to deliver water and nutrients, state media said.

▽Phil Spector, famed music producer and murderer, dies at 81

Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. He was 81.
California state prison officials said he died Saturday of natural causes at a hospital.
Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life.