News Headlines - 05 April 2021

▽Quasi-emergency COVID-19 measures begin in Osaka, Hyogo, Miyagi

Quasi-emergency measures against COVID-19 officially commenced Monday in Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi prefectures as part of efforts to stem a sharp resurgence in infections in the three areas.
The steps, effective for one month until May 5, include fines for restaurants and bars that ignore orders to shorten operating hours and requirements for customers to wear masks when patronizing establishments.
The three prefectures are the first to be designated as being on the brink of a state of emergency under a revised law that took effect in February. Specifically, the city of Osaka and nearby cities of Kobe, Ashiya, Nishinomiya and Amagasaki in western Japan, as well as the city of Sendai in northeastern Japan are subject to the stronger measures.

▽What is this Sumo Citrus orange from Japan - and is it any good?

Yuzu is the darling of chefs and bartenders everywhere, but the latest fruit to make a splash outside Japan is the memorably named Sumo Citrus orange in North America. In Japan, it’s called a dekopon or shiranui - the fruit is characterised by its bumpy exterior and features a little knob on the top, reminiscent of a traditional sumo wrestler hairstyle.
The orange was first developed in Japan back in the 70s and is actually a hybrid between the kiyomi and ponkan citrus. It’s sweet and, like its cousin the mikan, only grows between December and February, during Japan's winter. If you’ve never had one, imagine a giant, extra sweet mandarin-orange hybrid that peels easily. It’s very fragrant and the citrus generally comes seedless.

▽LG Electronics to end loss-making smartphone business - Nikkei Asia

LG Electronics said Monday that its board decided to terminate the company's loss-making smartphone business, with analysts saying focus is now expected to shift to the more profitable home appliance and TV divisions.
LG's seven-member board of directors approved the company's suggestion to kill the handset unit, which posted more than 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) of operating losses over the last six years... And despite the end of the business, the company said that it will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G telecommunications to help further strengthen its competitiveness in other business areas.

▽Footage of octopus attacking man in WA, Australia goes viral

Lance Karlson was on holiday and walking along the beach in Georgraphe Bay, Western Australia when he came across a seemingly very irritated octopus.
Now footage of his aggressive encounter with the animal has gone viral, with his 30 second Instagram video receiving over 264,300 views. The video shows a large octopus swimming in shallow water before it jumps out and thrashes its tentacles at Mr Karlson.

▽Egypt holds parade to celebrate moving 22 royal mummies to new location - LBC

Egypt has held a gala parade to celebrate the transportation of 22 of its prized royal mummies from central Cairo to a new location.
The royal mummies were being transferred from their previous home in the Egyptian Museum to a new resting location in a museum further south in Cairo... According to Egypt's ministry of antiquities, most of the mummies belong to the ancient New Kingdom which ruled Egypt between 1539 BC to 1075 BC.