“We have resumed check-ins,” a spokesman for the airport told AFP. The flight status board at the departures hall showed several flights listed as “boarding soon” with new take-off times listed for others.

Passengers with luggage were being checked in for flights, and only a handful of the thousands of protesters who flooded into the airport a day earlier remained in the building.

Authorities announced on Monday afternoon the cancellation of all remaining arriving and departing flights from the airport after more than 5,000 black-clad pro-democracy protesters staged a peaceful rally at the building. Throughout the evening, protesters gradually left the airport, but there was no police operation to clear them by force.

Protesters have said they plan to return to the airport later in the day to resume their demonstrations.

The protests have infuriated Beijing, which described some of the violent demonstrations as “terrorism”.

Washington overnight urged all sides to refrain from violence, as the crisis sparked by a bill to allow extradition to mainland China continues with no apparent end in sight.

On Tuesday morning, only a handful of protesters remained in the airport. But fears of a police operation to clear the facility overnight proved unfounded, with demonstrators simply leaving by themselves.

Many of the posters and artwork they had hung throughout the facility during the hours-long rally had been taken down, but graffiti – some reading “an eye for an eye” – could still be seen in several places.

The protesters adopted the slogan after a woman suffered a serious facial injury that reportedly caused her to lose vision in one eye at a demonstration that turned violent on Sunday night.

The demonstrators accuse police of causing the injury by firing a bean-bag round, and cite the case as evidence of what they say has been an excessive and disproportionate response by police to their protests.

The activists have called on their supporters to return to the airport later on Tuesday, though it was unclear whether authorities would allow that to happen.

The protests that began in opposition to a bill allowing extradition to the mainland has morphed into a broader bid to reverse a slide of freedoms in the southern Chinese city.

But the city’s Beijing-backed leader has ruled out meeting the protesters’ demands, which include the right to choose their next leader and an investigation into alleged police brutality.

The demonstrations have become increasingly violent, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets to push back protesters who have sometimes hurled bricks and bottles.

“It is becoming more and more dangerous, but if we don’t still come out at this point, our future will become more frightening, and we will lose our freedoms,” a 22-year-old protester at the airport told AFP on Monday.

“I want it so that by January 2020, we have already moved to B30. And by the end of 2020, we will jump to B50,” Jokowi said during a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday. “We need to anticipate any pressure on CPO [by driving up] domestic demand and so that we can have a good bargaining position, whether with the European Union or other parties that try to weaken our position.”

The leap is expected to bring down imports of oil, which drags down Indonesia’s trade balance and by extension, its current account position, while also generating domestic demand for CPO amidst external uncertainties affecting CPO prices, Jokowi added.

In a recent spat with the EU over biodiesel, a CPO derivative product, the 28-member bloc accused the Indonesian government of subsidising its biodiesel producers, such as from the Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS), as well as exporting financing from Indonesia Eximbank.

Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry was conducting tests over the usage of B30, which was expected to be finished by mid-September. He added that currently, no serious issues were found in the tests.

On average, the adoption of B20 — which is counted from the distribution of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), a specific CPO derivative that is used in biodiesel blends — had reached 97.5 percent of its monthly target between January and July this year.

Cumulatively, the distributed FAME stood at 3.49 million kilolitres as of July this year, or 56 per cent of 6.19 million kiloliters of FAME targeted to be used as a biodiesel blend this year, and saved up to US$1.7 billion in foreign exchange due to fewer oil imports, according to data from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.

After officials from Jung-gu Office put up some 50 banners reading “I won’t go (to Japan), I will not buy (Japanese goods)” around the district, which encompasses popular tourist destinations such as Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Market and Deoksugung, the municipality’s website was bombarded with public complaints.

“Don’t distort the public’s pure spirit (of the boycott of Japanese products),” a website posting said. Another said, “If the government takes the lead, (South Korea’s) relations with Japan will deteriorate.”

An online petition on the presidential office’s website calling on the Jung-gu Office to take down the banners gathered more than 20,000 signatures.

Jung-gu Office’s head Seo Yang-ho ended up canceling the anti-Japan banner plan and issuing an apology.

As conflicts over historical issues between the neighboring countries showing no signs of abating, anti-Japanese sentiment has gained traction in Korea for the past month.

Koreans, however, have expressed their opposition to any state-orchestrated anti-Japan movement, saying the boycott should remain in the private sector. They have denounced politicians and authorities for exploiting the issue to advance their agendas.

Many also tried to focus their campaign on criticizing the Abe administration, not citizens of the country.

Spreading ‘No Japan movement’

Bilateral relations hit an all-time low after a Korean court last year ordered Japanese firms to compensate Koreans who were forced into slave labor during the 1910-45 colonial period. Tokyo says the matter was settled by the 1965 treaty normalizing bilateral ties.

In an apparent act of retaliation, Japan tightened restrictions on exports to Korea of three key materials necessary for the production of memory chips and displays. On Aug. 2, Japan also removed Korea from its whitelist of trusted trading partners.

Enraged by the Abe administration’s moves, more and more Koreans are joining the boycott of Japanese services and goods such as beer, clothing and pens.

“I have joined the boycott campaign and no longer buy Japanese products. I think it is unfair for Japan to take such retaliatory actions,” said Lee Jun-hee, 41, who brought her child to an anti-Abe administration rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul on Saturday.

A Korean man and his girlfriend walking past the Uniqlo store near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul at around 8 p.m. on Saturday were heard saying, “It is not the right time to shop at Uniqlo.”

Two women also briefly looked inside the store’s display window but walked away, saying, “Yes, they are pretty, but we should not buy anything here.”

While Japanese restaurants are seeing fewer customers, travel to Japan has declined as well.

The number of Koreans boarding Japan-bound flights from Aug. 1-9 was 447,323, down 17.9 percent from 544,693 over the same period last year, according to government data.

Last week, organizations representing the self-employed and small and medium-sized merchants stopped selling Japanese products, and a parcel delivery workers’ trade union also vowed to stop delivering Japanese products.

A total of four candlelight vigils have been held so far in front of the Japanese Embassy, with participants calling Japan’s move an “economic invasion” and demanding a sincere apology for Japan’s wartime atrocities.

In the wake of the growing anti-Japan sentiment, politicians and district offices in Seoul quickly joined the bandwagon.

Rep. Choi Jae-sung of the ruling Democratic Party suggested the government consider expanding the current travel restrictions — which cover all areas within a 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant — to include Tokyo, citing high levels of radioactive materials. He also suggested a boycott of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

His suggestion was seen as a response to the Japanese government’s warning to its citizens about traveling to Korea, citing anti-Japan rallies here.

Rep. Lee In-young of the ruling party called Japan’s decision to remove Korea from the whitelist a “declaration of an all-out war” and vowed to gain victory in the “Korea-Japan economic war” by upholding the spirit of the “independence movement.”

At the municipal level, 52 district offices launched an association in favor of countermeasures against Japan, vowing to stop using Japanese products, join the boycott of Japanese goods in the private sector and cease exchanges with Japanese authorities.

Jung-gu Office originally planned to hang 1,100 “No Japan” flags, Seodaemun-gu Office locked all Japanese stationery used by officials in a time capsule, and Gangnam-gu Office took down Japanese national flags from its major streets.

‘We are not in a fight against Japanese people’

For decades, diplomatic spats over historical issues did not stop citizens of Korea and Japan from enjoying close cultural and people-to-people ties.

Despite the intensifying row between the neighbors, people The Korea Herald spoke to — some who joined the boycott of Japanese products and others who did not — made it clear that they did not hate Japanese people for the Abe administration’s actions.

“I hope that Koreans and Japanese people don’t get hurt by this. It is not a fight between us. It is a fight against the Japanese government,” said Kim Jun-gyu, a 26-year-old university student.

Some netizens were seen taking pride in participating in the boycott and making an emotional appeal to others to follow suit. Others, however, were more accepting of those who were not joining the movement, viewing participation as a voluntary and personal choice.

“People have the right to decide if they want to join the boycott. Forcing others and dismissing their views would be no different from fascism,” said Kim, who has been boycotting all Japanese products since last month.

Park Eun-woo, 33, an office worker, has not joined the boycott.

“I don’t think we should stop pursuing Japanese culture on an individual level because of political issues,” said Park. “I don’t feel guilty when I buy Japanese products. It is a personal choice.”

“There are some people creating an atmosphere pushing me to join the boycott, but I don’t think it helps solve the problem,” he said, criticizing politicians for “taking advantage of” the issue for domestic purposes.

Activists say the ongoing anti-Japan movement shows how mature Korean society has become in terms of civic engagement.

“There are some extreme cases, but it is a fair way of expressing public anger,” said Han Sun-bum, an official representing an association of 700 mostly leftist civic groups leading the anti-Japan candlelight vigils.

“Rather than incite or feed off Koreans’ anger toward Japan, what authorities have to do is to find a diplomatic solution to build new bilateral relations and resolve historical issues.”

At 2 pm on Sunday, nearly all the residents and business owners on a street in Linhai, Zhejiang province, were busy with the same task.

They were cleaning up their homes and shops on Ziyang Old Street after a frightening night of heavy winds, rain and flooding caused by Typhoon Lekima.

Some people pulled their wooden beds, complete with sodden mattresses, into the street to dry in the afternoon sun, while others were busy tending to their walls or wooden floors.

The owner of a noodle shop on the street said, “We made some preparations before the typhoon made landfall, such as moving the refrigerator and other electrical appliances to higher places, but we never expected the amount of rainfall it brought.”

Linhai is about a four-hour drive from Shanghai, and Ziyang Old Street has long been known for its cobblestone sidewalks that wind their way past two-story buildings from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and homes decorated with stone carvings and gray tiles.

The street is a must-visit attraction for tourists to the old part of Linhai, which sits near the Lingjiang River.

On Saturday night, residents battled floods that breached the 1,500-year-old city wall and rose to a height of 1.5 meters.

The flooding was so severe that police and rescue authorities issued an online emergency appeal for boats to be used to evacuate those affected.

Lekima, the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese mainland so far this year, wrought havoc in the old area of Linhai, killing four people and leaving three missing.

Yang Li, who lives in the old area, said she had stocked up on batteries to charge her mobile phone, along with food and water. As the floodwater gradually rose and flowed down the street on Saturday morning, she stayed in her second-floor room.

“The water flooded in at about 4 or 5 pm, rising above the stairway on the second floor, where we were stranded,” Yang told Beijing News.

She and her neighbor were evacuated on Sunday morning by firefighters using boats.

By 7 am on Monday, Lekima had damaged more than 234,000 hectares of crops and 41,000 homes in the province, with direct economic losses amounting to 24.22 billion yuan (about $3.4 billion).

By noon on Sunday, the flooding in Linhai had gradually receded, with the water level dropping by 30 to 50 centimeters from its peak.

“Linhai has long been prone to flooding, especially during the rainy season,” Wang Dan, the city’s mayor, told the media on Sunday.

Wang said that at 3 pm on Saturday, the Lingjiang River outside the city wall was rising rapidly, reaching as high as 10 meters and greatly exceeding the capacity of the wall’s sluice gate.

Construction of the wall, which stretches for 6,000 meters, began in the Jin Dynasty (265-420) and was completed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Today, tourists flock to Linhai to explore the wall and the well-preserved ancient area it was built to protect. For more than 1,000 years, the wall offered protection against raiders.

It’s no coincidence that the wall, which runs alongside the Lingjiang River, looks like the Great Wall in Beijing.

Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang heightened and widened the Jiangnan (South of the Yangtze River) Great Wall and had the idea to build two-story towers. He later did the same at the Great Wall in northern China, including at Badaling and Mutianyu in Beijing. Qi was sent to Beijing after being promoted.

Wang said: “These ancient walls were designed to resist ordinary (once-in-a-decade) floods. Linhai has not encountered such severe flooding in the past 50 years or so.”

She added that it was “extremely rare” that the flooding at the weekend had breached the Wangjiangmen Gate on the ancient wall, inundating the old area of the city.

Rescue workers attempted to better protect the wall and keep the flooding at bay.

By 10 pm on Sunday, the flooding had gradually subsided, with the level of the Lingjiang River dropping to 4.4 meters.

Han Shengfang, who has run a small shop on Ziyang Old Street for seven years, told Zhejiang Daily: “It may still take three days before I can reopen my shop, but it doesn’t matter. In the end, we will have endured and conquered a great storm.”

Balloons launched

On Thursday evening, as people were evacuated from coastal areas with Lekima approaching Zhejiang, a team of scientists swung into action.

Using a range of observation devices in a special truck, 12 scientists from the Shanghai Typhoon Institute arrived at Zhujiajian Island in the Zhoushan Archipelago.

The team released balloons carrying apparatus to collect accurate data from the typhoon, such as temperature, humidity, pressure and wind speed.

From Thursday to Sunday, the scientists launched more than 10 balloons, including four with sensors to detect ozone.

It was the first time Chinese scientists had used balloons during a typhoon to study how ozone moves when affected by strong convection currents.

Tang Jie, deputy director of the institute, said in an interview with Beijing News that this work will help to assess the environmental impact of the typhoon in terms of ozone pollution, as ozone has a negative influence on human health and activity.

Tang’s team began to observe typhoons outdoors in 2007, and each year it carries out four to five such missions.

Radar and satellites can also be used for observation through remote sensing, but data collected by balloon is direct and more accurate, which will help scientists be more precise with their forecasts, Tang said.

As Lekima approached Shanghai on Friday evening, a huge damper inside the Shanghai Tower, the country’s highest building, started moving to reduce the vibration caused by the strong winds.

The Shanghai Tower is the first skyscraper in the world to use the eddy current damping system, which was designed and made by a Chinese company.

Mounted on the 125th floor of the 632-meter-high building, the 1,000-metric-ton device is suspended from 12 steel cables and works like an automatic clock pendulum, with a sway range of 2 meters in all directions.

It helps increase structural stability, while the building’s exterior spiral curve can also reduce the wind load by 24 percent.

‘Sponge city’ in action

As the typhoon brought torrential rain and winds to southeastern areas early on Saturday, Shanghai proved the value of its ongoing “sponge city” project, which is designed to absorb excess rainwater and drain heavy precipitation.

Some 43 overpasses in the Songjiang, Qingpu, Putuo, Pudong, Minhang and Jiading districts of the city were closed, according to the Shanghai Transportation Commission. The most severe accumulation of rainwater was 155 centimeters.

But the initiative, which aims to make rainwater work for the city, helped Shanghai tackle the typhoon more easily. Promoted by the State Council in October 2015, it requires candidate cities to be capable of absorbing or reusing at least 20 percent of rainwater by next year.

A blogger with the user name seanpan, who posted video footage of a flooded road on Sina Weibo, said: “The road in front of my home was under the floodwater, but when we returned home after having some dumplings, the water, as if by magic, had gone. It seems that Shanghai’s drainage system is pretty good.”

At about 5 pm on Saturday, a similar occurrence was reported by the website of local media outlet Eastday at the junction of Lingling Road and North Shuangfeng Road in the Xuhui district. An hour earlier, people had to wade across the streets, with water reaching their ankles. But by 5 pm, the junction had returned to normal.

Shanghai is fast becoming a sponge city, which includes constructing sustainable drainage systems, promoting the development of green buildings and replacing concrete surfaces with those that absorb water.

Liu Qianwei, a chief engineer with the Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban and Rural Construction Management Commission, said, “Our target is to have 20 percent of the existing urban area, or 200 square kilometers, reach the standard of a sponge city, and for this proportion to rise to 80 percent by 2040.”

In Lingang, Pudong New Area, an area of 79 sq km is now covered by the sponge city project.

Through a multidimensional water collection and storage system, water is saved and purified on rainy days to be used as needed.

Steamed buns video

In Jiangsu province, Lekima brought torrential rains and heavy winds to 576 villages and townships. Many of the 13 cities in the province experienced flooded roads and sidewalks, and fallen trees, with roofs blown off homes.

On Sunday, a video clip of firefighter Ji Houniupei eating a steamed bun after working for hours went viral on social media.

Ji was sitting by the side of a road, covered in mud. With a bun in his mouth, he said he had eaten 11 so far. “Delicious!” was his verdict.

By Monday, the clip had been viewed more than 100 million times and had received millions of likes from netizens.

Ji later ate another bun, taking his total to 12.

He slept for only about three hours in two days after the typhoon made landfall in Taicang, Jiangsu, on Saturday. Ji started emergency rescue work at 3 pm on Saturday and did not return to his dormitory until 4 am. From 8am, he worked for more than 10 hours in heavy rain and winds.

“We were given 10 emergency tasks on the first day, mostly draining places that were flooded,” Ji said.

“In one underground garage, the water was more than 1 meter deep and it continued to flood in. All the firefighters were starving at around 8 pm, and I grabbed the steamed buns the moment I saw them being delivered by colleagues.

“I was shocked when I saw the video, because I don’t usually eat that much. I hope that my parents haven’t watched the clip, as I don’t want them to worry about me.”

By Sunday morning, many firefighters such as Ji, together with hundreds of civil servants and police officers, had evacuated 143,000 people in the province and safely brought 19,800 vessels to harbor.

They also completed 327 emergency rescue tasks from Saturday to Sunday morning, including removing fallen trees, restoring power supplies and righting trucks blown over by Lekima.

Many elderly people initially refused to be evacuated and insisted on staying at home in areas affected by the typhoon. Community workers eventually persuaded them to leave.

He Liuzhen finally agreed to leave her dilapidated home in Suzhou and go to a hotel until the typhoon passed.

The 94-year-old lives alone in the Niujiaxiang community in the city’s Gusu district in a house that dates to the Qing Dynasty. She had initially ignored her children’s appeals to leave and insisted on staying home.

Zhang Yingying, Party chief of the community, said: “She said she would rather die in the house … She sat throughout the night to keep an eye on the leaky roof during the torrential rain.

“You first need to know what worries the elderly before you can persuade them to leave. I told her that she would only be moved temporarily and could return whenever she wanted. We arranged a free hotel, hot noodles and social workers to accompany her after she finally agreed to go.”

Zhang and her colleagues also visited another 50 elderly people living alone and accompanied them to the hotel.

Online retail sales in rural areas totalled 777.1 billion yuan (Bt3,394 billion) over this period, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce.

The reading, surging 21 per cent year-on-year, was 3.2 percentage points higher than the nationwide growth rate.

Meanwhile, online retail sales of agricultural products also saw a notable increase, with sales hitting 187.4 billion yuan, up 25.3 per cent from one year earlier.

Snacks were the most popular agricultural products, accounting for 25.8 per cent of the total sales, followed by tea products and nourishing foods, the statement said.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rose 0.15 per cent to close at 975.78 points.

The VN-Index lost 1.69 per cent last week.

More than 96 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND1.79 trillion (Bt2.37 billion)

The Vietnamese stock market hovered in the early trading session as investors were cautious amid the uncertainty of global stocks.

According to analysts, the unpredictability of the US-China trade war will continue dampening the market mood, resulting in the selling of local assets.

The market breadth was balanced on Monday morning with 144 gaining stocks versus 142 decliners.

Large-cap stocks advanced slightly to support the market.

The VN30-Index increased by 0.39 per cent to end at 882.03 points with 18 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity making gains.

By sectors, technology performed the best as the sector index gained 2.1 per cent. The tech sector was lifted by FPT Corp (FPT), which was up 2.3 per cent.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index inched up 0.09 per cent to end at 102.87 points.

The northern market index fell total 0.12 per cent last week.

More than 16 million shares were traded on the market, worth VND193 billion.

By June this year, the number of EV charging piles used in China exceeded 1 million, according to data released by National Energy Administration’s China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance.

Public charging piles in China totalled more than 410,000 by the end of June, while the number of private charging piles surpassed 590,000.

The top 10 municipalities and provinces for public charging piles are Beijing, Shanghai, East China’s Jiangsu province, South China’s Guangdong province, East China’s Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, North China’s Hebei province, East China’s Anhui province, Tianjin and Central China’s Hubei province.

The demand for EV charging piles maintains strong growth momentum, as the number of electronic vehicles continues to increase in China. Capital holders, including vehicle manufactures, real estate companies and telecom operators, have shown great interest in the charging piles industry.

In July, Volkswagen, FAW, JAC and Star Charge established a joint venture, and WM Motor, an emerging leader in the Chinese electric passenger vehicle market, signed a contract with charging pile operator TELD to focus on development in this area.

On August 1, Didi Chuxing and the UK energy heavyweight BP announced that they had agreed to form a new joint venture to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure in China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles.

China is expected to sell 1.6 million new energy vehicles in 2019, up 30 per cent year-on-year, according to a projection by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The number indicates an explosion of charging infrastructure development and more capital will flow into the industry to build an ecosystem for EV charging, industrial insiders said.

The Himalayan region’s biggest mosque, the Jama Masjid, was ordered closed and people were only allowed to pray in smaller local mosques so that no big crowds could gather, witnesses said.

In pictures: What’s happening in occupied Kashmir?

Occupied Kashmir has been in a security lockdown for eight days as India’s Hindu nationalist government, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seeks to snuff out opposition to its move to impose tighter central control over the region.

Internet and phone communications have been cut and tens of thousands of troop reinforcements have flooded the main city of Srinagar and other Kashmir Valley towns and villages.

Authorities had eased restrictions temporarily on Sunday to let residents buy food and supplies for Eid, one of the most important Muslim festivals of the year.

But security was tightened again after sporadic protests involving hundreds of people during the day, residents said. Police vans toured the streets late on Sunday telling people to stay indoors.

“I can’t believe we are forced to be in our homes on this festival. This is the festival of joy and happiness,” resident Shanawaz Shah told AFP.

Too scared to eat

Indian-occupied Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh said people “have been asked to offer prayers locally”.

Singh insisted that occupied Kashmir was peaceful despite the protests.

“One incident in downtown Srinagar does not define the entire valley or the state,” he said.

Residents said the security crackdown had made them too fearful to celebrate.

A sheep trader at a Srinagar market, who gave his name as Maqbool, said the number of people buying animals for traditional feasts was sharply lower and he had gone from “huge profits” last year to a “big loss” this time.

Several thousand people took part in one rally after Friday prayers that was broken up with tear gas and shotgun pellets. But authorities denied there was any protest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insisted the constitutional changes to occupied Kashmir are needed to bring peace and prosperity to a region blighted by a decades-old insurgency against Indian rule that has left tens of thousands dead.

He has won widespread backing in India for the move.

But local Kashmiri leaders say that stripping the region of its autonomy risks worsening the unrest.

Many Kashmiri political leaders have been detained and Indian media reports said some had been taken to detention centres outside the state.

Fury in Pakistan

India’s move has also sparked fury in Pakistan, which insists that Kashmiris be given their right to self-determination.

The neighbours have fought two wars over the Himalayan region which they split after their independence in 1947.

In a series of tweetson Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan compared India’s tactics in occupied Kashmir to those of the Nazis.

The premier said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) “ideology of Hindu Supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop” in the occupied region. He also compared the autonomy move as “the Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler’s Lebensraum”. RSS is said to the parent organisation of the ruling BJP.

Officials said Prime Minister Imran would visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir this week to show solidarity.

Pakistan has already expelled the Indian ambassador, halted what little bilateral trade exists and suspended cross-border transport in protest at New Delhi’s decision to revoke Article 370 of India’s constitution.

Tensions remain fraught in occupied Kashmir’s mountainous Ladakh region, where a local activist told AFPdozens of protesters took part in rallies on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with at least 10 people injured by security forces using tear gas and batons.

Modi insisted last week the decision to strip occupied Kashmir of its autonomy was necessary for its economic development, and to stop “terrorism”.

Under its previous constitutional autonomy, Kashmiris had special privileges such as the sole right to own land or take government jobs and university scholarships.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1499308/india-imposes-occupied-kashmir-clampdown-to-head-off-eid-protests

The eighth round of talks in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar concluded after midnight and was “long and useful,” Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

He made no statements on the outcome of the talks.

Last week, another Taliban spokesman had said a deal was expected to follow this round as both sides seek an end to the nearly 18-year war, America’s longest conflict.

An agreement if reached is expected to include Taliban guarantees that Afghanistan would not be a base for other extremist groups in the future. However, both the militant Islamic State (IS) group’s affiliate and al-Qaida remain active in the country. The Taliban stage near-daily attacks across Afghanistan, mainly targeting Afghan forces and government officials but also killing many civilians.

The deal also could include a cease-fire and stipulate that the Taliban would negotiate with Afghan representatives, though the insurgent group has so far refused to negotiate with Kabul representatives, dismissing the Afghan government as a US puppet.

There was no immediate comment on Monday from US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who on Sunday tweeted: “I hope this is the last Eid where #Afghanistan is at war.”

In Afghanistan, Sunday was the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eidul Azha, which unfolded without any major violence reported in Afghanistan.

Khalilzad later added: “Many scholars believe that the deeper meaning of Eid al-Hadha is to sacrifice one’s ego. Leaders on all sides of the war in Afghanistan must take this to heart as we strive for peace.”

Some in Afghanistan saw it as a response to President Ashraf Ghani, who on Sunday declared: “Our future cannot be decided outside, whether in the capital cities of our friends, nemeses or neighbours. The fate of Afghanistan will be decided here in this homeland. […] We don’t want anyone to intervene in our affairs.”

While Ghani insists that the upcoming Sept 28 presidential election is crucial for giving Afghanistan’s leader a powerful mandate to decide the country’s future after years of war, Khalilzad is seeking a peace deal by Sept 1, weeks before the vote.

The Taliban control roughly half of Afghanistan and are at their strongest since the US-led invasion toppled their five-year government in 2001 after the group had harboured al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. More than 2,400 US service members have died in Afghanistan since then.

The US and Nato formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014. The some 20,000 American and allied troops that remain are carrying out airstrikes on the Taliban and IS militants, and are working to train and build the Afghan military.

The ministry aims to increase the number of people who can pass the skills qualifications test by having engineers teach Japanese construction methods as a path to alleviating growing labor shortages in the construction industry.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will send engineers with experience in supervising construction sites in Japan to Vietnam. For about four months, classes will be held at five local construction universities and other schools strong on vocations such as formwork construction, plastering and reinforced steel construction.

The ministry will sign a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese authorities for the dispatch of instructors. The Japan Association for Construction Human Resources, a general incorporated association comprising mainly construction companies, will dispatch the personnel. Details will be decided by October, including how many instructors will be dispatched and how to cover costs.

In the construction industry, a specified skills test is scheduled for February. Students will complete their curriculum before taking the exam. The ministry plans to expand destinations for instructors to the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries.

Compared with earthquake-prone Japan, construction methods in Southeast Asian countries sometimes differ in the number of reinforcing bars needed for buildings and the way the stages are built. They will learn Japanese construction methods and procedures before coming to Japan, in order to enter the construction workforce smoothly.

The construction industry plans to accept up to 40,000 foreign workers with specified skills over the next five years starting this fiscal year. About 3,000 such workers are expected to come to Japan this fiscal year, of which about 200 are expected to pass the exam.