Four Japanese basketball players expelled from Asian Games
Jakarta, Aug 20: Four players have been expelled from Japan's men's basketball team at the Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia for allegedly hiring sex workers, the Japanese Olympic Committee said on Monday.
Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese delegation, said that the players in question had had their accreditations withdrawn and had been sent home, reports Efe.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) sources told EFE that the decision was taken after pictures of the basketball players wearing the national jersey walking with the alleged sex workers in the red light area of the Indonesian capital appeared in the Japanese press.
Yamashita said the four players went for dinner at a Japanese restaurant last Thursday, after which they were approached by a person who spoke Japanese and offered them the prostitutes' services.
The head of the delegation said the four players, named as Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuya Hashimoto, Takuma Sato and Keita Imamura had breached the delegation's code of conduct, and had arrived back in Japan on Monday, public broadcaster NHK reported.
"I deeply apologize for betraying the expectations of the Japanese people", Yamashita said.
The men's team had defeated Qatar 82-71 on Thursday, and lost against Taiwan 65-71 two days later. They are due to play Hong Kong on Wednesday.
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Rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injuring 16, as Palestinians mourn 19 dead in Gaza
Tel Aviv, Dec 21: A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.
A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won't stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides' attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine UN mediation efforts.
