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International News

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #9 (September 1, 2025), page 2.

Nintendo reports robust profits on strong Switch 2 sales

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo, the Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokémon franchises, reported an 18.6% surge in net profit for the first fiscal quarter on the back of strong demand for its new Switch 2 console. Kyoto-based Nintendo Co.’s April-June profit totalled 96.03 billion yen ($640 million), up from nearly 81 billion yen. Quarterly sales more than doubled to 572.36 billion yen ($3.8 billion). Nintendo said it sold 3.5 million Switch 2 game consoles globally on the first four days after it hit store shelves June 5, a record pace for a Nintendo game machine. Its sales continue to be strong, it said. The company said the new console’s higher price added to sales growth momentum. The new version sells for about $450 compared to $300 for the previous Switch when it first went on sale in 2017. Especially popular games included "Mario Kart World" and "Donkey Kong Bananza." "Pokémon Friends," which went on sale in July for the older Switch, can also be played on the new Switch. The Switch works both as a handheld portable machine and as a home console. Nintendo stuck to its forecast to sell 15 million Switch 2 machines through this fiscal year. Nintendo left unchanged its profit forecast for the year through March 2026, at 300 billion yen ($2 billion) profit, up nearly 8% on year. Nintendo stock, which has steadily climbed in the past year gaining more than 50%, edged down nearly 1% before earnings were announced. There are some worries about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Japanese exports, but that did not appear to affect Nintendo’s overall projections.

China’s Xi Jinping makes rare visit to Tibet

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet in August to mark the 60th anniversary of the consolidation of Beijing’s long-contested rule over the Himalayan territory. Xi arrived in Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa, where he "received a warm welcome from people of various ethnic groups" who waved bouquets of flowers and danced "to joyful rhythms," the Xinhua News Agency said. The agency said Xi urged the building of a "modern socialist" Tibet "that is united, prosperous, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful." Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951. In 1965, Mao Zedong’s single-party dictatorship established the Tibet autonomous region. Decades of political repression followed, including the demolition of some Buddhist monasteries and the imprisonment of monks. Recent years have seen the large-scale migration of majority Han Chinese to the high-altitude region, the virtual closure of Tibet to journalists and foreigners, the removal of Tibetan children from their families to boarding schools where they are taught in Mandarin, and the repression of all forms of political or cultural expression outside Communist Party control. China also insists on the right to appoint a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s highest-ranking leader, who recently turned 90 and lives in self-imposed exile in neighboring India after fleeing Chinese rule in 1959. Exiled Tibetans protested in India against the Chinese foreign minister’s visit there. Critics say repression in Tibet has become more systematic and wide-reaching since the crushing of anti-government protests in 2008, while China claims to have reduced poverty and built up the region’s infrastructure. China claims Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say they were essentially independent for most of that time under their Buddhist theocracy. China’s contested border with India runs along Tibet’s southern edge, where China has been building roads and other infrastructure for possible military use.

Top court orders stray dogs removed from New Delhi streets

NEW DELHI (AP) — No stray dogs roaming the streets of New Delhi? That could be possible in the future after India’s top court ordered authorities in New Delhi to start removing all stray dogs from the streets, and to sterilize and relocate them to shelters permanently. In its order in mid-August, the Supreme Court directed the capital’s civic bodies to immediately initiate the process of capturing 5,000 stray dogs from "high-risk areas" for now and send them to shelters equipped with adequate staff and CCTV surveillance within six to eight weeks. It is unclear how the court arrived at the figure of 5,000 stray dogs. Various estimates put the number of strays in New Delhi between 500,000 to one million. While many of the dogs that roam New Delhi’s streets are harmless, the court’s order aims to control rising dog biting cases, including cases involving children. Some estimates, based on hospital records, suggest New Delhi sees nearly 2,000 dog bite incidents every day. "The situation is extremely grim," the court said in its order, adding that it was passed while "keeping (the) larger public interest in mind." "Infants, young children should not at any cost fall prey to stray dogs," it said. The court also ordered authorities to create an animal helpline so all dog bite cases in the capital can be reported. It said any individual or organization that stops authorities from removing stray dogs from the streets will face "strict" legal consequences, while adding the strays should not to be released back on streets, in residential areas, or in public places. Animal lovers and activists had earlier opposed the court taking up the case. The court chided them, too. "All these animal activists … will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies?" the court asked. Rabies through dog bites is caused by a virus that invades the central nervous system. If left untreated, it is almost always fatal. Shortly after the court’s order, a senior minister of the state legislature in Delhi said his government will begin the process of rounding up the strays. Cabinet minister Kapil Mishra said the court’s order is a step towards freeing New Delhi "from the fear of rabies and stray animals." "Special attention will also be given to the comprehensive welfare of stray animals," Mishra said in a post on X.