The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan airlifts 14 Afghans from Kabul to Islamabad at U.S. request

TOKYO - Japan has transported 14 Afghans aboard a Self-Defense Forces aircraft from Kabul to Islamabad in neighboring Pakistan at the request of the United States amid heightened tensions in the Afghan capital following bombing attacks near the city's airport, government sources said Saturday.

The 14 Afghans, who are not local staff of the government-related entities, were evacuated Thursday in the first SDF airlift of foreign nationals to another country as part of a mission to evacuate Japanese citizens.

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Paralympics: 2 Afghan athletes arrive in Tokyo amid tensions

TOKYO - Two athletes from Afghanistan who had given up on participating in the Paralympics amid heightened tensions in their war-tone country, arrived in Tokyo Saturday, the Afghanistan Paralympic Committee said.

Female para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and male track athlete Hossain Rasouli will take part in the Paralympics that started Tuesday, involving around 4,400 participants from roughly 160 countries and regions.

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Paralympics: Japan triathletes medal as wheelchair rugby team loses

TOKYO - Japan won its first ever Paralympic triathlon medals on Saturday but its wheelchair rugby players can do no better than bronze after suffering semifinal defeat later in the day.

The triathlon competitors endured a sweltering morning in the Tokyo Bay area, though it did not stop Hideki Uda and Satoru Yoneoka from swimming, pedaling and running to Japan's first two Paralympic medals in the sport.

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Contaminants found in Moderna vaccine not belonging to suspended lots

NAHA, Japan - The Okinawa prefectural government said Saturday that it has found foreign matter in an unused vial of Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine not belonging to batches already suspended from use following the discovery of contaminants.

Japan's health ministry said Thursday that foreign substances have been confirmed in 39 unused vials at eight vaccination sites in five prefectures -- Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Gifu and Aichi.

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Suspect in Tokyo acid attack arrested in Okinawa

TOKYO - A male university student who was put on a nationwide wanted list following an acid attack earlier in the week at a Tokyo subway station was arrested Saturday in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, police said.

Hirotaka Hanamori, 25, is suspected of throwing sulfuric acid at a 22-year-old man at Tokyo Metro's Shirokane-takanawa Station in the capital's Minato Ward on Tuesday night.

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Thousands flock to walk-in youth vaccination site in central Tokyo

TOKYO - Thousands of people on Saturday morning swarmed a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site newly set up in central Tokyo for young people, ironically creating dense crowds at risk of spreading the virus as they lined up to get tickets for about 300 shots offered for the day.

The Tokyo metropolitan government conducted the vaccine lottery after disarray on the first day of the program Friday when a line began to form from early morning, with people snapping up some 200 vaccination slots provided on a first-come, first-served basis to those aged 16 to 39, well before registration was scheduled to start.

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China protests transit of U.S. ships through Taiwan Strait

BEIJING - China on Saturday protested the previous day's passage of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships through the Taiwan Strait, calling the move "provocative."

"We strongly oppose and strongly condemn this," the Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

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Sumo: Mongolian Ichinojo tests positive for COVID-19

TOKYO - Giant Mongolian maegashira Ichinojo, who has already been vaccinated twice, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Japan Sumo Association said Saturday.

The 28-year-old, who fights out of the Minato stable, was taking part in a four-day joint training session through Thursday, but other participating wrestlers, including yokozuna Hakuho and the sekiwake duo of Mitakeumi and Takayasu, have tested negative, the JSA said.

==Kyodo

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