(4)Supporters in Saitama

(4)Supporters in Saitama

SAITAMA, Japan - Two Japanese fans work on a banner near Saitama Stadium 2002 on June 4 to protest the unavailability of tickets despite empty seats at World Cup games. (World Cup 2002)

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

(220617) -- ADDIS ABABA, June 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley speaks during a briefing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 16, 2022. The Horn of Africa could face "unprecedented food unavailability problems" in 2023 due to ongoing drought and food supply shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, David Beasley has warned. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

(220617) -- ADDIS ABABA, June 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley (L) speaks during a briefing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 16, 2022. The Horn of Africa could face "unprecedented food unavailability problems" in 2023 due to ongoing drought and food supply shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, David Beasley has warned. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

ETHIOPIA-ADDIS ABABA-WFP-HORN OF AFRICA-FOOD INSECURITY-BRIEFING

(220617) -- ADDIS ABABA, June 17, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley speaks during a briefing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 16, 2022. The Horn of Africa could face "unprecedented food unavailability problems" in 2023 due to ongoing drought and food supply shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, David Beasley has warned. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

China opens last section of rail loop around its largest desert

STORY: China opens last section of rail loop around its largest desert DATELINE: June 16, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:21 LOCATION: URUMQI, China CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Xinjiang STORYLINE: A railroad in northwest China's Xinjiang began operation on Thursday, completing a 2,712-km railway line looping around the country's largest desert, the Taklimakan. The opening of the 825-km Hotan-Ruoqiang rail line will enable trains to skirt a full circle around a desert for the first time in the world. The railroad stretches eastward from Hotan City to Ruoqiang County along the southern edge of the Taklimakan, the world's second-largest shifting-sand desert, with 65 percent of its length inside the desert. Its construction started in December 2018. Five viaducts with a total length of 49.7 km lift the railroad to protect it against sandstorms. The opening of this line has brought an end to the unavailability of train service in five counties and certain towns in southern Xinjiang and will shorten