NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — All Aboard.
The Italian cruise ship Costa Serena that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, received its official welcome on Tuesday at Kinjo Pier in the host city.
Click to Gallery
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The ceremony for the Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, seen at background, is held upon the arrival at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, is seen in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 23, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
The 16-day games open Saturday and run through Oct. 4.
Without a dedicated athletes village, officials are using the cruise ship, hotels and converted containers to house more than 11,000 athletes. That's more than the 10,700 athletes who attended the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“So, today our ship becomes more than a destination,” ship Captain Federico Sias said at the Tuesday ceremony. "It becomes home where athletes and guests from across Asia can come together in the spirit of friendship, mutual respect and unity.”
Officials have not released an official count of athletes, but the number could match the 12,000 that participated three years ago in the games in Hangzhou, China.
The Asian Games, first held in 1951 in New Delhi, India, includes 45 countries and regions and 43 sports — many Olympic disciplines and a few regional specialties.
To adjust to the limited space, many teams are expected to stagger arrivals of athletes and officials. Athletes in early events will leave and make way for others.
See full AP coverage of Asian sports here
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The ceremony for the Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, seen at background, is held upon the arrival at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)
The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, is seen in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 23, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
Britain says it has reached an agreement with Israel over its consulate in east Jerusalem, even as Israel said the building had “ceased to function” as a consulate and that 20 diplomats would leave the country. The sign outside it was removed.
The British military said late Wednesday that several projectiles struck a tanker off the coast of Qatar, causing multiple casualties, but did not provide more details.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Read our full coverage here.
Britain said it had reached an agreement with Israel's government to downgrade its consulate in east Jerusalem, and a small team of diplomats will continue to operate in what will now be known as the U.K. Mission.
Israel's government said last month it would close the consulate in response to the United Kingdom banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement that the consulate had “ceased to function as a consulate.” He said twenty British diplomats will leave Israel, and that the building will continue to operate with seven diplomats engaged in limited activity.
“Israel will no longer turn its cheek to diplomatic attacks against it," he said.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband denied the building will close and said it will be known as the U.K. Mission. Miliband said the seven diplomats remaining will continue to work with Palestinians, but gave no details. The UK said based on the current agreement, it would not take reciprocal action such as expelling Israeli diplomats from London.
The British military said late Wednesday that several projectiles struck a tanker off the coast of Qatar, causing multiple casualties.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place in the Persian Gulf, north of Qatar’s city of Madinat ash Shamal. The city is on the northern tip of Qatar.
The U.K. military did not identify the tanker and did not provide any details about the casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and no comment from Qatar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former military secretary has accused the Israeli leader of altering official transcripts of phone calls from the morning of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
The accusations by Maj. Gen. Avi Gil came in a wide-ranging interview with the right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper.
In excerpts of the interview published Thursday, Gil accused Netanyahu of attempting to change records of their phone calls in the first hour of the attack, possibly in an attempt to shift blame for failures that morning from the prime minister to his advisers.
Gil said he reported the attempt, allegedly made by Netanyahu's chief of staff, to the attorney general. Gil served as military secretary from 2021 to 2024.
In the interview, Gil also confirmed that a senior Egyptian intelligence official had visited Israel shortly before the Oct. 7 attack. Asked whether there had been a warning, Gil said he did not know what message was relayed, but added: "Whoever met with someone or received something is still concealing it today.”
Gil’s full interview is expected to be published over the weekend, and an interview with an Israeli TV channel is also planned.
The report comes as Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is seeking re-election on Oct. 27. His Likud party told Israel Hayom that Gil's comments are part of an attempt to oust Netanyahu from power, the paper said.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Barricades block the main road leading to British Consulate after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A car enters the British Consulate after the sign outside the consulate was taken down, in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A mosque's minaret and buildings are seen in the West Bank village of Abu Dis behind the Israel's separation wall near Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
