TOKYO — Three decades after he ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, Emperor Akihito on Tuesday became Japan’s first monarch in more than two centuries to abdicate, passing the symbolic but influential role to his eldest son in a brief, unadorned ceremony at the Imperial Palace. The new emperor, Naruhito, who on Wednesday is to receive the […]
Schoolchildren attacked as they returned home in one of the deadliest rampages in recent years. A man with a knife killed nine schoolchildren and wounded at least 10 others as they were leaving their school in northern China, state-run Xinhua news agency said. Seven girls and two boys were killed in the rampage on Friday, […]
Foreign ministry rules out possibility of deal with US after speculation following Shakil Afridi’s prison transfer. Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s foreign ministry has ruled out the possibility of a “prisoner swap” with the United States for Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to a compound in the […]
SAN JUAN (Reuters) – Puerto Rico’s federally created financial oversight board on Tuesday began filing the first round of scores of lawsuits seeking to recover money the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth paid to bondholders, businesses and others. The board has until the end of this week to file certain claims after the U.S. judge hearing Puerto […]
Saudi crown prince’s comments come just days after killings of 17 Palestinians by Israeli forces during peaceful march. Commenting on the Saudi crown prince’s latest interview in which he asserts, in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, that “each people” have “a right to live in their peaceful nation”, Al Jazeera’s Senior Political Analyst Marwan Bishara says […]
Ruling BJP party loses simple majority in the lower house of the Indian parliament as counting still under way. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party received a serious setback in recent by-elections, results showed on Thursday. With Thursday’s results, the ruling BJP party lost its simple majority in the lower house of the Indian […]
Nawaf Talal al-Rasheed was arrested in Kuwait and then transferred to Saudi Arabia, according to Qatari rights group. The detention of Qatari national Nawaf Talal al-Rasheed highlights continued human rights violations by Saudi Arabian authorities, according to the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar (NHRC). Rasheed’s case is an example of how Saudi Arabia has used false […]
Peace talks in Myanmar’s Karen State have stalled, with some arguing the actions of the military against the Rohingya in Rakhine State undermine the credibility of the government’s claim to want peace. The leaders of one of the largest rebel armies in Myanmar say they’re becoming increasingly frustrated by peace talks with the government and […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – North Korea’s vice foreign minister said on Tuesday (April 30) the United States will face “undesired consequences” if it fails to present a new position in denuclearisation talks by the end of the year, state media reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has set a year-end deadline for the United States […]
A district in one of India’s poorest states has made national headlines in the ongoing general election after a firebrand student leader decided to run for a seat there. Kanhaiya Kumar, who was charged with “sedition” for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans and spent a few weeks in jail in 2016, is a candidate from Begusarai […]