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By Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, April 30, 2019 (AFP) – Japan’s incoming emperor Crown Prince Naruhito faces the delicate task of balancing tradition within the world’s oldest monarchy and his own modern values, including protecting his family from the palace’s rigid rules. The 59-year-old heir has not been shy about criticising the sometimes stifling lifestyle imposed on royals, particularly as his wife Masako has struggled to adapt to imperial life. And like his popular father Akihito, […]
TOKYO, April 30, 2019 (AFP) – Draped in ornate golden-brown robes and wearing a towering black hat, Japan’s Emperor Akihito on Tuesday kicked off ceremonies for his abdication, the first in 200 years for the world’s oldest monarchy. Akihito is handing over the Chrysanthemum Throne to his eldest son, 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, in a series of solemn rituals that also usher in the new imperial era named “Reiwa” — meaning beautiful harmony — that […]
by Hiroshi HIYAMA Japan’s outgoing Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko dramatically modernised the tradition-bound monarchy, bringing themselves closer to the public and boosting popular support for the household. Akihito has broken new ground with everything from his decision to marry for love to his outspoken calls for peace and expressions of regret over Japan’s wartime role. His approach has at times unsettled those who view the emperor as a divine priest meant to inspire awe, […]
by Elodie CUZIN PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — Former US vice president Joe Biden took his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination to union workers in Pennsylvania on Monday as he and Republican Donald Trump vie for the support of organized labor in the crucial eastern state. In his highly anticipated address, ex-president Barack Obama’s number two spoke for less than 30 minutes — much shorter than Trump’s speeches to his base — to several […]
by Gregory WALTON PEMBA, Mozambique (AFP) — Heavy rain battered northern Mozambique on Monday as residents and relief workers confronted devastation wrought by Cyclone Kenneth, the strongest cyclone to ever hit Africa, which killed 38 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Roads have been washed away, fields submerged and many buildings wrecked by the storm, which came weeks after Cyclone Idai struck the Mozambican city of Beira, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to the south. Cyclone […]
by Ali Choukeir and Maya Gebeily BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The Islamic State group’s elusive supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first purported appearance in five years in a propaganda video released Monday, acknowledging IS’s defeat in the Syrian town of Baghouz while threatening “revenge” attacks. The world’s most wanted man was last seen in Mosul in 2014, announcing the birth of IS’s much-feared “caliphate” across swathes of Iraq and Syria, and appears to have […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in eastern Canada in recent days as spring floods broke record levels set in 2017, officials said Monday, warning that it could take weeks for the waters to recede. Meanwhile, an operation is underway to rescue pets from homes in the area that had to be abandoned during evacuations. Hardest hit was the town of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, west of Montreal, where more […]
TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Air raids on Tripoli Sunday night killed four people and wounded 37, Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) said Monday, blaming the attacks on strongman Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA). This came a day after a similar attack on the capital killed another four civilians and injured 20, according to the GNA. Haftar’s LNA launched an offensive against Tripoli, the seat of the internationally-recognized GNA, on April 4. After […]
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — Gunmen killed four worshippers and a pastor in the first jihadist attack on a church in Burkina Faso, security and local sources said Monday, in the latest violence to rock the formerly peaceful west African nation. Sunday’s raid took place in the small northern town of Silgadji near Djibo, the capital of Soum province. “Unidentified armed individuals have attacked the Protestant church in Silgadji, killing four members of the […]
by Sandy Huffaker Agence France Presse POWAY, United States (AFP) — Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of the Chabad of Poway synagogue had been finalizing his sermon for the last day of Passover when he heard a loud bang and stopped in his tracks. The preacher had just passed his good friend Lori Kaye in the lobby. The pair exchanged smiles, and his immediate thought was that she “may have fell or a table tipped over.” […]
by Douglas Gillison Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The Federal Reserve is poised to hold its fire this week, leaving benchmark US interest rates untouched as central bankers await firm indications of where the world’s largest economy is headed. But as policymakers gather for their third meeting of the year on Tuesday, is still hammering the Fed, demanding they lower interest rates. He also made plans to fill Fed vacancies with political loyalists to […]
by Sandy HUFFAKER Agence France Pressse POWAY, United States (AFP) — A gunman opened fire at a synagogue in California on Saturday, killing one person and injuring three others including the rabbi as worshippers marked the final day of Passover, authorities said. The shooting in the town of Poway, north of San Diego, came exactly six months after a white supremacist killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue — the deadliest […]
