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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s long-held dream to change the pacifist constitution got a big boost this weekend as his conservative coalition won a crucial two-thirds majority in a snap election. Nationalists like Abe dismiss the constitution as a humiliating relic imposed by US occupiers after Japan’s defeat in World War II, while North Korea’s recent firing of two missiles over the country in less than a month has focused minds on security. […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi federal and paramilitary forces on Sunday said they lost five men in last week’s clashes with Kurdish fighters, bringing the death toll for all sides to 31. On Friday, Iraq’s central government said its forces had taken back control from the Kurds of all disputed territory in the north of the country located outside the Kurdish autonomous region. The areas were captured as part of a sweeping operation by federal […]
by Richard Carter/ Miwa Suzuki © Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stormed to a landslide “super-majority” in snap Japanese elections, near complete projections showed Monday, with the hardline nationalist immediately pledging to “deal firmly” with North Korea. Abe’s conservative coalition is on track to win at least 312 seats with only a handful left to call, according to public broadcaster NHK, giving him a coveted two-thirds majority in the lower house of […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday said talks between feuding Gulf states remained unlikely, as a Saudi-led boycott of Qatar nears its sixth month. “We cannot force talks among people who are not ready to talk,” Tillerson said at a press conference in Doha. “There is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet,” he added. “We cannot and will not impose a solution on anyone.” […]
by Shingo ITO Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Shinzo Abe, on course to become Japan’s longest-serving leader after Sunday’s election win, is seen as a pragmatic and canny diplomat who has cozied up to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin while pushing a nationalist agenda at home. Groomed for power from birth, the 63-year-old is often viewed as arrogant but has also shown a self-deprecating sense of humour, dressing up as video game icon […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon ripped into central Japan early Monday, leaving two dead and more than 10 injured, hours after millions struggled to the polls for a national election. Authorities advised thousands living in coastal areas or near rivers to evacuate to shelters as Typhoon Lan, described as “very large and very strong”, made landfall in Shizuoka southwest of Tokyo at around 3.00 am (1800 GMT Sunday). The storm, which had already […]
by Alastair HIMMER Agence France-Presse KOSHIGAYA, Japan (AFP) – An elderly woman hunched over a cane stares intently as Japanese political hopeful Asami Miwa greets locals in the rural voting district the former flight attendant is contesting in Sunday’s election. Waving her white-gloved hands and bowing to potential voters in drizzly Saitama, an hour north of Tokyo, the 30-year-old Party of Hope candidate is a welcome splash of color in a sepia-tinged world dominated by men in […]
by Maya Gebeily Agence France-Presse RAQA, Syria (AFP) – Tears streaming down her freckled face, 35-year-old Asya took in the shattered glass, gutted storefronts and crumbling cafes — all that remain of her favorite shopping street in Syria’s Raqa. “This was once the most beautiful city, my God,” said the woman in a mustard-coloured headscarf, gesturing out of the back seat of a car moving slowly down Raqa’s once-bustling Tal Abyad boulevard. “Now look around you. Look […]
by Richard Carter Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Candidates in Japan made a last-ditch plea to voters Saturday on the last day of campaigning before an election expected to return Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to power with a comfortable majority. Polls show Abe and his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are clear favorites to win Sunday’s election, handing him a fresh mandate for his hardline stance on North Korea and “Abenomics” growth strategy. Abe’s coalition is […]
by Harry Pearl Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) – The US government was fully aware of a bloody anti-communist purge by the Indonesian army in the 1960s, with one diplomat at the time describing the bloodletting as “widespread slaughter,” recently declassified documents have revealed. The 39 US embassy documents cover the period from 1964-1968, at the peak of the Cold War, and uncover new details about one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Indonesian history. […]
by Alexandre Marchand Agence France-Presse KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh (AFP) – Nearly four decades ago Fazol Ahmed returned to his native Myanmar with his family under a Rohingya repatriation scheme. Now he is back in the teeming camps of Bangladesh with his wife and children, a refugee once again. Ahmed is among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh since an upsurge in violence in neighboring Myanmar in August that the UN has said amounts […]
by Laurent Thomet and Joanna Chiu Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) – President Xi Jinping declared China is entering a “new era” of challenges and opportunities on Wednesday as he opened a Communist Party congress expected to enhance his already formidable power. Xi told some 2,300 delegates at the imposing Great Hall of the People that the party must “resolutely oppose” any actions that undermine its leadership as it steers a course through a high-stakes period in […]
