Tokyo court orders dissolution of ‘Moonies’ Unification church

Assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe spurred official request for closure of South Korea-based sect

A court in Japan has ordered the Unification church to be dissolved after a government request spurred by the investigation into the 2022 assassination of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The church, founded in South Korea and nicknamed the “Moonies” after its late founder, Sun Myung Moon, is accused of pressuring followers into making life-ruining donations, and blamed for child neglect among its members, although it has denied any wrongdoing.

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China seeks stronger ties with Europe, it says in meeting with Portugal’s foreign minister – Reuters

  1. China seeks stronger ties with Europe, it says in meeting with Portugal's foreign minister  Reuters
  2. Portuguese FM begins trip to China, becoming first European FM to visit country after two sessions  Global Times
  3. Portuguese, Chinese Foreign Ministers to Hold Talks as Trump-EU Trade Tensions Rise  U.S News & World Report Money
  4. Wang Yi meets Portuguese foreign minister in Beijing  CGTN
  5. China supports Europe in maintaining strategic autonomy: Foreign Minister Wang  Anadolu Agency | English
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Court in Japan orders the dissolution of the Unification Church – The Associated Press

  1. Court in Japan orders the dissolution of the Unification Church  The Associated Press
  2. Japan court orders controversial 'Moonies' church to disband  BBC.com
  3. Japanese Court Disbands Unification Church in Wake of Abe Killing  The New York Times
  4. Tokyo court orders dissolution of ‘Moonies’ Unification church  The Guardian
  5. What is the Unification Church and why did a Japanese court order it dissolved?  The Associated Press
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Motorcyclist who disappeared into huge Seoul sinkhole found dead after overnight search – ABC News

  1. Motorcyclist who disappeared into huge Seoul sinkhole found dead after overnight search  ABC News
  2. Motorcyclist who vanished into sinkhole is found dead following search  Fox News
  3. Man swallowed by Seoul sinkhole found dead  BBC.com
  4. Motorcyclist dies after being swallowed by sinkhole in South Korea  NBC News
  5. Man swallowed by sinkhole had worked 2 jobs to provide for his family  The Korea Herald
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Tuesday briefing: Why every candidate in Canada’s snap election is running against Donald Trump

In today’s newsletter: With elbows up on both sides, two very different political operators – Mark Carney and the Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre – attempt to fend off threats from the south

Good morning. When Justin Trudeau announced he would be resigning as Canada’s prime minister in January, he did so amid surging support for the Conservative opposition and a sense that its Trump-adjacent leader, Pierre Poilievre, might be the right candidate for a new political era. The Liberals’ near-decade in power appeared to be close to an end.

Now, Trudeau’s successor, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, has called a snap general election against a dramatically different political backdrop. With Donald Trump’s tariff war and musings about Canada’s future as a 51st state the inescapable mood music, many voters who had given up on the Liberals appear ready to give them another hearing – and Poilievre is trying to distance himself from the president whose methods he was once so happy to adopt.

Trump administration | A catastrophic security leak triggered outrage in US politics after senior Trump administration officials accidentally broadcast highly sensitive military plans through a Signal group chat with a journalist reading along. The stunning breach implicates key figures in the Trump administration including the vice-president, JD Vance.

Domestic violence | Domestic abusers are driving their victims to suicide, police have warned, as they admitted to past mistakes and pledged to investigate more “hidden” cases of violence against women. The concession came as deaths by suicide among victims of domestic abuse surpassed the number of people killed by an intimate partner for a second year in a row.

UK economy | Rachel Reeves will put £2bn into affordable housing in a bid to “sweeten the pill” of the spending cuts being announced at this week’s spring statement. The chancellor will set out one of the tightest budget buffers on record, with the Office for Budget Responsibility expected to put the government about £5bn in the red.

Turkey | Turkish authorities have arrested more than 1,100 people including journalists, while bombarding the social media platform X with requests to block hundreds of accounts after tens of thousands took to the streets in the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Archaeology | One of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK has been revealed, potentially altering our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. More than 800 objects were unearthed in a field near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire dating back to the first century.

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