Reporting guidelines devised and signed by five major news organisations
New Zealand media organisations have taken the unprecedented step of agreeing to censor their reporting of the trial of the man accused of the Christchurch mosque massacre in an attempt to contain the dissemination of his white supremacist beliefs.
On 15 March a shooter killed 50 people in two Christchurch mosques, the largest mass shooting in New Zealand’s modern history.
Continue reading...Emperor Naruhito promises to continue path trodden by his father, ‘sharing in the joys and sorrows of the people’
Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, has said he is “filled with solemnity” and vowed to show the same compassion and devotion to the public as his father, in a ceremony to formally recognise his accession to the chrysanthemum throne.
“When I think about the important responsibility I have assumed, I am filled with a sense of solemnity,” he said in a ceremony at the imperial palace, joined on the dais by his wife, Empress Masako.
Continue reading...Rumour-mongers in Binalonan face £3 fines and three hours litter-picking if they indulge in local tittle-tattle
When the lethargic heat of summer set in, the residents of Binalonan, a small town in the Philippines, used togather under the trees and share stories about their neighbours, swapping titbits about rumoured scandals, affairs, bankruptcies and divorces.
But no longer. In local law imposed on the town, which is north of the capital Manila, such gossip, or “chismis’” as it is known in the Philippines, is now illegal.
Continue reading...As Emperor Akihito stands aside, Simon Tisdall looks back at other notable departures
Redundant royals have been disposed of in various grisly and ingenious ways over the centuries. Beheading was fashionable at one time, as Mary, Queen of Scots, discovered in 1587. Revolution, assassination and death in battle were other popular methods.
Continue reading...Idea of unhitching country’s administrative centre from its megacity has a long history – but experts are sceptical
Not only is the megacity of Jakarta besieged by a confluence of modern ills – including pollution, overpopulation and soul-destroying traffic – it is also one of the fastest-sinking capitals in the world.
So when Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, this week suggested making somewhere else the capital, it did not come as a shock. Indeed, the idea of relocating the country’s administrative centre is almost as old as the republic itself – it was floated by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, in 1957 and has been brought up again by several presidents since.
Continue reading...Prime minister Abe says royal couple ‘shared in joys and sorrows’ of Japanese people
Emperor Akihito has thanked the people of Japan for their support during his 30-year reign and said he hopes his successor’s time on the chrysanthemum throne will be “stable and fruitful”, as he becomes the country’s first monarch to abdicate in two centuries.
Speaking at a brief ceremony in the state room of the imperial palace a day before his eldest son, Naruhito, ascends the throne, the 85-year-old said he was praying for peace and happiness for the people of Japan.
Continue reading...Emperor becomes Japan’s first monarch to give up the throne in two centuries. In a brief ceremony at the imperial palace in Tokyo, Akihito, 85, says his 30-year reign was a ‘great blessing’ and expresses his hope for the ‘peace and happiness of people in Japan and around the world’
Continue reading...The Ainu of Hokkaido in Japan were not officially recognised as an indigenous people until 2008. This recognition came after a long history of exclusion and assimilation that almost erased their society, language and culture. Photographer Laura Liverani collaborated with members of the Ainu for this exhibition called Coexistences: Portraits of Today’s Japan, showing at the The Japan Foundation, Sydney until 21 June.
Continue reading...The supreme leader was met by cheering crowds as he returned from his first Russia visit. Footage of Kim's arrival back in the country was broadcast on state-run television channel KRT. Waiting at the platform among the crowds were high-ranking officials and guards. During his first Russia visit, Kim told Vladimir Putin that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the US, saying a state of hostility could easily return, KRT reported
Continue reading...After 30 years on the throne, Emperor Akihito is to abdicate on 30 April and his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will officially accede on 1 May. The 85-year-old emperor is the first in two centuries to stand down. His reign began on 7 January 1989, following the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito
Continue reading...Destroyers William P Lawrence and Stethem transited through the waterway on Sunday as Pentagon ups the ante with Beijing
The US military has sent two navy warships through the Taiwan Strait as the Pentagon increases the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.
Sunday’s voyage risks further raising tensions with China but will likely be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.
Continue reading...Electoral commission says most died from fatigue due caused by long hours counting millions of ballots
Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, officials say more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illneses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand.
The 17 April elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs.
Continue reading...Japan has paused. In preparation for the abdication of the old emperor, and the accession of the new, companies and government offices are closed, and it is the duty of dutiful workers to stay at home; even the calendar will change. Ever since 1989 (as we count), official Japanese documents have counted years up from the year Heisei 1. On 1 May the year will reset, and babies, until then born in the year Heisei 31, will instead be born in Reiwa 1; and the years will continue to be numbered through Reiwa until the new emperor dies or abdicates.
The convention of dating events by reference to reigns, or periods of office, is not unique to Japan. In fact it was once almost universal. It reaches back as far as organised politics. In Greece, the Spartans dated by their kings, the Athenians by their judges; and the Roman republic counted from the mythical foundation of the city. None of these conventions survived the crumbling of the political structures that they both commemorated and upheld. That is why later Christians, amid the chaos of local rulers that followed the fall of the Roman empire, had to invent the dating system we still use.
Continue reading...Residents fear law will allow Beijing to demand Hong Kong hand over political dissidents
Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents have taken to the streets to demand their government halt a plan that would make it easier to extradite people to the secretive judicial system in mainland China.
The march organisers estimated that more than 100,000 people filed through central Hong Kong on Sunday. Police said the march drew 22,800 people at its peak.
Continue reading...Beijing international horticultural exhibition is intended to give the nation a much-needed publicity boost
If you want to say something, the expression goes, say it with flowers. It is a concept that will take on new meaning in China this week, which on 29 April opens the doors to the world’s largest ever gardening show, a mammoth exhibition of plants, pavilions and soft power that forms part of celebrations marking the 70th birthday of the People’s Republic of China.
At the foot of the Taihang mountains in the Beijing suburb of Yanqing, an area the size of 500 football pitches has been fenced for the massive Beijing international horticultural exhibition, which dwarfs the Chelsea flower show by an eye-watering 495 hectares.
Continue reading...Adrian Hong Chang sought by Spain in connection with alleged raid, but lawyer says this is based on ‘unreliable’ North Korean account
US authorities are focused on southern California in their manhunt for a one-time human rights activist accused of leading a violent takeover of North Korea’s embassy in Spain, according to a federal arrest warrant unsealed on Friday.
Adrian Hong Chang is wanted by Spain in connection with the alleged embassy raid in February, but his lawyer denounced the US Justice Department for seeking his arrest and extradition based on “the highly unreliable accounts of North Korean government witnesses”.
Continue reading...Hong Kong-based photographer Michael Wolf is best known for Architecture of Density, which shows the city’s tower blocks as dramatic geometric abstractions, and Tokyo Compression, which captures rush hour on the Japanese capital’s subway. He died this week aged 64
Continue reading...Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 7%, partly because of manufacturing bottlenecks
Daimler’s quarterly operating profit has fallen by 16% as a €718m (£620m) one-off gain failed to offset the impact of falling sales in China and production delays at three Mercedes-Benz factories.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 7% in the first quarter 0f 2019, partly because of manufacturing bottlenecks for the A-Class compact car in Aguascalientes, Mexico, the Mercedes-Benz van in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Mercedes-Benz GLE SUV in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Continue reading...Britain faces lobbying after Chinese firm wins approval to supply 5G network
Donald Trump’s administration is expected to put further pressure on the UK to reconsider the decision to allow Chinese telecoms company Huawei to help build parts of the UK’s 5G telecoms network.
The US has arranged for a representative from the state department, which has repeatedly warned of the risks of using Huawei, to give a briefing on Monday.
Continue reading...‘Absurd’ that US and its closest allies are not leading players in technology, former PM says
Malcolm Turnbull has revealed that he encouraged Donald Trump to “take the lead” and develop 5G networks in cooperation with allies, including Australia, to hold out “ferocious competition” from China and to safeguard networks against cyber-attacks.
In a speech in New York overnight, the former prime minister said that in response to concerns China was stealing a technological march he had urged the US president to “ensure that we had at least one viable and secure 5G vendor from the United States and/or its Five Eyes partners”.
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