Japan declines to join US and others in condemning China for Hong Kong law
Japan has decided not join the United States, Britain and others in issuing a statement scolding China for imposing a new security law, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, citing officials from countries involved.
The United Kingdom, the US, Australia and Canada condemned China on May 28 for imposing a law that they said would threaten freedom and breach a 1984 Sino-British agreement on the autonomy of the former colony.
There was no immediate response from Japan’s foreign ministry and the US embassy in Tokyo. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tokyo separately issued a statement May 28, the day China’s parliament approved the national security legislation, saying the nation was “seriously concerned” about the move, which observers fear could endanger Hong Kong’s special autonomy and freedoms.
Daily Update
Head of South Korea ‘comfort women’ shelter found dead amid probe
A woman running a shelter for South Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery has been found dead in her home, police said Sunday, amid a corruption probe involving the facility.
Prosecutors are investigating claims that the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance activist group misused funds meant for the so-called “comfort women” – a euphemism for the country’s Second World War sex slaves.
The woman, 60, was believed to have taken her own life, police said.
“She came home by herself and the door was locked,” police said, without giving the woman’s name.
Officers said they did not believe anyone else was involved in her death.
The reason for her death was not known, but the activist group said she had been struggling with the ongoing investigation and a raid of the shelter by prosecutors last month.
“She said she felt as if her entire life was being denied,” it said in a statement.
-
People wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus walk outside of a shopping mall at a pedestran shopping street in Beijing. China's capital is lowering its emergency response level to the second-lowest starting Saturday for the coronavirus pandemic. That will lift most restrictions on people traveling to Beijing from Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province, where the virus first appeared late last year. AP Photo -
Health professionals take care of a patient at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward where patients infected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, are being treated at the Doctor Ernesto Che Guevara Public Hospital in Marica city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP -
Health professionals work at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward where patients infected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, are being treated at the Doctor Ernesto Che Guevara Public Hospital in Marica city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP -
A South Korean woman receives body temperature check from soldier as she arrive visits at the Seoul National Cemetery during a 65th anniversary of the Memorial Day amid coronavirus pandemic in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea marks the 65th anniversary of the Memorial Day for people who died during the military service in the 1950-53 Korean War. Getty -
Gravediggers carry a coffin during a funeral at the Jardines del Recuerdo Cemetery in Managua, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
People protest following the death of a young man while in police custody, after he had been arrested allegedly for failing to comply with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico. AFP -
Passengers wearing protective face masks are seen at the concourse amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Tokyo Metro's newly-opened Toranomon Hills Station in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS -
A protester raises his fist in the streets of Sao Goncalo during a protest amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Sao Goncalo, Brazil. About 300 people walked and shouted slogans against the government of Jair Bolsonaro and protested against the death of the American George Floyd and the boy Joao Pedro (murdered by police in the Salgueiro community). The protesters were sympathizers of the "All Against Racism Movement" and "Black Lives Matter." Getty -
Visitors at the sold out open air cinema watch a movie in Berlin, Germany. As part of the easing measures concerts, kino and other open air events are allowed from June 2nd in the German capital, with a maximum of 200 people. The lock down measures have largely eased nationwide, with stores, restaurants and cafes open again, though under certain restrictions to avoid people crowding together. The economic outlook as a whole remains uncertain, prompting the German government to approve a EUR 130 billion stimulus package earlier this week. Getty -
Disguised as characters of "Alice in Wonderland" and wearing face masks against the spread of the novel coronavirus, Venezuelan migrants perfom in Bogota. AFP -
People stand in a line waiting food outside a community center during the coronavirus crisis in Padre Rodolfo Ricciardelli neigborhood, before knowed as Villa 1-11-14, in Buenos Aires, Argentina one of the neighborhood most affected by COVID-19. EPA -
The shadows of synthetic macaws are cast on the pavement backdropped by a mural of a macaw as pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk past, in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela's opposition, led by Juan Guaido, have agreed to measures for battling the new coronavirus to be overseen by international health workers, a first step in years toward cooperation between bitter political rivals for the benefit of the country. AP Photo -
Police offciers stand guard as travellers wearing protective face masks queue for check-in on an Air Austral flight to Paris, from Dzaoudzi Airport in Petite Terre on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, as measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) are maintained on Mayotte over concerns about the continued spread of the virus there and a fragile health system. AFP -
People walk along a street outside the Jama Masjid after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in the old quarters of New Delhi. AFP -
People walk in a park after it was reopened with the easing of the lockdown against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Lahore, Pakistan. Countries around the world are taking increased measures to stem the widespread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes the Covid-19 disease. EPA -
A public health officer checks the temperature of a Muslim man as he arrives to attend Friday prayers at a mosque in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat as restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus are slowly eased. AFP
Clashes at London’s Black Lives Matter protests
Read more here
India and China seek to ‘peacefully resolve’ border face-off
India and China have agreed to “peacefully resolve” the latest border flare-up that has heightened tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours, New Delhi said on Sunday, after a high-level meeting between army commanders.
Tension has flared in recent weeks between the two regional powers over their 3,500-kilometre frontier, which has never been properly demarcated.
Thousands of troops from both countries are involved in the face-off concentrated in India’s Ladakh region, opposite Tibet.
“Both sides agreed to peacefully resolve the situation in the border areas in accordance with various bilateral agreements,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that the commanders agreed an “early resolution” was “essential” for bilateral relations between the world’s two most populous nations.
“Accordingly, the two sides will continue the military and diplomatic engagements to resolve the situation and to ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” the statement said.
Israelis protest West Bank annexation plan
Read more here
10-foot shark kills surfer off Australia’s east coast
A surfer was attacked and killed by a three-metre shark off the coast of northern New South Wales state on Sunday, Australian police said.
Several people tried to help the man, aged 60, and fought off the shark before taking him to shore at Salt Beach in South Kingscliff, police said.
He was given first aid for serious injuries to his left leg but died at the scene.
Nearby beaches were cleared of swimmers and surfers and will remain closed for 24 hours.
Kingscliff resident Stuart Gonsal had just arrived at the beach ready for a surf, when he found out about the fatal attack.
“We came down and we hadn’t got in the water and police were immediately hauling people in,” Mr Gonsal told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. “We found out there was a fatal shark attack on the south side of the rock wall. We were going to get in – we’re not going to now, for sure.”
