Japan’s Emperor Akihito likely to abdicate at end-March 2019: Asahi
Japan’s Emperor Akihito is likely to abdicate at the end of March 2019 and Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to ascend the throne in April, the first abdication by a…
Spain to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy in response to independence threat
Spain’s central government has said it would suspend Catalonia’s autonomy and impose direct rule after the region’s leader threatened to go ahead with a formal declaration of independence if Madrid…
Playboy’s first transgender ‘playmate’ hopes to ‘pave way for all women’
Men’s magazine Playboy has featured its first ever transgender ‘playmate’ centrefold in its November issue, a move which the model hopes will pave the way for “all women – trans…
With tears and song, China welcomes Xi as great, wise leader
Chinese officials have heaped praise on President Xi Jinping’s political ideology, unveiled a day earlier at a key Communist Party Congress, a sign that it could be enshrined in the…
Turkey’s Erdogan says may shut Iraqi border any moment: Hurriyet
President Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey may shut its border with northern Iraq “at any moment” after closing its air space to the region, Hurriyet newspaper reports, reviving a threat first…
Fire destroys landmark hotel in Myanmar’s largest city, kills one
One person has been killed in a massive fire that destroyed one of Yangon’s best-known hotels, sending dark smoke billowing over the centre of Myanmar‘s largest city and triggering an hours-long…
Hillary Clinton says threats to start war with N.Korea “dangerous, short-sighted”
Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that “cavalier” threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are “dangerous and short-sighted”, urging the United States to get all parties…
Islamic State defeated in its Syrian capital Raqqa
US-backed militias in Syria have declared victory over Islamic State in its capital Raqqa, raising flags over the last jihadist footholds after a four-month battle. The fighting was over and…
Boston man plotted Islamic State beheading, prosecutors say
Federal prosecutors in the United States have said a Massachusetts man accused of plotting to attack police and behead a conservative blogger was a passionate supporter of the Islamic State…
German court sentences 88-year-old Holocaust denier to jail
A German court has sentenced an 88-year-old woman to six months in prison for denying the Holocaust and for inciting hatred. Ursula Haverbeck, who describes herself as a revisionist historian,…
