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TOKYO (AP) – Japan was eagerly awaiting confirmation Wednesday that a journalist released from Syria was an independent journalist kidnapped three years ago. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that he was relieved by the news and that he was eager to confirm the identity of the man. The secretary general of the cabinet, Yoshihide Suga, said that this man was probably Jumpei Yasuda and that he is currently in Turkey. "I would like to have confirmation that he is Mr. Yasuda himself as quickly as possible," Abe said. Yasuda was kidnapped in 2015 by the al-Qaida branch in Syria, known at the time as Front Nusra, after losing contact in June of the same year.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – North Korean President Kim Jong Un's summits with South Korean and US presidents have not changed his country's catastrophic human rights record. Tuesday the US independent investigator on human rights in this isolated Asian country. At a press conference, Tomas Ojea Quintana said he was "very concerned" by statements made following Kim's meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the US President Donald Trump, who made no mention of human rights in North Korea. He cited reports of "systematic and widespread violations" of human rights and the findings of a 2014 US commission of inquiry that possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed in North Korea.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The South Korean liberal president has officially confirmed Tuesday its recent reconciliation agreements with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, prompting an immediate reaction by conservatives who called it "pious". "and" subordinate "to the North. Some experts claim that President Moon Jae-in's action is largely symbolic, but others say it shows his determination to carry through the September deal despite growing skepticism about whether his The policy of engagement will eventually lead to nuclear disarmament in North Korea. Moon has "ratified" the agreements Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after his government approved them at a regular meeting, his office said in a statement. Consecutive endorsements came without prior parliamentary approval.
SUVA, Fiji (AP) – The Duchess of Sussex was rushed to a covered market in Fiji's capital on Wednesday, worried by concerns over the large crowd who came to greet her in this relatively confined space. Meghan spoke with a salesman and briefly greeted others at the Suva Market, where crowds of people poured into the surrounding streets. She spent only about half of the 15 minutes allocated, while security staff guided her into the closed and relatively dark market. Meghan had visited the Suva market to meet some of the vendors involved in the United States.
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) – Nepal has for centuries been celebrating its masked dancers, who officially begin the month – long festivities in the Hindu – dominated Himalayan nation. Indra Jatra, an eight-day festival celebrated primarily by the Newar community, the indigenous inhabitants of Kathmandu, is also known as the festival of deities and demons. He especially honors Indra, the Hindu god of rain, to mark the end of the monsoon. Masks and dances can be frightening, entertaining and impressive, depending on the movements of the performers. A revered child as a living goddess Kumari is dragged around Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in a wooden chariot, families gather for parties and shrines to light incense for the dead, and Men and boys dressed in masks and robes representing Hindu deities dance traditional music rhythms and drums of worshipers, drawing tens of thousands of spectators into the old streets of the city.
ZHUHAI, China (AP) – China on Tuesday opened the world's longest sea bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of far-reaching economic and political engineering. Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a ceremony in Zhuhai City to open the 55-km (34-mile) bridge that connected him to the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. A digital fireworks device exploded on a screen behind him in front of the leaders of the three cities. The construction of the $ 20 billion bridge took almost a decade, with significant delays and cost overruns. It includes a submarine tunnel allowing ships to cross the Pearl River Delta, the heart of China's crucial manufacturing sector.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) – The National Assembly on Tuesday elected Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong to the presidency of parliament, strengthening its influence as the nation's most powerful man. from Southeast Asia. Aged 74, Trong is the first Vietnamese leader to hold the two positions since Ho Chi Minh's founding in the 1960s. He succeeds President Tran Dai Quang, who died last month after battling a viral disease for more than a year. from one year. Raising one hand and placing the other on the constitution, Trong swore, during the swearing-in ceremony, to be "absolutely faithful to the nation, the people and the constitution". He acknowledged in his acceptance speech that, despite the impressive achievements of recent years, Vietnam faces many challenges.
NEW DELHI (AP) – At least two people were killed and 17 wounded in a scramble as people huddled in a raised bridge on Tuesday at a railway station in eastern India. announced a state official. The rush took place with a large number of people traveling during a Hindu holiday season and rushing to catch trains at Kolkata Station, the capital of the state of West Bengal. Mamta Banerje, the highest elected official of the state of West Bengal, confirmed in a tweet the incident, which occurred four days after a train killed 60 people on a railway at a religious festival in Amritsar, a city in northern India.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Speeding has been the main cause of a train derailment in Taiwan, which left 18 dead and many injured, a district court said Tuesday. The train entered a curve in eastern Taiwan Sunday afternoon at 140 km / h, nearly twice the maximum speed allowed for this stretch of track, the Yilan County District Court announced. in a statement. The train driver was indicted for suspicion of negligence resulting in death. The driver, Yu Cheng-chung, deactivated the automatic train protection system after detecting "abnormal movements" in acceleration, according to the court statement.
BEIJING (AP) – The China Daily's official newspaper recently described the remarks made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, giving a stark insight into the current bitter tone of the speech between the two countries. The White House's decision to expand the dispute between Washington and Beijing beyond trade and technology, and to make it an accusation of political interference has plunged relations between the two most largest economies in the world at the lowest level since the cold war. An important speech by US Vice President Mike Pence on Oct. 4 was the clearest and most clear sign that US strategy was moving from engagement to confrontation.
