AFP, Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s approval rating has fallen sharply, an opinion poll showed Monday, as scandals erode public confidence in a government now in its fifth year.
Abe took power in December 2012 on the back of widespread frustration with the previous administration’s handling of the 2011 nuclear disaster and perceived mismanagement of ties with key ally the United States.
New Zealand expels US diplomat
Reuters, Auckland
New Zealand has expelled an attache at the U.S. Embassy after Washington declined to waive his right to diplomatic immunity after an “incident” which gave him a broken nose and a black eye, media and authorities said. New Zealand police said they responded to the incident near the capital Wellington on March 12 involving an employee of the U.S. Embassy.
Over 2,000 arrested so far in Turkey
Reuters, Ankara
Turkish authorities detained more than 2,000 people over the last week for suspected links to militant groups or last year’s failed coup attempt, the interior ministry said on Monday.
Turkey, which faces multiple security threats, including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Islamic State militant group, has also widened a crackdown on alleged supporters of the July coup attempt.
Two given death penalty in Gaza
AFP, Gaza City
A Hamas military court on Sunday sentenced two Palestinians to death for drug smuggling in the Gaza Strip, in the first punishment of its kind in the enclave. “The Gaza military court announced the death penalty for two civilians from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, for selling narcotics,” the Hamas-controlled interior ministry said in a statement.
