Japan’s Emperor to pay state visit to Britain
AFP, London
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito will pay a state visit to Britain in the coming months, British officials announced on Tuesday, in the first state visit after the country leaves the European Union.
Britain is set to leave the bloc on January 31 after nearly 50 years and has begun to tilt its diplomatic and economic attention more towards the rest of the world.
Flood-hit Jakarta residents sue over deadly disaster
AFP, Jakarta
Jakarta’s governor has been hit with a lawsuit filed by residents of the sprawling city after torrential rain sparked floods and landslides that killed dozens and left thousands homeless, a lawyer said Tuesday.
More than 200 flood victims are seeking a total of 43 billion rupiah ($3 million) in compensation in the class action, which was filed Monday in Jakarta district court.
Huge sinkhole swallows bus, kills 6 in China
AFP, Beijing
An enormous sinkhole swallowed a bus and pedestrians in China, sparking an explosion, killing six people and leaving 10 more missing, state media said Tuesday.
Footage showed people at a bus stop running from the collapsing road, as the bus – jutting into the air – sank halfway into the ground. Several people disappeared into the sinkhole as it spread, including what appeared to be a child.
29 bodies unearthed from Mexican
mass grave
AFP, Guadalajara
The bodies of at least 29 people have been unearthed from a mass grave on a property outside Mexico’s western city of Guadalajara, local authorities said Monday.
The grim site was discovered in Jalisco – a state hard-hit by violence linked to organized crime, and the same area where authorities have found a total of 80 bodies since November. The local prosecutor’s office said that four of the dead had been partially identified and corresponded with open missing persons investigations.
