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Japanese emperor in the Philippines gets a mixed reception

Japanese emperor in the Philippines gets a mixed reception

0 Comment Eurasia, World , , , , ,

17 Photos

Emperor Akihito is making the first visit by a Japanese emperor since World War II to the Philippines, which suffered under Japan’s harsh military occupation during the war but now relies on Tokyo as an ally, trading partner and source of aid and investment.

Akihito was apprehensive when he first visited the Philippines as crown prince in 1962, fearing anti-Japanese feelings were still strong, but his anxiety vanished in the smiles of the Philippine president and Filipinos who welcomed him, according to the emperor’s press secretary, Hatsuhisa Takashima.

A selection of Filipinos’ views on Akihito’s visit:

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“I think if the Japanese are offering an apology for what they did, it is better to be friends because we can no longer bring back the past. I am happy about what the emperor said because they have accepted their mistake, but maybe they should help the remaining victims of the war to ease their pain.” — Joel Abedo, 51, security guard.

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Scenes of a slow progression toward prison closure at Guantanamo

Scenes of a slow progression toward prison closure at Guantanamo

0 Comment Americas, World , ,

12 Photos

General contests claim that Pentagon delayed transfers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. general overseeing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center says claims that the Pentagon has delayed the release of detainees are nonsense. But he acknowledged concerns that some detainees have returned to the battlefield.

Marine Gen. John Kelly, head of U.S. Southern Command, says there has been an increase in the number of officials from foreign countries visiting Guantanamo to finalize decisions to transfer a detainee to their nation.

The Defense Department has long been criticized over the slow pace of transfers.

He dismissed suggestions that the expected transfer of 17 detainees this month adds credence to the argument that approvals have previously been slow.

Here is a non-comprehensive, reverse-chronological gallery of Guantanamo images, from current protests back to the early days.

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British mine Kellingley Colliery ceases operations

British mine Kellingley Colliery ceases operations

0 Comment World , ,

20 Photos

Once, coal fueled the British Empire, employed armies of men and shook the power of governments.

On Friday, workers at Britain’s last operating deep coal mine finish their final shift. The last haul of coal from the pit is destined for a museum, as a once-mighty industry fades into history.

Defiant to the end, miners at Kellingley Colliery in northern England sang a hit by Tom Jones — the son of a coal miner — as they headed underground for their final shift.

“This is what makes us very special, the mining community,” said Nigel Kemp, who worked at the mine for more than 30 years. “The men have gone down today singing ‘My, my, my, Delilah.’ Every single man on the cage, you could hear them 400 feet down singing. And I do believe they’re going to come out singing as well.”

At its peak in the 1920s, Britain’s mining industry employed more than 1 million people, as coal drove trains, fueled factories and heated homes. After World War II, the country had 750,000 underground miners at almost 1,000 coal pits. But the industry’s days were already numbered.

With gas and nuclear power on the rise, hundreds of coal mines had closed by 1984, when a showdown between the government and miners fixed the industry’s central — and contested — place in Britain’s national mythology.

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Preparing for Christmas in a Brazilian prison

Preparing for Christmas in a Brazilian prison

0 Comment World , ,

16 Photos

By JENNY BARCHFIELD | Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In her sweat-stained Santa suit and soggy cotton-ball beard, Carina Barbosa looked every inch the picture of tropical Christmas cheer — at least until she leaned into the candy cane striped bars of her cell and peered wistfully out.

Barbosa, a 29-year-old who’s serving time for drug trafficking, was one of more than 500 inmates ringing in the holidays Thursday at Rio de Janeiro’s Nelson Hungria prison with religious plays and a cell-decorating contest.

The inmates, who are serving time for offenses from burglary to homicide, spent weeks decking out the cell blocks with holiday decorations they made from objects they have access to behind bars.

Christmas trees were made from strips of green plastic from soda bottles, the presents below out of empty milk cartons swathed in tissue paper. Wreathes were fashioned out of the aluminum plates that prison-issue meals are served on, and the floors were sprinkled with a light snowfall of ground-up Styrofoam. Tropical heat-resistant snowmen were made from white plastic cups, and family members supplied Santa suits and store-bought ornaments.

Each cell of 50 women or more also put on a skit dramatizing biblical stories, with many depictions of Jesus’ life, as well as David and Goliath, giving the prison’s would-be thespians their chance to shine. Voices soared in rapture with the religious songs, and many, many tears were shed.

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Scenes from the COP21 Paris climate talks

Scenes from the COP21 Paris climate talks

0 Comment World , , ,

26 Photos

As Paris climate talks at COP21 near their midpoint, there’s no lack of spectacle. From a campaign of fake ads to a Jurassic Park spoof, groups with all sorts of stakes in the issues of emissions, warming and climate have found unique ways to speak out.

The activists’ messages have been expressed even as the city has remained heavily locked down following November’s mass shootings. While there are signs that the city is attempting to return to normal — with at least one shooting site reopened for business as of Friday, according to multiple media sources — a heavily armored police presence continues in the city as the conference approaches week two.

That lockdown, combined with existing tensions and an outright ban on demonstrations in many areas had led to the mass-arrest of hundreds earlier this week. Nonetheless, many protest groups either ignored the ban or found creative ways around it during week one of the conference, with activists using remote-site protests, absurdist techniques or artwork to get their points across.

Leaders and climate negotiators from 196 countries meeting at the U.N. talks Nov. 30-Dec. 11 will try to hash out the broadest, most lasting deal to date to slow global warming.

Here are several of the most striking images from the conference so far.

–Sun staff and wire reports

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Gunmen seize hostages in Mali hotel attack

Gunmen seize hostages in Mali hotel attack

0 Comment World , , ,

10 Photos

Six Americans were among dozens of hostages freed from a luxury hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, after gunmen attacked the building early Friday. The attack on the Belgian-owned Radisson-Blu Hotel left at least three dead according to Malian authorities, with conflicting reports on how many people were still trapped in the hotel and whether there were Americans among them.

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