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page 35 JAPAN Thousands demand US military exit from Okinawa Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered on the Japanese island of Okinawa to protest against the heavy US military presence there. The protestors are angry after a former US Marine employed as a civilian worker was arrested over the rape and murder of a […]

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JAPAN

Thousands demand US military exit from Okinawa

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered on the Japanese island of Okinawa to protest against the heavy US military presence there.

The protestors are angry after a former US Marine employed as a civilian worker was arrested over the rape and murder of a local 20-year-old woman.

The case has intensified longstanding opposition to the military bases, spurring calls for US military personnel to be moved off the island.

There are 26,000 US troops on Okinawa.

They work and live on bases that cover a fifth of the island and are a key part of the US-Japan security alliance.

A 32-year-old US civilian working at the base was arrested last month in connection with the murder of Ms Shimabukuro.

The demonstrators called for the scrapping of plans by Washington and Tokyo to move a major US Marine facility in the centre of the island to a more remote area.

Okinawa’s Governor Takeshi Onaga, who attended the rally, is opposed to the plan and wants the base removed entirely.

UK

Rival EU campaigns restart as polls show momentum for ‘in’

The campaign to decide Britain’s membership of the European Union restarted on Sunday after a three-day hiatus following the killing of lawmaker Jo Cox, with Prime Minister David Cameron warning Britons they faced an “existential choice” on Thursday.

Campaigning activities ahead of the June 23 EU referendum resumed with two opinion polls showing the ‘Remain’ camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate.

With five days left until the ballot, the rival campaigns returned with a raft of interviews and articles in Sunday’s newspapers, covering the familiar immigration versus economy debate that has defined the campaign so far.

Cameron, who leads the campaign to stay in the EU, urged voters to consider the economic impact that leaving the 28-member bloc would have.

ALGERIA

Gov’t blocks social media to stop exam cheats

Algerian authorities have temporarily blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to try to stop cheats posting high school exam papers online, state media reported on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of high school students were retaking part of their baccalaureate exams after details were shared over social media.

“The cut in social media is directly related to the partial baccalaureate exams that are taking place on Sunday,” an official source told the APS state news agency.

“This is to protect students from the publication of false papers for these exams.”

Access to the internet through the 3G mobile network also appeared to be disrupted on Sunday.

IRAN

Iran reaches deal to buy 100 new Boeing planes

Iran has reached a deal to buy 100 planes from US plane producer Boeing, and the two sides are awaiting approval by US Treasury authorities, according to the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation.

“The final obstacle in this area are only the permits from the US Treasury Department,” Abedzadeh told the state-owned newspaper Iran in remarks published on Sunday, adding that there was no precise timeline for the written contract to be implemented before US Treasury permission.

He said the reported value of $17bn for the contract was not final and that more details would be provided after further negotiations.

“Out of 250 planes in the country, 230 need to be replaced,” Ali Abedzadeh added.

Boeing confirmed on Wednesday that it was in talks with Iranian airlines interested in buying its passenger planes.

“We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved by the [US government] about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplanes and services,” the company said

INDONESIA

Floods, landslides kill 35

Flash floods and landslides in central Indonesia have killed at least 35 people and destroyed dozens of homes, an official said Sunday, as searchers scoured devastated villages for survivors.

Dozens were also missing or injured following torrential rain and widespread flooding on the main island of Java, where thousands of homes have been swamped.

Areas prone to landslides across densely-populated Central Java province have been worst hit, with drivers swept off roads and dozens of homes completely destroyed by fast-moving walls of mud, rock and water.

TV footage showed villagers sitting on rooftops to escape the rising water, their cars and homes submerged in brown water.

“The number of casualties from floods and landslides in Central Java is 35 people dead, 25 people missing and 14 injured,” said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

IRAQ

Falluja faces humanitarian disaster

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Falluja following a civilian exodus from the Iraqi city, aid workers warn.

Some 80,000 people have fled during a four-week government offensive to drive back so-called Islamic State fighters, says the UN.

A further 25,000 civilians are likely on the move, the organisation adds.

Aid workers are struggling to provide food, water and medicine to people who are sleeping in the open in hopelessly overcrowded camps outside the city.

“The overwhelming number of people that have come out of Fallujah has actually overwhelmed our ability to respond to the people in need,” said Nasr Muflahi from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

“We implore the Iraqi government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch,” he added.

Iraqi government forces have succeeded in retaking most of Falluja, but fighting continues in some parts of the city, which is just 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.

TURKEY

Border guards ‘shot Syrian children’ – monitors

Turkish border guards have shot dead at least eight Syrians, including four children, who were trying to cross into Turkey, activists say.

A further eight people were injured, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.

It happened at a border crossing north of the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour, which is controlled by jihadist groups.

The Turkish military insists guards fired only warning shots and that the Syrians dispersed.

Turkey says it is being unjustly accused, and is under immense pressure from the EU to stop Syrians trying to travel to Europe.

More than 2.7 million people who fled the war in Syria have taken refuge in Turkey.

Turkey closed its borders to Syrians several months ago.

A senior Turkish official was quoted as saying: “We are unable to independently verify the claims” regarding the shooting, but said authorities were investigating.

ITALY

Rome poised to elect first female mayor

Rome is set to elect its first female mayor in a run-off vote in municipal elections.

Virginia Raggi, from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, is seen as the favourite against Roberto Giachetti of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

Her victory would be a blow to Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

His PD party may also lose in Italy’s financial capital, Milan, and faces tough battles in Turin and Bologna.

Ms Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer, won 35% of the vote in the first round two weeks ago, against 24% for Mr Giachetti.

Correspondents say a victory in Rome would give anti-globalist Five Star a platform for parliamentary elections due in 2018.

RUSSIA

Children die after storm catches boating group

At least 11 children and an adult died when a storm caught a boating party on Lake Syamozero in northern Russia’s Karelia region.

Ten children on holiday from Moscow were killed, according to the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, quoting preliminary information.

According to an unconfirmed report, 36 members of the group of 50 or so survived and searches are continuing.

An instructor with the party was arrested as an inquiry began.

Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency quoted a source with rescue services as saying 25 survivors were on an island in the lake, and a further 11 were in a local village.

PAKISTAN

Pregnant woman, husband gunned down in honour killing

A pregnant woman and her husband have been abducted and shot dead by relatives who disapproved of their marriage, police said Sunday, the latest in a surge of reported “honour killings” in Pakistan.

The couple were murdered near the village of Thikriwala in Punjab province last Wednesday, senior local police official Malik Waris told AFP. The bodies were discovered after they washed up in a canal.

Waris said Aqsa Bibi, aged 22, and Shakeel Ahmed, 26, both worked at a local pharmacy and had got married in a court ceremony four years earlier. Their match enraged Aqsa’s family, who lived in a nearby village.