News Headlines - 27 April 2019
Two kitchen knives have been found at the school desk of Japan’s Prince Hisahito, grandson of Emperor Akihito, with security camera footage showing a suspicious man trespassing on the grounds, media reported on Saturday.
The incident came as authorities were strengthening security before the popular emperor’s abdication next week after a 30-year reign.
▽Japan emperor: The mysterious Imperial Treasures - BBC News
On 1 May, Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father abdicates, becoming the new emperor of Japan.
Both the abdication and accession will involve deeply symbolic Shinto ceremonies, and central to them will be three objects - a mirror, a sword and a gem - known as the Imperial Treasures or Regalia.
The origins and whereabouts of the mysterious objects are shrouded in secrecy, but myths about them are peppered throughout Japanese history and pop culture.
A new video promoting the German camera company Leica has caused an uproar on the Chinese internet, resulting in a ban on the video and its derivatives. Produced by Leica’s ad agency F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, a five-minute video was launched in Brazil on April 16 to celebrate 100 years of the brand.
The video, titled “The Hunt,” features a collage of photographers documenting violence and hardship in different parts of the world. It is book-ended with scenes from inside a Beijing hotel in 1989, where a photographer is harassed by Chinese military officers but then left alone. Gunfire can be heard in the background as the photographer walks to the window, and raises his camera. Reflected in the lens, we see the infamous image of military tanks moving through Tiananmen Square towards a single protester standing before them.
▽Possible Banksy emerges as Extinction Rebellion protests close - ITV News
The end of the 10 days of climate change protests by Extinction Rebellion activists has been marked by the daubing of what appears to be a Banksy mural.
The environmental artwork sprung up on a wall in Marble Arch around the time the demonstrators gathered nearby to celebrate the closing of their spell of disruption in central London.
While there is no confirmation the piece is by the famed artist, it does bear a similar stencilled style.
▽Competition regulator blocks Sainsbury's ￡7.3 billion takeover of Walmart's ASDA - Reuters
Britain’s competition regulator on Thursday blocked Sainsbury’s proposed ￡7.3 billion takeover of Walmart-owned Asda - a huge blow to the supermarket groups who wanted to combine to overtake market leader Tesco.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruling is also a major setback for Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe, the architect of the deal and the group’s boss since 2014. For Walmart, the deal was a way to exit Britain, one of the weakest performers in its global portfolio, as it moves to revamp its international operations.
