News Headlines - 14 December 2020
▽Hezbollah man convicted in 2005 Hariri bombing sentenced to five life terms in prison | Reuters
The U.N.-backed Lebanon Tribunal on Friday sentenced a Hezbollah member convicted of conspiring to kill former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in a 2005 bombing to five terms of life imprisonment.
Salim Jamil Ayyash was found guilty in August of homicide and committing a terrorist act over the deaths of Hariri and 21 others in the attack on Beirut’s waterfront.
The trial was conducted in absentia and Ayyash remains at large. Three alleged accomplices were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
▽South Korea’s intelligence agency loses power to investigate North Korea ties | NK News
South Korean lawmakers passed a bill to stop the country’s spy agency from investigating domestic activities related to North Korea on Sunday, instead transferring that power to the national police. The new law means that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) will no longer be able to conduct anti-communist investigations as of 2024. In the past, these investigations included those that looked into people’s alleged and illegal ties to North Korea.
Approval ratings for the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga dropped 17 percentage points from a previous poll conducted on Nov. 7 to 40%, in a nationwide public opinion survey carried out by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Social Survey Research Center on Dec. 12.
The percentage of people who said they disapproved of the administration rose from the previous 36% to 49%, marking the first time that the ratio of those who do not support the administration surpassed support since its launch in September. At its start, 64% of those surveyed said they approved of the administration, while 27% said they disapproved.
▽Sumo: Mongolian-born yokozuna Kakuryu takes Japanese citizenship - The Mainichi
Mongolian-born sumo grand champion Kakuryu, winner of six top division titles, expressed relief Thursday after receiving confirmation he had acquired Japanese citizenship.
By meeting the requirement to remain in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder after retirement, the 35-year-old will now be able to run his own stable of wrestlers after his active career has ended... Kakuryu is the fourth foreign-born yokozuna to obtain Japanese citizenship, after retired U.S.-born wrestlers Akebono and Musashimaru, and Mongolian-born Hakuho, still an active competitor who became a Japanese citizen last year.
▽Japanese rugby star Goromaru to retire | NHK WORLD
Japanese rugby star Goromaru Ayumu is set to retire after the coming season.
His club Yamaha Jubilo said on Wednesday 34-year-old Goromaru will retire after the end of the Top League season that will start on January 16.
As a member of the national team, Goromaru contributed to Japan's historic victory over powerhouse South Africa in the 2015 World Cup in England. He was chosen among 15 of the best players.
