TOKYO -- Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) leader Yoshihiko Noda on Sunday criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan, local media reported.
At a party meeting in Nagasaki Prefecture, Noda, a former prime minister, said Takaichi "went too far" and relations between Japan and China have reached a very tense situation, Kyodo News reported.
"It seems she thinks she is popular with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party supporters. I think it is even more dangerous," Noda said. (Japan-PM-Criticism)
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QUITO -- At least 13 people were killed and more than 20 others injured on Sunday after an interprovincial bus overturned on a road in the Ecuadorian province of Bolivar, according to local media.
The accident occurred at 1 p.m. local time, when the bus covering the Simiatug-Ambato route plunged off the highway into a deep ravine, media outlet Expreso reported.
Rescue teams, firefighters, police and the military were deployed on the site to respond to the emergency with the support of ambulances, it said. (Ecuador-Road accident)
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JERUSALEM -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Sunday in a statement that it has opened fire at two UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, citing misclassification "due to poor weather conditions."
After identifying "two suspects" in the Al-Hamames area, Israeli troops fired warning shots and forced them to withdraw, but after a later review of the incident, the two were found out to be UN peacekeepers patrolling in the area, it said.
"The IDF emphasizes that no deliberate fire was directed toward UNIFIL soldiers, and the matter is being handled through official liaison channels," it said, adding that it will continue operations to "remove any threat" to Israel. (Israel-Lebanon-UN Peacekeepers)
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OTTAWA -- Canada's Burnaby city has made an apology to Chinese Canadians over "historic discrimination" and repealed discriminatory bylaws that impacted them.
"I stand before you on behalf of the City of Burnaby to acknowledge and apologize for our historic discrimination against people of Chinese descent," Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley declared on Saturday.
"Today, we shine a light on the historic wrongs and systemic racism perpetuated by Burnaby's municipal government and elected officials between 1892 and 1947 and commit to ensuring that this dark period of our City's history is never repeated," he said. (Canada-Apology-Chinese)
