Solomon Islands puts stop to naval visits
CANBERRA, Australia -- The Solomon Islands on Wednesday asked countries to not send naval vessels to the South Pacific nation until approval processes are overhauled, amid concerns over a new security pact between the Solomons and China.
The government made the request after the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry and the British navy patrol boat HMS Spey canceled planned port calls last week due to bureaucratic delays.
The United States and Britain are among countries concerned that a new security pact with Beijing could lead to a Chinese naval base being constructed less than 1,200 miles off Australia's northeast coast.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the Oliver Henry crew had failed to provide required information in time for his office to approve the visit. The Oliver Henry refueled at Papua New Guinea instead.
"The delay in these approvals demonstrate the need for the government to review and refine its approval requirements and procedures for visiting military vessels to Solomon Islands," Sogavare said in a statement.
Japanese party cuts ties with church
TOKYO -- Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday his ruling party will cut ties with the Unification Church, after a widening scandal triggered by former leader Shinzo Abe's assassination last month and apologized for causing the loss of public trust in politics.
Widespread cozy ties between members of Kishida's governing Liberal Democratic Party, many of them belonging to Abe's faction, and the South Korean-born church have surfaced since Abe was shot to death while giving a campaign speech in July.
The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagani, who was arrested at the scene, is alleged to have told police he killed Abe because of his apparent link to the church. In a letter seen by The Associated Press and social media posts believed to be his, Yamagani said he believed his mother's large donations to the church had ruined his life.
Some Japanese have expressed understanding, even sympathy, as details of the man's life emerged, creating deep implications for the political party that has governed Japan virtually uninterrupted since World War II.
While religious groups must abide by law, "politicians are strictly required to be careful about groups with social problems," Kishida said. Members of his Cabinet and other key posts have agreed to review their past links and to cut ties with the church.
"As president of the LDP, I honestly express my apology" for causing the public's doubts and concerns over the continuing revelations in media reports about the party's extensive ties to the church, Kishida said.
Palestinian detainee ends hunger strike
JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian detainee held without charge or trial by Israel said Wednesday that he will suspend his nearly six-month hunger strike after reaching an agreement that will see him released in October.
Lawyers and physicians have warned that Khalil Awawdeh, a 40-year-old father of four, was at risk of dying and already suffering neurological damage from the prolonged hunger strike. In recent pictures he resembles a human skeleton, his skin tightly stretched over a bony frame.
In a video circulated online Wednesday and apparently shot from his hospital bed, Awawdeh confirmed that an agreement had been reached for his release, calling it a "resounding victory" for the Palestinian people.
Awawdeh was protesting being held without charge or trial in what is known as administrative detention. Israel says the practice is needed to keep dangerous militants off the streets without revealing sensitive intelligence. The Palestinians and rights groups say it denies detainees the basic right of due process.
Israel is currently holding 743 administrative detainees, the highest number since 2008, according to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked, which tracks the number using official figures obtained through freedom of information requests.
American nun let go unhurt in W. Africa
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso -- An 83-year-old American nun kidnapped from her bed in Burkina Faso earlier this year has been released by her captors unharmed, Catholic church officials in the West African nation said Wednesday.
Sister Suellen Tennyson had been abducted by 10 gunmen without her blood pressure medication. The church statement about her release said she was still in good health after nearly five months in captivity.
"For the moment we have no information on the conditions of her release, but we express our profound gratitude to those who worked toward it," Kaya Bishop Theophile Nare said.
Gunmen kidnapped Tennyson from her home in Yalgo, about 62 miles northeast of Kaya, back in April. Tennyson has been a missionary in Burkina Faso since 2014 and previously worked in the New Orleans archdiocese for many years.
FILE - The USNS Mercy hospital ship enters the Port of Los Angeles, March 27, 2020. The Solomon Islands government on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, asked countries to not send naval vessels to the South Pacific nation until approval processes are overhauled. The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy is currently in Honiara. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
FILE - Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands attends a Lowy Institute event in Sydney, Monday Aug. 14, 2017. The Solomon Islands government on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, asked countries to not send naval vessels to the South Pacific nation until approval processes are overhauled. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
People protest Wednesday outside Diet against the state paying for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral in Tokyo. (AP/Eugene Hoshiko)