an 88-year-old man acquitted after almost fifty years on death row

Today’s news: The US and France call for a 21-day truce in Lebanon after the UN Security Council. New loan from the International Monetary Fund to Pakistan worth $7 billion. The Vatican Library will exhibit its works in an exhibition installed in the Saudi airport terminal where pilgrims disembark on their way to Mecca. In Kazakhstan new fences at the presidential palace to make demonstrations impossible.

JAPAN

a japanese court has acquitted to Iwao Hakamata, an 88-year-old former professional boxer, decades after he was sentenced to death for a quadruple murder case in 1966. Hakamat spent almost half a century behind bars before new evidence freed him from prison in 2014. His case represents the fifth time in post-war Japan that retrials have ended in acquittal after a death sentence. It took more than nine years to reopen the case after the Shizuoka District Court granted him a new trial in 2014. The retrial focused on the reliability of the main piece of evidence – five items of clothing he was allegedly wearing during the incident. -: The Tokyo High Court had ruled in March last year that there was a strong possibility that they had been planted by investigators. Commenting on the news, the archbishop of Tokyo, Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, renewed the call of Japan’s Catholic Church to abolish the death penalty in the country.

LEBANON-ISRAEL

The United States, France and nine allies, including the European Union, Italy, Japan and Saudi Arabia, called for an immediate ceasefire of 21 days between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, also expressing support for a truce in Gaza. The request appears in a joint statement by the countries made public by the White House after the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Lebanon held yesterday. Meanwhile, Israeli incursions in the area continued, which according to Lebanese health sources have caused the death of at least another 72 people.

VIETNAM-UNITED STATES

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly being held in New York, the Vietnamese President To Lam – who is now also secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party – met with US President Joe Biden. A senior US official said the two discussed ways to accelerate the strategic partnership agreed to last year. According to the Vietnamese news agency, To Lam told Biden that his country “will continue to firmly implement its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism and diversification.” In New York, the Vietnamese president also met with representatives of large American companies, including Meta.

PAKISTAN

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new loan of 7 billion dollars for Pakistan, which cannot escape its economic crisis. The country will receive the first billion dollars immediately, while the rest will be disbursed over the next three years. Pakistan has taken out more than 20 loans from the IMF since 1958 and is currently the financial institution’s fifth-largest debtor.

VATICAN-SAUDI ARABIA

The Vatican Apostolic Library has announced that, from January 25 to May 24, 2025, several works from its collections will be exhibited in the AlMadar section of the Islamic Art Biennial to be held at the Hajj terminal at Jeddah airport, where millions pass through each year. of travelers bound for Mecca. The exhibition will offer a multifaceted representation of the art of numbers in all its aspects, from its origins in nature to its infinite applications in Islamic culture, mathematical advances, terrestrial and celestial cartography, navigation and commerce, rituals and the spiritual life.

RUSSIA-Türkiye

Turkey, the world’s third largest buyer of Russian oil, has drastically reduced its imports mainly due to renovation works at the Star oil industry near Izmir, which processes 45% of imported oil. It has fallen to less than 200,000 barrels a day, compared to 400-450 three months ago. Only in two months – at the end of the works – will it be seen if the oil trade recovers the previous measures.

KAZAKHSTAN

A new fence has been placed on the territory surrounding the Akorda, the presidential palace of Astana in Kazakhstan, and now if the gates are closed it is impossible to approach or even walk along the picturesque Esil River promenade, making the entire center inaccessible. administrative of the capital to avoid any possible demonstration in the surrounding areas.