World briefs

JAPAN’s Emperor Akihito marked his 84th birthday with a pledge to fulfill his duties until the day of his abdication in 2019, and to prepare for “passing the torch to the next era.”

PHILIPPINES A powerful storm that left more than 160 people dead in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression yesterday and failed to make landfall in Vietnam.

PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan appealed to Taliban militants to join peace talks following a meeting yesterday organized by China to mend strained relations between the two governments.

SYRIA Rebel fighters and opposition groups have blasted Russia’s role in Syria, strongly rejecting its proposed peace talks expected next month. In a series of statements yesterday, 40 rebel groups, including some of Syria’s most prominent, as well as political opposition umbrella groups, said Moscow’s proposed talks are an attempt to “circumvent” the United Nations-led process.

RUSSIA Officials should review opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s  calls for an election boycott to see if they might be breaking the law, the Kremlin said yesterday, hinting at possible legal repercussions.

SERBIA has extradited a Kurdish political activist who sought asylum in Serbia after fleeing Turkey where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, a lawyer said yesterday.

GERMANY Police in Berlin say a man crashed a car into the entrance area of the country’s Social Democratic Party at midnight on Christmas Eve.

FRANCE Critics contend that President Emmanuel Macron’s increasingly tough policy on migrants — though wrapped in a cloak of goodwill — contradicts his image as a humanist who defeated an anti-immigrant populist for the presidency. His government is ramping up expulsions, raising pressure on economic migrants and allowing divisive ID checks in emergency shelters.

PERU Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets on Monday to protest the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori, with many calling it part of a backroom deal struck to protect the current president from impeachment on corruption charges.

GUATEMALA’s president announced on Christmas Eve that the Central American country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the first nation to follow the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump in ordering the change.