World News 24/7/30

Islamic State's media network on Monday published a threatening video message purporting to come from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in what would be his first appearance since declaring the jihadists' now-defunct "caliphate" five years ago. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GIYSw1

The Sri Lankan government has lifted a ban on social media platforms intended to stop the spread of rumors after the Easter Sunday bombings, a source from the president's office said on Tuesday. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2ZTsQq6

A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian national to death on Tuesday for producing and trafficking methamphetamine, amid heightened tension between Beijing and Ottawa over the arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GTOa7i

Japan's Emperor Akihito prayed to a Shinto sun goddess on Tuesday, starting a day of ceremonies to mark the end of a three-decade reign in which he sought to ease painful memories of World War Two and bring the monarchy closer to people. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2IPFpNA

Japanese expressed warmth and gratitude toward Emperor Akihito ahead of his abdication on Tuesday, but judged his three-decade Heisei era as a period of difficulty and transition for Japan after the economic boom and confidence of the 1980s. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2XT2dj3

The children ran along the narrow enclosure, screaming, fighting and crying for the attention of the prison worker distributing sweets and balloons. Bug-bitten toddlers, too small to walk, clung to the sides of the chain link fence, staring blankly. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2J5zkw7

Erik Prince - the founder of the controversial private security firm Blackwater and a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump - has been pushing a plan to deploy a private army to help topple Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicholas Maduro, four sources with knowledge of the effort told Reuters. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2XUfRCE

President Xi Jinping appealed to China's youth on Tuesday to love the country and dedicate themselves to the Communist Party, warning on the centenary of student-led protests there was no place for those who ignored the country's needs. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2PBjOsY

Japan's Emperor Akihito will step down in favor of his elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on Tuesday, ending the 31-year Heisei era during which he sought to bring the monarchy closer to people. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2V39jVt

Anti-riot police fired tear gas and protesters threw Molotov cocktails during a mass demonstration in the Honduran capital against government proposals for health and education reforms that critics say would lead to privatization and job losses. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2J3g7ed

A multinational anti-narcotics operation led by Colombia has seized up to 94.2 tonnes of cocaine in the past 105 days worth some $3.2 billion, President Ivan Duque said on Monday from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2DEvyGt

Peru deported more than 40 Venezuelan migrants for concealing they had criminal records or for residing illegally in the country, the interior minister said on Monday, in the first large expulsion since hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fled to Peru to escape their country's economic crisis. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Wdb52P

Sri Lankan security officials have warned that Islamist militants behind Easter Sunday's suicide bombings are planning attacks and could be dressed in uniform, as the archbishop of Colombo complained about insufficient security around churches. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2V0QMc4