News Headlines - 23 May 2021

▽Japan's Juvenile Law Amended for Tougher Penalties - JIJI PRESS

The revised juvenile law will come into force on April 1, 2022, together with the revised Civil Code, which will lower the age of adulthood in Japan from 20 to 18.
Criminal cases involving people aged 18 and 19 will continue to be covered under the revised juvenile law, under which people aged 18 and 19 will be regarded as specified juveniles.
The current framework of the juvenile law, which calls for sending all juvenile suspects to family courts, will be maintained in order to investigate circumstances behind their offenses, such as troubled family backgrounds.

▽China ultramarathon: Severe weather kills 21 runners - BBC News

Twenty-one runners have died after extreme weather struck a long-distance race in northern China.
High winds and freezing rain hit participants in the 100km (60-mile) ultramarathon in the Yellow River Stone Forest, a tourist site in Gansu province, on Saturday.
The race was halted when some of the 172 runners went missing, and a rescue operation was launched.

▽Beijing rebuffs Pentagon requests for high-level military talks | Financial Times

Beijing has rebuffed the Pentagon’s requests for talks between China’s top officer and the new US defence secretary, complicating bilateral relations at a time of heightened tensions between the world’s two most powerful militaries.
Lloyd Austin, US defence secretary, has made three requests to speak to General Xu Qiliang, vice-chair of the Central Military Commission and a politburo member who is China’s most senior military officer. But China has refused to engage, according to three people briefed on the impasse... In addition to the stand-off over Austin’s request, General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has not talked to his counterpart since early January before Joe Biden was sworn in, according to a second official.

▽U.S. sanctions Nord Stream pipeline companies; waives German entity, CEO - UPI.com

The Biden administration on Wednesday sanctioned Russian companies and vessels participating in the construction of a Russia-to-Germany pipeline while exempting a German company and its chief executive from the punitive measures.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the sanctions in a statement Wednesday, stating the department submitted a report to Congress designating several ships, five entities and one person to be sanctioned for their involvement in construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a Baltic Sea pipeline that aims to meet Europe's energy needs by taping into Russia's mass gas reserves.
Of those named in the report, Blinken said he has determined "it is in the national interests of the United States" to waive sanctions for Nord Stream 2 AG, its CEO Matthias Warnig and the company's corporate officers.

▽Lady Gaga says she was 'psychotic' after being raped and left pregnant at 19 - CNN

Pop superstar Lady Gaga has spoken out about the lasting pain and trauma of being sexually assaulted as a teenager, revealing she suffered a "total psychotic break" years after being left pregnant by her alleged rapist.
The Grammy award-winning singer -- real name Stefani Germanotta -- recalled her harrowing experience in an emotional appearance on the premiere episode of "The Me You Can't See," a new docuseries co-created by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey that aims to tackle the stigma around mental health.
Gaga spoke through tears as she recounted the moment an unnamed producer demanded she take her clothes off before threatening to burn her music.