News in Brief- (30-10-2018)

Princess gives up royal status to marry commoner

TOKYO, Oct 29: Princess Ayako married commoner Kei Moriya on Monday at a traditional ceremony at Tokyo's Meiji Shrine, to become the latest female royal to leave Japan's imperial family. The 28-year-old princess, the third daughter of Emperor Akihito's late cousin Prince Takamado, tied the knot with Kei Moriya, a 32-year-old employee of shipping company Nippon Yusen. The princess wore a many-layered court kimono and molded hairdo typical of the imperial aristocracy, while the groom wore a black tuxedo with grey trousers for the ceremony at the shrine dedicated to the spirit of her great-grandfather, Emperor Meiji. — Reuters

S Korean sisters call for their father's execution

SEOUL, Oct 29: Nearly 150,000 South Koreans have backed a demand by three sisters to have their father executed for the brutal killing of their mother, in a case highlighting the country's lax punishment of domestic violence. The trio's mother was stabbed to death by her ex-husband in the car park of her apartment complex last week after years of physical abuse. "Our father is a heinous criminal who must forever be isolated from society," the daughters said in a petition filed on the website of the presidential Blue House. — AFP

Quake hits southern tip of S America

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 29: The US Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 has struck off the southern tip of South America. The quake, which hit at 2:54 a.m. local time on Monday, was centered in the ocean, 312.9 kilometers (194 miles) south southeast of Ushuaia, Argentina, and 552 kilometers (342 miles) south southeast of Punta Arenas, Chile. — AP