The
new law says that on abdication, the emperor's 57-year old son Naruhito
will immediately take the Chrysanthemum Throne, but that neither he nor
his successors would be allowed to abdicate under the same rule.
The government is yet to set a date for the abdication, but the bill
says it must take place within three years of the law coming into
effect.
The handover is widely expected take place in December 2018.
What does the emperor do? The
emperor has no political powers but several official duties, such as
greeting foreign dignitaries. Japan's monarchy is entwined in the Shinto
religion and the emperor still performs religious ceremonies.
What do the public think?
Most support the emperor's desire to abdicate - a survey by the Kyodo
news agency after Akihito suggested he wanted to step down found more
than 85% saying abdication should be legalised.
Are there more debates revision of the law of royal succession? A
discussion about whether or not a woman would be able to ascend the
throne was triggered in 2006 when the emperor had no grandsons, but was
postponed after a boy was born to the imperial family.
On Wednesday, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the epidemic in Yemen was "of an unprecedented scale".
In
the past four weeks, it added, the number of deaths had been three
times higher than that reported between October 2016 - when Yemen's
government first announced an outbreak - and March 2017.
The authorities in the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa, which has
recorded the highest number of cases, declared a state of emergency on
14 May.
More than half of the country's health facilities are no
longer functioning, with almost 300 having been damaged or destroyed in
the fighting.
Health and sanitation workers have not been paid for
eight months; only 30% of required medical supplies are being imported
into the country; rubbish collection in the cities is irregular; and
more than 8 million people lack access to safe drinking water and proper
sanitation.
The OCHA said the risk of the epidemic spreading
further was compounded by the rainy season, widespread food insecurity
and malnutrition.
Image copyrightEPA
The war has left 18.8 million of Yemen's 28 million people needing
humanitarian assistance and almost 7 million on the brink of famine.
Oxfam's Yemen country director, Sajjad Mohammed Sajid, meanwhile warned
that the outbreak was set to be one of the worst this century if there
was not a massive and immediate effort to bring it under control.
"Cholera
is simple to treat and prevent but while the fighting continues the
task is made doubly difficult. A massive aid effort is needed now," he
said.
"Those backers of this war in Western and Middle Eastern
capitals need to put pressure on parties to the fighting to agree a
ceasefire to allow public health and aid workers to get on with the
task."
A Saudi-led multinational coalition - backed by the US and
UK - launched a military campaign in support of President Abdrabbuh
Mansour Hadi in March 2015. Since then, at least 8,050 people have been
killed and 45,100 others injured.
A
total of 650 Westminster MPs will be elected, with about 45.8 million
people entitled to vote. A party needs 326 seats to have an overall
majority
Prime Minister Theresa May - who had a small majority in the previous
parliament - called the snap election to try to strengthen her hand in
negotiations with the European Union on Brexit.
But if the exit poll is borne out by results, analysts say the PM will have made a serious miscalculation.
The exit poll suggests the Conservatives will be 12 seats short of an overall majority.
It
suggests Labour will gain 34 seats, the Conservatives lose 17 seats,
the Lib Dems will gain six and the SNP lose 22 seats in Scotland.
The Green Party would be unchanged with one seat and Plaid Cymru still have three MPs in Wales, according to the poll.
In total, 30,450 people were interviewed as they exited from 144 polling stations across the UK.
Have Tories' hopes been dashed? Analysis by BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg
If
the exit poll numbers are correct, Theresa May played a high risk
political game and has lost it - she didn't have to call this election,
and only did so in order to give herself a mandate and breathing space
during the bumpy ride of Brexit.
Just a few weeks ago at the start
of all of this she seemed unassailable, but a shaky campaign and an
insurgent Labour Party may have dashed the Tories' hopes
This exit poll result is not what either of the parties were
predicting privately - this would be another political surprise - the
public again defying the expectations of both the main sides.
The
Conservatives do look set to be the largest party, it's not clear on
these numbers if they will be able to govern alone. Theresa May's
promise throughout was to offer her catchphrase "strong and stable
leadership" - instead she may end diminished - but only of course the
real results will determine through the course of the night what really
happens next.
The Conservatives could
still secure an overall majority if, as the exit poll suggests, they
perform relatively well in constituencies that Labour are defending
where a majority of the electorate voted Leave in last year's EU
referendum.
They would also need to do better in marginal seats they are defending.
If
neither of these patterns materialises, but the exit poll's estimate of
the overall levels of support for the parties is correct, then the
Conservatives could lose their overall majority.
In addition, there is some evidence from the exit poll that the Conservatives will perform relatively well in Wales.
If the exit poll is correct the SNP could suffer heavier losses than were widely anticipated in advance of polling day.
Indeed
this, together with clear evidence of a Conservative revival north of
the border, may yet provide the Tories with the extra seats that they
might need to secure an overall majority.
Why the election matters - it's all about Brexit
The election will largely determine the UK's negotiation policies in upcoming negotiations with the EU on Brexit.
Theresa
May was against Brexit before last year's referendum - but now says
there can be no turning back and that "Brexit means Brexit".
The reason the prime minister gave for calling the election was to strengthen her hand during the negotiations.
The
Conservatives' priorities were set out in a 12-point plan published in
January and the letter formally invoking Brexit in March.
The key elements include:
No longer being bound by EU law and European Court of Justice rulings
Quitting the EU single market and seeking a "comprehensive" free trade deal in its place
Striking trade deals with other countries around the world
The
Labour Party campaigned against Brexit in the referendum but now says
the result must be honoured, and is aiming for a "close new relationship
with the EU" with workers' rights protected.
The party has set out several demands and tests it says Brexit must meet. These include:
Aiming for "tariff-free access" to the EU single market, while accepting "unchanged access" is impossible
Leaving the option of the customs union on the table
When
the election exit poll was revealed, the pound immediately dropped by
2% as investors took a position that a hung parliament was a possible
outcome, writes BBC's Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed.
Image copyrightReuters
South Africa: 10,000 Knysna residents evacuated amid fire
Up to 10,000 people have been
evacuated from a scenic coastal town in South Africa that has been
devastated by wildfires, officials have said.
Military equipment was being deployed to douse more than 25 fires in Knysna, they added.
At
least eight people have been killed in the storms and fires that have
been raging in the town and other areas of the Western Cape region.
Strong winds from the worst winter storm in 30 years fuelled the fires.
At least 150 properties have been destroyed in Knysna, according to the fire service.
The town has a population of 77,000. It lies 500km (310 miles) east of Cape Town on South Africa's famed Garden Route.
"Humanitarian support is being co-ordinated for an estimated 8,000 to
10,000 residents of the Greater Knysna area, after devastating fires,"
said James-Brent Styan, spokesman for the Western Cape local government
ministry.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would
assist in a water-bombing operation to extinguish the fires, its
spokesman Simphiwe Dlamini said.
About 150 troops would also be deployed to make sure that criminals do not loot properties that have been vacated, he added.
In
May, the Western Cape province declared a drought disaster after two
reservoirs had completely dried up. It was said to have been the
region's worst drought in more than a century.
Several other
southern African nations were also affected by the two-year drought,
which was caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon.
BBC NEWS
However, many parts of the region are now experiencing bumper maize harvests.
Qatar vows 'no surrender' in row with Arab states
Qatar has vowed it will "not
surrender" its foreign policy in a row with other Arab states over its
alleged connections to extremism.
Foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed
bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said he favoured diplomacy to resolve the
escalating crisis and that there was no military solution, Reuters
reported.
Qatar rejects claims it is a leading supporter of Islamist extremism.
Meanwhile, Qatar's Al Jazeera network said it was suffering a cyber-attack.
"Al Jazeera Media Network under cyber-attack on all systems, websites and social media platforms," it tweeted. The network has been in the crosshairs in the current dispute, and other Gulf countries blocked it in late May.
On
its website, Al Jazeera said its services were all still working but
the attacks "are gaining intensity and taking various forms".
Meanwhile, Qatar's state-run TV station later said it was shutting down its website temporarily because of hacking attempts.
In other developments:
Egypt urged the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into claims that Qatar paid a ransom of up to $1bn (£770m) to secure the release of royal family members kidnapped while hunting in southern Iraq
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister flew
to Oman for talks but officials did not elaborate. Oman has so far not
been involved in the action against Qatar.
Saudi Arabia and other states cut travel and diplomatic links on
Monday. The emir of Kuwait is trying to mediate the row, carrying out
shuttle diplomacy between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
Qatar out of step: BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins
This
is a region largely of absolute monarchs - kings or emirs - who have in
common a very firm grip on politics at home to head off any dissent
that could represent a threat to their individual regime survival.
But
the emir of Qatar pursues a series of policies that simply don't fit
into the rigid orthodoxy expected by most of the others, notably Saudi
Arabia, the superpower of Sunni Islam.
His unconventional foreign
policy is seen as a threat to Sunni solidarity, particularly because the
emir and his ministers promote dialogue and a search for good relations
with the rival regional superpower, Shia Muslim Iran.
Saudi
Arabia is deeply hostile to that approach, and now feels empowered to
turn that hostility to action, in the certain knowledge that a new US
president, Donald Trump, is at Saudi King Salman's side.
Addressing reporters in Doha on Thursday, Sheikh
Mohammed said Qatar had been isolated "because we are successful and
progressive".
"We are a platform for peace not terrorism. This
dispute is threatening the stability of the entire region," he said,
adding: "We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to
surrender, the independence of our foreign policy."
He said Iran
had offered the use of three of its ports to ship food and water to
Qatar as supplies ran low, but he said the offer had not yet been
accepted.
Qatar is heavily dependent on food imports and the crisis has led to stockpiling and shortages.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar had never before experienced such hostility.
In
another development, Russia said Sheikh Mohammed would fly to Moscow
for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday.
They will discuss "urgent international" issues, Tass news agency reported, but there were no further details.
BBC
diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says Russia's intervention could
complicate existing efforts to defuse the situation.
Several
countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt cut diplomatic and
flight links with Qatar on Monday. Saudi Arabia also closed its land
border, a vital lifeline for supplies.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel
al-Jubeir has said Qatar needs to cut ties with Palestinian Islamist
group Hamas in the occupied territories, and the Muslim Brotherhood in
Egypt, if it wanted to end its isolation.
Meanwhile, Bahrain has joined the UAE in threatening jail terms for anyone voicing support for Qatar.
"Any
expression of sympathy with the government of Qatar or opposition to
the measures taken by the government of Bahrain, whether through social
media, Twitter or any other form of communication, is a criminal offence
punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine," a statement from
the interior ministry said.
Turkey, in an apparent act of support for Qatar, has approved a bill
allowing more troops to be based there. The Turkish president has also
offered to mediate.
Qatar is also home to the biggest American air base in the region.
US President Donald Trump urged Gulf unity in a call to Saudi Arabia's King Salman, US officials said on Wednesday.
However, he had earlier claimed credit for the pressure placed on Qatar saying his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off".
