BEIJING: China opened an exhibition of guns and photos of massacres to commemorate the World War II victory over Japan, part of a propaganda push to stir up nationalism by observing the 70th anniversary of the war’s end in Asia with great fanfare. Soldiers and children stood in silence outside the museum in suburban Beijing at Tuesday’s opening ceremony for the “Great Victory and Historical Contribution” exhibition on the 78th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and President Xi Jinping visited later in the day. A clash at the Marco Polo Bridge in 1937 is regarded as the first battle of the second Sino-Japanese war, which lasted until Japan’s defeat by the Allies in 1945. Relations between the two Asian giants have long been affected by what Chinese see as Japan’s failure to sufficiently atone for the suffering it caused during the war. They have also worsened in recent years over competing claims to islands in the East China Sea. China has sought to underline what it maintains is Japan’s renewed militarism, while at the same time becoming more aggressive in pressing its own territorial claims.

Top judge held

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police on Tuesday made the first ever arrest of a Supreme Court judge who was detained in connection with an alleged sexual assault, an official said. Sarath de Abrew was arrested following investigations into a complaint that he tried to force a 39-year-old woman to have sex with him on the outskirts of Colombo and beat her up when she refused, a police official said. The judge, who is in his 60s, was taken before a magistrate who ordered his release on personal bail of half a million rupees ($3,800), police said. “The magistrate also ordered the judge to cooperate with the Criminal Investigations Department (of the police) and make a statement,” a police official said. “He had previously refused to make a statement to the police.”

SC nominee rejected

KABUL: The first-ever female nominee for the supreme court in Afghanistan has failed to garner enough votes of approval from the parliament. Anisa Rasoli received 88 votes on Wednesday, nine short of the 97 needed for her nomination to pass. Zahir Qadir, the deputy parliament speaker who was chairing the session, asked President Ashraf Ghani to bring forth another nominee. During the same session, Mohammad Yasuf Halim was approved for the supreme court and Khalilullah Sediq was approved as the governor of the central bank.