Japan raises the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s parliament on Friday raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, a limit which had remained unchanged for more than a century and was among the world’s lowest, amid calls for greater protection of children and women. The revision was part of a revamping of laws related to sex crimes. Separately, Parliament passed a new law on Friday to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ issues which activists criticized for not guaranteeing equal rights for sexual minorities. Reforms providing greater protection for victims of sexual crimes and stricter punishment of assailants have come slowly in a country where the legislative and judicial branches have long been dominated by men.

Mass of rock slides down Swiss mountainside above evacuated village

BERLIN (AP) — A huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside above a Swiss village that was evacuated last month, stopping just short of the settlement, which remained unscathed, relieved local officials said Friday. Some 67 million cubic feet of rock had been deemed at risk of breaking away — and potentially of destroying the village of Brienz, in the southeastern Graubuenden region of Switzerland. Brienz was evacuated on May 12 after geologists warned that the Alpine rock looming over the village could break loose.

German archeologists find Bronze Age sword so well-preserved it ‘almost shines’

BERLIN (AP) — A bronze sword made more than 3,000 years ago that is so well-preserved it “almost still shines” has been unearthed in Germany, officials say. Bavaria’s state office for the preservation of historical monuments says the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century B.C. — the middle of the Bronze Age — was found during excavations last week in Noerdlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany. It has a bronze octagonal hilt and comes from a grave in which three people — a man, a woman and a boy — were buried in quick succession with bronze objects, the Bavarian office said in a statement this week.

Cyclone Biparjoy weakens as it churns toward Pakistan

MANDVI, India (AP) — Cyclone Biparjoy knocked out power and threw shipping containers into the sea in western India on Friday before weakening as it headed toward Pakistan, officials said. More than 180,000 people took shelter in the two countries, but some of Pakistan’s evacuees prepared to return home as the storm weakened. Indian officials said electricity had been restored in some villages, while many others were still without power. The storm’s toll was felt especially where it made landfall in India. A man and his son died when they tried to save their livestock in Gujarat state.