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jp0002357
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/14
|
New York inaugurates $25 billion mini-city, Hudson Yards
|
NEW YORK - A towering sculpture called Vessel — made up of 2,500 twisting steps the public can climb — was to open Friday as the visual centerpiece of Hudson Yards, a $25 billion urban complex on Manhattan’s West Side that is the city’s most ambitious development since the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. When fully complete, the 28-acre (11-hectare) site will include 16 towers of homes and offices, a hotel, a school, the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere, a performing arts center and a shopping mall, which also opened Friday. About half the complex is complete, with the rest scheduled to be done by 2025. The opening of the $200 million Vessel and the landscape around it will likely bring a wave of tourists to a rebuilt corner of the city that previously held a huge rail yard, parking lots and weedy sidewalks where prostitutes cruised. The 3,200-ton structure was assembled from steel-and-concrete pieces manufactured in Monfalcone, Italy. Accommodating 600 visitors at a time, it is 150 feet (46 meters) tall and rises from a narrow point at its base to a width of 150 feet at its peak. “We needed to have a centerpiece, we needed to have an attraction, a destination — something where you would say, ‘I’ll meet you at,'” said Jay Cross, president of Related Hudson Yards, which partnered with the Oxford Properties Group to develop the site. “And we thought monumental art is the way to go.” The concept was to make something “participatory,” he said of the sculpture, created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick. “The idea was that everybody would just come in and climb it, be able to propose marriage up here, or run up and down — do whatever they want.” Admission is free but people can get timed tickets in advance to avoid a line to enter. The developers, including Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, have billed their project as the most expensive private development in U.S. history. High-power tenants planning to move into Hudson Yards office space include CNN, the luxury goods maker Coach, WarnerMedia and the BlackRock money manager. About 60 percent of nearly 300 luxury apartments on the market have been sold, with hundreds more coming up. The observation deck will open later this year on the 100th story of one of the city’s tallest buildings. The wedge-shaped deck will be 100 feet (30 meters) above the one on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, with a bird’s-eye view of the New York skyline and the Atlantic Ocean. The arts center, a 200,000-square-foot (18,580-square-meter) building called The Shed, is scheduled to open April 5. It includes an outer shell that can deploy over an adjacent public plaza on huge wheels to expand the size of the performance space. Also opening Friday is a seven-story mall called the Shops at Hudson Yards, with more than 100 stores offering brands such as Cartier, Stuart Weitzman, Manhattan’s first Neiman Marcus and chains like H&M and Zara. There will also be a slew of dining choices, including a Shake Shack, Neiman Marcus’ signature Zodiac restaurant and celebrity chefs’ restaurants. Hudson Yards is part of a stretch of construction along the Hudson River from Columbus Circle to the World Trade Center that is gradually nudging New York’s power-and-money epicenter west from midtown Manhattan. Hudson Yards is aimed mostly at residents with deep pockets — one-bedroom apartments are renting for more than $5,000 a month, about $2,000 more than the average Manhattan one-bedroom apartment. A two-story penthouse is selling for $32 million. And although 10 percent of the residential space has been reserved for affordable housing, that applies to people whose annual income is still above poverty level. It took decades for this real estate saga to take shape. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg had wanted the West Side rail yards to become the site of a domed stadium that could host the 2012 Olympics and later be a home for the NFL’s Jets, but political and logistical hurdles ultimately killed those plans in favor of a mixed-use, commercial and residential neighborhood. The developers broke ground on the project in 2012, building over the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road that connect with Penn Station, the city’s busiest transportation hub. In an impressive engineering feat, massive columns support a platform surrounding the buildings and covering the tracks. To lure investors, Hudson Yards is getting a government tax break plus other assistance running into billions of dollars that also financed the extension of a subway line. In return, government officials hope the more than 50,000 estimated jobs created at Hudson Yards will justify the financial support.
|
sculpture;development
|
jp0002358
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Syria's ancient Aleppo market poised to regain its bustle in wake of years of war
|
ALEPPO, SYRIA - On the domed roof of a historical market in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, architect Bassel al-Daher moves between laborers painstakingly working to erase the scars of war. Men wearing vests and helmets repair parts of the roof still bearing visible traces of the four-year-long battle for the former rebel stronghold. They cover its charred surface with a fresh coat of white paint as part of a wider effort to rehabilitate the Saqatiya souk — an Arabic word for market. Located in the old quarters of Syria’s second city, the market dates back to the Ottoman period. “I feel like I’m redrawing history by restoring this souk,” said Daher, 42, one of six architects overseeing its revival as the country’s conflict marks its eighth year. “For me, it’s the project of a lifetime.” The Saqatiya souk covers an area of more than 1,500 square meters (16,000 square feet) and used to house more than 50 shops before Syria’s conflict landed in Aleppo in 2012. It is located near other landmarks of Aleppo’s Old City, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site that served as a frontline during clashes that ended in 2016. Russia-backed regime forces that year retook control of the eastern side of the city, much of which remains in ruins. The celebrated citadel, a jewel of medieval architecture whose surrounding wall was damaged by a blast in July 2015, is visible from the market’s roof. The Umayyad mosque, an ancient site that dates back to the 11th century, is within walking distance. Clashes in April 2013 reduced the mosque’s minaret to an unrecognizable pile of blocks. ‘Bring merchants back’ UNESCO estimates that as much as 60 percent of the Old City was severely damaged. Saqatiya market fared better than most, with 30 percent battered during the fighting, Daher said. It shows signs of major damage but no sign of collapse, Syria’s antiquities authority said in a report last month. Restoration work began on Nov. 1 after Syrian authorities signed a partnership agreement with the Aga Khan Foundation in Syria. Renovations are expected to be completed in July, according to Daher. Workers are focusing on erasing all “signs of war” from the market and correct old construction violations. “The broader aim is to bring merchants back to their shops,” he says. Saqatiya market is one of around 37 souks surrounding the Aleppo citadel, the oldest of their kind in the world. They stretch from the western part of the Old City to the gates of the citadel in the east, covering an area of around 160,000 square meters. For centuries, they were the commercial heart of the ancient city and served as a key trading hub between the East and the West, said Alaa al-Sayyed, a historian and specialist on the Old City. The expert, who is also overseeing the restoration, says “they are more than 2,000 years old.” “They are the longest and oldest covered markets in the world,” he said. They consist of dozens of shops, schools, mosques and bathhouses. ‘Charred and damaged’ In their long history, this is not the first time the markets have had to be restored. Over two millennia, they have weathered numerous earthquakes and conquests, but “every time they were rebuilt,” Sayyed said. Diyaa al-Issa, 38, wears a white helmet and uniform as he works on renovating a massive gate in the market. He is one of around 60 men involved in restoration work. Before the conflict, Issa used to work in renovation and maintenance of the city’s ancient heritage. “Renovations today are nothing like those we used to carry out in the past,” he said. “We used to restore stones affected by moisture, wind and time. But today we are treating stones that have been charred and damaged by shrapnel, and we are rebuilding some domes that have been completely destroyed.” Issa hopes the souk can be restored in a way that does not alter its historical character or dispense with too may of the original materials. His colleague, Mohammed Baqiya, 47, is looking forward to the market coming back to life. “The stone will be restored,” he said. But “what is most important is the return of shop owners and people who used to bring life to the souk.” “It does not matter how beautiful the souk will be,” he added. It will mean nothing “if it is empty of people.”
|
conflict;history;syria;architecture;aleppo
|
jp0002359
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/14
|
'Brain orgasms'? ASMR relaxation trend joins the pop culture mainstream
|
NEW YORK - Tapping fingernails that trigger goose bumps, whispers that send shivers down the spine: The brain-tingling world of ASMR has people clamoring for sounds that feel good. The auditory-sensory phenomenon, in which people experience waves of calm and pleasurable mental quivers that are often referred to as “brain orgasms,” is emerging from the depths of the web into the cultural mainstream as a means to relax. ASMR — autonomous sensory meridian response — has become a full-fledged internet sensation. YouTube creators notch millions of views for clips featuring stimuli — whispers, nails tapping, noodle slurping — to set off a prickle at the back of the neck. “It’s that moment where all the hair on your body stands up,” said Bianca Hammonds, who works on the ASMR channel for the U.S. music outlet Fuse. “You kind of feel your body vibrate,” she said. “It’s like this Zen moment.” A TV beer ad during the Super Bowl showcased ASMR, with actress Zoe Kravitz whispering, drumming her fingers against a bottle and pouring the beer to release a gentle fizz. But it is largely hip-hop’s taste-makers who have ushered it onto the scene, with rap stars making their own ASMR videos or even integrating its techniques into their songs. “I love ASMR,” Cardi B whispers during a clip she made with fashion magazine W. “My husband thinks it’s very strange and weird that I watch ASMR every single day to go to bed,” the rap queen continues in hushed tones, tapping and caressing the mic with her signature extra-long nail extensions. The subgenre’s velvety qualities have led some people to dub ASMR sexual. China began censoring it last year, saying web users were releasing porn under its veil. But experts have likened ASMR to massage or yoga, saying it is not inherently sexual, although it can be suggestive. Just 5 percent of participants reported using it for arousal in a 2015 British survey. More recently, a 2018 study from the University of Sheffield in England found that, unlike sex, ASMR actually reduces the heart rate. Predominately popular among teenagers and 20-somethings, ASMR’s online fan base began forming around 2010. “I always knew I liked people to whisper in my ear. I just didn’t know the term for it,” said Cedrick Williams, an ASMR video creator from Mobile, Alabama. “When I started doing it, no one really knew what it was,” said the 27-year-old, who started his ASMR YouTube channel in 2017 and says the side gig makes about $100 per month. “It’s blowing up — now everybody’s doing it,” according to Williams, who listens to ASMR to alleviate anxiety and insomnia. When making his own videos, he favors whispering rap songs: “With hip-hop you can have a very diverse sound with your voice, so if you can master whispering, in ASMR it works very well.” Craig Richard, an ASMR researcher at Virginia’s Shenandoah University, said the relationship also works in reverse, saying there is a “clear trend of integration of ASMR into hip-hop.” The British-born, Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage, whose immigration travails recently launched him into the global spotlight, has a song titled “asmr” and also introduced whispering onto a track with producer Metro Boomin, “Don’t Come Out The House.” Richard says the ASMR-rap marriage makes sense: “With hip-hop and rap there can be incorporation of spoken word, which allows the ability to whisper and still be within their musical genre.” Plus, he said, rappers aim to stay fresh: “They’re reflecting back to their younger fan base because they drive the trends.” Despite its growing association with the genre, rap is not the only style drawing inspiration from ASMR. The Canadian electronic music DJ deadmau5 sampled a whispering YouTube star for the song “Terrors In My Head.” For Hammonds, starting an ASMR series at music-focused Fuse was a “no brainer.” “We wanted to tap into a subculture,” she said of their project entitled “Mind Massage.” “It focuses on sound, and we focus on music culture, so we wanted to see what we could do there,” said Hammonds, who attributes ASMR’s popularity to its meditative qualities. “We’re in this world of constant distraction and overshare,” she said. “To actually listen in on something that’s making you relax — literally focusing on the sounds — I think that’s why it’s really popular.” Rappers are eager to do a segment, she said, because “they’re respecting these subcultures as a way to bloom.” So far acclaimed trap producer Zaytoven along with rappers T-Pain and Wiz Khalifa are among those to appear on Fuse ASMR clips — but there is one rap legend Hammonds is aiming for. “I can’t wait for us to get Snoop Dogg,” she said.
|
music;psychology;mental health;asmr
|
jp0002360
|
[
"world",
"offbeat-world"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Lion on the lam locked up in South African jail
|
CAPE TOWN - A young lion that had been captured after being on the run for almost a month spent the night in a South African police cell before being moved back to its national park home. The juvenile male apparently escaped from the Karoo National Park through a hole in a perimeter fence. He was eventually tracked and darted on Wednesday before being moved by helicopter to the Sutherland police station where he ended up alone in a holding cell. “I am sure this is the first time in the world that a lion is put in jail,” said police station commander Capt. Marius Malan. He said the jail luckily had no human guests on Wednesday night. Curious residents of the village of Sutherland, known more for one of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest optical telescopes, thronged outside the police station to catch a glimpse of the locked-up lion. “He is safe and healthy. We didn’t give him breakfast because he had enough to eat along the road,” Malan said. Malan said the lion, believed to be 2 years old, would be darted again before being transported back to his natural habitat at the Karoo National Park, a hilly region of grassy scrubland about halfway between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
|
animals;south africa;parks;lions
|
jp0002361
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/14
|
U.S. sends bombers over disputed South China Sea for second time in 10 days
|
The U.S. has sent B-52 bombers near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said Thursday, the second such mission over the contested waterway in 10 days. The Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) said in a statement that the two B-52s had taken off from Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. island territory of Guam, and participated in “routine training missions.” “U.S. aircraft regularly operate in the South China Sea in support of allies, partners, and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement said. The B-52 aircraft involved in the mission were part of the U.S. Air Force’s “continuous bomber presence” based in Guam. Since 2004, the U.S. has rotated B-1, B-52 and B-2 long-range bombers out of Guam to conduct training missions in Asia. Akin to the U.S. Navy’s so-called freedom of navigation operations, in which it has sailed warships near disputed islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, the air force missions are intended to assert that the area is international airspace as well. Beijing has built up a series of military outposts in the South China Sea, which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year. Washington and Beijing have frequently jousted over the militarization of the South China Sea, where China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims. The U.S. does not maintain any claims there, but says the operations are conducted globally with the aim of promoting freedom of navigation. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson said last week that the United States has observed a rise in Chinese military activity in the South China Sea area over the last year. Davidson declined to quantify the increased activity — nor would he say whether the number of freedom of navigation patrols would increase or remain stable. “It’s building, it’s not reducing in any sense of the word,” Davidson was quoted as saying in Singapore on March 7 when asked about China’s military activities in the waterway. “There has been more activity with ships, fighters and bombers over the last year than in previous years, absolutely.”
|
china;u.s .;vietnam;philippines;military;disputed islands;south china sea;south china sea ruling
|
jp0002362
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/14
|
U.S. slams human rights record of China as in 'league of its own' but goes easier on North Korea
|
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday denounced China and Iran as Washington offered its annual human rights report, while going easier on other countries like North Korea in the name of “U.S. interests.” China, often seen as the main strategic adversary of the United States in the long term and locked in thorny trade talks with Washington, “is in a league of its own when it comes to human rights violations,” he said. “In just 2018, China intensified its campaign of detaining Muslim minority groups at record level,” Pompeo told reporters, referring to Beijing’s campaign of repression in the restive Xinjiang region. “Today, more than 1 million Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslims are interned in re-education camps designed to erase their religious and ethnic identities.” As for Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump’s favorite bete noire, Pompeo alleged that last year, “the regime killed over 20 people and arrested thousands without due process just for protesting for their rights.” The State Department’s annual human rights report, which is presented as a factual, country-by-country description of the situation on the ground, usually does not offer comparisons with past years. But on Tehran, it says, “The government’s human rights record remained extremely poor and worsened in several key areas.” As for North Korea, with which Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on denuclearization, a reference in last year’s report to “egregious” rights violations has been replaced with a damning, if somewhat more neutral, assessment. It cites Pyongyang for “unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government” along with “forced disappearances” and “torture by authorities.” Trump has repeatedly said he has a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Rights experts consider Pyongyang one of the worst offenders in the world, but the Republican president barely speaks about rights violations when he talks about the North these days. “The policy of this administration is to engage with other governments, regardless of their record, if doing so will further U.S. interests,” Pompeo writes in the report’s preface. On Saudi Arabia, while the report mentions the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which cast a shadow on U.S. ties with its ally Riyadh, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — considered by the U.S. Senate to be behind the killing — is not mentioned by name.
|
china;north korea;rights;iran;xinjiang
|
jp0002363
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"offbeat-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Pierced by an arrow, mobile phone dies saving Australian man
|
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - An Australian had a lucky escape while confronting a man armed with a bow outside his home — an arrow shot at him merely pierced his mobile phone as he took photos of the incident, Australian police said on Thursday. The 43-year-old man had returned on Wednesday to find the man — who was known to him — waiting outside his home in Nimbin, a small town around 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Brisbane. “The resident held up his mobile phone to take a photo of the armed man, who then engaged the bow and was ready to fire,” a police statement said. “It’s alleged the man fired the arrow at the resident which pierced through the man’s mobile phone causing the phone to hit him in the chin. It left a small laceration that didn’t require medical treatment.” A 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene and charged, police said.
|
australia;smartphones;assaults
|
jp0002364
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/14
|
U.S. report cites persistent sexual harassment at workplace in Japan
|
WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department has raised the issue of persistent sexual harassment in the workplace in Japan in its annual human rights report, released Wednesday. The U.S. report cited a first-of-its-kind survey conducted in 2016 by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry saying that 30 percent of women in full- and part-time jobs in the country complained of “being sexually harassed at work.” The figure stood at 35 percent among full-time workers, it added. The U.S. report also noted the April 2018 resignation of Japan’s vice finance minister over claims he sexually harassed a female journalist. The Japanese government has since released a set of preventive measures, including requiring all central government officials to take mandatory training courses, the report pointed out.
|
u.s .;rights;women;discrimination
|
jp0002365
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Japan warns firms not to fire pregnant foreign trainees, as interns fear impact on work status
|
SAPPORO - The government has warned companies against dismissing or unfairly treating foreign trainees who get pregnant while working in the country, officials said Thursday. With many interns expressing concern about the impact a pregnancy may have on their employment status, with some women having been compelled to consider abortions or return home, the government on Monday told firms that accept and supervise foreign trainees that it would violate the gender equality law if the women are unfairly treated due to marriage, pregnancy or childbirth. The government-sponsored technical internship, introduced in 1993 with a stated aim of transferring skills to developing countries, has faced criticism at home and abroad over perceptions it is used as a cover for companies to import cheap labor. Government bodies such as the justice and labor ministries also said in a note sent to the organizations that they should not unjustly interfere in trainees’ private lives as it would be a breach of the internship program law. The document also urged the supervising organizations that connect trainees with host institutions to inform interns about the laws. The warning came ahead of the launch of a new visa program in Japan next month that will allow the entry of more workers from abroad to address the country’s serious labor shortages. Those who have taken part in the existing technical intern program for more than three years will be able to obtain the new visa status to be created from April, and the government expects many interns to apply. The Justice Ministry said it has received reports from supporters of technical interns highlighting cases in which pregnant trainees were threatened with dismissal. Similarly, the Zentouitsu Workers Union, a Tokyo-based labor organization that assists foreign workers, said it has received numerous requests for consultations from female trainees. “Since the scheme for foreign technical interns itself does not allow for cases of pregnancy or childbirth, trainees believe that they cannot become pregnant,” said Shiro Sasaki, the labor union’s secretary-general. “The lack of preparation in creating the system is the reason for forced abortions and returns. The cases that have come to light are only the tip of the iceberg,” he said. Shoichi Ibuski, a lawyer knowledgeable about problematic issues faced by foreign trainees, said the fact the government needs to remind and inform those involved that it is illegal to disadvantage and coerce pregnant interns “shows the seriousness of the issue.” “Those who dismiss or force trainees to return home because of pregnancy must merely think that trainees are cheap labor or useful slaves,” he said. “If they cannot treat them as humans, they have no business accepting them.” Last November, a Vietnamese woman in her 20s who arrived to train at a paper factory in western Japan, told the union that an official at a training center, a subcontractor of her supervisory organization, ordered her to either have an abortion or return to her home country. The woman had also signed a contract with a recruiting company in Vietnam that required her to return home in the event of a pregnancy, a stipulation that is illegal in Japan. In January, a Chinese trainee in her 20s was arrested on suspicion of abandoning her newborn baby in a residential area near Tokyo, fearing that her employers at a food processing plant would force her to return home.
|
pregnancy;immigration;women;justice ministry;foreign trainees;zentouitsu workers union;shoichi ibuski
|
jp0002367
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Japan to seek help with running Subaru Telescope in Hawaii from U.S., Canada, China and India
|
Japan is planning to request help from other countries to operate the Subaru Telescope, located near the top of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, in order to increase available funding and widen the scope of research activities, officials said Thursday. The optical-infrared telescope with a mirror measuring 8.2 meters in diameter was built by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan on the island of Hawaii in 1999. It has been at the forefront of research into black holes and planets outside of the solar system but the operator has struggled to secure finances to pay for repairs amid budget cuts. The NAOJ is considering asking the United States, Canada, China and India to jointly operate the telescope with Japan. Those five countries are already building another giant telescope near the summit of the more than 4,200-meter-high Mauna Kea that, when completed, will be 55 meters tall. Named the Thirty Meter Telescope, a reference to the telescope’s diameter, the new observatory is expected to be completed around 2027 and the NAOJ may propose its operations combine with those of the Subaru Telescope. Michitoshi Yoshida, head of the NAOJ’s Hawaii observatory, said the plan to call for international cooperation is “by no means a sign it is giving up” on the Subaru project for financial reasons. “Japan will continue to lead the project and will provide over half of its funds” in the event that it is operated jointly, Yoshida said, while expressing hope a deal with the other countries can be reached in the coming years. According to the NAOJ, the Subaru Telescope is useful for wide-field surveys and can work in conjunction with the Thirty Meter Telescope. The new telescope will be able to see deep into space with its prime mirror measuring 30 meters in diameter but will have a narrower field of view.
|
space;astronomy;hawaii;telescope;subaru telescope
|
jp0002368
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Abe rules out fourth term as head of Japan's LDP amid talk of tweaking rules to allow another run
|
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested Thursday he has no intention of serving another four-year term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party when his third term expires in September 2021. Abe’s remarks came after some LDP heavyweights hinted at the possibility of changing a party rule to make it possible for him to remain in the post beyond the current limit of three terms. “Seeking a fourth term is prohibited by a party regulation. It is a matter of course to abide by the rule,” Abe, who returned to power in late 2012, told a Diet committee session. “As this is my last tenure, I will concentrate on achieving results with full might,” said the 64-year-old, who is set to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister in November this year, surpassing Taro Katsura’s record of 2,886 days in office. Earlier this week, LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai said a fourth term for Abe as head of the party was “fully possible.” “There is no problem when it is hard to find someone else to replace him,” Nikai, the LDP’s No. 2, said at a news conference on Tuesday. Katsunobu Kato, chairman of the party’s decision-making general council and a close aide to Abe, has also mentioned the possibility of the prime minister serving a fourth term. In 2017, the LDP changed its term limit for party leaders in a move that was initiated by Nikai, extending the cap to three consecutive three-year terms from the previous limit of two consecutive three-year terms.
|
shinzo abe;ldp;toshihiro nikai
|
jp0002369
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Japan and South Korea talks end without progress on wartime labor dispute
|
SEOUL - Senior Japanese and South Korean officials failed to bridge differences in talks Thursday over the thorny issue of compensation by Japanese firms for wartime labor. In the working-level consultations in Seoul, Kenji Kanasugi, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry told reporters he called again for measures from the South Korean side to ensure that accused companies are not harmed. He also said he requested anew that intergovernmental talks be held based on an agreement attached to a 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties between the two countries. His South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-kil gave no specific reply to either request, according to Kanasugi. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said it is not appropriate for countermeasures to be mulled by the Japanese side in relation to the issue, apparently referring to recent comments by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso. Aso said Tuesday that Japan could ban new visa issuances and money transfers as retaliatory steps if South Korea goes ahead with the seizure of assets of a Japanese company over wartime labor. The comments come after a South Korean court approved the seizure of assets from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate Koreans for conscripted labor during World War II. In Thursday’s talks, Kanasugi said he stressed that Tokyo is considering all options, such as referring the case to the International Court of Justice and taking “countermeasures,” if Seoul goes ahead with the sale of the firm’s assets. As the next stage in resolving the dispute, the Japanese side is considering calling for the establishment of an arbitration panel including members from a third country. The two sides did agree to continue bilateral communication even if there is conflict and to try to avoid further confrontation. In October, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered the Japanese steel-maker to compensate four men for forced labor during Japan’s 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. A request for seizing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s assets has also been filed with the Seoul Central District Court after the top court ordered the Japanese heavy-machinery-maker to compensate for wartime labor in a similar case. A team of lawyers representing South Korean plaintiffs who won the wartime labor case against Mitsubishi Heavy is considering seeking a seizure of the company’s assets in Europe. Japan maintains that the issue has already been resolved “finally and completely” under a 1965 accord between the two countries to settle property claims signed alongside the Japan-South Korea treaty that established diplomatic ties. But the South Korean top court said the right of individuals to claim damages was not terminated by the accord, when it handed down the ruling against the steel-maker. Tokyo proposed launching talks based on the agreement and is awaiting Seoul’s response.
|
wwii;history;south korea;wartime labor;south korea-japan relations
|
jp0002370
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Victims sterilized under Japan's eugenics law to get ¥3.2 million each under state redress plan
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Ruling and opposition party lawmakers on Thursday decided on a bill to provide ¥3.2 million ($28,700) in state redress to every surviving victim of a state sterilization program that was conducted under a now-defunct 1948 eugenics law. The bill marks progress toward offering relief to the victims of the program that only came to an end in 1996, but the level of compensation was immediately criticized as insufficient by lawyers involved in damages suits filed by victims across the country. Under the bill, the one-time payments, on par with similar compensation in Sweden, would be made to victims who underwent sterilization irrespective of consent. The spouses of deceased victims would not be eligible for redress. The bill also included a “deep apology” in its preamble for the physical and mental suffering inflicted on the victims, but it failed to assign specific blame by employing “we” as the subject of the sentence. The victims have been calling for a clear apology from the “state.” “The word ‘we’ strongly signals that it includes the Diet and the government,” said Norihisa Tamura, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who dealt with the issue as the head of a task force also involving its coalition partner the Komeito party. The lawmakers plan to submit the bill to the Diet in April and seek its passage within the month. They have been considering redress ahead of court rulings in the series of lawsuits filed against the state since January, with the highest compensation demand exceeding ¥35 million. A lawyers’ group involved in the suits immediately reacted with disappointment. “I don’t think this bill can be said to squarely face up to the suffering (of the victims),” Koji Niisato, a co-leader of the group, said at a news conference, noting that the plaintiffs will continue with their lawsuits. Kikuo Kojima, a plaintiff who was forced to undergo sterilization surgery nearly 60 years ago, said angrily of the content of the bill, “It’s not that I want money, but isn’t this appalling?” “A surgical knife cut my body and I could not have children throughout my life. I couldn’t talk about the surgery to anyone around me and I lied to my wife. Only ¥3.2 million for all these things,” the 77-year-old said. The former eugenics law, modeled on Nazi Germany’s sterilization law, authorized surgery to sterilize people with learning difficulties, mental illnesses or genetic disorders to prevent the birth of “inferior” offspring during the postwar food shortage. The bill set the amount of redress by looking at the examples of Germany and Sweden, which have apologized to and compensated the victims of their sterilization programs. In Sweden, where a similar eugenics law was in force between 1935 and 1975, a law came into force in 1999 to pay 175,000 Swedish krona to each of the victims, now equivalent to around ¥3.12 million. In Japan, about 25,000 people with disabilities were sterilized under the law, including around 16,500 who underwent surgery without their consent, according to the health ministry and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. As remaining sterilization records only identify 3,000 victims, a panel will be set up in the summer under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to certify those who do not possess documentation but can show evidence such as operative scars. A ministry official said it is unclear when the payments would start.
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discrimination;disability;sterilization;eugenics;eugenic protection law
|
jp0002371
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/14
|
In race for fluency in time for Olympics, Tokyo great-grandmother proves it's never too late to learn
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Setsuko Takamizawa is determined to prove that it is never too late to learn as she bids to conquer the English language before the Tokyo Olympics, having been prevented from learning what was considered the “enemy language” in her youth. When Japan last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events or pay much attention. Takamizawa, now a great-grandmother, will be 92 when the Olympics return to Tokyo in July next year and this time she wants to get as close to the action as possible. She is one of more than 200,000 people who have applied as volunteers for the Olympics and Paralympics, hoping to be part of the army of people needed to help organize and guide thousands of visitors around the city. Although it is not a mandatory qualification, the ability to speak English is a crucial skill organizers are looking for and Takamizawa is eager to finally take the opportunity to acquire it. “When I was a freshman at a girl’s senior high school, World War II broke out,” Takamizawa explained in an interview. “In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language.” Takamizawa said her grandchildren had helped convince her she was not too old to learn. “I don’t speak English at all, so I thought I wish I could speak English,” Takamizawa said while visiting the under-construction Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. “When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, ‘it’s not too late. We will teach you one word a day. It’s going to be a good challenge for you’.” “That was when everything started.” According to organizers, less than 1 percent of the applicants are over 80 years old. However, she knows that novelty will not be enough and that an ability to speak passable English will help her achieve her chief goal — to share stories with people from around the world. “When I taught her the word ‘world,’ grandmother said: ‘That’s what I want to know about, the world and your country. I want to know about the world,'” said Takamizawa’s granddaughter, Natsuko. Natsuko speaks English well and has been her grandmother’s main teacher. “What I want is not only a chance to speak English but also I want to encounter various people with various culture and values by using English as a tool,” added Takamizawa. “That would be the best.” According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language, below Chile, Belarus and South Korea. This is slowly changing as younger generations embrace English and it is taught in schools from a much younger age. However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world. “There are only few, or such a thin layer of people on the surface, very thin like cling film, who can speak English or who are interested in the world,” she said of her fellow Japanese. “But they must look to step out of the country. We should live and act not only as a Japanese person but also one of the global members on the Earth.” Natsuko sends her grandmother a new English word to learn every day on her phone and they also regularly sit down together to work on key phrases that Takamizawa will need come the Olympics. “Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?” says a beaming Takamizawa when asked to recite the English phrases she has learned. For her granddaughter, this curiosity is a source of true joy. “My intention was that I wanted to give her joy at her age of 90,” Natsuko said. “For me it’s simply fun to talk to her and to wait for her reply, (it’s not about) admiring her hard work or contributing to the Olympic Games. “I can clearly see her English is getting better. It’s my joy now.”
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language;elderly;english;2020 tokyo olympics;setsuko takamizawa
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jp0002372
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Three arrested over murder of Tokyo woman, 80, after police link men to Shibuya robberies targeting elderly
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Police arrested three men Wednesday over the robbery and murder of an 80-year-old woman in Tokyo last month, after investigators found similarities in the case with two other robberies targeting elderly people. Tatsumi Komatsuzono, 27, Hiroki Sue, 22, and Yuta Sakai, 22, allegedly broke into the apartment of Kuniko Kato in Koto Ward on Feb. 28 and killed her. The three men have denied the allegations, according to the police. A nursing caregiver found Kato dead the same day with her hands and feet bound. About two weeks before the murder, Kato told a friend she had received a suspicious phone call asking whether she kept money at home. She did not report the matter to police. Prior to the case, two similar robberies took place in Shibuya Ward, one in January and another in February. In those cases, the victims were also tied up and had received phone calls asking how they kept their money, according to investigative sources. Security footage and witness reports allegedly placed the three men at the scene of the crime in Koto Ward and the vehicle seen near Kato’s house matched the description of the car used in the Shibuya crimes. On Jan. 11, three masked suspects broke into the residence of a 93-year-old man and his 86-year-old wife, tied them up and took about ¥20 million worth of cash and jewelry. Two days earlier, a man pretending to be their son had called to ask for money, saying he had become sick, according to investigators. On Feb. 1, three men who initially claimed to be police officers entered the residence of a married couple in their 70s and 80s, tied them up and took about ¥4 million in cash. At least one of the three was wearing a ski mask, according to the police. Police have been alerting the public about suspicious phone calls to obtain personal information, including questions about financial assets and the makeup of the household. Callers often identify themselves as relatives of the targets or poll takers, they said.
|
tokyo;murder;elderly;theft;personal information;police
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jp0002373
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Number of minors in Japan involved in bank transfer scams jumped over 50% in 2018, police say
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The National Police Agency said Thursday that 750 people under 20 years old were involved in furikome (bank transfer) scams last year, up 57.9 percent from the previous year. Of the minors, 76.4 percent received cash from fraud victims by hand, and 9.7 percent worked to recruit new members of fraud groups, according to a survey by the agency. Furikome scams originally referred to cases of forcing targets, usually elderly people, to transfer money by pretending to be their children or others on the phone, but the term now includes cases where victims deliver cash by hand. Following a surge in the involvement of minors in such scams in recent years, the police are stepping up prevention measures including gathering information on juvenile delinquents who may be invited to join criminal groups. On a whole, the number of minors involved in crimes in 2018 fell to 23,489, the lowest level since the end of World War II, reflecting a drop in those facing theft charges, which had accounted for some 60 percent of offenses by minors. But the number of minors involved in white-collar crimes, including furikome scams, jumped 28.5 percent to 1,155. Of the minors involved in furikome scams, 612 were between 17 and 19 years old. Nine 14-year-olds were involved in such cases, the youngest age recorded.
|
children;teens;crime;fraud;elderly;scams;ore ore sagi;it 's me scam
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jp0002374
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/14
|
Record 1,380 child abuse cases investigated by Japanese police in 2018, up 21% from year earlier
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The police launched full-scale investigations into a record 1,380 child abuse cases nationwide in 2018, up 21.3 percent from the previous year, an official report showed Thursday, an apparent reflection of increased efforts by police to tackle such cases. Of the total, 1,095 cases involved physical abuse, followed by 226 cases of sexual abuse, according to the report by the National Police Agency. The number of children who were victims of abuse also hit a record high, up 19.3 percent from 2017 to 1,394, and that of children who were taken into protective custody climbed 19.1 percent to a record 4,571, it said. “It is a worrying situation,” NPA Commissioner-General Shunichi Kuryu said. “We would like to coordinate with child consultation centers, schools and others while advancing our efforts by putting children’s safety first.” Tetsuro Tsuzaki, head of the Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, said the rise in the number of investigations reflects the police’s proactive attitude as well as the increasing severity of the abuse. “There has been a slew of serious cases in which child victims died, and we think the situation is worsening,” he said. The report was released amid growing concern over parental violence against children following the death in January of 10-year-old Mia Kurihara at her home in Chiba Prefecture. Authorities suspect she died after suffering physical abuse from her parents. The ongoing probe has uncovered failures by local welfare authorities and her school to respond in a timely fashion to the girl’s appeals for help. Among other cases to have attracted national attention was that of 5-year-old Yua Funato, who died in March last year at her Tokyo home after having made desperate pleas for her parents to “forgive” and stop mistreating her. The parents have been indicted for neglect resulting in the girl’s death. Of the 1,419 people police investigated as possible assailants in the cases, 622 are the victims’ biological father, followed by 352 who are the biological mother and 266 who are foster or step-fathers, according to the report. After the recent high-profile deaths of children due to alleged mistreatment by their parents, the central government has decided to step up efforts to prevent child abuse and is seeking to revise related laws to that end during the ongoing Diet session. The measures are expected to include strengthening the police’s ability to identify cases of child abuse at an early stage, such as by holding joint training with child consultation centers and enhancing support by placing current and retired police officers at the centers. Tsuzaki said the government’s plan would be “effective to a certain degree” but also urged child consultation centers, schools and private-sector bodies to consider ways for the community to prevent child abuse, as a heavy police presence could make parents cautious. The report also said police opened investigations into a record 3,097 child pornography cases in 2018, up 28.3 percent from a year earlier. The number surpassed 3,000 for the first time and involved 2,315 alleged perpetrators, also an all-time high, up 35.9 percent from the previous year and the fifth consecutive yearly increase, the report said. Many of the victims were coerced or tricked into sending nude photos of themselves, the agency said. Cases in which a person possessed images of naked children surged fivefold to 951, while the production of child pornography by taking photos accounted for nearly half of the total at 1,417 cases, marginally higher than the year before. The distribution of such photos stood at 729 cases, down 8.6 percent. Nearly 80 percent of victims were junior high school or high school students. Among them, 1,152 girls and 124 boys were identified. Of the total, 541 children were coerced into sending nude photos of themselves, while 295 were photographed or filmed by hidden cameras. About 90 percent of cases where the victim sent nude selfies of themselves involved junior high school or high school students. The taking of photos and videos with concealed cameras accounted for more than half of the cases involving children in elementary school or younger. The NPA has been stepping up its efforts to crack down on crimes by pedophiles. It confiscated from a group that ran a child porn website a list of about 7,000 individuals who purchased child porn DVDs in 2017. Since then, police officers across the country have been expanding investigations based on the list. In 2018, 1,811 children under 18 were found to have fallen prey to sexual and other crimes through social networking platforms, according to the agency. The figure was almost unchanged from the previous year in which a record 1,813 were victimized. By age, 991 were high school students, followed by 624 junior high school students. The social networking platform in which most victims were targeted was Twitter at 718, while 214 used Himabu, a popular messaging app for students.
|
children;teens;abuse;sex crimes;pornography;child abuse;npa;child porn;police
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jp0002375
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
China's Xi arrives in Italy amid Western unease over Silk Road project, Huawei
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ROME - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Rome on Thursday evening at the start of a whistle-stop European tour amid growing Western unease over the economic giant’s new Silk Road project. Xi descended from his Air China Boeing 747 with first lady Peng Liyuan at Rome’s Fiumicino airport before being whisked off to their hotel in the Italian capital, AFPTV reported. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is to sign a memorandum of understanding with Xi on Saturday for Italy to join the $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, the first G7 member to do so. Xi is to meet his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, on Friday during a trip that will also take in parliament and the Colosseum. Around 1,000 extra police have been deployed around Rome for the state visit before Xi heads to Palermo, where his singer wife reportedly wants to see the Teatro Massimo opera house. NATO member Italy’s plan to join China’s ambitious maritime, rail and road venture, which critics warn mainly benefits Chinese firms, has raised eyebrows among Western allies and within Italy. The United States has also warned European allies that China’s Huawei could use its next generation 5G technology as a “backdoor” for spying.
|
china;u.s .;italy;eu;xi jinping;silk road;huawei
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jp0002376
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
U.S. barring business with Chinese shipping firms over North Korea sanctions violations
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WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies for doing business with North Korea, vowing to keep strictly enforcing sanctions on Pyongyang even amid top-level diplomacy. “The maritime industry must do more to stop North Korea’s illicit shipping practices,” national security adviser John Bolton tweeted after the Treasury Department’s announcement. “Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea’s sanctions evasion,” he said. The Treasury Department said it was blocking all potential U.S. interests of the Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and prohibiting Americans from dealing with the firm. The United States charged that the company last year shipped cargo from the Chinese port of Dalian to North Korea on behalf of the Paeksol Trading Corporation, which in the past has sold metal and coal to earn money for Pyongyang. The Treasury Department also sanctioned the Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd., saying it had assisted North Korean officials based in Europe in procuring goods for the regime. The action comes less than a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi with President Donald Trump for a second summit that broke down in part over Pyongyang’s demands for immediate sanctions relief. Trump, while walking away from the talks, has been eager to reach a potentially landmark agreement on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announcing the latest measures, said that the United States remained committed to seeking a denuclearization deal with North Korea but believed fully enforcing U.N.-backed sanctions “is crucial to a successful outcome.”
|
china;north korea;kim jong un;denuclearization;u.s. sanctions;donald trump;john bolton;steve mnuchin
|
jp0002377
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Facebook admits storing passwords in plain text; 600 million users may have been exposed
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LOS ANGELES - Facebook on Thursday admitted that millions of passwords were stored in plain text on its internal servers, a security slip that left them readable by the social networking giant’s employees. “To be clear, these passwords were never visible to anyone outside of Facebook and we have found no evidence to date that anyone internally abused or improperly accessed them,” Pedro Canahuati, vice president of engineering, security, and privacy, said in a blog post. The blunder was uncovered during a routine security review early this year, according to Canahuati. He said that the Silicon Valley company expected to notify hundreds of millions of Facebook Lite users; tens of millions of other Facebook users, and tens of thousands of Instagram users whose passwords may have been vulnerable to prying eyes. The basic security shortcoming was revealed on the heels of a series of controversies centered on whether Facebook properly safeguards the privacy and data of its users. The basic data defense mistake would also appear contrary to the “Hacker Way” mantra that Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has espoused at the social network. “One Hacker Way” is the main address of Facebook’s vast campus in the California city of Menlo Park. Brian Krebs of security news website KrebsOnSecurity.com cited an unnamed Facebook source as saying the internal investigation had so far indicated that as many as 600 million users of the social network had account passwords stored in plain text files searchable by more than 20,000 employees. The exact number had yet to be determined, but archives with unencrypted user passwords were found dating back to 2012, according to Krebs. “We have fixed these issues and as a precaution we will be notifying everyone whose passwords we have found were stored in this way,” Canahuati said.
|
facebook;instagram;user data
|
jp0002378
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Japan inflation slows in February as gasoline prices fall
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Underlying inflation slowed in February as gasoline prices fell for the first time in more than two years, government data showed Friday. The nationwide core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food items because of their volatility, rose 0.7 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 0.8 percent increase in January. Prices rose for the 26th straight month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Gasoline prices fell 1.3 percent, the first decline since November 2016, tracking a plunge in crude oil prices late last year. But with the recent resurgence in oil, gasoline prices could also rebound next month, a ministry official said at a news briefing. Mobile phone fees were also down, while utility bills, accommodation, and household appliances such as vacuum cleaners rose in price. So-called core-core consumer prices, which exclude both fresh food and energy items, rose 0.4 percent in February, the same pace as the previous month. Lagging inflation is a headache for the Bank of Japan, which is pursuing a 2 percent target in a bid to keep the economy from falling back into growth-stunting deflation. Last week, the central bank decided to maintain ultralow interest rates and asset purchases as Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda kept to the script that upward momentum in prices remains intact. In reality, there has been little progress despite years of drastic monetary easing. Some government officials have criticized the focus on the 2 percent target, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying earlier this month that the BOJ should “take a more flexible approach.” Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute, said he does not foresee prices picking up any time soon given household spending will remain muted due to tepid wage gains and an upcoming consumption tax hike. The introduction of free preschool and a further fall in mobile phone fees are also expected to put downward pressure on inflation. “The BOJ may need to consider taking policy action at some point,” Minami said.
|
boj;inflation;japanese economy;economic indicators
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jp0002380
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
NYSE drops 'no jeans' policy as Levi Strauss goes public again, shares surge 31%
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NEW YORK - Levi Strauss & Co., which gave America its first pair of blue jeans, is public for the second time. The stock, which is listed under the ticker “LEVI,” opened for trading on Thursday up 31 percent on very strong demand and recently changed hands at $22.90, up $5.90. The offering priced at $17, above an originally expected range of $14 to $16. In a rare move, the New York Stock Exchange suspended its “no jeans” policy on Thursday to commemorate the event, transforming the floor from suits and ties into a sea of blue denim. More than 120 employees from Levi’s global offices, including its CEO, Chip Bergh, outfitted in denim, were on the trading floor. On Wednesday, the NYSE even tweeted, “Tomorrow we’ll be in our 501s.” The 166-year-old company, which owns the Dockers and Denizen brands, previously went public in 1971, but the namesake founder’s descendants, the Haas family, took it private again in 1985. The initial public offering comes as the iconic brand is staging a comeback under Bergh even as it faces increasing competition and a changing retail landscape. Women are opting for yoga pants or other comfortable athletic sportswear that can be worn every day. And the brand is also contending with a shrinking number of department stores, once its traditional venue of distribution. But since assuming the helm in 2011, Bergh has refashioned the brand and image. It didn’t chase after the yoga trend but rather focused on enhancing the fit of its women’s jeans with stretchier fabrics. Bergh also has created buzz with partnerships with celebrities like Justin Timberlake while increasing Levi’s marketing at events like Coachella, where Beyonce performed in the brand’s cut-off shorts. At the same time, Levi’s has been expanding online and juggling between selling to low-end and high-end stores. It’s also been opening its own stores. All of that has helped Levi Strauss turn in a 14 percent increase in sales to $5.6 billion for the year ended Nov. 25, 2018. “Focusing on product improvements and diversification have been excellent moves,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, a retail research firm. “There’s a lot of competition, but Levi’s has always been the brand in denim.” The timing might be right for Levi’s. Jeans sales appear to be on an upswing in the U.S., increasing 2.2 percent to $16.7 billion last year after four straight years of declines, according to data from Euromonitor. “Things go in waves,” said Marie Driscoll, managing director of luxury and fashion at Coresight Research. “The ‘athleisure’ trend made denim not as comfortable. But denim brands have responded by adding stretch.” It wasn’t long ago when Levi’s was struggling with a big debt load and had grown too reliant on department stores. During its worst slump, the company’s sales went from $6.8 billion in 1997, when it helped to drive the Casual Friday trend with its Dockers khakis, to $4.07 billion in 2004. Levi’s is hoping to prove to Wall Street there’s staying power for a legacy name that dates back to 1853 when its namesake founder started a wholesales dry goods business in San Francisco. Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis invented jeans 20 years later after receiving a patent to create cotton denim workpants with copper rivets in certain areas like the pocket corner to make them stronger. By the 1920s, Levi’s original 501 jeans had become top-selling men’s workpants, according to its corporate website. Levi’s, like many denim brands, still faces challenges. They’re being squeezed by a new wave of closures of traditional department stores. And discounters like Walmart have been developing their own exclusive brands. In its prospectus, Levi Strauss says it plans to use the proceeds to expand more aggressively into China, India and Brazil. It also is expanding its retail stores. As of late last year, Levi’s operated 824 stores. Levi Strauss is adopting a dual-class share structure. Each Class A share will be entitled to one vote, while Class B shares will have 10 votes. Class B stock will primarily be held by the descendants of the company founder. That means that the Strauss’s descendants will still exert big influence over the company’s major decisions.
|
jeans;shares;nyse;denim;levi strauss
|
jp0002381
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Buying of technology-linked shares helps Tokyo stocks end on a firmer note
|
Stocks closed marginally higher after mixed trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, thanks to a ripple effect of an overnight rally on Wall Street led by technology buying. The 225-issue Nikkei average gained 18.42 points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 21,627.34, the best finish since March 5. On Wednesday, the key market gauge gained 42.07 points. The market was closed Thursday due to a national holiday. The Topic index of all first-section issues closed up 2.72 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,617.11, after rising 4.16 points the previous trading day. The Tokyo market got off to a firmer start after active buying of technology issues let the New York market turn up to snap its two-day losing streak Thursday. But later in the morning both the Nikkei and Topix gauges came under increased selling pressure amid the yen’s strengthening against the dollar and sank into negative territory, brokers said. In the afternoon, unabated buying interest, chiefly in technology stocks, helped prevent the market from bowing deeper to selling, also induced by drops in long-term interest rates. In addition, the market’s downside was supported by buying on a dip, brokers said. Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., pointed out that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest “super-dovish” move pushed down the dollar against the yen to spur futures-linked selling. He was referring to the Fed’s indication after its policy-setting meeting through Wednesday that there will be no interest rate increase this year. “The market’s upside was heavy due also to falls in Chinese stocks,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,392 to 653 in the TSE’s first section, while 95 issues were unchanged. Volume grew to 1.36 billion shares from Wednesday’s 1.14 billion. Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron fared well along with electronic parts makers TDK and Kyocera. Also bought were automaker Suzuki, optical equipment maker Olympus and technology investor SoftBank Group. By contrast, Eisai tumbled 16.55 percent with allowable single-day point losses following its decision to stop a late-phase clinical trial of an Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Its peers Astellas, Takeda and Shionogi also met with selling. Lower long-term interest rates battered mega-bank groups including Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average sagged 90 points to end at 21,340.
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0002382
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Dollar tumbles below ¥110.80 in Tokyo
|
The dollar traded below ¥111.80 in Tokyo Friday, weighed down by lower U.S. long-term interest rates and Japanese stock prices. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥110.77-77, down from ¥111.59-59 at the same time on Wednesday. The market was closed on Thursday for a national holiday. The euro was at $1.1387-1388, up from $1.1344-1348, and at ¥126.14-14, down from ¥126.64-64. In early trading, the dollar moved around ¥110.70-80 after falling below ¥110.60 in overseas trading in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s release Wednesday of projections that there would be no interest rate increase in 2019. The dollar firmed close to ¥110.90 in midmorning trading thanks to purchases by domestic importers. But the greenback slipped through ¥110.70 in line with a drop in the Nikkei stock average, before scaling back above ¥110.80 on position-squaring buying in the afternoon. Players retreated to the sidelines in later hours to see the outcome of a two-day summit meeting of the European Union from Thursday on Britain’s exit from the EU, traders said. An official of a major securities firm said that the market will continuously be clouded by the no-deal Brexit possibility.
|
yen;dollar;forex;currencies
|
jp0002383
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Energy giants have spent $1 billion on lobbying and public relations since Paris climate deal reached: watchdog
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PARIS - The five largest publicly listed oil and gas majors have spent $1 billion since the 2015 Paris climate deal on public relations or lobbying that is “overwhelmingly in conflict” with the landmark accord’s goals, a watchdog said Friday. Despite outwardly committing to support the Paris agreement and its aim to limit global temperature rises, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and Total spend a total of $200 million a year on efforts “to operate and expand fossil fuel operations,” according to InfluenceMap, a pro-transparency monitor. Two of the companies — Shell and Chevron — said they rejected the watchdog’s findings. “The fossil fuel sector has ramped up a quite strategic program of influencing the climate agenda,” InfluenceMap Executive Director Dylan Tanner said. “It’s a continuum of activity from their lobby trade groups attacking the details of regulations, controlling them all the way up, to controlling the way the media thinks about the oil majors and climate.” The report comes as oil and gas giants are under increasing pressure from shareholders to come clean over how greener lawmaking will impact their business models. As planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions hit their highest levels in human history in 2018, the five companies wracked up total profits of $55 billion. At the same time, the International Panel on Climate Change — composed of the world’s leading climate scientists — issued a call for a radical drawdown in fossil fuel use in order to hit the 1.5 C warming cap laid out in the Paris accord. InfluenceMap looked at accounts, lobbying registers and communications releases since 2015, and alleged a large gap between the climate commitments companies make and the action they take. It said all five engaged in lobbying and “narrative capture” through direct contact with lawmakers and officials, spending millions on climate branding, and by employing trade associations to represent the sector’s interests in policy discussions. “The research reveals a trend of carefully devised campaigns of positive messaging combined with negative policy lobbying on climate change,” it said. It added that of the more than $110 billion the five had earmarked for capital investment in 2019, just $3.6 billion was given over to low-carbon programs. The report came one day after the European Parliament was urged to strip Exxon Mobil lobbyists of their access, after the U.S. giant failed to attend a hearing where expert witnesses said the oil giant has knowingly misled the public over climate change. “How can we accept that companies spending hundreds of millions on lobbying against the EU’s goal of reaching the Paris agreement are still granted privileged access to decision-makers?” said Pascoe Sabido, Corporate Europe Observatory’s climate policy researcher, who was not involved in the InfluenceMap report. The report said Exxon alone spent $56 million a year on “climate branding” and $41 million annually on lobbying efforts. In 2017 the company’s shareholders voted to push it to disclose what tougher emissions policies in the wake of Paris would mean for its portfolio.
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climate change;paris agreement
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jp0002384
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/22
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Seven-Eleven begins trial of shorter business hours as convenience stores grapple with Japan's labor crunch
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Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has launched an experimental program by shortening business hours at some of its directly run outlets across the country in order to consider whether to revise its policy of operating stores 24 hours a day. The major convenience store chain operator, a unit of Seven & I Holdings Co., has introduced three sets of business hours — 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., 6 a.m. to midnight, and 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. — through the trial, which started Thursday evening and will be carried out over a few months. As part of the trial, an outlet in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward closed at 1 a.m. on Friday. A customer, a 26-year-old civil servant who came to the outlet to buy alcohol said, “I’m sad because I thought the store is open 24 hours a day.” He added that he will shop at a different store from now on. After closing for four hours for cleaning and restocking, the outlet opened again at 5 a.m. The latest move by Seven-Eleven, the industry leader, came after company President Kazuki Furuya suggested earlier this week the possibility of allowing shorter business hours depending on each store’s situation. Owners of the chain’s franchise stores are stepping up a campaign to persuade the chain to allow their outlets to adopt shorter operating hours. Twenty-four-hour convenience stores are struggling to stay open around the clock as an industry that has continually expanded now finds itself at the sharp end of a labor shortage. Although the debate has focused on labor issues, it has also raised doubts over the future of the convenience store industry amid an aging population, slow economic growth and fresh competition from online marketplaces such as Amazon Prime. “The question is, how much demand is there for 24-hour service in an age when online shopping is expanding?” said Takayuki Kurabayashi, a Nomura Research Institute partner who specializes in consulting for the retail industry. Japanese convenience stores began expanding in the 1970s as their 24-hour accessibility proved to be a perfect match with the country’s dense population and late-night work culture. The brightly lit konbini are ubiquitous and an essential part of modern Japanese life, offering everything from neckties to packaged bento for city workers. Residents of rural areas rely on the stores for parcel and ATM services, or even as lifelines during natural disasters. The franchise system promoted a nationwide expansion that took the total number of stores to roughly 58,000 last year, a majority operated by the big three: Seven-Eleven, originating in the U.S. but now Japanese-owned; FamilyMart, Uny Holdings Co.’s convenience store arm; and Lawson, a subsidiary of trading house Mitsubishi Corp. For years, the franchise model shielded operations from the direct effects of Japan’s labor crunch. But now, the tightest labor market more than 40 years is hurting store owners, who pay salaries after handing over royalty fees. A union of convenience store owners said they have been finding it increasingly hard to hire enough employees. Many owners said they work long hours themselves to keep their stores open 24 hours — a requirement in most franchise contracts. “At the time of the agreement, we could not foresee the current labor shortage or spike in minimum wages,” said Mitoshi Matsumoto, a union member who owns a Seven-Eleven store in Osaka, referring to the deal he and his wife signed with the company. Struggling to keep the store running after his wife’s death last year, he began closing it for a few hours at night, and was threatened with a fine. His pleas to management and lawmakers drew widespread sympathy in a country in which “work-life balance” has become a buzzword and employers have come under fire for cases of death by overwork. Even the pro-business Nikkei newspaper wrote an editorial saying stores should be allowed reasonable working hours even if consumers suffer slight inconveniences. Roy Larke, who analyses the retail industry as editor of JapanConsuming.com, said he sees the sector as saturated and consolidation inevitable. “We do have too many convenience stores now, sometimes literally next door to each other. There are probably around 10 percent too many,” he said. Katsuhiko Shimizu, spokesman for Seven & I Holdings, which also owns general merchandise chain Ito-Yokado, disagreed. “There’s room for innovation,” he said, citing the company’s efforts to incorporate more automation and artificial intelligence in processes ranging from stocking to check-out. Chains are also testing new formats such as outlets that combine drugstores, dry cleaners and even gyms. FamilyMart has opened some such stores with the country’s largest discount chain, Don Quijote, to inject excitement. Analysts warn against underestimating a sector known for maintaining high margins and rarely discounting, helped by constant product renewals and staples like ¥100 coffees. They also say it’s too early to predict the outcome of Japan’s online grocery delivery race, which is just getting started. Although Amazon’s grocery and same-day delivery services are considered threats, convenience stores are also launching online platforms; their affiliations with traditional supermarkets and logistics networks are seen as advantages. “It’s not clear-cut whether Amazon will be overwhelmingly powerful here,” said Larke. “Especially in food, it doesn’t have the game to itself.” Convenience stores, like other Japanese businesses, have also been expanding abroad. But Nomura Research’s Kurabayashi warned that those foreign markets, including China, are also aging. “What’s happening in Japan is eventually going to happen elsewhere in Asia,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
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consumers;convenience stores;lawson;seven-eleven;labor shortage
|
jp0002385
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/22
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Siemens talking with Mitsubishi Heavy and other Asian firms over fate of large gas turbine business
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LONDON/MUNICH - Siemens AG is exploring a variety of options regarding its large gas turbine business by seeking an Asian partner, including a possible deal with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. The German company has held talks with Mitsubishi Heavy and other firms, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Options range from a full or partial sale of the division to a joint venture, the people said. No final decisions have been made and Siemens may still decide to keep the unit, they said. Siemens shares advanced as much as 2.6 percent following the report, the most in more than a month. “The situation on the global market for fossil power-plant technology remains unchanged,” the company said in a statement, declining to comment on talks about the turbine business. “Siemens began tackling these challenges back in early 2015.” A spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy declined to comment. Siemens has been considering options for the large gas turbine business, which forms the largest part of its power and gas division, since at least last June, when people familiar with the matter said the German engineering company was considering a potential sale. The global market for gas turbines has collapsed as renewable energy has become cheaper. Siemens announced in 2017 it would cut 6,900 jobs in its power and gas division to respond to that shift. The power and gas division will be renamed gas and power on April 1, reflecting the company’s new structure. Siemens announced last year that it was shrinking the number of operating divisions and that it would focus on factory software and energy distribution, attempting to get the jump on newer technologies that had been disrupting its core business.
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mitsubishi heavy industries ltd .;siemens ag
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jp0002386
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Victory over Islamic State won't be declared until Baghouz enclave is searched, cleared: U.S.-led force
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BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - U.S.-backed Syrian forces were sweeping on Thursday through the final enclave that had been held by Islamic State fighters, and said they would declare the group defeated once a search for hidden mines and jihadist holdouts was complete. “Our forces are still conducting combing and search operations and as soon as they are finished we will announce the liberation,” Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, said in a note to journalists. Bali told Reuters the operation included sweeping for mines and combing for fighters still hidden in trenches and tunnels dug beneath Baghouz, the last patch of Islamic State territory. The last clashes reported by the SDF were on Tuesday, indicating that major fighting is over in the last big battle of a five year international campaign against a self-proclaimed caliphate that once comprised a third of both Iraq and Syria. The SDF, backed by U.S. air power, swept on Tuesday into a camp where hundreds of fighters had been making their last stand with thousands of civilians, many their own wives and children. The situation in Baghouz appeared calm for a second consecutive day, a Reuters journalist in Baghouz said. Warplanes with the U.S.-led coalition, including drones, could be seen overhead. A news outlet with close ties to the Syrian Kurdish-led authorities, Hawar, reported that the operation was now finished and Islamic State defeated. But an SDF denial swiftly made clear it was not quite prepared to declare victory yet. A propaganda video carrying the mark of an Islamic State news outlet and distributed among online followers of the group on Thursday showed footage from inside Baghouz and a fighter calling for Muslims in Western countries to stage attacks. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said another 2,000 women and children had arrived late on Wednesday at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria that has received tens of thousands of people who have poured out of the shrinking Islamic State territory. “These women and children are in the worst condition we have seen since the crisis first began. Many have been caught up in the fighting and dozens have been burnt or badly injured by shrapnel,” Wendy Taeuber, IRC’s Iraq and northeast Syria country director, said in a statement. “We are expecting another 3,000 to arrive soon and we are very worried that they may be in even worse shape.” A report issued by the United Nations’ population fund, the UNFPA, on Thursday said “it is estimated that around 7,000 people are still inside” Baghouz, without elaborating. The al-Hol camp is now holding more than 72,000 people, including more than 40,000 children, IRC said. The total number of deaths on the way to it or shortly after arriving now stood at 138, the overwhelming number of them babies and infants. Of the 1,248 pregnant women and girls in the camp, up to 15 percent were younger than 18, the UNFPA said. Though the defeat of Islamic State at Baghouz ends its grip over populated territory, it remains a threat, with fighters operating in remote territory elsewhere and capable of mounting insurgent attacks. The U.S. military has warned that Islamic State may still count tens of thousands of fighters, dispersed throughout Iraq and Syria, with enough leaders and resources to present a menacing insurgency. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on a visit to Jerusalem, told reporters victory was “close. He was proud of “the work that the United States did, the Department of Defense did, that the folks fighting down in the Euphrates river valley did,” he said. “The threat from radical Islamic terrorism remains. We need to finish out the last few square meters there, in Syria. Still work to do.” The Pentagon’s internal watchdog released a report last month saying Islamic State remained an active insurgent group and was regenerating functions and capabilities more quickly in Iraq than in Syria. The group could resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory without sustained pressure. The United States believes Iraq is the location of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who stood at the pulpit of the great medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims.
|
conflict;u.s .;terrorism;syria;refugees;islamic state;mike pompeo;syrian democratic forces;baghouz
|
jp0002387
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Mississippi governor signs 'heartbeat' abortion law, prompting threatened suit
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JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation — a measure that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights called the measure “cruel and clearly unconstitutional” and said it would sue Mississippi to try to block the law from taking effect on July 1. Bryant’s action came despite a federal judge’s decision last year striking down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions in the state. After a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol, Bryant told reporters that he’s not worried about lawsuits. “They don’t have to sue us. It’s up to them,” Bryant said. “If they do not believe in the sanctity of life, these that are in organizations like Planned Parenthood, we will have to fight that fight. But it is worth it.” Mississippi is one of several states that have considered bills this year to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is found. Abortion opponents are emboldened by new conservatives on the Supreme Court and are seeking cases to challenge the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. A federal judge in 2018 struck down a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, saying it is unconstitutional. “Lawmakers didn’t get the message,” Hillary Schneller, staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement Thursday. “They are determined to rob Mississippians of the right to abortion, and they are doing it at the expense of women’s health and taxpayer money. This ban — just like the 15-week ban the governor signed a year ago — is cruel and clearly unconstitutional.” The law that Bryant signed Thursday says a physician who performs an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected could face revocation of his or her Mississippi medical license. It also says abortions could be allowed after a fetal heartbeat is found if a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life or one of her major bodily functions. The House and Senate both rejected efforts to allow exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Georgia and Tennessee are among the states considering similar bills. Kentucky’s law banning abortion after the detection of a heartbeat was immediately challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union when Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed it on March 14, and a federal judge temporarily blocked it. A federal judge on Wednesday also blocked another Kentucky law that would ban abortion for women seeking to end their pregnancies because of the gender, race or disability of the fetus.
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abortion;mississippi;planned parenthood;phil bryant;center for reproductive rights
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jp0002388
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Pollution danger mounts as toxic cloud paralyzes Houston's refinery row after four-day fire
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HOUSTON - Now that the four-day fire is out at a Houston-area chemical storage complex, the real danger has emerged. Cancer-causing benzene is wafting across the eastern suburbs of the fourth-largest U.S. city, shutting roads, schools and industrial plants, and disrupting everyday life. A major oil refinery in the heart of North America’s most important fuel-producing region told workers to stay home and the cities of Deer Park and Galena Park told everyone to shut their windows and stay inside. The Texas National Guard deployed about 20 troops to assist with air monitoring, Maj. Joshua Amstutz said in an email. Toxic fumes detected hours before dawn have panicked Houstonians normally accustomed to orange flares from the warren of refinery and chemical plant smokestacks that stretch to the eastern horizon. Even when the chemical fire erupted Sunday and sent a black anvil of smoke a mile above the city, many residents were nonchalant. But with the fire at Intercontinental Terminals Co.’s storage complex extinguished, the situation is actually more treacherous because the pools of naphtha and other crude-oil byproducts at the site are no longer burning off — and are free to evaporate at ground level. “It’s making the dangers worse for the communities near the site,” said Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. “The fires that had been burning had been burning off many of these air toxins and wafting them into a plume higher into the sky, where it was able to spread and disperse into broader regions.” Police barricaded roads in Deer Park, 18 miles (29 km) east of downtown Houston, after a brief overnight flare-up at Intercontinental’s facility, where fire crews continue to douse several charred storage tanks with water and foam to cool the smoldering remnants. Royal Dutch Shell PLC told workers at its nearby 275,000 barrel-a-day Deer Park refinery to stay at home or remain inside if they’ve already arrived at work. The refinery’s operations are normal, said Ray Fisher, a Shell spokesman. “This is a real risk to human health, not theoretical,” said Elena Craft, senior director for climate and health at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Benzene is a known carcinogen, and no amount is safe to breathe. We urge everyone, especially pregnant women, to be vigilant.” The benzene levels detected “are below those that represent an immediate risk,” Intercontinental said in a statement. The company notified “surrounding municipalities and out of an abundance of caution Deer Park Emergency Operations Center has called for shelter in place precautions immediately for all of Deer Park.” Before the fire, Intercontinental’s tank farm could hold as much as 13 million barrels of oil products and chemicals along the Houston Ship Channel. The black smoke plume that towered over Houston posed no risk to residents, local official said. When ignited, benzene “just burns into carbon dioxide and water, just like anything else,” said Dr. Stephen Harding, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Once you’ve controlled the fire, you’ve now got damaged tanks containing the benzene which may be leaching into the air, now that it’s no longer being burned off.” Part of State Highway 225, which many workers use to get to work at nearby refineries and terminals, has been shut down. The highway closure affects an 8-mile stretch through the heart of refining and chemical country, snarling traffic all over the east side of Houston. Workers at LyondellBasell Industries NV’s Houston refinery continue to operate the facility, according to Kimberly Windon, a company spokeswoman. Petroleo Brasilerio SA didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the status of its refinery in the suburb of Pasadena. “We know this is concerning, especially to residents in the area of the shelter in place,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor to verify if this is a short-term, one time exposure or a longer exposure. At the level of benzene we are seeing now for the current duration it should not cause symptoms even in the area impacted.” The Deer Park Independent School District, La Porte ISD and Galena Park ISD have canceled school for Thursday.
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pollution;environment;chemicals;houston;refineries;fire;intercontinental terminals co .;naptha
|
jp0002389
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Florida man pleads guilty to mailing bombs to prominent Trump critics, CNN, Clintons
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NEW YORK - A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to sending a wave of pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump, attacks that harmed no one but created fear as the devices turned up, day after day, at locations across the country. Cesar Sayoc sobbed as he entered the plea before a federal judge in New York. “I’m truly sorry,” he said. He faces the possibility of a life sentence on 65 criminal counts, including using weapons of mass destruction and illegal mailing of explosives with intent to kill. Sayoc had been scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges that he mailed rudimentary bombs to 16 targets, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, several members of Congress, former President Barack Obama and the actor Robert De Niro. Devices were also mailed to CNN offices in New York and Atlanta. He has been held without bail since his late-October arrest at a South Florida auto parts store. At the time, he had been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces. The bombs began turning up weeks before the hotly contested midterm elections, contributing to an already tense political environment. The hunt for the bomber began Oct. 22 when a device was discovered in a mailbox at an estate in New York City’s northern suburbs owned by the billionaire George Soros, a liberal political activist and frequent subject of conspiracy theories. A device addressed to the Clintons was discovered the following day, followed a day later by a slew of homemade pipe bombs found at the homes or offices of prominent Democrats. One, addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, was sent to CNN in New York. Over several days, investigators tracked the packages to a mailing center in Florida. Prosecutors said the evidence against Sayoc includes DNA linking him to 10 of the explosive devices and fingerprints on two of them. Without a plea deal, Sayoc faced charges carrying a potential penalty of mandatory life in prison. Others targeted by the mailings included former Vice President Joe Biden, California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
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hillary clinton;joe biden;bill clinton;cnn;donald trump;mail bombs;cesar sayoc
|
jp0002390
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Jared Kushner's use of message apps, wife Ivanka Trump's email activities draw scrutiny in Congress
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WASHINGTON - Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a powerful White House aide, did not preserve all of her official emails as required by federal law, and her husband, Jared Kushner, used a messaging application to conduct U.S. business outside government channels, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee said on Thursday. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in a letter to the White House that the use of private email accounts and the messaging application WhatsApp by senior administration officials raises “security and federal records concerns.” Cummings said that Trump’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told the committee that Trump doesn’t preserve official emails she receives in her personal account if she doesn’t respond to them. Cummings says that appears to violate the Presidential Records Act. But just hours later, Lowell issued a letter of his own disputing Cummings’ characterization. Lowell said he was referring to Trump’s email use before September 2017 and that he told committee staff that now “she always forwards official business to her White House account.” The dispute arose as Cummings also released information about Kushner’s use of WhatsApp and raised questions about personal email accounts used by other former senior White House aides to discuss a proposal to transfer U.S. nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia. Cummings’ letter says Lowell told his staff that Kushner uses WhatsApp to conduct official U.S. government business including by communicating with “people outside the United States.” When asked whether Kushner had ever used WhatsApp to discuss classified information, Cummings said Lowell responded, “That’s above my pay grade,” and referred questions to the White House and the National Security Council, according to Cummings’ letter. Lowell said Kushner archives the messages he sends by taking screenshots of them and forwarding that record to his official White House email account or the National Security Council. In his response letter Thursday, Lowell stressed that he didn’t say whether Kushner used WhatsApp to communicate with foreign leaders or officials. He said he also informed the committee that Kushner complies with all protocols involving classified information. CNN reported last year that Kushner was communicating with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman using WhatsApp. In a statement Thursday, White House deputy press secretary Steven Groves said the White House will review Cummings’ letter and “provide a reasonable response in due course.” The House committee’s investigation comes after Ivanka Trump last year dismissed any comparison to the use of private email by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which prompted an FBI investigation and inspired the “Lock Her Up” chant at then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. While the top U.S. diplomat, Clinton sent thousands of emails using a private server set up at her home in Chappaqua, New York. The FBI found classified information in some of the emails that were sent or received on the nongovernment system, but federal authorities declined to pursue charges against Clinton. Last year, The Washington Post reported that Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of emails about government business from a personal email account to White House aides, Cabinet members and her assistant. The newspaper said many of those communications, during the early months of the administration, violated federal public records rules. In a previous written statement, Lowell spokesman Peter Mirijanian has acknowledged that Ivanka Trump used private email while transitioning to a position in the White House but said that the emails were retained “in conformity with records preservation laws and rules.” He also noted that “there was never classified information transmitted” using her private email account. In an interview with ABC News last year, Ivanka Trump defended her use of a private email account, saying: “All of my emails are stored and preserved. There were no deletions.” In his letter, Cummings also singled out former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland, questioning whether they preserved documents related to a proposal to transfer nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia. That proposal is under investigation by Cummings’ committee, which is looking into information from whistleblowers who have said they witnessed “abnormal acts” within the Trump National Security Council involving senior White House officials who were pushing the plan. The committee found that McFarland used an AOL account to discuss the effort pushed by Trump friend Tom Barrack. It cites a Feb. 6, 2017, email between McFarland and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Bannon also received a Jan. 29, 2017, email from Barrack that Cummings said was a pitch of the plan sent to inform “Bannon’s official work relating to developing ‘broader Middle East policy.'” Cummings is asking the White House whether these communications were properly preserved. Robert Giuffra, a lawyer for McFarland, declined comment. A representative for Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
|
congress;democrats;emails;whatsapp;donald trump;jared kushner;steve bannon;ivanka trump;elijah cummings
|
jp0002391
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
White House snubs congressional Democrats' demands for records of secretive Trump-Putin talks: reports
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WASHINGTON - The White House has rejected a request by Democratic lawmakers to provide information about President Donald Trump’s communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports on Thursday. The White House sent its denial in a letter to Congress, according to reports by The Hill newspaper and CNN. U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Eliot Engel and Elijah Cummings, the chairmen of the House of Representatives Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees, respectively, had asked the White House and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in early March for documents and interviews about Trump’s conversations with Putin. The lawmakers expressed concern about media reports that Trump seized notes on at least one meeting with the Russian leader and tried to destroy records about those talks. In his response, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said a president’s communications with foreign leaders are confidential and protected by executive privilege. “The president must be free to engage in discussions with foreign leaders without fear that those communications will be disclosed and used as fodder for partisan political purposes,” Cipollone wrote in the letter to the committee chairmen, according to The Hill. The request for information about communications with Putin followed the powerful House Judiciary Committee’s demand for documents from a who’s who of Trump’s turbulent world, targeting 81 people, government agencies and other groups in an investigation of possible obstruction of justice or abuse of power.
|
u.s .;congress;vladimir putin;russia;democrats;donald trump;adam schiff;elijah cummings;pat cipollone
|
jp0002392
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
In defiance of U.S., aide of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido arrested for leading 'terrorist cell'
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CARACAS - President Nicolas Maduro’s regime on Thursday defied the U.S. to arrest a top aide of opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington recognizes as the crisis-hit country’s interim leader. Interior Minister Nestor Reverol accused the aide, Roberto Marrero, a 49-year-old lawyer who serves as Guaido’s chief of staff, of leading a “terrorist cell” bent on attacking the government’s leadership with the help of Colombian and Central American mercenaries as well as “acts of sabotage on public services to create chaos.” He said weapons and foreign cash were found in a pre-dawn raid on Marrero’s home. He added that Marrero’s 34-year-old bodyguard, Luis Paez, was also arrested and faced the same charges and a search was on for “identified” collaborators. Later, Maduro said he would “not be afraid to fight terrorist groups to put them in jail.” The development triggered alarm internationally. The United States, the European Union, and a grouping of Latin American nations plus Canada, all denounced Marrero’s arrest and demanded his immediate release. The United States has repeatedly warned Maduro’s government against arresting Guaido or his close aides, saying it would face unspecified repercussions. US President Donald Trump reiterated this week he was considering “all options” at his disposal to see Maduro dislodged and Guaido installed in power, implying military action if he deemed it necessary. A U.N. spokesman Thursday expressed “concern” at the arrest, urging “all actors in Venezuela to take immediate steps to lower tensions and refrain from any action that could lead to further escalation.” The arrest was denounced earlier Thursday by Guaido as a “vile, vulgar kidnapping.” He said “we won’t be intimidated.” One opposition lawmaker who is a neighbor of Marrero’s and whose home was also searched, Sergio Vergara, told reporters that Marrero had yelled out during his arrest that SEBIN intelligence officers had planted two assault rifles and a grenade in his place as a pretext. “The United States condemns raids by Maduro’s security services and detention of Roberto Marrero, Chief of Staff to Interim President @jguaido. We call for his immediate release. We will hold accountable those involved,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter. “Maduro has made another big mistake. The illegitimate arrest of Roberto Marrero, Interim President Juan Guaido’s aide, will not go unanswered. He should be released immediately and his safety guaranteed,” added National Security Adviser John Bolton. Maduro and Guaido both claim to be Venezuela’s legitimate leader but Maduro, 56, retains the loyalty of the military brass and has control of state apparatus. Guaido, 35, declared himself interim president on January 23 and has the backing of the U.S. and more than 50 other countries. So far their power struggle has hit an impasse, with Maduro railing daily about the U.S. “imperialists” trying to dislodge him and Guaido touring the country to rally supporters and pledging he’ll be taking over “very soon.” Maduro’s forces have reinforced obstacles blocking a border bridge linking Venezuela and Colombia to prevent Guaido’s supporters trucking in U.S. aid. Extra shipping containers and concrete blocks have been moved into place on the bridge. Vergara said Thursday’s raid, which occurred around 2 a.m. , was carried out by around 15 officers of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service. He said he was thrown to the floor and his own place “ransacked” for around two hours before the officers went a short distance to bang on Marrero’s door and enter his apartment. “The dictatorship is abducting citizens,” Vergara said. The Lima Group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Peru, issued a statement “calling for Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate and dictatorial regime to immediately release Mr. Marrero” and leave Vergara alone. “We demand the end of harassment of Venezuelans upholding democracy and the systematic practice of arbitrary detention and torture in Venezuela,” said the statement issued by Peru’s Foreign Ministry. The United States has cautioned Maduro against laying a finger on Guaido or National Assembly deputies, threatening unspecified repercussions. In January, Bolton tweeted: “Any violence and intimidation against U.S. diplomatic personnel, Venezuela’s democratic leader, Juan Guaido, or the National Assembly itself would represent a grave assault on the rule of law and will be met with a significant response.” The United States this month withdrew all its diplomats from Venezuela. In just over a month, on April 28, increasingly harsh U.S. sanctions on Venezuela will intensify to a critical level with a ban on all oil sales to the United States, Venezuela’s main crude buyer. The step is expected to worsen already dire economic conditions ravaging Venezuela, a once-wealthy South American nation that has become impoverished under Maduro.
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venezuela;nicolas maduro;juan guaido;roberto marrero
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jp0002393
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
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As 'Car Wash' graft probe continues, former Brazilian President Michel Temer arrested on corruption charges
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RIO DE JANEIRO - Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was arrested Thursday on corruption charges, a dramatic development in a sprawling graft probe that has roiled Latin America’s largest nation and shows no sign of slowing. Judge Marcelo Bretas issued an arrest order for the ex-president as well as former Cabinet minister and Temer ally Moreira Franco and eight others. According to prosecutors, construction company Engevix paid Temer bribes in exchange for a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the city of Angra dos Reis in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state. Prosecutors said in a statement that one Engevix executive said in plea bargain testimony that he paid more than $300,000 in 2014 to a company owned by a close Temer associate, Col. Joao Baptista Lima Filho. An arrest warrant was also issued for Lima Filho. While the charges against Temer were narrow, prosecutors told reporters that the former president and several associates had been engaging in pay-for-play deals involving kickbacks since the 1980s that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. “This is a criminal organization that has been up until now led by Michel Temer,” said Fabiana Schneider, one of the prosecutors. In his arrest order, Bretas wrote that arresting Temer was necessary to make sure he didn’t destroy evidence. The case is one of 10 criminal investigations into Temer, a career politician known for his ability to wheel and deal behind the scenes in the capital, Brasilia. “Justice was created for all and everyone must respond for his own actions,” President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who ran on promises to crack down on endemic corruption, told reporters while on a state visit to Chile. Temer was taken into custody in Sao Paulo, where he lives, and taken by plane to Rio de Janeiro, where he would be processed. “It is evident the total lack of foundations for the arrest, which serves only to display the former president as a trophy to those that, under the pretext of fighting corruption, mock the basic rules of the constitution,” Temer lawyer Eduardo Pizarro Carnelos said in a statement. Bretas, the judge, is overseeing the Rio portion of a massive corruption probe involving kickbacks to politicians and public officials. Since launching in March 2014, the so-called Car Wash investigation has led to the jailing of top businessmen and politicians, including former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whom Brazilians universally call Lula. Former Judge Sergio Moro, who oversaw many Car Wash cases and became an internationally known anti-corruption crusader, stepped down at the end of last year to become justice minister. Many worried that Moro’s absence could hurt the investigations. And the Car Wash probe has suffered a handful of recent defeats, including a decision by the Supreme Court to allow some corruption cases involving campaign finance, which figured heavily in the probe, to be tried by electoral courts. This week, Moro himself suffered a setback when the speaker of the lower Chamber of Deputies in Congress slammed a tough-on-crime bill the former judge put forward and said it would only be considered after a major reform to the pension system. Bretas’ decision to arrest Temer will go a long way to answering questions about the future of the probe. “If Lula and Temer can go to jail, who cannot?” said Carlos Melo, political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “There are several formerly high-ranking politicians not in office at the moment, which makes them more exposed to police investigations.” Temer, who was vice president, came to the presidency in 2016 after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and ousted from office for mismanaging the federal budget. Rousseff and allies in her Workers’ Party accused Temer of orchestrating her ouster, which he denied. From the get-go, Temer’s administration was hit with several scandals, including some involving the president himself. Temer’s approval ratings were routinely below 10 percent, and he was frequently booed. In the course of less than two years, three times the attorney-general charged Temer, twice with corruption and one with obstruction of justice. Because he was a sitting president, he could only be tried if two-thirds of the lower chamber in Congress agreed. Temer twice mustered enough support in Congress to avoid prosecution and his term ended before the third case proceeded far enough for Congress to vote. Temer, 78, left office on Jan. 1 and no longer has the partial immunity that helped him avoid prosecution. Asked about looming cases against him in December, Temer said he wasn’t worried and did not believe he would be arrested. “I’m calm. I am not the least bit worried,” Temer said. “Those (charges) are such absurd things that a more objective and less passionate mind will see that and will say, ‘those allegations are irrelevant.’ “
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brazil;corruption;michel temer
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jp0002394
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Trump tweets U.S. recognizes Israel sovereignty of Golan Heights
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JERUSALEM - President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election. The administration has been considering recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, for some time and Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just a day earlier. U.S. and Israeli officials said Wednesday they had not expected a decision until next week, when Netanyahu is to visit the U.S. But in a tweet that appeared to catch many by surprise, Trump said the time had come for the United States to take the step, which Netanyahu warmly welcomed as a “miracle” on the Jewish holiday of Purim. “After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump tweeted. The U.S. will be the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as disputed territory occupied by Israel whose status should be determined by negotiations between Israel and Syria. Attempts to bring Israel and Syria to the table have failed. It was not immediately clear how a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Golan might be affected by the U.S. move. That force’s mandate expires at the end of June. There had been signals a decision was coming. Last week, in its annual human rights report, the State Department dropped the phrase “Israeli-occupied” from the Golan Heights section, instead calling it “Israeli-controlled.” Pompeo had brushed questions about the change aside, insisting even earlier Thursday that there was no change in policy. However, in comments to reporters ahead of a Purim dinner with Netanyahu and his wife at their Jerusalem home, Pompeo hailed the shift. “Tonight, President Trump made the decision to recognize that that hard-fought real estate, that important place, is proper to be a sovereign part of the state of Israel,” he said. Netanyahu, who is embroiled in a fierce re-election campaign ahead of April 9 voting, smiled broadly while delivering his own remarks. “We have the miracle of Purim,” he said. “Thank you President Trump.” Netanyahu has for weeks been stepping up longstanding Israeli requests for the U.S. and others to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan. He has bolstered Israel’s traditional argument that the area has for all practical purposes been fully integrated into Israel by accusing Iran of trying to infiltrate terrorists from Syria into the plateau. “At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” Netanyahu tweeted. Trump’s announcement came as Pompeo was wrapping up a two-day visit to Jerusalem during which he lauded warm ties with Israel, met with Netanyahu on at least three separate occasions and promised to step up pressure on Iran. Pompeo’s events with Netanyahu included a visit to the Western Wall that made him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the Jewish holy site with any Israeli leader and appeared to further signal the Trump administration’s support for Israel’s control of the contested city. Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv, prompting the Palestinians to sever ties with the administration. Pompeo’s presence also appeared to signal Trump’s support for Netanyahu the political candidate. Netanyahu, facing a tough challenge from a popular former military chief and reeling from a series of corruption allegations, has repeatedly sought to focus attention on his foreign policy record and strong ties with Trump. “The Trump administration is absolutely endorsing Netanyahu,” said Alon Pinkas, former consul general of Israel in New York. “It’s very rare for a secretary of state to come visit an Israeli prime minister without any apparent diplomatic reason justifying it, without a peace process, without any regional agenda.” Pompeo said his trip had nothing to do with politics or U.S. policy on Jerusalem, although for decades American officials refrained from visiting the Western Wall with Israeli leaders to avoid the appearance of recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the city’s most sensitive holy sites. Israel captured east Jerusalem and the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. “I’m going to stay far away from the decisions that the Israeli people will make here in a few weeks,” Pompeo told reporters. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for the U.S. secretary of state to comment on Israeli domestic politics.” The Old City is home to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition says Jesus was entombed and resurrected. Pompeo, a Christian, also stopped at the church. Next to the Western Wall is a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The spot, which once housed the biblical Jewish Temples, is the holiest site in Judaism and today is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. The competing claims to the site are a frequent source of tension and lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he said it did not determine the city’s final borders. But the gesture was perceived as unfairly siding with Israel and prompted the Palestinians to cut contacts with U.S. officials. The Palestinians have already rejected a planned Mideast peace initiative by the administration. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Pompeo’s visit added additional obstacles to peace hopes. “While they are claiming to be trying to solve the conflict, such acts only make it more difficult to resolve,” he said. While previous secretaries of state have traditionally met with the Palestinians when visiting the region, Pompeo has no such talks planned.
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u.s .;israel;syria;benjamin netanyahu;palestinians;iran;golan heights;donald trump;mike pompeo
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jp0002395
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
|
In apparent nod to conservative activists, Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose research funds
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NEW YORK - President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday requiring U.S. colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal research funding. The new order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free speech and the exchange of ideas, and to follow federal rules guiding free expression. “Even as universities have received billions and billions of dollars from taxpayers, many have become increasingly hostile to free speech and to the First Amendment,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. “These universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity and shut down the voices of great young Americans.” The order follows a growing chorus of complaints from conservatives who say their voices have been stifled on campuses across the U.S. Joining Trump at the ceremony were students who said they were challenged by their schools while trying to express views against abortion or in support of their faith. Several free speech groups raised concerns about the order, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which took issue with “the partisan nature of the administration’s rollout of this executive order.” Trump initially proposed the idea during a March 2 speech to conservative activists, highlighting the case of Hayden Williams, an activist who was punched in the face while recruiting for the group Turning Point USA at the University of California, Berkeley. He invoked the case again Thursday, noting that Williams was hit hard “but he didn’t go down.” Under the order, colleges would need to agree to protect free speech in order to tap into more than $35 billion a year in research and educational grants. For public universities, that means vowing to uphold the First Amendment, which they’re already required to do. Private universities, which have more flexibility in limiting speech, will be required to commit to their own institutional rules. “We will not stand idly by to allow public institutions to violate their students’ constitutional rights,” Trump said. “If a college or university doesn’t allow you to speak, we will not give them money. It’s very simple.” Enforcement of the order will be left to federal agencies that award grants, but how schools will be monitored and what types of violations could trigger a loss of funding have yet to be seen. White House officials said details about the implementation will be finalized in coming months. Many colleges have firmly opposed the need for an executive order. Following Trump’s speech, Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, said many schools are “ground zero” for the exchange of ideas. “We do not need the federal government to mandate what already exists: our long-standing, unequivocal support for freedom of expression,” she said. “This executive order will only muddle policies surrounding free speech, while doing nothing to further the aim of the First Amendment.” The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 college presidents, called the order “a solution in search of a problem.” “No matter how this order is implemented, it is neither needed nor desirable, and could lead to unwanted federal micromanagement of the cutting-edge research that is critical to our nation’s continued vitality and global leadership,” said Ted Mitchell, the organization’s president. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has spoken against a government answer to campus speech issues, issued a statement that only briefly mentioned free speech, and instead largely focused on another part of the order dealing with transparency in college performance data. Her statement said students “should be empowered to pursue truth through the free exchange of all ideas, especially ideas with which they may not agree. Free inquiry is an essential feature of our democracy, and I applaud the president’s continued support for America’s students.” The order was supported by conservative groups including Turning Point USA, which has pushed for action on the issue. In Trump’s speech, he specifically thanked Charlie Kirk, the group’s founder, who has pushed for action on the issue. On Twitter, Kirk called the order “historic,” adding that while harassment by campus faculty is not uncommon, “it ends today!” The top Republican on the Senate education committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, said he supports the push for free speech but criticized Trump’s approach. “I don’t want to see Congress or the president or the department of anything creating speech codes to define what you can say on campus,” said Alexander, R-Tenn. “The U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech. Federal courts define and enforce it. The Department of Justice can weigh in.” Debate over campus free speech has flared in recent years following a string of high-profile cases in which protesters shut down or heckled conservative speakers, including at UC Berkeley and Middlebury College in Vermont. Republicans called hearings on the issue when they controlled both chambers, but proposed legislation backing campus speech never made it through committee. Some colleges leaders have said they worry the order could backfire. If a speaking event threatens to turn violent, for example, some say they might have to choose between canceling the event for safety and allowing it to continue to preserve federal funding. Some say it could force religious universities to host speakers with views that conflict with the universities’ values. Still, the order has gained support from some religious institutions including Liberty University, a Christian school in Virginia whose leaders say they denounce censorship of either the left or right. Separate from the free speech requirement, the order also calls for several measures meant to promote transparency in the student loan industry and in how well colleges prepare students. By January 2020, Trump is directing the Education Department to create a website where borrowers can find better information about their loans and repayment options, and he’s calling on the agency to expand its College Scorecard website to include data on the graduates of individual college programs, including their median earnings, loan debt and their default rates. Trump, a Republican, also is asking the Education Department to prepare a policy that would make sure colleges “share the financial risk” that students and the federal government take on with federal student loans.
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media;censorship;universities;donald trump
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jp0002396
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/22
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As EU approves delay, over 2 million rush to sign 'Stop Brexit' petition
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LONDON/BRUSSELS - More than 2 million people have signed an online petition urging the government to cancel Brexit, with support rocketing in the wake of Prime Minister Theresa May’s statement Wednesday. Whatever she hoped to achieve from her address to the nation, in which she blamed members of Parliament for the impasse in the Brexit process and told those who voted to break with the EU she was on their side, it is unlikely she expected a slew of celebrities to urge their social media followers to oppose her plan. Parliament’s petitions website repeatedly crashed as the number of signatures shot up — fueled by endorsements from singer Annie Lennox, actor Hugh Grant, science broadcaster Brian Cox and comedian David Mitchell. “The rate of signing is the highest the site has ever had to deal with,” the House of Commons Petitions Committee said on Twitter. “Between 80,000 and 100,000 people have been simultaneously viewing the petition,” it said, “nearly 2,000 signatures are being completed every minute.” The tally passed 1 million shortly before 3 p.m. London time Thursday after the link to the petition went viral on social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. It passed 2 million just after 10:35 p.m. while EU leaders were locked in talks with May at a summit in Brussels, negotiating a delay to the divorce date. “The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is ‘the will of the people,’ ” the text of the petition says. “We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now, for remaining in the EU.” Any petition exceeding 100,000 signatures is eligible for debate by Parliament. It is then up to a special Petitions Committee comprised of rank-and-file lawmakers to decide whether one should be held. “I’ve signed. And it looks like every sane person in the country is signing too,” Grant wrote on Twitter. “National emergency. Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU.” Underlying data showed the most signatories coming from areas that supported remain in the 2016 referendum, including Edinburgh, London, Bristol and Cambridge. But there were also thousands of supporters in Leave-supporting areas such as northeast England, the Midlands and Wales. Figures also showed signatories in countries around the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, suggesting not all may be U.K. voters. May’s office made clear that she has no intention of revoking Article 50 and keeping Britain in the EU. “We have said probably 12,000 times in this room — and she has probably said thousands of times herself — that is something she is not prepared to do,” May’s spokeswoman, Alison Donnelly, told reporters at a briefing in Parliament. European Union leaders agreed Thursday to delay Brexit until May 22 if British lawmakers approve the withdrawal deal brokered with the bloc. If the House of Commons fails to approve the withdrawal agreement that May reached with Brussels, the EU leaders will offer a much shorter delay until April 12 for Britain to decide whether to leave without a deal. May has requested a delay until June 30. Britain had been due to leave the 28-member bloc on March 29, but the House of Commons has twice overwhelmingly rejected the divorce deal over worries that it could trap Britain into a permanent customs union with the European Union. Parliament voted last week against Britain leaving without a deal amid fears that doing so will create severe economic disruption. European Council President Donald Tusk said in a news conference the EU had “unanimously” agreed on its response to Britain’s request for a delay, giving an extension until May 22, the day before European Parliament elections start, if the divorce deal is approved by British lawmakers next week. Tusk said he met with May several times Thursday “to make sure that the U.K. accepts the extension scenarios, and I’m pleased to confirm that we have reached an agreement on this.” May told reporters, “I’m still working on ensuring that Parliament can agree a deal so that we can leave in an orderly way.”
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trade;eu;u.k .;referendums;brexit;theresa may
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jp0002398
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
South Korea's Moon draws fury at home over language gaffe in Malaysia
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SEOUL - What is the difference between “good afternoon” and “good night”? In South Korea’s cutthroat politics, it can be a furious political row and the foreign minister apologizing to parliament. South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Malaysia earlier this month and greeted his audience at an afternoon press conference with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad using the phrase “selamat sore.” The line is more commonly used in Indonesia — although the neighbors’ languages are so similar they are generally mutually intelligible. At the time, Mahathir smiled and appeared amused, while senior Malaysian senior ministers laughed. But Moon’s South Korean critics slammed him for not using the correct Malaysian greeting, “selamat petang.” And his use of that phrase, meaning “good afternoon,” at a dinner beginning at 8 p.m. — rather than “selamat malam,” or “good night” — triggered another round of fury in Seoul. Opposition lawmakers and newspapers lined up to excoriate Moon, with headlines calling it a “diplomatic disaster.” The Korea Times assailed the “incompetence” of the presidential protocol team on Friday. “The absence of a protest from the host country does not excuse the unbelievable carelessness,” it added, saying it was one of a series of incidents demonstrating a “serious lack of professionalism and ethics” in the Blue House. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has apologized to parliament, admitting that her ministry had made a “painful mistake.” “I apologize for causing concerns,” she told the national assembly on Wednesday. But an aide for the Malaysian prime minister’s office said that “selamat sore” was usable in Malaysian too. “We were happy and amused when the president said it,” he said. “Personally, it is a non-issue.”
|
malaysia;south korea;language;moon jae-in
|
jp0002399
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
'Ordinary people' in focus as over 1 billion Asians set to vote in elections
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BANGKOK - Rights over land and forests, a push for LGBTQ equality and getting more women on the ballot are some of the top election issues in Thailand, India and Indonesia as more than 1 billion people prepare to go to the polls, including many first-time voters. The candidates’ platforms reflect a growing concern in those countries over widening economic inequality and the marginalization of minority communities, analysts say. In Thailand, which will hold a general election Sunday — its first since the military seized control in 2014 — candidates for prime minister include a transgender woman, a former student activist and a human rights campaigner from the rural northeast. A total of 52 million Thais age 18 and above are eligible to vote, of whom 14 percent will do so for the first time. The contest broadly pits the party of junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha against populist parties loyal to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But there are also several newly formed parties in the race, some of them campaigning for greater rights for farmers and minorities. Pauline Ngarmpring of the Mahachon Party is Thailand’s first transgender candidate for prime minister, and she has made rights for LGBTQ people and sex workers among her priorities. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 40-year-old billionaire who is a favorite with young voters, has spoken about economic inequality in the country, which has the world’s biggest income gap, according to a 2018 report by Swiss investment firm Credit Suisse. And at the Commoners’ Party, founder Kittichai Ngamchaipisit is a social activist who has campaigned against land acquisitions for industry and a forest reclamation policy that has led to the eviction of indigenous people. “Our party has its roots among the poor and marginalized communities who have been affected by mining and large dams,” said Kriangsak Teerakowitkajorn, a member of the party’s policy working group. “The interests of ordinary people have been ignored for so long in politics. We felt our voices needed to be heard, and that the only way to do that is to participate in the political process.” When about 190 million Indonesians go to the polls on April 17, they will be voting in a rerun of the 2014 race, when current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo went up against retired Gen. Prabowo Subianto. Surveys in the lead-up to this election show the president holding a double-digit lead over his challenger. One issue getting more attention this time is the role of women in politics, said Diego Fossati, an assistant professor at the department of Asian and international studies at City University of Hong Kong. “Candidates from both camps have been very active in appealing directly to women, and female voters have responded, for example by establishing groups of volunteers,” Fossati said. “However, because party lists rarely feature female candidates in top positions, it appears unlikely that this higher mobilization will translate into more parliamentary seats for women,” he added. Indonesian women held about a fifth of the seats in the national parliament last year, as compared to about 12 percent in 1990, according to World Bank data. While that figure is in line with the 20 percent average for Asia, it is lower than the 24 percent global average, and well below Indonesia’s own minimum quota of 30 percent for female political candidates, introduced in 2003. In India, where the general election will be held in seven stages starting April 11, about 900 million citizens are eligible to vote. High on the agenda is forest rights, after the Supreme Court last month stayed an earlier ruling ordering the forced evictions of nearly 2 million indigenous people whose land claims were rejected under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The 2006 law aimed to improve the lives of impoverished tribes by recognizing their right to inhabit and live off forests where their ancestors had settled. But government data showed that, so far, about half the claims have been rejected. Forest rights activists say the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has failed to implement the law or defend it in court. The leader of the main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, has made land and forest rights a focus of his campaign. Analysts say that may have helped Congress win recent elections in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the same way, the FRA could be a deciding factor in nearly a quarter of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in the upcoming national election, according to the nonprofit network Community Forest Rights-Learning and Advocacy (CFR-LA). “We saw that FRA was a major issue in the state elections, with many tribal groups insisting that candidates commit to recognizing their forest rights if they are elected,” said Tushar Dash, a researcher at CFR-LA. “Denial of forest rights will have a major impact on the election across the country,” he said. In many indigenous areas, communities are clear about their main demand, said Ramesh Sharma, a campaign coordinator at land rights group Ekta Parishad. “They say: ‘No land, no vote. Give land, get vote.’ “
|
indonesia;rights;women;thailand;elections
|
jp0002400
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
As Indian election looms, mystics are split over outcome
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MUMBAI - Transgender mystic Zoya Lobo turns over three oracle cards, studies them for a minute and then looks up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely win India’s general election this summer, she proclaims. Clairvoyant Larra Shah also predicts a victory for Modi owing to his “extremely powerful aura.” But astrologer Raj Kumar Sharma thinks opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will win because his party’s moon sign is Virgo. Vedic astrology is big business in Hindu-majority India, and stargazers are making a host of predictions for elections starting next month in the world’s biggest democracy, with their many followers hanging on every utterance. Some 900 million voters are registered to cast ballots in the vote in April and May, which will see Gandhi’s Congress party seek to dislodge Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power. Shah, 49, a celebrity holistic healer who practices tarot reading, says most of them will plump for Modi, who is himself a devout Hindu. “When it comes to tarot cards Modi is like the emperor or the magician, where the power of self-knowledge — of spiritual balance, of karma — is in perfection,” she explained. “Rahul Gandhi is more like the devil because he’s always confused. There is a conflict there because he is a Gemini, so has a dual personality,” Shah added. Modi, 68, and the right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP swept to power five years ago by winning 282 out of 543 seats, forming the country’s first majority government in almost three decades. Shah expects Modi to be returned to power, but with a vastly reduced majority. Pre-election polling suggests an even closer contest, with many forecasting that neither party will win the 272 seats needed for a majority. Lobo also has a prediction that hits closer to home for her — a 35 percent chance that Modi will do something to help India’s 2-million-strong transgender community. Indians consult soothsayers for advice on a raft of subjects, from whom to marry to whether to buy a house or strike a business deal. Many businessmen, Bollywood actors and politicians have personal astrologers scrutinize their stars closely to determine auspicious days on which to hold functions, release a movie or make political announcements. For the election, Sharma says the planets are aligning in favor of Congress — based on the birth dates of the parties and their leaders — and that it will be able to persuade smaller, regional parties to join them in a coalition. “Congress’ moon sign is Virgo, and at present a favorable Jupiter mahadasha (period) is happening for them, while the BJP’s moon sign is Scorpio,” he explained. “Rahul Gandhi’s favorable period has started and his moon is more powerful than Narendra Modi’s moon,” he added, “so my prediction is very clear: Rahul Gandhi will either become the prime minister or will make the prime minister with the support of his party.” He sees the elections being “extremely volatile” because they were declared at an inauspicious time — when the sun was setting instead of rising. He also says that the election period may witness more violence between India and Pakistan.
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india;rahul gandhi;elections;narendra modi
|
jp0002401
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Imam says New Zealand is broken-hearted but not broken as nation mourns victims of mosque massacres
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - New Zealanders observed the Muslim call to prayer Friday in reflecting on the moment one week earlier when 50 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques were slain — an act that, an imam told the crowd of thousands, had left the country broken-hearted but not broken. In a day without precedent, people across New Zealand listened to the call to prayer on live broadcasts while thousands, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, gathered in Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque, where 42 people died. “New Zealand mourns with you. We are one,” Ardern said. The call to prayer was observed at 1:30 p.m. and followed by two minutes of silence. Hundreds of Muslim men at the park sat in socks or bare feet. One man in the front row was in a Christchurch Hospital wheelchair. Al Noor’s imam, Gamal Fouda, thanked New Zealanders for their support: “This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology. … But, instead, we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable. We are broken-hearted but we are not broken. We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us,” he added as the crowd the city estimated at 20,000 people erupted with applause. Later in the day, a mass funeral was held to bury 26 of the victims at a cemetery where more than a dozen already have been laid to rest. Friday’s burials included the youngest victim, 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim. The observance came a day after the government announced a ban on “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Friday’s attacks at the Al Noor and nearby Linwood mosques. An immediate sales ban went into effect Thursday to prevent stockpiling, and new laws would be rushed through Parliament that would impose a complete ban on the weapons, Ardern said. “Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” Ardern said. The gun legislation is supported not only by Ardern’s liberal Labour Party but also the conservative opposition National Party, so it is expected to pass into law. New Zealand does not have a constitutional right to bear arms. Hundreds of New Zealanders contacted authorities to hand in their guns within hours of Ardern announcing the ban, police said Friday. In the first 20 hours after the ban took effect, nearly 500 people had called a special hotline set up by police for people to arrange the gun hand-ins, Assistant Police Commissioner Tusha Penny said. More than 1,000 people also notified police online that they wanted to give up their guns. But while the gun reform has wide support among both the governing and opposition political parties, some critics expressed their disgruntlement by filing “vexatious” forms online, Penny said. Among those attending Friday’s observance was Samier Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association in Sydney and part of a 15-strong delegation of Muslim leaders who had flown to Christchurch. He said his pain couldn’t compare with that of the families he had been visiting who had lost loved ones. He was inspired by their resilience, he said. Al Noor’s imam said workers have been toiling feverishly to repair the destruction, and some offered their services for free. He expects the mosque to reopen by next week.
|
guns;immigration;australia;new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;brenton tarrant
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jp0002402
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
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Troubled Chinese man kills six with car, shot dead by police
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BEIJING - A car rammed into a crowd in central China on Friday, killing six people and injuring seven others, and the driver was fatally shot by police, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The injured were taken to a hospital following the early morning incident in Zaoyang City in Hubei Province, CCTV said. China has suffered a spate of similar incidents in recent months. Last September, 11 people died and dozens were injured when a car struck a crowd in a public square in the central Hunan province city of Hengdong. Police detained the driver, a man in his 40s, and described him as a “vengeful repeat offender” who had daggers in his car and intended to “cause serious damage.” In late November, a car plowed into a group of children crossing a street in front of an elementary school in the northeastern Liaoning province, killing five people and injuring at least 19. The driver said he “chose his victims at random” and had reportedly been contemplating suicide due to domestic troubles before the tragedy occurred.
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china;murder
|
jp0002403
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
New Zealand marks one week since mosque massacre with prayers, scarves
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - New Zealanders prepared for nationwide prayers on Friday to mark one week since a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch killed 50 worshippers. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lead thousands of mourners expected to gather at a park in front of the Al Noor mosque, where most of the victims died, for a prayer followed by two minutes of silence. Ardern, who has labeled the attack as terrorism, announced a ban on military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws on Thursday. The prime minister is expected to be accompanied in the Christchurch prayers with community leaders and other foreign dignitaries. The Muslim call to prayer will be broadcast nationally across all free-to-air TV and radio stations. Armed police have been guarding mosques around New Zealand since the attacks. Police said there would be a “heightened presence” on Friday to reassure those attending weekly prayers. Candlelight vigils continued until late on Thursday across the country, while government officials worked through the night to prepare the mosque and the bodies of the deceased for a mass burial that expected after the prayers. “All the bodies are washed. We finished around 1.30 a.m. this morning. It was our duty. After we finished there was a lot of emotion, people were crying and hugging,” said a body washer in Christchurch who gave his name as Mo. Newspapers across the country ran full-page memorials with the names of the victims, and a call for national mourning. “A call to prayer … in unity there is strength,” New Zealand Herald said on its front page. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist who was living in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s South Island, has been charged with murder following the attack. He was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5, when police said he was likely to face more charges. Twenty-eight people wounded in the attacks remain in hospital, six in intensive care. Most victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand’s population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas. On social media, New Zealanders of all religions were being encouraged to wear headscarves on Friday to show their support for the Muslim community. The #headscarfforharmony movement was trending on Twitter on Friday, with people posting photos of themselves in the Muslim attire.
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terrorism;new zealand;christchurch;hate crimes;mosque massacre
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jp0002404
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Blast at pesticide plant in eastern China leaves 47 dead, over 600 injured
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SHANGHAI - An explosion at a pesticide plant in eastern China has killed 47 people and injured more than 600, state media said on Friday, the latest casualties in a series of industrial accidents that have angered the public. The blast occurred on Thursday at the Chenjiagang Industrial Park in the city of Yancheng, in Jiangsu province, and the fire was finally brought under control at 3 a.m. on Friday, state television said. Windows in buildings as far as about 6 kilometers (4 miles) away were blown out by the force of the blast, which caused a magnitude 2.2 seismic shock. Survivors were taken to 16 hospitals, with 640 people being treated for injuries. Thirty-two of them were critically injured, it said. The fire, at a plant owned by the Tianjiayi Chemical Co., spread to neighboring factories. Children at a kindergarten in the vicinity were also injured in the blast, media reported. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, but the company — which produces more than 30 organic chemical compounds, some of which are highly flammable — has been cited and fined for work safety violations in the past, the China Daily said. President Xi Jinping, who is in Italy on a state visit, ordered all-out efforts to care for the injured and to “earnestly maintain social stability,” state television said. Authorities must step up action to prevent such incidents from happening and find out the cause of the blast as quickly as possible, Xi added. “There have recently been a series of major accidents, and all places and relevant departments must fully learn the lessons from these,” the report cited Xi as saying. The Jiangsu environmental protection bureau said in a statement late Thursday that the environmental monitoring station in the area had found no abnormal concentrations of toluene, xylene or benzene. Concentrations of acetone and chloroform outside the perimeter of the explosion zone were also within normal limits, it added. Jiangsu will launch inspections on chemical producers and warehouses, according to an emergency notice published by official media on Friday. The notice, published on the news website of Jiangsu province’s Communist Party, said the government would shut down any chemical firms found not complying with regulations on dangerous chemicals. Public anger over safety standards has grown in China over industrial accidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires that have marred three decades of swift economic growth. In 2015, 165 people were killed in a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the northern city of Tianjin. The explosions at Tianjin, one of the world’s busiest ports and not far from the capital, Beijing, were big enough to be seen by satellites and register on earthquake sensors. Despite repeated pledges by the government to tighten safety, chemical plants in particular have been plagued by disasters. In November, a series of blasts during the delivery of a flammable gas at a chemical manufacturer killed 23 people.
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china;accidents;chemicals
|
jp0002405
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Pyongyang abruptly withdraws staff from inter-Korean liaison staff
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SEOUL - North Korea on Friday abruptly withdrew its staff from an inter-Korean liaison office, Seoul officials said. The development will likely put a damper on ties between the two Koreas and complicate global diplomacy on the North’s nuclear weapons program. Last month, the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam collapsed due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. Seoul’s Unification Ministry said that North Korea informed South Korea of its decision during a meeting at the liaison office at the North Korean border town of Kaesong on Friday. The North said it “is pulling out with instructions from the superior authority,” according to a Unification Ministry statement that didn’t say whether the withdrawal of staff will be temporary or permanent. According to the South Korean statement, the North added that it “will not mind the South remaining in the office” and that it will notify the South about practical matters later. Chun Hae-sung, Seoul’s vice unification minister, told reporters that South Korea plans to continue to staff the Kaesong liaison office normally and that it expects the North will continue to allow the South Koreans to commute to the office. He said Seoul plans to staff the office with 25 people on Saturday and Sunday. The South Korean statement called the North’s decision “regrettable.” It said South Korea urges the North to return its staff to the liaison office soon. The liaison office opened last September as part of a flurry of reconciliation steps. It is the first such Korean office since the peninsula was split into a U.S.-backed, capitalistic South and a Soviet-supported, socialist North in 1945. The Koreas had previously used telephone and fax-like communication channels that were often shut down in times of high tension. The town is where the Koreas’ now-stalled jointly run factory complex was located. It combined South Korean initiatives, capital and technology with North Korea’s cheap labor. Both Koreas want the U.S. to allow sanctions exemptions to allow the reopening of the factory park, which provided the North with much-needed foreign currency. In the first punitive steps since the summit, the United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies it says helped North Korea evade sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, The Treasury Department also issued an updated advisory that listed 67 vessels that it said had engaged in illicit transfers of refined petroleum with North Korean tankers or were believed to have exported North Korean coal. The department identified the newly sanctioned firms as Dalian Haibo International Freight and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding. The U.S. sanctions prohibit U.S. dealings with the designated companies and freezes any assets they have in the United States. “The United States and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related U.N. Security Council resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk,” he said. The latest sanctions showed there is some “leakage” in North Korea sanctions enforcement by China, but it is mostly abiding by U.N. resolutions, a senior U.S. official told reporters.
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north korea;nuclear weapons;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis
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jp0002406
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Okinawa Gov. Tamaki's plea for one-month suspension to work on Henoko base rejected by Tokyo, escalating tensions over Futenma relocation
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Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya rejected on Friday a request by Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki for a one-month suspension of land reclamation work in the Henoko district of northern Okinawa Prefecture, further deepening tensions over the controversial project to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture. Later the same day, the Okinawa Prefectural Government filed a new lawsuit against the central government’s temporary nullification of a decision by the prefecture to withdraw its earlier permission for reclamation work in the Henoko district. The lawsuit is likely to further intensify political tensions between Tokyo and Okinawa, which hosts a large number of the U.S. military bases and units despite strong anti-military sentiment among many local residents. “We’d like to steadily proceed with the work so that the Futenma base can be returned as soon as possible,” Iwaya said Friday morning during a media briefing. The central government is now expected to continue its land reclamation efforts for construction of the new base, pouring further earth and sand into the sea off the coast of the district on Monday. Iwaya confirmed that the Defense Ministry will proceed with the plan, dependent on weather and other conditions. “Without relocation to Henoko, the Futenma base will remain fixed at its current location. That’s something we must absolutely avoid,” Iwaya said. Tamaki — who was elected last year on a platform of strongly opposing the Futenma relocation project — met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday in Tokyo. During the meeting, Tamaki had proposed that the construction work on the Henoko project be suspended for one month to allow more time for talks between Tokyo and Okinawa. Responding to the lawsuit filed Friday afternoon, a Defense Ministry spokesman promising to complete the relocation project. “We will continue dialog, through various opportunities, and try to win the understanding of the local population,” said Hajime Aoyagi, press secretary for the Defense Ministry, after the Okinawa Prefectural Government filed the lawsuit at the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court. “We will then try to realize the relocation and reversion of the Futenma base as soon as possible by progressing (with construction works) on the step-by-step basis,” he said. Futenma air station is located in the densely-populated area of Ginowan, in central Okinawa, where local residents say it causes intense noise pollution and increases the risk of accidents. Nonetheless, a majority of Okinawa residents oppose Tokyo’s plan to relocate the base within the prefecture, saying other parts of Japan must share more of the burden in hosting U.S. military bases. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly expressed his determination to build an alternative base in the Henoko area. Officials in Tokyo argue that removing the Futenma base from the prefecture would reduce the U.S. military’s deterrence power, and could send the wrong message to China. Beijing regularly dispatches ships to the waters in the East China Sea surrounding the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing. The territorial dispute over the islands, known as Diaoyu in China, are seen as a potential flash point for a military conflict between Japan and China.
|
okinawa;u.s. bases;futenma;henoko
|
jp0002407
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
In graduation comments, Princess Kako wishes for sister's happiness
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Princess Kako, the 24-year-old granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, graduated from International Christian University in Tokyo on Friday, and expressed her wish for her sister’s happiness. In written answers to questions from the media, Princess Kako commented on the postponement of the marriage between her sister, Princess Mako, 27, and Kei Komuro following reports that Komuro’s family was involved in a financial dispute. “I would like my sister’s wishes to be met, as I believe the important detail is how they feel about each other,” she said. Regarding her own marriage prospects, the princess wrote, “I wish to get married in time, at a point that isn’t too late. My ideal partner would be someone with whom I can be relaxed.” The princess, the younger daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, appeared for the press in a black gown, cap and white high heels ahead of the graduation ceremony. “I feel grateful that I could lead a wonderful school life,” she said. In written answers to questions from the media, the princess said she will devote herself to performing her official duties from now on and will not enter graduate school. “It is not about what I want to do, but about addressing the official duties that have been asked of me,” she said. “I do have dreams, but I would like to keep them to myself.” Asked about the abdication of the Emperor, who is 85, on April 30 and the ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne of her uncle, Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, on May 1, the princess said she will be as supportive as she possibly can while performing her duties. Princess Kako’s brother, Prince Hisahito, 12, will become second in line to the throne after the abdication. Her father, who is 53, will become the Crown Prince and will receive the title Koshi Denka. The princess entered Gakushuin University in Tokyo in April 2013, and transferred to ICU in April 2015, where she majored in psychology. She spent nine months at Leeds University in Britain from September 2017.
|
imperial family;princess kako;princess mako;kei komuro
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jp0002409
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/03/22
|
How many times do we have to die before we are dead?
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When are you dead? It’s not an easy question to answer. In fact, of the two great certainties in life, death and taxes, the former is actually harder to work out than the latter. One way to define death is to look for behaviors and organs that have stopped working. But that doesn’t necessarily mean someone is dead. The heart can stop temporarily and start up again. The body may be completely unresponsive but revive later. There are thousands of accounts of people “coming back to life” after being wrongly pronounced dead or, worse, buried alive. Physicians distrust using the activity of heart and lungs as indicators of death, and over the past 100 years or so have turned to the concept of brain death. These days many countries use loss of function of the brain stem as their definition of death. This is the situation when the body can no longer carry out actions controlled by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing, on its own. It can still leave us with some very troubling decisions to make. I remember a tragic case in the United States where a 33-year-old Texan woman, Marlise Munoz, suffered a stroke and was declared brain dead. However, she was 14 weeks pregnant and even though the fetus was not thought to be alive, doctors kept her on a life-support machine that artificially ventilated her. An awful legal battle ensued and, in the end, the life-support was withdrawn. Many similar cases make the news, often when there is a conflict between what the doctors are saying about the patient, and what the family want desperately to believe. Now new research has made our understanding of the end of life even fuzzier. We know that more than 1,000 genes not only remain active in cells of dead bodies, but that some genes actually switch on when the body is dead. By studying mice who have just died, scientists have now found that cells in the kidney, heart and liver continue to operate even 24 hours after death. “The study certainly opened our eyes to how parts of the body continue to provide an environment for molecular activity in the hours after death,” says Sandrine Claus from the University of Reading, United Kingdom. “It was particularly interesting to note that the heart was one of the organs that saw the most activity over 24 hours after death when we traditionally think of the heart ‘stopping’ at the point of death.” The most widely accepted description of death is permanent cessation of the critical functions of the organism as a whole. But this definition immediately begs the questions: What is “critical’? And what does it mean to say “the organism as a whole”? We know that cells continue to produce compounds for a day after death, so it looks like we need a new definition. “If cells continue to display molecular activities, the irreversible nature of death may be what characterizes the condition,” Claus tells me. Claus’ colleague Alain Oregioni says it’s not too much of a stretch to think that cells will go on working independently as long as they have energy and enough warmth for chemical reactions to happen.”We were amazed to find that even after a mouse is dead, most of its cells are active and still fighting to compensate for lack of oxygen,” he says. “Understanding these changes could help improve both organ transplants and forensic investigations in the future.” These discoveries are part of a new field, called thanatometabolomics — from Thanatos, the name given to the personification of death by the ancient Greeks. Oregioni also says that death is more than just the end of living: It is also an irreversible state. But since sometimes animals (including humans) can be revived after the blood circulation has stopped for some time, the study of thanatometabolomics — cell activity that continues after death — may be able to work out more precisely were the boundary is between resuscitation and irreversible death. “This could be done for each organ, which would be useful for transplants,” Oregioni says. “It is also possible that the information gathered would then help improve resuscitation of a whole organism.” It could mean that scientists and doctors have to record multiple times of death. For example, a pathologist might use rigor mortis to determine how long someone has been dead. The temperature of the body can also be correlated to the time since death. To be more precise, however, we could look at cellular and genetic activity. Some organs may remain “alive” long after their body has irreversibly died.
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death;brain-dead;thanatometabolomics
|
jp0002410
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Dates and locations in Philippines and Japan revealed for some skill tests required for new working visas
|
Government sources confirmed Thursday the dates and locations, in the Philippines and Japan, for the first round of skill tests for new types of working visas. Tokyo will introduce the new visas in April in the hope of increasing the number of foreign workers with certain skills available to 14 industries said to be suffering from labor shortages. According to the sources, the initial-round tests for the Specified Skill Type 1 visa for those hoping to work in the nursing care industry, which has the most serious shortage of labor, will be held in Manila from April 13 to 14. Their knowledge of Japanese words used specifically in nursing services will be examined as well. The industry is expected to accept up to 60,000 foreign workers in five years through the new visas. Skill tests will be conducted in Tokyo and Osaka on April 25 for prospective workers in the food service industry, and in Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka and four other cities on April 14 for those hoping to work in the hotel industry, the sources said. Foreigners who have completed three-year on-the-job training programs can obtain a Type 1 visa without taking the skill tests. Tests will be held for the nursing care, food service and hotel industries first because the three sectors lack such training programs, the sources said, adding that tests in the remaining industries will take place in May. Initially, skill tests were expected to be held in Vietnam to accept workers in the caregiving and restaurant industries, but none are scheduled to be held there because the country has yet to conclude a treaty with Japan to eliminate malevolent job brokers, the sources explained. Tests to screen foreign workers eligible for the type 2 visa, which requires a higher level of skills, will be held in fiscal 2021 for the construction and shipbuilding industries.
|
foreign workers;labor shortage;japan
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jp0002411
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Number of foreign residents in Japan rose 6.6% in 2018, while number of overstayers grew almost twice as much, government data shows
|
The number of foreign residents in Japan had risen 6.6 percent at the end of 2018 from a year earlier, to reach a record high of some 2.73 million, Justice Ministry data showed on Friday. The increase in foreign students and technical trainee visa holders, especially from Vietnam, contributed to the overall growth, an official with the ministry’s Immigration Bureau said. As of the end of last year, 337,000 non-Japanese were registered as students and another 328,360 were technical interns who had come to Japan under government-sponsored programs — each figure up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier, the official said. Vietnamese, comprising 330,835 residents as of late December, saw the highest growth, up 26.1 percent from a year earlier. “In case of Vietnamese residents in particular, this tendency is owing to strong growth in the number of technical trainees and those who come to work as engineers or specialists in humanities,” the official said. Of the foreign nationals in the nation, who hail from 195 countries and regions, the Vietnamese community ranked the third-largest group after Chinese residents at 764,720 and South Koreans at 449,634. In addition, Indonesians and Nepalese, also in the top 10, were among the top three strongest growing communities in the past year. As many as 2.4 million foreigners living in Japan were mid- and long-term residents. Students and white collar workers who reside in Japan for longer periods of time often acquire permanent residency, which has contributed to a steady growth in the number of foreign nationals with permanent-residency status, the ministry official said. That number stood at 771,568 as of late December. Moreover, of the total number of foreign residents, 20.8 percent were concentrated in and around the Tokyo area. Other areas with the highest foreign-born populations were Aichi, Osaka, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures. The ministry also revealed that as of Jan. 1 as many as 74,167 foreigners had overstayed their visas, up 11.5% from a year earlier, with South Koreans topping the list at 12,766. Vietnamese, with 11,131 illegal residents in Japan, represented the highest increase of illegal foreign residents from the previous year, up by 64.7 percent from December 2017. Nearly 80 percent of those came to Japan under the technical trainee program or with student visas, the official said, highlighting the issue as pressing. The total number of foreign trainees who were staying in Japan illegally rose to 9,366 from 6,914 within a year. The official said, however, that foreign trainees are not always to blame for breaking visa rules. She acknowledged cases of foreign trainees becoming victims of rogue dispatchers in their home countries that force applicants to take large loans to pay for their trips to Japan. She said that such agreements are among the reasons why some trainees end up seeking different job opportunities if promised employment conditions are not met. Under the scheme, trainees are not allowed to change jobs while in Japan. There was also a significant rise in the number of Indonesians whose short-stay visas expired or who had overstayed visas that were given for designated activities. Although Japan has introduced a visa-free policy for Indonesian tourists, those who apply are only permitted to stay in the country for less than 15 days. Also, those who don’t have an e-passport registered in compliance with international civil aviation standards need a short-stay visa, which allows visitors to stay in Japan for up to 90 days. Visas for designated activities, meanwhile, are often used by foreign students to undertake paid internships or to look for employment in Japan, as well as to stay temporarily in Japan when their student visas expire. Although Japan has seen an increase in illegal foreign residents in the past several years, the highest number was recorded in May 1994 when 298,646 foreigners were remaining illegally in the country.
|
china;vietnam;immigration;south korea;permanent residency;foreign residents
|
jp0002413
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Justice Ministry overturns deportation order for gay Taiwanese man without visa
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In a rare move, the Justice Ministry has revoked a deportation order for a gay Taiwanese man who remained in Japan illegally after overstaying his visa, apparently giving consideration to his longtime partnership with a Japanese national. The man had been suing the government over the denial of special permission to reside in Japan. He has now decided to withdraw the suit. Last week, the ministry’s Immigration Bureau granted the man a one-year resident visa after the Tokyo District Court suggested that it review the order, his lawyers revealed Friday. Japan does not have a specific visa status for LGBT foreign nationals in relationships with Japanese people. “I hope this decision will help change the situation, and will help step up LGBT-inclusive efforts,” Yasushi Nagano, an attorney representing the man, told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. To their knowledge, this was the first case in which a non-Japanese person was granted special permission to stay in Japan in consideration of a relationship with a Japanese partner of the same sex, Nagano and other lawyers said. The partnership was the point of dispute in the man’s case. The Taiwanese man, who requested his name be withheld over privacy concerns, received a deportation order in 2016 because he had no valid visa status. Over the past 25 years, the man has been in a relationship and has lived with his Japanese partner in Chiba Prefecture. But as Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage, he has not been eligible for a spousal visa. In March 2017, he filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court claiming that the government’s decision to deport him violated Japan’s immigration law. He claimed he should have been granted special permission because his sexuality was the only factor preventing him from receiving a spousal visa. According to Article 50 of the law, the Justice Minister has the authority to grant a special residence permission in opposition to the denial of such a permit by the Immigration Bureau, depending on circumstances that led to the violation of visa rules. The man, who is in his 40s, met his partner in Japan in 1993 on a short-term visa. He decided to remain in Japan despite knowing that his visa expired in April 1994. The man did not turn himself in out of fear of being denied permission to work, as he supported the couple financially, his lawyers said. He claims he could not return to Taiwan for various reasons, including ruptured family ties. Both men have been diagnosed with HIV. Taiwan’s government last month proposed a draft law that would allow same-sex marriage, which if passed would be a first in Asia. “Over the past 25 years, I had no other choice but to live with the person I love in hiding, as same-sex partnerships have not been accepted socially,” the man said, adding that he was grateful for the ministry’s decision. “If we had been allowed to marry, our lives would have been different.”
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courts;taiwan;rights;lgbt;tokyo district court
|
jp0002414
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Assaulted member of AKB48 spinoff criticizes results of AKS probe as 'lies'
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NIIGATA - A member of a sister group of the popular all-girl band AKB48 on Friday criticized the outcome of a probe into an alleged assault against her as “lies” while the group’s management company was disclosing the result. Management company AKS said an investigation launched after Maho Yamaguchi, a 23-year-old member of NGT48, was grabbed by the face by two men at her home in December, found no evidence that any member of the group was involved. But Yamaguchi said Friday in a Twitter post that there are members who admitted having private connections with the attackers. “Why do they continue telling lies,” she wrote in the post while company officials were holding a news conference to announce the results of the investigation. “I’m really sad.” Maiko Hayakawa, manager of the theater for Niigata-based NGT48, said at the news conference that Yamaguchi complained about the conclusion because it did not reflect her opinions. But AKS will seek to “move forward and continue activities with her for NGT,” while continuing to discuss the matter with her, Hayakawa said. Yamaguchi said in the post that the company had told her that if it found anyone having personal links to fans it would dismiss them all and she had high hopes for the investigation. The investigative committee found that some members had personal relationships with fans and said this is problematic but concluded that “excessive behavior by some fans” caused the incident. The two men were arrested by local police but not indicted. The company came under criticism for its tepid handling of the case because it did not reveal the incident until she wrote about the assault in a Twitter post in January and did not respond promptly. AKS replaced Etsuro Imamura as manager of the theater in January after the incident came to light. The company operates Tokyo-based AKB48 and many affiliates at home as well as overseas, such as JKT48 in Indonesia, BNK48 in Thailand and MNL48 in the Philippines.
|
ngt48;maho yamaguchi
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jp0002415
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Suicide now leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 in Japan
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Suicide has become the leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 in Japan for the first time in the postwar period, an analysis of government demographic data has shown. While the total number of people across the country who kill themselves has declined remarkably in recent years, statistics released by the health ministry for 2017 showed that 100 children in that particular age group took their own lives, accounting for 22.9 percent of all deaths in their generation. Cancer came second for the age bracket, at 22.7 percent, followed by accidents at 11.7 percent. Among Japanese nationals, the overall number of suicides peaked in 2003 at more than 32,000 before declining to 20,465 in 2017. However, the number of suicides per 100,000 people among those aged 10 to 19 remains flat. Among those between 15 and 39, meanwhile, suicide has been the dominant cause of death since 2012. About half of those who killed themselves were in their 20s. Individual factors prompting children aged 10 to 14 to kill themselves have not been sufficiently clarified, according to the white paper from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on preventing suicide and other documents. Many of those involved in cases of suicide had not previously attempted to kill themselves, making it harder for people around them to recognize the signs, the documents said. A recent trend in Japan in which suicides by children surge just after holidays, such as the spring and summer vacations, has become a major social issue. Junko Sakanaka, a school counselor and member of a government panel tasked with the prevention of suicide, has said it is a “serious situation” for suicide to be the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14. “To prevent children from taking their own lives, we need to grasp the more detailed, actual conditions. Now, we adults are being questioned on the extent to which we can recognize (children’s) distress signals, which are hard to perceive,” she said. In July 2017, the government adopted a suicide prevention plan, which included a focus on measures to prevent youth suicides. It has strengthened counseling online, while schools are also giving lectures to students on how to seek help when they have concerns.
|
children;suicide;deaths
|
jp0002416
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/22
|
33 women sue Tokyo Medical University over rigged entrance exams
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Thirty-three women filed a damages suit Friday against Tokyo Medical University, claiming it rigged its entrance exams in favor of male candidates and deprived them of admission. The plaintiffs, who took entrance examinations between 2006 and 2018, are seeking a combined ¥130 million in damages in the first lawsuit to be filed by a group of examinees since the scandal broke last year, their lawyers said. “I was appalled to learn there was blatant score manipulation. If we keep silent without taking action, the issue will be buried,” a plaintiff in her 20s told a news conference after the lawsuit was filed with the Tokyo District Court. The average age of the plaintiffs is 24. The university declined to comment on the lawsuit because it had not seen the documentation yet. Tokyo Medical University admitted last August it had been deducting points from exam scores since at least 2006 to curb female enrollment and enrollment by men who had failed the exam previously. The unfair treatment of female applicants at the university was said to be aimed at preventing a shortage of doctors at affiliated hospitals in the belief that women tend to resign or take long periods of leave after getting married or giving birth. Other instances of improper admissions processes were exposed following a subsequent government probe into the 81 universities in Japan with medical faculties.
|
scandals;tokyo district court;tokyo medical university
|
jp0002417
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Malala urges Abe to take up education for young women at G20 summit this summer
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Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for women’s education and the youngest person to become a Nobel Laureate, urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday to take the initiative in expanding educational opportunities for female youth at the Group of 20 summit this summer. “I spoke with the prime minister today about girl’s education. The importance of investing in girls now — for a future in economic growth and global stability,” Malala said at a news conference after her short meeting with Abe at his official residence. The meeting preceded the joint summit of the World Assembly for Women and the W20 being held in Tokyo on Saturday. Touching on the millions of girls who are out of education and ill-prepared to join the workforce, Malala spoke of her hopes for girls’ education to be high on this year’s G20 agenda, adding, “as the chair of this year’s G20, I hope PM Abe and Japan will lead on girls’ education, and encourage all leaders to commit to new funding to prepare girls for the future of work.” “I hope that he can use his G20 presidency to help my sisters in Japan, G20 countries and around the world to reach their full potential, because our world works better when girls go to school,” she added. This year’s G20 will be held in Osaka in June. At the same news conference, Abe spoke of the inspiration Malala would bring to the table at the joint WAW/W20 summit. “I hope that the attendance of Malala, a global female leader, will inspire lively discussions at WAW — discussions that will empower women through diversity … and eventually snowball into a major force for promoting the prosperity of women in society,” he said. This year’s W20 summit will be held in conjunction with WAW, an annual symposium hosted by the government that aims to promote the empowerment of women. Malala will be making a keynote speech on Saturday, along with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. The W20 is one of numerous engagement groups from the G20, and aims to submit policy suggestions on empowering women to the G20.
|
shinzo abe;education;g20;malala yousafzai;w20
|
jp0002418
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/22
|
Japanese trekker dies after fall on Nepal mountain
|
KATHMANDU - A 64-year-old Japanese man has fallen to his death on a popular trekking route in western Nepal, officials said Thursday. Masashi Nagasawa, who was on an 11-day Annapurna Sanctuary trek with three other Japanese nationals, fell from a cliff Wednesday while returning to his hotel on Mardi Himal after spending time at a nearby viewpoint. Mardi Himal is a long rising ridge on the southwest of the Machhapuchare peak. Amrit Biswokarma, a police official in Kaski district where the accident happened, said Nagasawa fell several hundred meters down the cliff. A team that reached the site by helicopter Thursday after learning about the accident recovered Nagasawa’s body, said Phurba Gyaltsen Sherpa, managing director of Himalayan Sherpa Adventure, the local trekking agency that organized the trek. The body was to be flown to the capital Kathmandu. The accident site is located 160 kilometers northwest of the city. The four Japanese tourists arrived in Nepal on March 14, and started their trek the next day.
|
nepal;mountains
|
jp0002419
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Tokyu Setagaya Line in Tokyo becomes first in Japan to be fully powered by renewable energy
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Tokyu Corp. on Monday began running the Setagaya Line in Tokyo with electricity generated 100 percent from renewable energy sources. According to the railway, it is the first urban train service in Japan that relies entirely on renewable energy. The electrified light rail line is now being powered by geothermal and hydraulic power supplied by the Tohoku Electric Power Co. group. Tokyu has entered a deal with the utility group to receive on a continuing basis more renewable energy than needed for the line’s train operations, in order to make sure it is entirely reliant on renewable energy, although at a higher price. The 5-km-long Setagaya Line, which connects Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations, was used by a daily average of 115,000 passengers in the 2017 business year. “Aiming to create a low-carbon and recycling society, we will make efforts to promote the wider use of renewable energy,” a Tokyu official said. Carbon dioxide emissions from the Setagaya Line totaled some 1,065 tons in fiscal 2017. The use of renewal energy will reduce the figure effectively to zero.
|
tokyo;transportation;rail;renewables;tokyu corp .;setagaya line
|
jp0002420
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
American Airlines extends Boeing 737 Max flight cancellations through April 24
|
NEW YORK - American Airlines said Sunday it will extend flight cancellations through April 24 because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max after two fatal crashes since October and cut some additional flights. American, the largest U.S. carrier, said it is cancelling about 90 flights a day. American is the second-largest U.S. operator of the Max in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34. American said earlier this month it was flying about 85 flights a day out of its 6,700 daily departures on 737 Max planes when the grounded was announced. The airline said it was making the announcement “to provide more certainty to our customers and team members and better protect our customers on other flights to their final destination.” Boeing Co. is expected as early as Monday to formally disclose a planned upgrade to its anti-stall system to the Federal Aviation Administration that has been in the works since October’s Lion Air crash but still needs approval from U.S. regulators. The FAA has said it plans to mandate the upgrade by April, but it is still not clear if the upgrade will address any issues after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash. American, Southwest and United Airlines were all meeting with Boeing this weekend to review the software upgrade, Reuters reported Saturday. The FAA said earlier the “design changes” would result in flight control system enhancements that will provide “reduced reliance on procedures associated with required pilot memory items.” Reuters reported Thursday the upgrade will include a previously optional warning light. Many airlines, including American, already had the optional light.
|
u.s .;american airlines;delta;united;ethiopian airlines;737 max;lion air;air accidents
|
jp0002422
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
In first for Indonesia, Japan-funded subway opens in gridlocked Jakarta
|
JAKARTA - Indonesia’s long-awaited first subway opened Sunday in the country’s capital with the aim of relieving crippling traffic gridlock in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Minutes after inaugurating the 16-km transit line running south from Jakarta’s downtown, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo presided over a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the second phase: an 8-km northward line planned for completion by 2024. The two projects are being built at a cost of $2.6 billion. “Today we will begin a new civilization by operating the first phase of mass rapid transit in Jakarta,” Jokowi told several thousand guests and residents at the inauguration. The line that opened Sunday includes seven elevated and six underground stations built by two consortia of local and Japanese companies. Passengers can ride for free until the end of the month, after which operator PT MRT Jakarta has said tickets will cost the equivalent of 70 cents to $1. Jokowi, who is campaigning for re-election, told the crowd that he has instructed Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan to begin the next phase of construction on an east-west line covering a distance of 87 km this year. Jakarta’s first subway line, the latest of many infrastructure improvements across the world’s fourth most populous nation, is aimed at helping it catch up with other Southeast Asian capitals such as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok in public transport. Jakarta is officially home to about 10 million people, but the population of the greater metropolitan area swells to 30 million. The project, funded through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has been planned since the 1980s, but its construction was hampered by political crises, red tape and funding disagreements. Jokowi was the Jakarta governor when construction finally kicked off in October 2013. JICA has predicted that without a major investment in transportation, Jakarta would be overwhelmed by traffic jams by 2020. Annual losses from congestion are forecast to reach $6.5 billion by next year. Congestion has worsened relentlessly in the past decade as car ownership rose, squeezing more and more vehicles onto Jakarta’s unchanging road network. The average rush-hour speed has “significantly decreased” to 10 kph, according to the transport ministry. It often can take two or more hours to move 5 km in some pockets of the city. The line opened Sunday runs from the southern neighborhood of Lebak Bulus to Jakarta’s downtown and is expected to take less than 30 minutes. In addition to the subway project, a $2.4 billion elevated rail network linking Jakarta and its satellite cities is also taking shape, with the first stage expected to begin operating in April. But it likely will take several years for new transit systems to make a dent in the congestion. About 1.4 million people commute into central Jakarta on work days. The initial subway line aims to carry only about 130,000 people a day by the end of this year.
|
transportation;indonesia;rail;jakarta;jica;joko widodo
|
jp0002423
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
China's local government debt: The bomb that doesn't explode — but gets kicked down the road
|
HONG KONG/BEIJING/SHANGHAI - China has embraced the idea of defaults imposing some discipline on debtors in its bond market. And some of the most troubled debtors are local governments’ financing vehicles. So an LGFV default has long seemed on the cards. But it just isn’t happening. Moody’s Investors Service thought the first one might come in 2017. Almost two years later, there have been some close calls — including with a late payment by a unit owned by Qinghai province on a dollar bond last month that caused ripples through the investment community — but no default. What it suggests is China’s leadership isn’t prepared for a borrower with a regional authority’s imprimatur to renege on its principal, triggering higher borrowing costs across a swath of the world’s third-largest bond market. Stepping in with official assistance when needed will help local authorities sustain the development spending key to holding up national growth. The cost may be an even bigger future reckoning with bad debt. “In the longer run, someone has to pay eventually for this so-called ‘kick the can down the road’ plan — taxpayers and depositors perhaps,” said Desmond How, head of fixed income, GaoTeng Global Asset Management. Regulators may need to reverse some policies, giving LGFVs greater rein to borrow to help support economic growth, How said. For investors willing to stomach the occasional late payment, the implicit backing for LGFVs offers some yield pick-up. Luo Xianzhi, fund manager at Shanghai Tianzeng Investment Management Co., says he’s sitting on a 9 percent annualized return since he started stocking up on local securities last November. “The LGFV bonds issued for land development, infrastructure construction and shantytown rebuilding indeed have implicit government support” that’s unlikely to disappear given their importance for growth, said Shanghai-based Luo. “I think there never will be big-scale defaults from this sector.” If so, that makes a contrast with other securities in China, where borrowers are reneging on bond payments at a record pace. Defaults were logged on 119.6 billion yuan ($17.8 billion) of domestic debt last year, and payments were missed on another 15 billion yuan of notes in the first two months of 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Most of those have stemmed from privately owned enterprises, but there have been some state companies too. Chinese policy makers have had a Hamlet-like approach toward LGFVs over the past decade. They came to prominence when the previous generation of national leaders unleashed a record credit boom in the midst of the global financial crisis. Reluctant to run up the central government’s debt, Beijing let local authorities set up units to fund all manner of spending. The lack of control later spooked national regulators, who agonized over a massive build-up of bad debt. Yet the vital role LGFVs continue to play in supporting development means a get-tough approach carries risks as well. That helps explain the pattern of regulatory changes over the years. For its part, Moody’s still warns a first default is looming. Ivan Chung, head of greater China credit research at the agency in Hong Kong, highlights a December statement by regulators calling on local officials to dispose of zombie borrowers. Given more than 2,000 LGFV bond issuers, it’s unlikely that existing support channels will be sufficient to cover all troubled borrowers, he said. “I expect isolated default cases to happen in the next two-to-three years.” Regulators have lately been offering support, including relaxing bond issuance rules and letting the state-directed China Development Bank lead local government debt restructuring plans in pilot cities. “It shows that local governments don’t have enough money for the debt repayments unless the central authorities step in to support them — otherwise many of the LGFVs would go into default,” said Hao Hong, chief strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co. Support is likely to expand as LGFV debt maturities swell, he said. With 3.6 trillion yuan coming due from April 1 through the end of 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the readiness to help will assuredly be tested.
|
china;debt;loans;local government financing vehicles;lgfv
|
jp0002424
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Companies still reluctant to relocate from Tokyo despite tax breaks, survey finds
|
The government’s five-year program to promote the relocation of company headquarters away from central Tokyo has made limited progress. In a survey of 1,768 municipalities conducted since November, 76 percent said they had seen little or no benefit, such as increased jobs. Under a five-year program that started in April 2015, the government provides tax advantages when companies based in Tokyo’s 23 wards transfer their headquarters outside of Tokyo or its three neighboring prefectures, or if those based outside Tokyo expand their head offices. The government has been promoting corporate office relocations to increase local jobs and revitalize regional economies, but businesses prefer to keep their offices in Tokyo where their clients are also concentrated. The number of cases in which tax breaks were given under the program stood at 287 as of February, far short of the government’s target of 7,500 by March 2020. Only 9 percent of the municipalities said they had benefited from the central government program, according to the survey. Companies tended to set up new offices in major cities rather than in smaller cities or rural areas, it showed.
|
tokyo;taxes;survey
|
jp0002425
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Nikkei 225 logs biggest loss since December, with Tokyo stocks dropping 3% on global economic fears
|
Tokyo stocks tumbled Monday, with the Nikkei 225 index logging its biggest point loss since Dec. 25 on rekindled concerns over the global economy following the release of sluggish U.S. and European economic data. Investors ditched shares and fled to the safety of bonds as risk assets fell out of favor on growing fears of a U.S. recession, sending global yields plunging. The Nikkei ended the day 650.23 points, or 3.01 percent, lower at 20,977.11, its lowest close since Feb. 15. The broader Topix, which covers all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 39.70 points, or 2.45 percent, in the red at 1,577.41. Every industry category in the main section lost ground, led by oil and coal product, nonferrous metal and machinery issues. Tracking slumps in U.S. and European shares late last week, Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower and later extended their losses to fall below the 21,000 threshold. The Nikkei briefly lost over 700 points. The day’s fall was the largest for the Nikkei since Dec. 25, when it closed 1,010.45 points lower. “Investors turned risk-off following a series of economic data,” said Akira Tanoue, a senior strategist in the investment research department at Nomura Securities Co. “Concerns about the global economic recession are emerging.” Manufacturing output data from Germany came in weaker than expected, while measurements of manufacturing and services activities in the United States showed sluggishness. Makoto Sengoku, a market analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, said the market “overreacted” to the overseas data and economic growth would not weaken sharply. In the first section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 2,014 to 104, with 22 ending the day unchanged. Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp., which invests heavily in global startup technology companies, slid ¥565, or 5.0 percent, to ¥10,705. Construction machinery company Komatsu Ltd. declined ¥110.50, or 4.1 percent, to ¥2,554.50, and factory automation equipment firm Fanuc sank ¥750, or 3.8 percent, to ¥18,800. Trading volume on the main section fell to 1.33 billion shares from Friday’s 1.37 billion. As the sell-off that struck the U.S. and Europe on Friday ripped through Asian stock markets, investors said more pain is yet to come. Indexes in Australia, Hong Kong and China also tumbled Monday. The moves came after U.S. shares notched their worst day in 11 weeks on Friday as a gauge of Treasuries inverted and data from Europe renewed fears about global growth. U.S. 10-year treasury yields were 1.9 basis points below three-month rates after yields inverted for the first time since 2007 on Friday. Historically, an inverted yield curve — where long-term rates fall below short-term — has signaled an upcoming recession. After almost three months of optimism surrounding U.S.-China trade talks and dovish central bank messaging spurred the best start to a year for global equities in two decades, investors have shifted focus and are starting to react to bad omens for the economy. “The market had gone too far in pricing in good news,” said Nader Naeimi, head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. “It was just a matter of time. This is going to be the start of a multiweek correction in markets.” Despite a surprisingly dovish stance by the Federal Reserve last week, the S&P 500 Index lost about 0.8 percent for the week as the yield on 10-year Treasuries, already at a 14-month low, extended its decline. “Historically a ‘dovish’ Fed is not necessarily a good sign, as it announces that an economic downturn is on the way,” said Eleanor Creagh, Sydney-based market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets (Australia). “And the bottom line is growth is slowing,” she said. “We are reaching that point where the weakening fundamentals are catching up with the equity market, the equity market has been buoyed by buybacks and is waking up to the fact that the Fed is not raising rates because the U.S. economy needs support and is weak as we approach the buyback blackout period,” Creagh said. With less than a week left in the first quarter, some investors may be taking money off the table, according to Kerry Craig, the Melbourne-based global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “After such a strong quarter, profit-taking shouldn’t be unexpected.” Naeimi isn’t alone in his view that global stock markets could be headed for a correction. “If the market did correct 10 percent, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said JPMorgan’s Craig. “I’m not sure it’s the start of it, but I don’t see a huge amount to support for the market.” Still, not everyone is pessimistic. While a short downturn in global markets is possible, Bryan Goh, executive director and chief investment officer for Singapore at Bordier & Cie, said it probably won’t last. “As long as central banks have our back, there’s no serious problem,” Goh said. “The global slowdown isn’t a surprise, so markets are prepared.”
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0002426
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Dollar falls below ¥110 in Tokyo before slight rebound
|
The dollar dropped below ¥110 in Tokyo trading Monday, hit by risk-averse selling amid growing fears about a global economic slowdown. But the greenback showed resilience in late afternoon trading, traders said. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥110.06-06, down from ¥110.77-77 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1307-1307, down from $1.1387-1388, and at ¥124.45-45, down from ¥126.14-14. In overseas trading Friday, the dollar temporarily fell below ¥109.80 after dismal European economic data hit the currency market. Carrying over the weakness, the dollar moved around ¥110 in early Tokyo trading Monday. Toward noon, the U.S. currency slipped through ¥109.90 in the wake of the Nikkei 225’s tumble reflecting concerns over the course of the global economy, traders said. Besides the weak German and French manufacturing data, the benchmark U.S. long-term interest rate’s fall below the key three-month rate helped swell the slowdown worries, market sources said. In late afternoon trading, however, the dollar recouped some of the earlier losses thanks to buybacks triggered by a halt to the U.S. long-term rate’s decline in off-hours trading, they added. “Speculation about the Bank of Japan’s purchase of exchange-traded funds also induced dollar buying in the afternoon,” an official at a major securities firm said. But a think tank analyst pointed out that the market now tends to react easily to events and developments suggesting slowdowns around the world.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0002427
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Tokyo stocks dive 3% to below 21,000 amid growing fears of global economic slowdown
|
Stocks plummeted Monday as investors shied away from risk assets on mounting worries about a global economic slowdown. The Nikkei 225 average tumbled 650.23 points, or 3.01 percent, to end at 20,977.11, its first closing below 21,000 since Feb. 15. On Friday, the key market gauge rose 18.42 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 39.70 points, or 2.45 percent, lower at 1,577.41 after gaining 2.72 points Friday. The market took a nosedive right after the opening bell, hit by severe selling by investors who turned risk averse in view of sell-offs in the European and U.S. markets following the release of weak manufacturing data, brokers said. Concerns over the course of the global economy grew in the wake of drops in purchasing managers’ indexes in Germany, France and the United States, analysts said. The yen’s sharp rise against the dollar on safe-haven demand and falls in other Asian stocks also battered sentiment here, brokers said. A drop in the key 10-year interest rate below the three-month rate in the U.S. on Friday fueled the slowdown fear, as the “inverted interest rate” is widely regarded as a prelude to a recession, an official at an asset management firm said. Japanese long-term interest rates also dropped Monday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond hitting the lowest level in two years and seven months. Stocks remained deep in negative territory throughout the day. But speculation about the Bank of Japan’s purchases of exchange-traded funds and buying to secure rights to receive dividends for fiscal 2018, which ends Sunday, somewhat underpinned the market, said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief market analyst at Saxo Bank Securities Ltd. Referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent “dovish turn,” which has made some players anticipate even an interest rate cut this year, Kuramochi said the TSE “hinges on moves of the dollar-yen pair this week.” Falling issues overwhelmed rising ones 2,014 to 104 in the first section, while 22 issues were unchanged. Volume decreased to 1.327 billion shares from 1.365 billion Friday. The stronger yen battered export-oriented issues. Industrial equipment manufacturers Fanuc sagged 3.84 percent and Yaskawa Electric 5.35 percent, and electronic parts supplier Murata Manufacturing lost 3.14 percent. Mega-bank groups including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial were hurt by the interest rate drops along with insurers and other financials. Technology investor SoftBank Group, clothing store chain Fast Retailing and drugmaker Eisai were also among major losers. The handful of winners included furniture retailer Nitori and Mitsubishi Logistics.
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0002428
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Trump sees swift pushback on Stephen Moore, his latest pick for the Fed
|
WASHINGTON - Stephen Moore has drawn swift and unusually pointed criticism after President Donald Trump picked him to be a governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with at least one prominent Republican economist calling on the Senate to block the appointment. “He does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job,” wrote Greg Mankiw, a Harvard professor who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, in a blog post on Friday. “It is time for senators to do their job. Mr. Moore should not be confirmed.” Moore’s selection is subject to Senate approval. He’s Trump’s sixth nomination to the nation’s monetary authority, which has a seven-seat board of governors that typically is filled with trained economists, former financial-industry executives and bank regulators. There are currently two vacant seats. Two previous Trump nominees, Nellie Liang and Marvin Goodfriend, failed to advance in the Senate in 2018. Unlike Moore, neither faced accusations that they were unqualified. Even some private-sector economists who’ve generally supported Trump’s efforts to accelerate growth with lower taxes, less regulation and fairer trade deals were nonplussed by the selection of Moore, who is an official at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and was an economic adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign. “The fact that Stephen Moore gets nominated and has a plausible path to confirmation but Peter Diamond didn’t is truly detestable,” said Neil Dutta, head of economics at Renaissance Macro Research. He was referring to Diamond, a Nobel Prize-winning economist whom President Barack Obama nominated to the Fed but ended up withdrawing from consideration in June 2011 in the face of Republican opposition. “The upshot is that Stephen Moore will not have much influence if he’s sat around the table,” Dutta said. While most presidential nominees keep a low public profile until they’re considered by the Senate, out of respect for the democratic process, Moore took to the airwaves two days ago — just hours after Trump announced his nomination. In a Bloomberg Television interview he called the Fed’s December rate increase, which was approved in a unanimous vote, “a very substantial mistake.” Moore acknowledged he had a “long road ahead” that includes Senate confirmation. Known along with Arthur Laffer as a supply-side supporter of tax cuts to unleash faster economic growth, he also said he has a lot to learn about monetary policy. “I’m kind of new to this game, frankly, so I’m going to be on a steep learning curve myself about how the Fed operates, how the Federal Reserve makes its decisions,” Moore, 59, said on BTV. “It’s hard for me to say even what my role will be there, assuming I get confirmed.” He also tweeted on Friday, thanking Trump “for the opportunity to serve & for your zealous commitment to freeing the American economic engine from government overreach & oppressive taxation!” It’s not unheard-of for a U.S. president to pick a like-minded adviser, or even a political donor, to serve on the Fed Board. Alice Rivlin, a director of President Bill Clinton’s Office of Management and Budget, was his nominee to be Fed vice chairman in 1996. Ben Bernanke led the White House Council of Economic Advisers before Bush chose him to be chairman of the central bank in 2006. And current Fed Gov. Lael Brainard, selected by Obama in 2014, donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign. Janet Yellen had an opposite trajectory, serving as a Fed governor from 1994 to 1997 before joining the Clinton administration as CEA chair. She returned to Washington as Fed vice chair after a stint as San Francisco Fed president, and was later appointed by Obama as the Fed’s first woman chair. The difference is they’re all respected Ph.D. economists, so concerns about politicizing the Fed didn’t become a much of a factor in their Senate confirmation hearings. Moore, who has a master of arts in economics from George Mason University in Virginia, is better known for helping promote a fiscal agenda than he is for monetary-policy expertise. He co-wrote, with Laffer, a 2018 book on Trump’s economic strategy entitled “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.” He also formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for the Wall Street Journal, and is on his second stint at the Heritage Foundation. “Moore focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the United States retain its position as the global economic superpower,” according to his biography on the Heritage Foundation website. “He also works on budget, fiscal and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order.” Moore didn’t pull punches when asked about the criticism from Mankiw. “I don’t know why Greg Mankiw is attacking me,” he said in an email on Saturday. “One possible reason is that in his textbook he calls supply-siders like Laffer ‘charlatans and cranks.’ He then removed that section from the book — because he got so much flak for it when he went into the Bush administration.” In an emailed request for a response, Mankiw said he doesn’t believe Moore’s “background makes him a good fit for the job of Fed governor.” The professor also disputed Moore’s facts. “The passage he refers to was removed in the second edition of my book,” Mankiw said. “That edition was completed in July 2000, four months before President Bush was elected and 2 1/2 years before I joined the administration.”
|
u.s .;federal reserve;donald trump;stephen moore
|
jp0002429
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Japanese consumer appliance maker Iris Ohyama opens South Korean plant
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SEOUL - Iris Ohyama Inc., a maker of home appliance and household goods, has launched its first factory in South Korea, aimed at meeting growing local demand from e-commerce and hedging the risks of the U.S.-China trade row. The company has invested about ¥7 billion ($64 million) to produce circulators, air purifiers, comforter dryers and storage items at the plant in Incheon, near Seoul, it said at an opening ceremony Friday. Aiming to meet increasing demand from online shoppers, the plant will double as a logistics center in addition to an existing facility in Gunpo, south of the capital, according to the company. Iris Korea Co., its local unit, has so far handled LED lighting, cleaners and rice cookers among other products imported from its plant in Dalian on the northeastern coast of China. The new factory mainly produces circulators, which the Japanese firm has manufactured in China and exported to other countries, including the United States. In light of the lingering trade war between Beijing and Washington, it plans to initially produce 100,000 circulators per year at the new plant, avoiding the risk of additional tariffs on the goods. Sales of circulators in the South Korean market topped 1 million units last year, according to local media reports. The local e-commerce market grew 22.6 percent year on year to 111 trillion won ($97.8 billion) in 2018, government statistics show. Iris Korea’s logistics base in Gunpo has fallen short of capacity. The South Korean unit, which has hired about 50 employees for the Incheon plant launch, expects to post ¥5 billion in sales for the first year of the plant, said Akihiro Oyama, president of Sendai-based Iris Ohyama. Iris Ohyama may consider building a second plant in South Korea, and if so the location will likely be outside Incheon to enhance efficiency of goods transportation, he said.
|
china;u.s .;south korea;manufacturing;iris ohyama
|
jp0002430
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Born to be airborne: Japanese firm aims to sell flying motorbikes by 2022
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Tokyo-based venture company A.L.I. Technologies Inc. aims to release a mass-market flying motorcycle by 2022, Chief Executive Officer Shuhei Komatsu said. A.L.I. Technologies, which mainly develops small drones, hopes to sell the product, called a “hover bike,” in emerging economies in Africa, the Middle East and Asia with poor road infrastructure. Many companies around the world are developing flying cars. A.L.I. Technologies is among those trying to enter the market. “We’ll create a (flying) bike first, in order to get flying cars widely used in society eventually,” Komatsu said. “Our hover bike is an ensemble of drone technologies,” he said, expressing confidence that his company can commercialize the flying motorcycle. The envisioned vehicle will use propeller power to hover dozens of centimeters above the ground. It will stay at the desired altitude through technologies that use sensors to avoid obstacles. A.L.I. Technologies is developing a special limited version for sale around late next year. Reservations will be accepted this May at the earliest. As for the mass-market model, Komatsu said, “We want to deliver it to customers from around 2022.” He said the price will roughly match those of minivehicles. The company hopes the flying motorcycle will be usable on public roads in Japan, according to Komatsu.
|
drone;motorbikes;a.l.i . technologies;hover bike
|
jp0002431
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Japan sportswear firm Descente appoints new chief from Itochu after rare hostile takeover
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OSAKA - Sportswear maker Descente Ltd. said Monday it has appointed a new head from top shareholder Itochu Corp., effective in June, after the trading house succeeded in completing a hostile takeover earlier this month. Descente President Masatoshi Ishimoto, a member of the company’s founding family, will be replaced by Shuichi Koseki, senior managing executive officer in charge of Itochu’s textile division, pending shareholder approval at the annual meeting in June. The move reflects a major concession on the part of Descente, which owns the rights to sell such brands as Le Coq Sportif, Munsingwear and Umbro in Japan and other parts of Asia. The firm apparently wanted to avoid dragging out its feud with Itochu further, which could put its brand image in peril. But among Descente employees, strong opposition persists to Itochu’s increasing influence, even though it helped the company overcome difficult times in the 1980s and 1990s. In the hostile takeover bid, Itochu successfully increased its stake in Descente from 30.44 percent to 40 percent through a tender offer bid conducted from Jan. 31 to March 14. The trading house now has veto power over crucial management decisions. The dispute between Descente and Itochu, which have had ties for over 50 years, arose as the trading house sought to change the sportswear maker’s overseas strategy. Itochu has said Descente is too dependent on its South Korean business and that it should diversify, such as by strengthening sales in China. It also hinted the current president would be replaced if Descente remained opposed to changing course. Ishimoto, 56, was appointed president of Descente in 2013, marking the first time in 19 years that a member of the sportswear company’s founding family had taken the helm instead of an Itochu-appointed chief. Koseki, 63, who joined Itochu in April 1979, has been responsible for the trading house’s textile business and operations in China for many years.
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fashion;itochu;descente
|
jp0002432
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Uber reportedly poised to declare $3.1 billion deal to acquire Mideast rival Careem this week
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DUBAI/LONDON - Uber Technologies Inc. will announce a $3.1 billion cash-and-shares deal to acquire its Dubai-based rival Careem Networks FZ as early as this week, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The U.S. ride-hailing giant will pay $1.4 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes for Careem, according to the sources, who asked not to identified because the talks are private. The notes will be convertible into Uber shares at a price equal to $55 per share, according to the term-sheet seen by Bloomberg. Shareholders in Careem, whose backers include Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment firm and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Inc., were asked to agree to the terms of the transaction by Monday evening and a deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday, the sources said. Uber spokesman Matt Kallman declined to comment while a spokesman for Careem wasn’t immediately able to comment. Uber’s acquisition of Careem would come ahead of its imminent initial public offering, which could become one of the biggest listings ever seen on the New York Stock Exchange. Uber is expected to publicly file for an IPO in April, kicking off a listing that could value the company at as much as $120 billion, people familiar with the plans have said previously. Careem was valued at about $1 billion in a 2016 funding round, making it one of the most valuable technology startups in the Middle East. The company has over a million drivers and operates in more than 90 cities in 15 countries, according to its website. For Uber, a deal would signal its commitment to the Middle East, where one of its biggest investors — a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund — is based. The acquisition would also be a departure in strategy for Uber, which has used such deals to offload costly overseas operations in exchange for stakes in competitors in the past.
|
ipo;silicon valley;uber;lyft;careem
|
jp0002433
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Carlos Ghosn to hold news conference in mid-April or later, his lawyer says
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Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn is expected to hold a news conference in mid-April or later, one of his lawyers said. Ghosn, 65, intends to meet the press within April but may need more time to organize his statement against the charges, the lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters Monday. Hironaka also said Ghosn, who remains a director at Nissan, is not seeking to attend the automaker’s board meeting to be held soon. Ghosn failed to obtain approval from the Tokyo District Court when he tried to attend a board meeting on March 12. Ghosn was released on bail March 6 after being arrested in November. He has been charged with understating his remuneration for a number of years in Nissan’s securities reports and transferring derivatives losses from his private asset management company to the automaker. He denies the allegations. As part of conditions for his release, Ghosn is banned from contacting Nissan executives and other people potentially linked to the allegations. He is allowed to attend board meetings at Nissan if the court gives approval.
|
nissan;renault;carlos ghosn;autos;financial misconduct
|
jp0002434
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/03/25
|
80% of young eels farmed in Japan may have been smuggled from Taiwan via Hong Kong
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About 80 percent of young eels put into aquaculture pools in Japan in December and January may have been smuggled from Taiwan via Hong Kong, according to trade data and sources close to the matter. Around 6 tons of juvenile eels were imported to Japan from Hong Kong in those two months, according to government data, but Hong Kong does not engage in eel fishing, raising suspicions about their origin. Industry observers say most may have been illegally brought from Taiwan, which bans eel exports. The eels start their spawning migration in the waters of East Asia and are designated as a species at risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to deteriorating habitat conditions and overfishing. Eels are a prized summer delicacy in Japan, but imports of young eels could spark international criticism at a meeting of parties to the Washington Convention in Sri Lanka, which will open in late May. The members of the international pact, officially called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, are expected to discuss enhancing transparency in eel transactions. According to Finance Ministry trade statistics, Japan imported about 1.6 tons of young eels in December and about 4.4 tons in January from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, none were shipped from mainland China and Taiwan, although they catch the fish. During this period, 6.2 tons of juvenile eels were put into aquaculture ponds in Japan, according to the Fisheries Agency. The figure was higher than the previous year, when the catch of young eels was extremely poor, but far lower than the 11.3 tons of two years earlier. About 5 tons of the 6.2 tons is believed to have been shipped from Hong Kong, while the remainder was caught domestically, the sources said. The catch of young eels in Japan has been declining, with only about 1 ton taken in December and January, the first two months of the fishing season through April — with the catch for the whole season likely to be a record low. Young eel imports to Japan from Hong Kong increased dramatically after Taiwan introduced an export ban in 2007. “Japan faces a critical situation as most of the domestically farmed eels are obtained through suspected illegal trade,” said Kenzo Kaifu, an associate professor of conservation ecology at Chuo University. If the resource is not properly managed across the entire East Asia region, there will be growing calls for a legally binding international framework to protect the species, Kaifu said. “It is also important for Japanese consumers to clearly oppose to the situation,” he added.
|
china;hong kong;taiwan;fishing;fish;eels
|
jp0002435
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Focus shifts to sleeper cells as Islamic State fighters emerge from tunnels to surrender as 'caliphate' falls
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BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - Dozens of Islamic State group jihadists emerged from tunnels to surrender to U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, a day after their “caliphate” was declared defeated. Syria’s Kurds warned that despite the demise of the proto-state, the thousands of foreign jihadis they have detained are a time-bomb the world urgently needs to defuse. An AFP reporter saw dozens of people — mostly men — file out of the battered jihadist encampment in the remote village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border to board pickup trucks. “They are IS fighters who came out of tunnels and surrendered today,” Kurdish spokesman Jiaker Amed said. Some sported thick beards and wore long woollen kaftans over their dark-coloured robes, or a checkered scarf around their faces, as they trudged out of their final hideout under the drizzle. “Some others could still be hiding inside,” said Amed. World leaders were quick to hail Saturday’s announcement by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that the last shred of land controlled by IS in Syria had been conquered. But the top foreign affairs official for the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region warned IS members captured during the assault still posed a threat. “There are thousands of fighters, children and women and from 54 countries, not including Iraqis and Syrians, who are a serious burden and danger for us and for the international community,” Abdel Karim Omar told AFP. “Numbers increased massively during the last 20 days of the Baghouz operation,” he said. He also warned of the continuing danger posed by IS sleeper cells. The SDF is continuing to carry out operations to rout out any remaining jihadis in the area and uncover possible weapons caches. “This back-clearance operation will be deliberate and thorough and help ensure the long-term security for the area,” the U.S.-led coalition backing the SDF wrote on Twitter. As the SDF’s months-long assault closed in against the last IS strongholds in the Euphrates Valley, jihadis and their families gradually gathered in Baghouz. While some managed to escape, many foreigners stayed behind, either surrendering or fighting to the death. According to the SDF, 66,000 people left the last IS pocket since January, including 5,000 jihadis and 24,000 of their relatives. The assault was paused multiple times as the force allowed people to evacuate from the enclave on the banks of the Euphrates. The SDF have screened droves of people scrambling out of Baghouz in recent weeks, detaining suspected jihadis and trucking civilians and IS relatives to camps further north. Most relatives have been crammed into the Al-Hol camp, a facility built for 20,000 people but which now shelters 72,000. The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria has warned it does not have capacity to detain so many people, let alone put them on trial. But the home countries of suspected IS members are reluctant to take them back, due to potential security risks and the likely public backlash. Several held in Syria have been stripped of their citizenship. “There has to be coordination between us and the international community to address this danger,” Abdel Karim Omar said. “There are thousands of children who have been raised according to IS ideology,” he added. “If these children are not re-educated and re-integrated in their societies of origin, they are potential future terrorists.” The SDF’s main support has been the international military coalition launched by the United States in mid-2014 to counter the expansion of IS. Its aerial campaigns against IS hubs across a “caliphate” which once spanned territory the size of the United Kingdom have leveled major cities and contributed to the biggest wave of displacement since World War II. According to the Airwars monitoring NGO, at least 7,500 civilians have died as a result of coalition actions in four and half years. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it erupted eight years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to drastically scale down U.S. military presence in Syria once IS is defeated, leaving the Kurds exposed to threats by Damascus and Turkey. Ankara sees the SDF as a terrorist organization and Abdel Karim Omar warned that any cross-border offensive risked leading to mass breakouts from the jails where jihadis are currently held. “Any new threat or new war would give an opportunity to these criminals to slip out,” he said. IS, faced with multiple offensives in Syria and Iraq since 2014, has morphed from a territorial force back into a clandestine insurgency group carrying out hit-and-run attacks in both countries. The SDF’s top commander said Saturday that anti-IS operations were entering a new phase. Mazloum Kobane said the new focus would be IS sleeper cells that “are a great threat to our region and the whole world.”
|
conflict;u.s .;terrorism;syria;kurds;islamic state;syrian democratic forces;baghouz
|
jp0002436
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Russian air force planes land in Venezuela carrying troops, says report
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CARACAS - Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela’s main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to a local journalist, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow. A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday. The report comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region. Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding that the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material. An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24. The cargo plane left Caracas on Sunday afternoon, according to Adsbexchange, another flight-tracking site. A Reuters witness saw what appeared to be the passenger jet at the Maiquetia airport on Sunday. It was not immediately evident why the planes had come to Venezuela. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Russia’s Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking a comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment. The Trump administration has levied crippling sanctions on the OPEC nation’s oil industry in efforts to push Maduro from power and has called on Venezuelan military leaders to abandon him. Maduro has denounced the sanctions as U.S. interventionism and has won diplomatic backing from Russia and China. In December, two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed Venezuela in a show of support for Maduro’s socialist government that infuriated Washington. Maduro on Wednesday said Russia would send medicine “next week” to Venezuela, without describing how it would arrive, adding that Moscow in February had sent some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid. Venezuela in February had blocked a convoy carrying humanitarian aid for the crisis-stricken country that was coordinated with the team of opposition leader Juan Guaido, including supplies provided by the United States, from entering via the border with Colombia.
|
u.s .;russia;venezuela;nicolas maduro;donald trump
|
jp0002437
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Trump breaks silence to declare 'complete exoneration' even though Robert Mueller report is vague on obstruction
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WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - Breaking his silence on the special counsel investigation, President Donald Trump celebrated a summary of the findings Sunday, claiming it “was a complete and total exoneration,” even though the report did not reach a definitive answer on whether he obstructed justice. Trump spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Palm Beach, saying “it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia. … There was no obstruction, and none whatsoever.” The president’s comments came after the Justice Department said that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. The four-page summary by Attorney General William Barr said Mueller’s report “does not exonerate” the president on obstruction and instead “sets out evidence on both sides of the question.” Trump’s victory lap came after he kept a low profile over the weekend, heeding the advice of his lawyers, who warned him against tweeting about the probe before details were released. But on Sunday night he signaled that he was eager to go on the offensive against the probe that has shadowed his presidency. “It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this,” Trump said. “This was an illegal takedown that failed.” White House advisers and allies were equally elated, with campaign manager Brad Parscale declaring in a statement that Trump “has been completely and fully vindicated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.” For their part, Democrats called for Mueller’s full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigation, setting up future clashes with the White House. Before the summary was released, Trump, who spent the weekend golfing and relaxing with his family, was said to be relieved and happy that Robert Mueller’s probe ended without any new indictments , according to people close to the White House. The president notably dialed back his high-octane Twitter account over the weekend. Early Sunday morning, he tweeted: “Good Morning, Have A Great Day!” and “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The relative silence stood in contrast with the previous weekend, when Trump unleashed more than 50 tweets, many scathing attacks on the investigations that imperiled his presidency. Trump spent Sunday golfing with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., former Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, also a former South Carolina congressman, according to a White House official, as aides sought to keep the president busy during the tumultuous weekend. The president has railed against Mueller for months, calling the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt.” The inquiry focused on whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 campaign, as well as whether the president tried to obstruct the probe. A larger pack of aides than normal — including press secretary Sarah Sanders — traveled with Trump to Mar-a-Lago to manage any fallout. Trump was briefed on what his supporters would say on television throughout the weekend; aides hoped the president might stay quiet if he felt his messages were getting out even if he wasn’t delivering them himself. White House officials were cautious about declaring victory or getting ahead of the details, said a person familiar with White House thinking, who like others, insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Trump allies like Republican Reps. Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan handled television interviews over the weekend, while White House officials were expected to speak more during the week. Trump spent the weekend surrounded by aides, friends and family, including son Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who are at the Florida estate for spring break with their children. Trump’s eldest son was out fishing with his children when the report was delivered. The president and first lady Melania Trump celebrated their son Barron’s 13th birthday with dinner on the patio of Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. Trump also attended a GOP dinner that night and basked in the applause of hundreds of dressed-to-the-nines attendees. He spent Saturday golfing with singer-songwriter Kid Rock in temperatures that hit the 80s, and headed back to his golf club again on Sunday. Trump also spent time on the phone with trusted confidants. The president’s low-key approach was a marked shift from his posture in recent days. Beginning last weekend, he unleashed a storm of tweets that were unusually harsh and varied, even by Trump’s standards. He leveled fresh recriminations at the late Sen. John McCain. He called adviser Kellyanne Conway’s husband a “loser husband from hell,” former FBI Director James Comey a “dirty cop” and former Vice President Joe Biden as a “low I.Q. individual.” And Trump tweeted ongoing denouncements about the Mueller probe, saying it is the “biggest scandal in the history of the country.” Aides blamed that Twitter explosion in part due to too much free time. Heading into this high-stakes weekend, Trump advisers made a point of keeping the president busy and focused on positive developments, according to the Republican close to the White House.
|
robert mueller;donald trump;rod rosenstein;russia probe;william barr
|
jp0002438
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Mexican president says state was main violator of human rights
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MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday the state had in the past been the main violator of human rights in the country, as he blamed violence and disappearances on his predecessors’ “neo-liberal” economic policies. “There was a time in which the main violator of human rights was the state. It was the violator par excellence of human rights. That’s over,” Lopez Obrador said at an event in which his government set out plans to end disappearances in Mexico. “I, as president, and at the same time as commander of the country’s armed forces, will never give the order to massacre, to repress the people of Mexico,” he said. Tens of thousands of people are registered as disappeared in Mexico, where fighting between drug cartels and their clashes with security forces have been blamed for more than 200,000 deaths since late 2006. The violence has been punctuated by mass killings, some of which have drawn international condemnation of the Mexican authorities. Most notorious was the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers in the southwestern city of Iguala. The government said the youths were massacred after corrupt police handed them to a local drug gang, who incinerated their bodies. But many questions remain about the teachers’ fate, and the incident did lasting damage to the reputation of Lopez Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto. Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, has sought to present his presidency as a complete break with previous administrations, and said he would not back a policy of “an eye for an eye” that tried to tackle “violence with violence.” Homicides have remained close to record levels since the veteran leftist took power. The event set out plans to increase coordination between authorities, relatives and emergency services under a “national search system” designed to track down the disappeared. Lopez Obrador said the government would spare no expense in its efforts to find the missing, and to put names on some 26,000 unidentified bodies currently in storage. During his address, which was attended by relatives of some of the many disappeared, the president again attacked the economic policies of previous governments, saying they were corrupt, had impoverished Mexico and encouraged violence. “This is what we’re suffering from,” he said, “the rotten fruit of neo-liberal economics prescribed for 36 years.”
|
rights;mexico;mass killings;manuel lopez obrador
|
jp0002440
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
|
'Time's up, Theresa'? Prime Minister May urged to set her own exit date to get Brexit deal
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LONDON - U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure on Monday to give a date for leaving office as the price to bring Brexit-supporting rebel lawmakers in her party behind her twice-defeated European Union divorce treaty. At one of the most important junctures for the country in at least a generation, British politics was at fever pitch and, nearly three years since the 2016 referendum, it was still unclear how, when or if Brexit will ever take place. With May humiliated and weakened, ministers lined up to insist she was still in charge and to deny a reported plot to demand she name a date to leave office at a Cabinet meeting on Monday. Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun newspaper said in a front page editorial that May must announce she will stand down as soon as her Brexit deal is approved and the United Kingdom has left the EU. “Time’s up, Theresa,” the newspaper said on its front page. The newspaper said her one chance of getting the deal approved by Parliament was to name a date for her departure. May called rebel lawmakers including Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker to her Chequers residence on Sunday, Downing Street said, along with ministers David Lidington and Michael Gove. The two ministers denied reports they were being lined up as a possible caretaker prime minister. “The meeting discussed a range of issues, including whether there is sufficient support in the Commons to bring back a meaningful vote (for her deal) this week,” a spokesman said. May told the lawmakers on Sunday that she would quit if they voted for her twice-defeated European Union divorce deal, ITV news said. “I am reliably told that Theresa May told Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Steve Baker, Jacob Rees-Mogg, David Davis et al at Chequers that she will quit if they vote for her deal, including the backstop they hate,” ITV political editor Robert Peston wrote. “But she gave no specifics. So there is not a lot of trust she would actually quit,” Peston wrote. May was told by Brexiteers at the meeting that she must set out a timetable to leave office if she wants to get her deal ratified, Buzzfeed reporter Alex Wickham said on Twitter. The Sun’s political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, said some ministers were urging May to pivot to a no-deal Brexit as the only way to survive in power. May’s deal was defeated by 149 votes on March 12 and by 230 votes on Jan. 15. To get it passed, she must win over at least 75 MPs: dozens of rebels in her Conservative Party, some Labour MPs, and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government. The Sunday Times reported 11 unidentified ministers agreed May should stand down, warning she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment has “gone haywire.” Brexit had been due to happen on March 29 before May secured a delay in talks with the EU. Now a departure date of May 22 will apply if Parliament passes May’s deal. If she fails, the U.K. will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave without a treaty. Some lawmakers have asked May to name her departure date as the price for supporting her deal. Lawmakers are due on Monday to debate the government’s next steps on Brexit, including the delayed exit date. They have proposed changes, or amendments, including one which seeks to wrest control of the process from the government in order to hold votes on alternative ways forward. Amendments are not legally binding, but do exert political pressure on May to change course.
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u.k .;brexit;theresa may
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jp0002441
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand calls Trump 'coward' as she launches 2020 bid outside his NYC hotel
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NEW YORK - Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand delivered a fiery repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday at the doorstep of one of his most famous properties, making it clear she will not pull her punches in seeking to replace him. “President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of this country,” Gillibrand declared to hundreds of supporters, with Trump International Hotel and Tower — which she called a “shrine to greed, division and vanity” — as a backdrop in Midtown Manhattan. “Our president is a coward.” The speech, the first since Gillibrand formally launched her 2020 campaign last week, and its location were intended to show voters that she will attack Trump directly, in contrast to some Democratic rivals who have hesitated to focus on the Republican president early in the 2020 campaign. While some candidates, most notably Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have harshly criticized Trump, others have largely avoided using his name, as Democrats try out different tactics for confronting the divisive president. Gillibrand’s aggressiveness could endear her to angry Democratic voters who are desperate to defeat Trump next year. “She’s trying to differentiate herself,” said Maria Cardona, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. “It’s a pretty crowded field. She’s not really in the middle of it, and she needs to be in the middle of it.” Though Gillibrand’s formal campaign for the Democratic nomination began last week, she announced she was exploring a candidacy in January and spent the last two months visiting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that will hold early nominating contests next year. But she has struggled to build momentum among a group of more than 15 announced and potential candidates, including five other sitting senators and former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to join the race soon. “Gillibrand simply lacks the star power or national prominence that would lead to extensive free media time,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University. In recent surveys, Gillibrand has remained stubbornly mired in the 1-percent range, while other first-time presidential candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, both U.S. senators, have shown more competitiveness. The race remains in its infancy, however, with the first nominating contest in Iowa still 10 months away. “Most voters are just learning the candidates’ names,” said Jesse Ferguson, a senior spokesman for Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “Right now, the priority for a candidate is to introduce themselves and show what their values are and how that’s the answer to what we have in the White House.” Gillibrand, known as a moderate when she served as a congresswoman from upstate New York, has refashioned herself into a staunch progressive. In her speech on Sunday, she expressed support for several liberal policy goals, including universal paid family leave, the environmental agenda known as the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-all and legalizing marijuana. She also referenced her own efforts in the Senate to address sexual assault in the military and on college campuses and to secure equal pay for women. But it was her pointed criticism of Trump that may help separate her from the pack. “I’m proud to have stood up to Donald Trump more than anyone else in the U.S. Senate,” she said, referring to her voting record. Several supporters said they appreciated her willingness to go after Trump, even if it risks an insulting counterattack from the famously no-holds-barred president. “We need to fight Trump head on,” said Kathleen Nichols, 62. “Kirsten’s a fighter.” Eric Seyfried, 53, said he had donated money to Gillibrand for years, starting with her first congressional run in 2006. “If you’re afraid to take on a bully because the bully is going to come after you, maybe you’re not supposed to be president of the United States,” he said.
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congress;democrats;kirsten gillibrand;donald trump;trump tower;2020 u.s. presidential election
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jp0002442
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Slavery reparations debate resurfaces in 2020 White House race
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WASHINGTON - In January 1865, as the U.S. Civil War was drawing to a close, some freed slaves were promised “40 acres and a mule” to begin new lives. The audacious experiment was fleeting — repudiated within months by President Andrew Johnson, successor to the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and the land returned to its former owners. More than 150 years later, the question of whether the United States should provide compensation to African-Americans for past wrongs is still on the table. Reparations for centuries of slavery and racial discrimination has emerged as a spirited topic of debate among the slew of candidates seeking to become the 2020 Democratic nominee for president. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, during his failed 1988 White House bid, raised the controversial subject but it has never figured so prominently before in a presidential race. Barack Obama, America’s first black president, and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton did not support compensation for the descendants of slaves. Among the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, have come out strongly in favor of reparations. “America was founded on principles of liberty and freedom and on the backs of slave labor,” Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, said recently at a CNN event in Jackson, Mississippi. “This is a stain on America,” Warren said. “I believe it’s time to start the national, full-blown conversation about reparations in this country.” Castro, seeking to become the first U.S. president of Hispanic origin, said he backed reparations while acknowledging there is a “tremendous amount of disagreement” on what they should be. “If, under the Constitution, we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn’t you compensate people who actually were property?” he said. Warren has thrown her support behind a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would appoint a commission to examine the subject. The bill, HR 40, calls for a panel “to address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865.” The commission would “consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery.” HR 40 — so named for the unkept “40 acres and a mule” pledge — was first introduced in the House three decades ago and has been resubmitted every year since, but has never reached the floor for a vote. Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, the two black candidates in the race, have also signaled support for reparations while former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke has said there should be a “conversation” about the subject. “We need to study the effects of generations of discrimination and institutional racism and determine what can be done, in terms of intervention, to correct course,” Harris said on National Public Radio. Marianne Williamson, a self-help author considered a long shot for the nomination, is the only Democratic candidate for the moment advocating direct payments to African-Americans. Williamson has proposed creating a $200 billion to $500 billion fund to do it — a number that scholars of the subject have ridiculed as far too little. A more reasonable figure, they argue, would run into the trillions of dollars. Two other Democratic hopefuls — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar — have supported addressing racial inequality as part of their wider plans to reduce income disparity. “I think right now our job is to address the crises facing the American people in our communities,” Sanders said on ABC’s “The View.” “And I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check.” Klobuchar said there was a need to “invest in those communities that have been so hurt by racism.” “That means looking at, for our whole economy, community college, one-year degrees, minimum wage, child care,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It doesn’t have to be a direct pay for each person.” Blacks are a key voting bloc for Democrats and their support is seen as essential to the candidate running against Republican President Donald Trump next year. Fifty-two percent of the African-Americans surveyed in a 2015 CNN-Kaiser poll supported cash payments to the descendants of slaves. But 89 percent of the white Americans polled opposed the idea. Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, in a seminal 2014 article in The Atlantic called “The Case For Reparations,” said the idea is “frightening” to many Americans “not simply because we might lack the ability to pay.” “The idea of reparations threatens something much deeper — America’s heritage, history, and standing in the world,” Coates said. “But I believe that wrestling publicly with these questions matters as much as — if not more than — the specific answers that might be produced,” he said. “An America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane.” The United States has handed out reparations in the past including to Japanese-Americans put in internment camps during World War II.
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u.s .;slavery;democrats;elizabeth warren;kamala harris;julian castro
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jp0002443
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
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A more skeptical U.S. Supreme Court to hear redistricting challenge
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WASHINGTON - Last year, proponents of limiting partisan politics in the creation of electoral districts needed to win over Justice Anthony Kennedy. They couldn’t. The issue is back before the Supreme Court again, with arguments on Tuesday, and it might be harder than ever to convince the justices to rein in the practice known as partisan gerrymandering, designing districts to benefit one political party. A new round of redistricting awaits after the 2020 census, and the court’s decision could help shape the makeup of Congress and state legislatures over the next 10 years. With Kennedy retired, the question is whether federal courts will remain open at all to complaints about political line-drawing. “The question of what the outcome will be in light of recent changes in the membership of the Supreme Court is anybody’s guess,” said Seth Waxman, the former lead high court lawyer in the Clinton administration and a supporter of limits on drawing districts for partisan gain. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is in Kennedy’s seat. Chief Justice John Roberts is now the court conservative closest to the center and the focus of the arguments for reining in partisan redistricting, said Michael Kimberly, the lawyer for Republican voters who challenged a Democratic congressional district in Maryland. “The concern now is persuading him,” Kimberly said, acknowledging Roberts’ skepticism about the court’s involvement in the issue during arguments last term. Critics of partisan manipulation of electoral maps say that when one party controls redistricting, it can exaggerate and entrench its power, even in states that are otherwise closely divided between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans were the big beneficiaries of the most recent round of redistricting in 2011, following the once-a-decade census, because they scored resounding victories in the 2010 elections. The court has before it two cases, from Maryland and North Carolina, with strong evidence that elected officials charged with drawing and approving congressional districts acted for maximum partisan advantage. In North Carolina, Republicans ran the process and sought to preserve a 10-3 split in the congressional delegation in favor of the GOP, even as statewide races are usually closely divided. In Maryland, Democrats controlled redistricting and sought to flip one district that had been represented by a Republican for 20 years. Both plans succeeded and lower courts concluded that the districts violated the Constitution. Bolstering those court outcomes were the candid appraisals by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, and North Carolina state Rep. David Lewis, a Republican, of the critical role politics played in redistricting. Part of the point in redrawing the 6th congressional district in western Maryland was to “create a district where the people would be more likely to elect a Democrat than a Republican, yes, this was clearly my intent,” O’Malley said in testimony for the lawsuit challenging the district. Needing to reduce the district’s population by just over 10,000 people to ensure similarly sized congressional districts, Maryland Democrats instead removed 360,000 Republicans and replaced them with 350,000 Democrats. In North Carolina, Lewis boasted that the congressional map he helped draw in 2016 — to replace a map that had been struck down for relying too heavily on race — would preserve the Republicans’ already sizable edge. He told fellow lawmakers then that he was proposing a 10-3 map “because I do not believe it’s possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.” Lewis said later he was joking, but those who sued don’t think so. The 2018 race margins describe a tell-tale sign of partisan gerrymandering, according to map critics: Voters supporting the minority party are packed tightly into fewer districts, resulting in easy victories, while the majority party wins narrower races, but in more districts. While each of the three incumbent Democrats cruised to re-election in November with at least 70 percent of the vote, no winning Republican in a contested race received above 60 percent. North Carolina voters will fill two House seats this year. One is in the GOP-leaning 9th Congressional District, where the state elections board ordered a new election based on evidence of illegal absentee ballot activities involving a political operative who worked for the Republican candidate. The other is the seat held by the late Rep. Walter Jones Jr. A court ruling that leads to further remapping could add confusion for voters and candidates in the middle of campaigns. But the Supreme Court might not be as receptive as the lower courts. In 1986, the justices held that federal courts should be open to claims of partisan gerrymandering. But since then, the court has not struck down districts on those grounds or even decided on the right way to do so. By contrast, the court has invalidated many districts because of racial gerrymandering over the past 50 years. By 2004, four conservative justices were ready to take courts out of the business of dealing with partisan gerrymandering claims, but Kennedy wouldn’t go along. Kennedy’s position encouraged supporters of limits when the justices took up cases last year involving Republican-drawn state legislative districts in Wisconsin and the same Maryland congressional district. The cases had statistical analyses, proposals for how judges could reasonably determine when districting plans went too far and the non-partisan optics of Republicans in the offending role in one state and Democrats in the other. Yet the court left the big issues unresolved in a pair of rulings in June that were nonetheless a setback for advocates who hoped they had finally found a way to prove their case to a long-skeptical Supreme Court and Kennedy, in particular. But lower federal courts have continued to rule on redistricting complaints. In addition to the Maryland and North Carolina decisions, there are pending challenges to Republican-controlled plans in Michigan and Ohio that could be affected by the high court’s decision. Paul Clement, who served as President George W. Bush’s top Supreme Court lawyer, said the justices should once and for all declare federal courts off limits for partisan redistricting because the inherently political job of drawing electoral districts belongs to the politicians. In his Supreme Court filing on behalf of North Carolina Republicans, Clement wrote that a “judicially manageable test for adjudicating partisan gerrymandering claims does not exist.” A separate state court challenge to North Carolina legislative districts also is under way, following an approach used by Pennsylvania Democrats to win a state Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down the state’s Republican-drawn congressional districts.
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courts;elections
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jp0002444
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Russia probe findings offer re-election weapon for Trump
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WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusion that Donald Trump did not collude with Russia to win the presidency in 2016 gives the president a powerful weapon to use against his Democratic opponents and a potential boost to what is shaping up to be a tough bid for re-election in 2020. Mueller’s conclusion that neither Trump nor his aides conspired with Russia in 2016 takes away a central charge that Democrats have flung at Trump for two years — that he did not win the presidency fairly or cleanly. The allegations have played out on an endless loop on cable TV news shows, overshadowing Trump’s presidency from day one. Democrats have vowed to continue congressional investigations into the 2016 election campaign and Trump’s business practices. But without the solid foundation of a Mueller report that found evidence of any crimes by the president, they now risk seeming to overplay their hand. “This is a gold star day for Donald Trump,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “Now the shackles are off. He’s able to demonize the news media and Democrats as perpetuating what he calls a hoax. And he’ll be able to use his innocence as fodder for the campaign trail.” The question for Trump now is whether he will be able to bring a minimum of discipline to his campaign messaging and to the presidency itself. History suggests he will have trouble with self-discipline. Just last week, he was immersed in a strange fight with a dead man, sharply criticizing the late Republican Sen. John McCain and falsely accusing him of being at the root of some of the collusion allegations against him. He has also been prone to making baffling abrupt decisions, such as occurred last week when he called off a round of sanctions against North Korea before they had even been imposed. Despite the Mueller report’s conclusions, Trump remains an intemperate president, eager to lash out at any and all critics and perceived slights. “This was an illegal takedown that failed,” Trump said on Sunday, even though Mueller left open the question of whether the former real estate magnate had attempted to obstruct the Russia probe, which did find extensive evidence that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. “Now is the time to get back on the offense on the economy and growth,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed. “This is a good time to get back to a real healthy dose of message discipline for the entire administration, department-wide and the White House. That’s what you do when something like this happens.” Trump, on a golfing weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, got the news in his private quarters at his Mar-a-Lago retreat from White House counsel Emmett Flood, and watched TV coverage of the Mueller report in his cabin on Air Force One. Trump’s initial comments in reacting to the Mueller conclusion suggests he is not inclined to move past the investigation. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for the flight back to Washington, Trump called for Democrats to be investigated, expanding on his often repeated assertion that the Mueller probe was Democrat-inspired. Mueller was appointed by Trump’s Department of Justice in 2017 after he fired FBI Director James Comey. “It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this,” Trump said. “Before I even got elected it began, and it began illegally.” Trump’s comments could foreshadow an effort by his supporters to seek payback for the cloud that has hung over his time in the White House. “I’m interested in moving on and trying to get this behind us, but people have to pay for what they’ve done for the past two years,” said former Trump campaign aide David Bossie. “We must investigate the investigators.” Trump’s path to re-election remains a perilous one. Analysts say he will probably need to win the Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, just as he did in his improbable 2016 victory, and Democrats are already pouring resources into those states. Trump will foreshadow his campaign message on Thursday night when he headlines a “Make America Great Again” rally in Michigan. Trump supporters viewed the Mueller report as a blow to the more than a dozen Democrats who are campaigning for their party’s 2020 presidential nomination. “This is very problematic for any Democrat who’s running for president in 2020 that was hoping they would face a weakened or beaten-down President Trump,” former Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said. “In fact, President Trump will likely see a ratings boost coming out of this and a strong tailwind pushing him towards the upcoming election.” Reuters/Ipsos polling has shown that Americans decided early on in Mueller’s investigation whether they thought Trump was guilty of collusion or not. The polling found few undecided voters. Brinkley said Democrats will need to adjust their tactics and emphasize their differences with Trump’s record on issues ranging from healthcare and climate change to immigration. “Some of those charges are going to have to rise to be the main charges against Trump,” he said, noting there was fatigue with the Russia issue.
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vladimir putin;russia;espionage;scandals;robert mueller;donald trump;2016 u.s. presidential election;russia probe
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jp0002445
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Kamala Harris sends signal to Joe Biden on 2020: Every era has an end
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ATLANTA - California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a signal to the old guard of Democratic politics that every era has its end. At an Atlanta church service Sunday, the presidential candidate compared leadership to a relay race in which each generation must ask themselves “what do we do during that period of time when we carry that baton.” Then she added with a smile that for “the older leaders, it also becomes a question of let’s also know when to pass the baton.” At 54 years old, Harris is one of the younger contenders for the White House in 2020. While former Vice President Joe Biden has not said whether he will run, both the 76-year-old and 77-year-old Bernie Sanders have previously run for the White House and fallen short. Biden and Sanders are seen as strong contenders for the Democratic nomination, though other candidates and some voters have emphasized the need for a more youthful approach to try and beat President Donald Trump in the general election. Several other candidates in the race, including two governors, are also in their late sixties. Other highlights of Sunday campaigning: KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand assailed President Donald Trump as a coward who is “tearing apart the moral fabric of the vulnerable,” as she officially started her campaign for president. The senator spoke in New York Sunday, feet away from one of Trump’s signature properties, the Trump International Hotel and Tower. She said that instead of building walls as Trump wants to do along the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans build bridges, community and hope. Gillibrand also called for full release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report in the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr released a summary Sunday afternoon, but Democrats want to see the full details. Gillibrand is trying to position herself in the crowded field of Democrats seeking the party’s nomination. While some hopefuls have shied away from mentioning Trump, Gillibrand has not hesitated to do so. ELIZABETH WARREN Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Sunday the National Rifle Association is holding “Congress hostage” when it comes to stemming gun violence. The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate tells a campaign rally that if seven children were dying from a mysterious virus, “we’d pull out all the stops till we figured out what was wrong.” But in terms of gun violence, she said the NRA “keeps calling the shots in Washington.” Warren finished a two-day campaign trip to New Hampshire with an event at a middle school in Conway Sunday afternoon. Warren focused much of her speech on her approach to economics, but paid special attention to unions Sunday. She said more power needs to be put back in the hands of workers. BETO O’ROURKE Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke told voters in Las Vegas Sunday that President Donald Trump bears blame for the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border but responsibility lies with everyone in the country to fix the situation. O’Rourke spoke Sunday to more than 200 people packed into and snaking around a taco shop on the city’s north end. He said immigrant families are leaving their home countries and journeying on foot because they have no other choice. The former Texas congressman said desperate families were broken up in the U.S. when they were at their most vulnerable and desperate moments, and what happened to them “is on every single one of us.”
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joe biden;democrats;elizabeth warren;donald trump;kamala harris;2020 u.s. presidential election;beto o'rourke
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jp0002446
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[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Stricken Norwegian cruise liner reaches port after airlift drama
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OSLO - A cruise liner that ran into trouble in stormy seas off Norway reached port under its own steam Sunday after hundreds of passengers were winched to safety by helicopter in a spectacular rescue operation. Escorted by tugboats, the Viking Sky arrived in the port of Molde at around 4:15 p.m. (1515 GMT), television images showed. Nearly a third of its 1,373 passengers and crew had already been airlifted off the ship. The cruise liner lost power and started drifting on Saturday afternoon 2 km (1.2 miles) off a stretch of Norwegian coastline notorious for shipwrecks. The captain sent out a Mayday prompting authorities to launch the airlift in difficult conditions rather than run the risk of leaving people on board. Some 460 of the 1,373 people on the ship had been taken off by five helicopters before the airlift was halted. Police said 17 people had been taken to hospitals. One person more than 90 years old and two 70-year-olds suffered serious fractures. With three of four engines restarted Sunday, two tugs towed the vessel away from dangerous reefs before it set sail for Molde, 500 km (300 miles) northwest of Oslo, under its own power. Dramatic footage of the passengers’ ordeal showed furniture and plants sliding around the lurching vessel as parts of the ceiling came down. Dozens of passengers wearing life jackets were seen seated waiting to get off the ship. “I have never seen anything so frightening,” said Janet Jacob, who was rescued. “I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board,” she told the NRK television channel. “The helicopter trip was terrifying. The winds were like a tornado,” she added. “We were sitting down for breakfast when things started to shake … It was just chaos,” said another passenger, American John Curry, as quoted in Norwegian by local media. Passenger Rodney Horgan said he had been reminded of the Titanic. “The best word, I guess, is surreal,” he said. “Sea water six-seven feet (about 2 meters) high just came rushing in, hit the tables, chairs, broken glass and 20-30 people just … went right in front of me. “I was standing, my wife was sitting in front of me and all of a sudden, she was gone. And I thought this was the end,” Horgan said. But it all ended well for Ryan Flynn. “Here’s my 83-year-old dad being airlifted from the #vikingsky,” he said. “We are all off the ship safely!” The ship was sailing south from Tromso to Stavanger when engine trouble struck midafternoon on Saturday in an area off More og Romsdal that has claimed many vessels. “It is dangerous to encounter engine problems in these waters, which hide numerous reefs,” said Tor Andre Franck, the head of police operations. A reception center was set up in a gym on shore for the evacuees, many of whom were elderly and from the United States and Britain. The area where the ship got into problems, known as Hustadvika, is notoriously difficult to navigate. The shallow, 10 nautical mile section of coastline is dotted with small islands and reefs. “Hustadvika is one of the most notorious maritime areas that we have,” Odd Roar Lange, a journalist specializing in tourism, told NRK. In their time, the Vikings hesitated to venture into the Hustadvika, preferring instead to transport their boats by land from one fjord to another. Operated by the Norwegian firm Viking Ocean Cruises, the Viking Sky was launched in 2017 with a capacity of 930 passengers plus crew. In addition to US and British nationals, there were also passengers from 14 other countries on board, Fjeld said.
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norway;marine accidents;viking sky
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jp0002447
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[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
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A second student who survived 2018 Florida school massacre reportedly commits suicide
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WASHINGTON - A second student from the Florida high school where 17 were shot dead in 2018 has committed suicide within a week, U.S. media reported Sunday. The Miami Herald said police in Coral Springs told the paper that a current student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland had died of “apparent suicide” late Saturday. The student was not identified by the police but the Miami Herald said it was a male sophomore. Coral Springs police could not be immediately contacted to confirm the report. Last weekend Sydney Aiello, 19, who survived the Parkland massacre and graduated last year, killed herself reportedly out of grief and “survivor’s guilt.” Two of Aiello’s best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver, were among the dead when former student Nikolas Cruz raked the school on Feb. 14, 2018, with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members. Aiello’s parents told local news channel CBS4 that she had been treated for PTSD and suffered from survivor’s guilt, when a victim fixates on why he or she managed to live, not someone else. After the shooting, Stoneman Douglas students became crusaders against gun violence under the banner “March for Our Lives,” lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organizing protests and rallies.
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guns;u.s .;suicide;ptsd;florida;mass shootings;mass murder;parkland school massacre
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jp0002448
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[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
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German family to donate millions of euros after hearing extent of Nazi past
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BERLIN - One of Germany’s richest families says it plans to give millions of euros to charity after learning about ancestors who enthusiastically supported the Nazis and used forced labor. The Bild newspaper reported Sunday that documents revealed Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr. used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as forced laborers. Family spokesman Peter Harf, who heads the Reimann’s JAB Holding Company, says recent internal research confirmed Bild’s findings. He says the family never spoke of the Nazi era but the evidence shows the father and son, who died in 1954 and 1984, “belonged in jail.” Harf says the heirs plan to publish the research and donate €10 million ($11.3 million) to charity. JAB has controlling stakes in restaurant chain Pret a Manger, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Peet’s Coffee and other businesses.
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wwii;history;germany;nazis;jab holding company
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jp0002449
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[
"world"
] |
2019/03/25
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Trickiest U.S. missile defense test is finally ready to launch
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WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is about to attempt what’s likely to be the most challenging test yet of the U.S. military’s ability to shoot down an incoming missile from an adversary such as North Korea or Iran, according to three people familiar with the plans. The Missile Defense Agency intends on Monday to fire two interceptors tipped with the latest Raytheon Co. warheads within seconds of each other in a test that hasn’t been publicly announced. The first interceptor would attempt to crash into a dummy target representing an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile. The second would use its sensors to detect another ICBM or other countermeasures. Monday’s action would be first missile defense test since a successful one in May 2017. The system also scored an interception in June 2014 after two that failed in 2010. Mark Wright, a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency, said in an email said he had “nothing to announce at this time.” The $36 billion system of Boeing Co.-managed radar, command links and 44 ground-based interceptors in California and Alaska is designed to defeat a missile attack. The Pentagon is requesting $9.4 billion in fiscal 2020 for the agency’s programs, including $1.4 billion for the ground-based segment — an increase from the $9.36 billion previously planned. The interception attempt is the program’s first operational flight test and “if successful, will have demonstrated a fundamental, yet crucially important, aspect of how the war-fighter will operate” the system in a missile attack on the U.S. homeland, said Cristina Chaplain, space and missile defense systems director for the Government Accountability Office, in an email. “The test has been delayed by over a decade, as it may be the most challenging test in the program’s near-30-year history,” she said.
|
u.s .;north korea;military;weapons;iran
|
jp0002450
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Military-backed party seen taking lead in Thai election, indicating junta leader may stay at helm
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BANGKOK - A military-backed party has taken the lead in Thailand’s first election since a 2014 coup, preliminary results showed Sunday, suggesting junta leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha could stay in power. With 92 percent of votes counted, the Palang Pracharat party was first with 7.5 million votes, according to the country’s Election Commission. Its vote total falls short of the numbers required for an outright majority in parliament. Pheu Thai, which was the governing party ousted by the coup, was next with 7 million votes. The country likely faces several weeks of haggling among political parties before a potentially unstable coalition government is formed. Thais voted for a 500-member parliament, which along with a 250-member junta-appointed Senate will decide the next prime minister. A new party, Future Forward, which was anti-junta and became popular with young voters, had scooped up nearly 5.2 million votes. But voters deserted the Democrat Party, the country’s oldest political party, and its leader, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, resigned. Nearly 6 percent of votes were disqualified, according to the Election Commission, which said it would provide an update on counting Monday. Pheu Thai’s secretary general, Phumtham Wechayachai, said the party was waiting for official results but believes there were irregularities. The party wants to inspect disqualified and spoiled ballots, he said. “Even the reported numbers from the Election Commission and each media outlet are different. We have our own number too. The Election Commission report even paused for a while. It will be clearer once the official result is announced,” Phumtham said. The election was the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle between conservative forces including the military and the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thailand’s politics with a populist political revolution. Thaksin was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile abroad to avoid a prison term, but parties allied with him have won every election since 2001. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who led the Pheu Thai government that was ousted in 2014, also fled the country after what supporters said was a politically motivated prosecution. The blunt-speaking Prayuth, who as army chief led the 2014 coup, was hoping to extend his hold on power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with Palang Pracharat and the military. “What is now interesting is how Palang Pracharat can bring together a coalition,” said Kevin Hewison, a Thai politics expert who is a University of North Carolina emeritus professor. “It looks like it needs at least two other parties but will probably cobble together more than that in the hope of creating a more stable government,” he said. About 51 million Thais were eligible to vote. Leaders of political parties opposed to military rule urged a high turnout as the only way to derail Prayuth’s plans, but at 66 percent, turnout fell short of their hopes. A statement from Prayuth’s office said he thanked people for voting and officials for holding the election in an orderly fashion. Thailand’s powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn had issued a statement on the eve of the election that said the role of leaders is to stop “bad people” from gaining power and causing chaos. It was also broadcast on Thai television stations minutes before voting started. Invoking a speech by his father, the previous Thai king, who died in 2016 after reigning for seven decades, Vajiralongkorn said not all citizens can be transformed into good people, so leaders must be given support in ruling to create a peaceful nation. He urged government officials, soldiers and civil servants to look after national security. It was the monarch’s second notable intervention in politics recently. Last month, he demanded his sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol withdraw as a prime ministerial candidate for a small Thaksin-allied party within 24 hours of her announcement. When it seized power in 2014, the military said it was to end political unrest that had periodically turned violent and disrupted daily life and the economy. The claim has been a selling point for Prayuth, who according to critics has overseen a period of growing inequality and economic hardship in Thailand. After the coup, political party gatherings were banned and pro-democracy activists and other dissenters were regularly arrested, interrogated and imprisoned. Just days before Sunday’s election, Pheu Thai said the houses of party officials and its campaign canvassers in some provinces were searched by military personnel in an act of intimidation.
|
thailand;elections;prayuth chan-ocha
|
jp0002451
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Both military-backed party and Thaksin allies claim victory in Thai election
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BANGKOK - A political party linked to exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra claimed victory in Thailand’s election and said it would seek to form a government, challenging a military-backed group that led in initial vote counts and has also said it won. Pheu Thai won the most seats in the election and the military-appointed Senate should follow the wishes of voters, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the party’s candidate for prime minister, told reporters in Bangkok on Monday. While local news outlets showed the party winning the most seats, election authorities still haven’t released official tallies. “We’ll try to form a government coalition right away because that’s how people voted,” Sudarat said. “We stood by our position that we won’t support the continuation of the military regime.” The comments indicate a showdown is emerging to form a government between pro-democracy forces and Thailand’s royalist and military elites, who have repeatedly sought to prevent Thaksin and his allies from taking power over the past two decades. Previous confrontations have led to instability, gridlock, deadly street protests and coups. Thailand’s pro-army Palang Pracharat party, meanwhile, said on Monday it aims to form a government after winning the most votes in the country’s first election since a 2014 coup. Party spokesman Kobsak Pootrakool told reporters the party expects to gather 251 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives to form a government. “Palang Pracharat will talk to like-minded parties who share the same ideology and standpoint to move the country forward, which will take a while,” Kobsak said. It was not clear how many seats Palang Pracharat would have in the House of Representatives, as the Election Commission said it would only release the winners of 350 seats on Monday. The party won 7.7 million votes with 94 percent counted, according to unofficial results posted on the Election Commission’s Facebook page. Pheu Thai came in second with 7.23 million votes. The Election Commission had said on Monday it would announce the winners of the 350 constituencies at 4 p.m., after several delays in giving seat totals. Investors appeared sanguine about the results of the election. The baht strengthened as much as 0.8 percent against the dollar, while the benchmark stock index’s drop was less than the slide in regional peers amid a global selloff. The results put junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha in position to stay in power, as Thailand’s election rules effectively tilt the playing field in favor of the military. The 250-member Senate appointed by the junta also gets a vote for prime minister, and it’s likely to back Prayuth. Either way, any coalition is likely to be weak and unwieldy, making it difficult to pass legislation in the lower house. Both Pheu Thai and Prayuth would need to rely on a range of smaller regional parties to push through key policies. Questions are also being raised about the credibility of the vote and the next administration is likely to be unstable, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the head of Future Forward, said in a television interview on Monday. The 40-year-old scion of a billionaire family, whose party did surprisingly well, has vowed to rewrite the military-drafted constitution. “There might be another election, there might be another military intervention,” Thanathorn said. “Everything is still on the table.” A win for the junta-backed party would amount to a breakthrough for Thailand’s royalist and military elites, who have repeatedly sought to prevent Thaksin and his allies from taking power over the past two decades. While a Prayuth-led government would continue the junta’s economic policies, including a 1.7 trillion baht ($54 billion) infrastructure program, it also faces questions of legitimacy. Turnout for the election was 66 percent, compared with 75 percent in 2011, according to the Election Commission. “This will leave the pro-military government with a large, strong opposition that’s led by Pheu Thai and Future Forward — both staunch critics of the junta,” said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor in politics at Mahidol University. “It’ll be difficult for them to pass legislation, and Prayuth might not be able to handle that pressure.” Questions of stability will hang over whichever ruling coalition emerges. Unsettled foreign investors have already pulled out more than $700 million net from Thai stocks and bonds this year amid growth concerns in the export and tourism-reliant economy, the second-largest in Southeast Asia. To win more votes, the military’s party emulated Thaksin’s populist formula. It proposed lowering taxes, boosting the minimum wage by more than 30 percent, and guaranteeing prices for rubber, rice and sugar cane. Prayuth had already offered farmers funds for harvesting and provided low-income earners about $10 per month to purchase household staples. Thaksin’s opponents — a loose faction of soldiers, bureaucrats and wealthy Bangkok families with royal connections — have sought to keep him away from Thailand, in part because they view him as a threat to the monarchy. The army ousted Thaksin in 2006, and eight years later Prayuth deposed a government run by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. The next prime minister needs 367 votes in the bicameral National Assembly, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Election Commission has until May 9 to submit official results, after which lawmakers will pick a prime minister. Sunday’s election followed one of the longest periods of military rule in Thailand, which has a history of elections followed by coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. Bloody street clashes between Thaksin’s supporters and critics have killed dozens over the past decade, deterring tourists and stifling economic growth during the worst of the unrest. Thaksin hasn’t set foot in Thailand since 2008, when he fled a corruption conviction in the wake of a coup two years earlier. He has denied wrongdoing and says the accusations are political. More recently Thaksin has sought to show he’s close to the monarchy. A party linked to him nominated Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya as its prime ministerial candidate, only for King Maha Vajiralongkorn to reject the move. A court later disbanded the party, hurting his election strategy.
|
thailand;elections;pheu thai;palang pracharat
|
jp0002452
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Wife of vanished Chinese Interpol chief urges Macron to raise case with Xi
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LYON, FRANCE - The wife of the former Chinese head of Interpol, who has had no news of him for nearly six months since his arrest in China, has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the matter with counterpart Xi Jinping during an official visit to France. In a letter to the Elysee Palace dated March 21, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, Grace Meng “asks to know where (her husband) is and how he is.” She has remained in the French city of Lyon, where Interpol is based, since her husband, Meng Hongwei, disappeared last September during a visit to China. He resigned from the international police agency by letter on Oct. 7 and it was later revealed he had been arrested. He is believed to be facing corruption charges. “I demand Mr. Meng be allowed to receive visits from his lawyers and that they be allowed to assist him,” his wife added in her letter to Macron. “For my family, as for others going through similar tests, I urge France, which is respected and listened to the world over for its values and attachment to human rights, to bear this message to the meeting with President Xi Jinping.” Xi arrived in Nice earlier Sunday ahead of his state visit to Paris on Monday. Meng Hongwei, a former vice minister for public security in China who rose through the ranks of the country’s feared security apparatus, was the first Chinese head of Interpol. He was last heard from on Sept. 25 as he left Lyon for China, when he sent his wife a social media message telling her to “wait for my call,” and then a knife emoji signifying danger. Grace Meng later reported he was missing, and after several days without news Interpol said it had received a short message from Meng saying he was resigning. South Korean Kim Jong-yang took over from Meng at Interpol in November for a two-year term. Meng’s wife says he is the victim of a “forced disappearance,” adding she and her family have received no information or legal advice as to his fate. In January she said she had been threatened and would apply for political asylum in France, telling French media her Chinese phone and internet accounts had been blocked. Chinese authorities can hold suspects in secret for six months without either informing their family or allowing access to a lawyer.
|
china;france;xi jinping;interpol;emmanuel macron;meng hongwei
|
jp0002453
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Indian cities rush to ban 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' game over fear of creating 'psychopaths'
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BANGALORE, INDIA - India doesn’t have much of a history with popular computer games, unlike the U.S. or Japan. But now one of the industry’s kill-or-be-killed titles has become a smash hit — and the backlash from the country’s traditionalists is ferocious. “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” is a “Hunger Games”-style competition where 100 players face off with machine guns and assault rifles until only one is left standing. After China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. introduced a mobile version of the death match that’s free to play, it has become the most popular smartphone game in the world, with enthusiasts from the U.S. to Russia to Malaysia. Nowhere has resistance to the game been quite like India. Multiple cities have banned “PUBG,” as it’s known, and police in Western India arrested 10 university students for playing. The national child rights commission has recommended barring the game for its violent nature. One of India’s largest Hindi newspapers declared “PUBG” an “epidemic” that turned children into manorogi , or psychopaths. “There are dangerous consequences to this game,” the Navbharat Times warned in a March 20 editorial. “Many children have lost their mental balance.” Computer games have outraged parents and politicians for at least 20 years, since “Grand Theft Auto” first let players deal drugs, pimp out prostitutes and kill off strangers to steal their cars. Just last year, China went through its most serious crackdown on games, freezing approval of new titles and stepping up scrutiny of addiction and adverse health affects. What’s different about India is the speed with which the country has landed in the strange digital world of no laws or morals. It skipped two decades of debate and adjustment, blowing into the modern gaming era in a matter of months. Rural communities that never had PCs or game consoles got smartphones in recent years — and wireless service just became affordable for pretty much everyone after a price war last year. With half a billion internet users looking for entertainment, “PUBG” has set off a frenzy. A student competition in the southern city of Hyderabad received 250,000 registrations from more than 1,000 colleges. One team walked away with a 1.5 million rupee ($22,000) prize as the top “PUBG” players, just days before this month’s arrests. Aryaman Joshi, 13, has played “PUBG” for a few hours each day and says all his friends play too. ‘It’s a bit violent and there’s a lot of shooting so boys like me like it,’ he said. His mother, Gulshan Walia, says she wants to take a realistic approach to Aryaman’s game playing. That kind of demand is giving a hint at India’s potential as a gaming market. It’s tiny today, generating a minuscule $290 million in revenue. But it’s already the world’s second-largest smartphone market, after China, and the fastest-growing. “‘PUBG’ has made the online gaming market soar and demonstrated that India is a very attractive market,” said Lokesh Suji, the Gurgaon-based head of the Esports Federation of India. As long as the authorities don’t choke it off first. Local politicians, parents and teachers have expressed outrage over “PUBG,” arguing the game will spur violence and divert students from their academics. They’ve blamed the game for bullying, stealing and, in one Mumbai case, a teenager’s suicide. A local minister went so far as to characterize it as “the demon in every house.” At a public meeting last month, a concerned mother complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about her son’s addiction to mobile games. “Is that the ‘PUBG’ one?” Modi shot back. One 11-year-old even filed a public interest lawsuit in a Mumbai court seeking a ban on the game. South Korea’s Bluehole Inc., which made the original “PUBG” for PCs and then partnered with Tencent on the mobile version, has taken a cautious approach. The company said it was looking at the legal basis of the bans in various cities and will confer with authorities to find a solution. “We are working on the introduction of a healthy gameplay system in India to promote balanced, responsible gaming, including limiting play time for underaged players,” the company said. Because gaming is so new in India, there are no regulatory policies in place. In contrast, Tencent currently bans players in China under 13 from playing “PUBG” and imposes restrictions such as real-name registrations. In Germany, players under 16 are restricted. A clinic for breaking digital addictions, run by the country’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bangalore, is recording several “PUBG” addiction cases every week. An 11-year-old “PUBG” player walked into the clinic recently with his parents who lamented that he wanted to quit school to become a professional “PUBG” gamer. Dr. Manoj Sharma, who heads the clinic, argues game-makers need to take more responsibility. “There should be a ban on underage players,” he said. “The addiction has reached never-before proportions.”
|
india;violence;video games;playerunknown 's battlegrounds
|
jp0002455
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Pyongyang officials return to inter-Korean liaison office just days after unilateral pullout
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SEOUL - North Korea sent back its officials to an inter-Korean liaison office in the North’s border city of Kaesong on Monday, reversing a decision two days ago to withdraw the officials, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said. A group of four to five officials showed up at the office earlier in the morning saying they came to work “as usual,” the ministry said in a statement. Though the presence of the North’s head of the office was not confirmed, the two sides held a consultation and will “continue to operate the office as usual,” the ministry said. A convoy of dozens of South Korean officials arrived at the liaison office earlier Monday in a bid to maintain fragile gains in relations with Pyongyang, despite North Korea’s decision to pull out of the office last week. The liaison office in Kaesong was opened in September and had been one of the key developments made in the past year of detente between North Korea and South Korea. South Korea’s Unification Ministry earlier would not explain exactly what the 64 officials would be doing at the office without their North Korean counterparts, but a spokesman said Seoul is seeking to try to “normalize” operations at the office. In a major setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attempts to engage, North Korea announced on Friday it was quitting the office, just hours after the United States imposed the first new sanctions on the North since the second U.S.-North Korea summit broke down last month. Although South Korea did not directly link the North’s move to the breakdown of the summit, after which U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not be imposing more sanctions, experts said Pyongyang’s move seemed calculated to pressure South Korea into convincing the United States to ease sanctions. “It appears to be North Korea pressuring South Korea; it could also be signaling how South Korea’s role is not needed or even meaningless, or even that North Korea’s announcement of a ‘new path’ is imminent,” said Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea and military expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul. Several North Korean state media outlets released statements on Monday criticizing Seoul for not pushing forward with inter-Korean economic projects while sanctions remain in place. Some 39 South Korean officials and support staff with 17 vehicles left South Korea on Monday morning to work at the liaison office in the North, joining 25 South Koreans who had remained at the office over the weekend despite North Korea’s vow to pull out, the Unification Ministry said. “Although the North side has pulled out of the liaison office, the embers remain, and in order to guard the embers we are going to work today as usual,” Kim Chang-su, deputy chief of the liaison office, said before the surprise return Monday by the North Korean officials. When asked what South Korean personnel will do at the office, Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said “we are operating the Kaesong office, followed by putting in efforts to normalize the liaison office” without elaborating. There are some North Korean personnel currently in Kaesong, including from North’s Central Special Zone Development Guidance General Bureau and support staff, Baik said at a news briefing Monday.
|
north korea;kim jong un;south korea;kaesong;moon jae-in
|
jp0002456
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
New Zealand orders top-level inquiry into whether mosque massacre could've been prevented
|
WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday ordered an independent judicial inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks, asking whether police and intelligence services could have prevented the March 15 massacre. Ardern said a royal commission — the most powerful judicial probe available under New Zealand law — was needed to find out how a single gunman was able to kill 50 people in an attack that shocked the world. “It is important that no stone is left unturned to get to how this act of terrorism occurred and how we could have stopped it,” she told reporters. New Zealand’s spy agencies have faced criticism in the wake of the attack for concentrating on the threat from Islamic extremism. Instead, the victims were all Muslims and the massacre was allegedly carried out by a white supremacist fixated on the belief that Muslims were “invading” Western countries. “One question we need to answer is whether or not we could or should have known more,” Ardern said. “New Zealand is not a surveillance state … but questions need to be answered.” Ardern ruled out New Zealand re-introducing the death penalty for accused gunman Brenton Tarrant, 28, who was arrested minutes after the attack on the mosques and has been charged with murder. She said details of the royal commission were being finalized but it would be comprehensive and would report in a timely manner.
|
new zealand;christchurch;mass shootings;jacinda ardern;brenton tarrant
|
jp0002457
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Pentagon sends ships through Taiwan Strait for third time in three months
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The Pentagon has sent ships through the Taiwan Strait — the third time in as many months — as Washington ramps up naval activities in the waterway, stoking fears in Beijing of a growing alignment with Taipei. The move, likely to be interpreted by China as implicit support for self-ruled Taiwan, saw the U.S. send the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Curtis Wilbur destroyer and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf through the strait on Sunday and Monday, a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman said. The two vessels “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Mar. 24-25 … in accordance with international law,” spokesman Lt. Joe Keiley said. “The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.” The dispatch, which comes amid military and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, is the third such sailing since Jan. 24, when the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell, which is also based in Yokosuka, and the USNS Walter S. Diehl conducted what the U.S. Navy also called “a routine” Taiwan Strait transit. On Feb. 26-27, the U.S. Navy also sailed the USS Stethem destroyer and the cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez through the waterway. But this week’s mission was unusual, experts said, in that it was believed to be the first one involving a coast guard vessel. Lyle Morris, a senior policy analyst focusing on China at the Rand Corp., called the dispatch of the Bertholf “a bold move,” one going beyond mere port calls and traveling through nonsensitive areas. “For one, it signals a new level of interoperability between the USN and USCG,” he said, using the acronyms for the U.S. Navy and coast guard. “It signals a willingness to send a cutter for sensitive national security missions. It doesn’t get much more sensitive than the Taiwan Strait.” Morris said the Bertholf, which left California on Jan. 20 for a monthslong mission in support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is doing new and unique things with its first deployment to the region. “It’s also making a statement to the Chinese to send a cutter to the strait,” he said. “It’s another way of showing China that the U.S. is putting its money where its mouth is to advance the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ concept.” The 180-km-wide Taiwan Strait separates communist China from self-governed and democratic Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold — by force if necessary. Although the waterway is regarded as international waters, China has long been sensitive about the presence of U.S. military forces there. That presence has grown since last year, with the most recent operation being the sixth known transit in about seven months. The U.S. Navy also sailed two ships through the strait in October and November — operations that were shadowed by multiple Chinese warships — and conducted a similar operation in July. Prior to that, the operations were believed to occur only about once a year. The U.S. has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island’s main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taipei more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010. Recently, Taiwan has sought bolstered military assistance from the U.S., requesting improvements to its fleet of F-16 fighter jets. Beijing has warning Washington against further arms sales, the official Xinhua News Agency reported last week, a response to Taiwan’s request for additional fighters. Beijing has called Taiwan “the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations” and has bolstered its military presence near the island nation in recent months, sailing its sole operating aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait in January and March last year and holding large-scale “encirclement” exercises and bomber training throughout 2018. In a report released in January, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency noted that China continues to undertake ambitious steps to modernize and better equip its military — steps that are driven primarily by “Beijing’s longstanding interest to eventually compel Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland and deter any attempt by Taiwan to declare independence.” “Beijing’s anticipation that foreign forces would intervene in a Taiwan scenario led the (People’s Liberation Army) to develop a range of systems to deter and deny foreign regional force projection,” the report added.
|
china;u.s .;taiwan;military
|
jp0002458
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/25
|
South Korea court approves seizure of Mitsubishi Heavy trademarks and patents over wartime forced labor
|
SEOUL - A South Korean court on Monday approved a request to seize Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s assets in South Korea after the company refused to compensate Koreans who had won a case against it over wartime forced labor, a team of lawyers for the plaintiffs said. The decision by the district court in Daejeon followed a South Korean Supreme Court ruling last year that ordered the major Japanese manufacturer to compensate those forced to work for the firm during World War II. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the second Japanese company to be hit with such a move, after a South Korean court approved in January the seizure of assets held by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate Koreans for conscripted labor during World War II. Sought for asset seizure in the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries case were the rights to two trademarks and six patents owned by the company in South Korea, which the lawyers appraised to be worth about 800 million won (¥77.77 million). The assets would go toward compensating four of the five plaintiffs in the case, which included former members of the so-called Korean Women’s Volunteer Labor Corps. Rulings in South Korean courts against Japanese firms over wartime labor and subsequent legal moves such as the asset seizures have soured already tense ties between Japan and South Korea. The latest legal development is likely to draw criticism from the Japanese government, which maintains that the issue of claims stemming from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula has already been settled as part of a 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties with South Korea. In its Nov. 29 ruling, the top court had ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay damages to several groups of Koreans after finding that the right of victims of forced labor to seek compensation was not annulled by an accord that was signed alongside the 1965 treaty. One of the groups consisted of five plaintiffs, including former members of the so-called Korean Women’s Volunteer Labor Corps. According to the court rulings, the women were made to work at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factory in Nagoya toward the end of World War II. After the company continued to reject compensation talks for several months — during which time one of the plaintiffs died, in January — the plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a request on March 7 to seize the rights to two trademarks and six patents owned by the company in South Korea. The Daejeon District Court will send its decision to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, one of the lawyers said, adding that there are only a few small steps left for the property office to take before the seizure takes effect. A civic group supporting the plaintiffs in the case said in a statement that procedural steps would be taken to sell the assets unless Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shows a “sincere” attitude toward adhering to the court’s ruling. In mid-March, senior Foreign Ministry officials from both countries held talks in Seoul with the aim of bridging their differences over the issue, but the meeting ended without any progress.
|
wwii;south korea;wartime labor;mitsubishi heavy industries ltd .
|
jp0002459
|
[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Survey finds that half of Japan's home care workers experienced harassment in 2018
|
Around 50 percent of home care workers reported in a recent government survey that they had experienced some form of harassment from those being cared for, it was learned Sunday. In the first extensive survey conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on people working in the nursing care industry, 81 percent of those reporting harassment said they had been psychologically abused at least once in 2018. The survey, part of which was obtained by Kyodo, was based on responses from 10,112 people working for 2,155 nursing service providers, of whom 2,532 were involved in home care. Those who were psychologically harassed typically reported hostile behavior and verbal abuse. Around 42 percent of those reporting harassment had been physically abused, with reported cases including objects being thrown at care providers, while 37 percent said they had been sexually harassed, according to the survey. Of those providing home care, 17 percent said they had been abused by relatives of those being cared for. Harassment of home care providers has become a serious problem, particularly as many of them are women who visit private homes alone. In August last year the Nippon Careservice Craft Union, a national labor union formed by nursing care workers, submitted a petition to the labor ministry asking for better legal protection against sexual and other forms of harassment at work. It also urged the government to provide subsidies so that two home care workers can attend each client. Asked why harassment occurred, 43 percent said clients and their family members did not understand the range of services they were entitled to, while 39 percent said home care work was undervalued. A separate nationwide survey conducted in February and March last year by the National Association for Visiting Nurse Service showed that many visiting nurses who responded said they were yelled at, told that they were incompetent, or were threatened. Of those who cited sexual harassment, some of them said they were touched or shown adult videos. Some administrators have canceled their contracts with those being cared for after finding out that their employees had been harassed, while others said they were not sure what to do, according to the survey. “Small operators may be unable to deal with such problems, so we need to figure out safety measures for visiting nurses extensively and systematically,” said Akiko Miki, a Kansai Medical University professor involved with the survey.
|
harassment;abuse;survey;elderly;nursing care
|
jp0002460
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Tsunami-hit Ishinomaki to return 1964 Tokyo Olympics cauldron lent as symbol of 3/11 recovery
|
ISHINOMAKI, MIYAGI PREF. - The city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture held a ceremony Sunday to return the 1964 Tokyo Olympics cauldron, after its four years on display to recognize the area’s recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Japan Sport Council offered the cauldron to the city in December 2014 after it was removed from the former National Stadium in Tokyo. The loan period expires this month. The former National Stadium was demolished to make way for construction of the new National Stadium that will be used for the 2020 Tokyo Games. During Sunday’s ceremony the cauldron was lit for the last time in Ishinomaki, and many local residents took photos. Miyagi is one of the three northeastern prefectures hit hardest in the 2011 disasters, the two others being Iwate and Fukushima. “We made a lot of memories. We’re just thankful (for the cauldron),” said Kazuo Ito, 72, chairman of the city’s sports association. The association has organized marathon events to mark the progress of reconstruction from the disaster, with the cauldron being used as the starting and ending points of the marathon. Anna Takahashi, a 9-year-old elementary school student, said, “It’s sad that the cauldron will disappear from Ishinomaki, but I want to go and see the Olympics next year.” The cauldron will be displayed in Iwate and Fukushima, as well as Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, where it was created, before being transported to the new National Stadium.
|
tsunami;ishinomaki;disasters;miyagi;3.11;1964 tokyo olympics;2020 tokyo olympics
|
jp0002461
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Land reclamation in Okinawa enters next stage at Henoko relocation site for U.S. Futenma base
|
NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - The government began to perform the next stage of land reclamation work in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday, as part of a project to build a replacement facility for a contentious U.S. air base in the prefecture despite local opposition. The work to pour soil and sand into a new 33-hectare section off the coast of Nago’s Henoko district began in the afternoon, moving the construction plan for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma into a new stage even though a prefectural referendum last month showed more than 70 percent of residents oppose it. The area in which land reclamation work is being carried out is next to a 6.3-hectare section that started being filled in during December. The landfill work is required in order to relocate the base from Ginowan to Nago. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to halt the land reclamation work and engage in a one-month dialogue period when they met in Tokyo last Tuesday, citing the result of the referendum. On Monday, protesters gathered in front of the gates of U.S. Marines’ Camp Schwab, which is adjacent to the construction site, to hold a sit-in demonstration. Others paddled canoes or sailed small boats on waters around the site. “It’s quite unreasonable for the central government to blame the people of Okinawa for the delay in the closure of the Futenma base after slow progress in the construction at Henoko,” said Taeko Kaneshiro, 65, from Uruma. “We have called for scaling down of U.S. military bases (in Okinawa), but instead they are being reinforced.” The central government plans to reclaim a total of 160 hectares to build a runway in a V-shaped configuration at Henoko. But the seabed was found to be unstable in multiple areas on the eastern side of the site, so requires additional reinforcement work that the Defense Ministry estimates will take three years and eight months to complete. Tamaki, who was elected governor last September on a platform of blocking the relocation plan, has said that such reinforcement work is impossible and that he will not approve the procedural applications from the central government needed for it to proceed. Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Monday at a Diet committee that the ministry “will make efforts” to submit documents on its changes to construction design work on the seabed “as soon as possible.” Many Okinawa residents have long hoped that the Futenma base will be moved out of the prefecture as they are frustrated with noise, crime and accidents linked to the U.S. military presence. But the Japanese government has said the relocation plan is the “only solution” for eliminating the dangers posed by the base without undermining the deterrence provided by the Japan-U.S. security alliance.
|
okinawa;u.s. military;u.s. bases;futenma;nago;henoko
|
jp0002462
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Tokyo Paralympic Games get a cherry blossom torch with new color and braille text
|
The organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Games has unveiled the Paralympic version of the official torch, which uses the braille alphabet and differs from the Olympic torch in color. Both the Paralympic and Olympic torches for next year’s games make use of Japan’s iconic “sakura” cherry blossoms in their design. This is to suggest a sense of hope that aligns with the theme of the Olympics and Paralympics as spotlighting the Tohoku region’s reconstruction from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that devastated three prefectures. The upper part of the torches consists of a central column with five petal-shaped attachments to form a symbolic blossom. Thirty percent of the aluminum used in them comes from material recycled from temporary housing used in disaster-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Each measure 71 cm in length and weigh 1.2 kg. While both are fashioned in a color between gold and pink, the Olympic torch’s color has been dubbed “sakura gold” and the Paralympics torch’s “sakura pink.” In keeping with the Paralympic spirit, each torch has braille text of four words that exemplify the meaning of the games as well as symbols indicating the torch’s front to those with visual impairments. The theme of the Paralympic relay is “share your light.” In principle, each team will be made up of three people with no prior knowledge of each other. They will carry the torch together to appreciate the idea of “unity in diversity.” The Paralympic flame ceremony will begin Aug. 13 with the first flame-lighting festivals in several cities. A heritage flame celebration will also take place in Britain’s Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual birthplace of the Paralympic movement. Every prefecture in Japan will be visited by one of the flames to boost support for and interest in the games. On Aug. 21, 2020, the different flames will come together in Tokyo, where they will be combined for a final relay around the capital leading up to the opening ceremony on Aug. 25.
|
olympics;tohoku;3.11;2020 tokyo olympics;2020 tokyo paralympics
|
jp0002463
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Japan starts work on vaccinating wild boars as swine fever outbreaks continue
|
GIFU/KOMAKI, AICHI PREF. - The Aichi Prefectural Government started work Sunday to vaccinate wild boars against swine fever, in the first attempt at vaccinating wild animals in the country. Aichi officials placed feed containing a vaccine in the ground at some locations in Aichi Prefecture, including at a forest in Komaki. Swine fever outbreaks have occurred at pig farms mainly in central Japan since last year. Wild boars are believed to have spread the disease. Aichi Prefecture will conduct the work at a total of 60 locations in the cities of Komaki, Kasugai and Inuyama. Five more rounds of vaccination work will be conducted by February 2020, prefectural officials said. On Monday, the Gifu Prefectural Government also began placing vaccine-containing feed in the ground. The prefectural government plans to set the feed at 900 locations in mountainous areas in 18 municipalities by Friday. The prefectural government will monitor whether the feed is eaten by wild boars using security cameras. It will also capture some of the hogs to check whether they test positive for an antibody. The second round of vaccination work will be conducted in late April, and two more rounds are set for the summer and winter, Gifu officials said. On Saturday the agriculture ministry said a new case of swine fever was confirmed at a pig farm in Yamagata, Gifu Prefecture. The prefecture will slaughter some 2,000 pigs raised at the farm. The latest swine fever case is the 12th in Japan since September last year, when the nation’s first instance of the disease in 26 years was confirmed in the prefecture. Gifu Gov. Hajime Furuta called the timing of the outbreak “extremely regrettable.”
|
vaccines;gifu;aichi;swine fever
|
jp0002464
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/03/25
|
Nagoya teenager handed prison sentence for making explosives, drugs and 3D-printed gun
|
NAGOYA - A court in Nagoya imposed a sentence of three to five years on a former university student on Monday for making an explosive often used in the powerful bombs detonated in terror attacks, as well as stimulant drugs and a 3D-printed gun. The 19-year-old male, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor, produced triacetone triperoxide, known as TATP, at his home in Nagoya in December 2016 and burned the substance in a park in March 2018, according to the indictment. He also made a 3D-printed gun around September 2017 and stimulant drugs in August 2018 in conspiracy with an 18-year-old male from Ibaraki Prefecture. The Nagoya District Court handed down what is known as an indeterminate sentence, determining only the minimum and maximum detention period. Such sentences are given only to minors in Japan under the Juvenile Law, and take an accused person’s age and behavior in prison into account. “He took the possibility of an accidental explosion lightly,” prosecutors, who demanded a jail term of three to six years, had said earlier. “There is the risk of copycat offenders using information easily obtained on the internet.” His defense team demanded he be placed under protective custody in a juvenile correction facility. “The explosive substance was ignited, but there were no victims,” his lawyer said, adding that the gun was made for ornamental purposes and that the stimulants were not of sufficient quality to make them sellable. Police located and arrested the teenager in August 2018 after he was spotted on security camera footage following the explosion in the park. He was initially sent by prosecutors to the Nagoya Family Court as a minor, but his case was sent back to prosecutors in November 2018 after it was concluded he should face criminal charges in light of the seriousness of the case.
|
guns;drugs;courts;nagoya;teens;explosives;3d laser printing
|
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