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jp0003753
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Think about not taking the wheel, says man whose wife and child were killed in Tokyo by elderly driver
|
A man who lost his wife and daughter in a Tokyo car accident involving an elderly driver expressed his deep sorrow Wednesday for being deprived of the family’s future and called on people to reconsider whether they should drive if safety cannot be ensured. “I had believed I would watch my daughter grow up and become an adult, and that I would spend the rest of my days together with my wife until the end of our natural lives,” the 32-year-old man said at a news conference in Tokyo, while asking not to be named. “Our future was lost in the blink of an eye.” The man’s wife, Mana Matsunaga, 31, and their daughter, Riko, 3, were killed Friday when a car driven by 87-year-old Kozo Iizuka ignored red traffic signals and rammed into their bicycle, while also hitting others, before crashing into a garbage truck 150 meters down the road. The driver and nine others were injured in the collision, which police say may have been caused by human error. Police initially put the number of injured at eight, but increased the figure to 10 on Wednesday. The incident has again stirred debate on how to prevent crashes involving elderly drivers in an aging country. “If there is anyone who is worried, even in the slightest degree, I want the person to think about the option of not driving. I want people around to engage with the person and think about the issue within the family,” the man said. He said his wish is to see society discuss the issue so similar accidents will not be repeated. He also said he provided photos of his wife and daughter to the media because he wanted people to “feel” the existence of his wife, who was living the best she could, and his child, who was only able to live for three years. “Then, people may be reminded of the two when they think they are on the verge of dangerous driving and rethink” their decision, he said. According to police, Iizuka said his accelerator became stuck but there has been no evidence so far that its movement was impeded. Police don’t believe he was under the influence of alcohol or medication at the time. Police said Sunday that Iizuka may have panicked when he first hit a guardrail, which then snowballed into a series of collisions. The number of fatal traffic accidents has been declining in recent years, but crashes deemed to be caused by people aged 75 or above increased to 460 in 2018, up 42 from a year earlier. Of the 460, 136 cases involved drivers who mixed up the brake and gas pedals, or made steering errors. Under a 2017 revised traffic law, people aged 75 or older are obliged to see a doctor in the case a cognitive function test, taken when they seek to renew their driver’s licenses, suggests the risk of dementia. Dementia patients have their licenses suspended or rescinded. Iizuka, who was once head of the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, part of the now-defunct Ministry of International Trade and Industry, took a cognitive function test in 2017, according to investigative sources. No problems were observed at the time. The number of people who have voluntarily returned their licenses has been on the rise, but a police official said it is difficult to strongly urge elderly drivers to do so, especially in areas where cars play an important role in their daily lives.
|
tokyo;elderly;ikebukuro;traffic accidents;kozo iizuka;mana matsunaga
|
jp0003754
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Families and survivors mark anniversary of 2005 Amagasaki derailment that killed 107
|
KOBE - Some 500 survivors and family members of victims of a 2005 train derailment that killed 107 people gathered Thursday to mark the 14th anniversary of the crash at a ceremony, which was held for the first time at a newly built memorial facility. West Japan Railway Co. hosted the ceremony in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, with the company’s president vowing to prevent a similar accident from ever occurring again. “We have renewed our determination that each one of our employees will create a safe and secure railway,” President Tatsuo Kijima said. “It is our most important mission not to forget the accident, to keep in mind the regrets and lessons learned and to continue to be a safe railway operator in the future,” the president said, noting that nearly half of JR West’s 27,000 employees joined the company after the incident. On April 25, 2005, a rush-hour commuter train on the Fukuchiyama Line derailed after entering a curved section of the track when traveling well in excess of its maximum permitted speed. It crashed into a condominium building at 9:18 a.m., killing 106 passengers and the driver, and injuring 562 people. JR West has built a memorial facility at the accident site where visitors can pray for the dead. It has preserved part of the now-vacant condominium building and covered the location with a roof. The monument put up by the company bears the names of the victims. The facility opened to the public in September last year. “The monument we had been waiting for is completed,” said Yuriko Saito, 76, who lost her 37-year-old son, Mitsuru, in the crash, referring to a cenotaph erected by the railway operator. “I suppose you’ve felt lonely for these 14 long years,” she continued, addressing her late son. “Please watch over the safety (of train operations) and rest in peace.” Until last year, JR West held annual memorial services at a community center in Amagasaki.
|
rail;amagasaki;jr west;hyogo;anniversaries;fukuchiyama line;rail accidents
|
jp0003755
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Security to be tightened in central Tokyo in preparation for Reiwa Era celebrations
|
Thousands of police officers will be deployed next week to enhance security in central Tokyo, as areas surrounding the Imperial Palace are expected to overflow with people celebrating the beginning of the new era on May 1. Extra security measures to tackle potential threats and accidents will be implemented during Emperor Akihito’s abdication on April 30 through the ascension of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1. “We will endeavor to create a peaceful environment for the Imperial ceremonies,” Metropolitan Police Chief Masamitsu Miura told a meeting Wednesday. “We will not allow troublesome incidents to affect (them).” Ceremonies for the abdication and the ascension will take place at the palace during the two days, with well-wishers allowed entry to congratulate the new Emperor on May 4. Extra security measures around the palace on the two days and May 4 will include the dispatch of the Emergency Response Team and a force for handling drones. The police will also increase car inspections and searches for suspicious objects. With many restaurants in the capital planning countdown events from April 30 to May 1 to celebrate the change of the era, large crowds are expected to flock to the Shibuya shopping and entertainment district, similar to those seen at Halloween and New Year’s. The beginning of the Reiwa Era is expected to be quite different from Emperor Akihito’s ascension and the start of the Heisei Era more than 30 years ago, when the country was mourning the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously known as Emperor Showa. “Unlike the somber mood and attire seen during the beginning of the Heisei Era, there is a possibility that things may become disorderly,” a police official said. In order to prevent potential accidents, the police will restrict access to the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace from 6 p.m. on April 30 until 5 a.m. the next day. However, a large number of people are expected to line the streets to watch Crown Prince Naruhito as he goes to the Imperial Palace from the Akasaka Estate.
|
tokyo;security;crown prince;imperial palace;abdication;police;reiwa
|
jp0003756
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Police raid over 40 offices of Japan Life, bankrupt firm suspected of defrauding elderly customers
|
Police on Thursday conducted a raid on offices of Japan Life Co., a bankrupt company suspected of having engaged in a fraudulent rental business, for allegedly failing to inform a customer in 2017 about its excessive debts when concluding a contract, an investigative source said. The police searched some 30 locations in Tokyo and 11 other prefectures in connection with the case. The company went under in March 2018, with debts estimated at ¥240.5 billion as of March 2017, according to a credit research firm. The Tokyo-based company allegedly encouraged buyers, mainly elderly people, of its magnetic necklaces costing several million yen and other health items to become so-called rental owners. Under the plan, the company is suspected of entering into a contract with customers, promising to pay them 6 percent of the purchase price of the goods as an annual rental fee if they lent their purchased products to others. Thursday’s raids were conducted on suspicion the company made a contract with a Tokyo woman in her 60s in August 2017 while deliberately concealing the fact that it had excessive liabilities, according to the source. The company had about 7,000 creditors in Japan and some 400 in Hong Kong. A number of damages suits have been filed across Japan against former executives and other senior officials of Japan Life. In March last year, the Tokyo District Court decided to start bankruptcy proceedings against the company after the Consumer Affairs Agency ordered Japan Life to suspend part of its operations four times in the year to December 2017 over the dubious practice.
|
fraud;elderly;japan life
|
jp0003757
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Journalist sues city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence by senior official
|
A journalist Thursday filed a damages lawsuit against the city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence during her newsgathering activities by a senior municipal official, who has since taken his own life. The suit was filed with Nagasaki District Court. She is seeking some ¥35 million in damages. According to her complaint, the journalist was sexually assaulted in Nagasaki in late July 2007 by the head of the city government’s division handling affairs related to victims and survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The man killed himself after the city government started internal investigations. The journalist, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, was also the target of rumors due to remarks by another senior Nagasaki official who saw her behavior as a problem, according to the complaint. Recognizing human rights violations, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations recommended that the city apologize and take preventive measures in February 2014. But the city rejected the recommendations, prompting the journalist to file the suit, according to her lawyers. The journalist issued a statement, saying she is still traumatized by the local government’s attitude. “I hear that other female journalists suffered sexual violence,” she said, expressing hope that it will become easier for victims of sexual violence to receive assistance. Mayor Tomihisa Taue declined to comment, only saying that the city government will respond after examining the complaint.
|
media;courts;nagasaki;journalism;sex crimes;local government
|
jp0003758
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/04/25
|
Police can use wiretapping devices to decrypt and record at prefectural HQs across Japan from June
|
The National Police Agency revised wiretapping regulations Thursday, enabling investigators from June 1 to listen in on phone conversations while at headquarters of prefectural police departments without the presence of officials from telecommunications carriers. Under previous rules, investigators had been conducting such operations at telecom carriers’ facilities, but the number of places where it was possible to carry out the task was limited, leading to a long waiting list for police. The changes to the regulations were made by the NPA in line with a new law, which passed the Diet in 2016 and will go into effect June 1 and expand the scope of crimes that can be investigated using wiretaps. The legislation is expected to help police more swiftly investigate organized crimes, such as systematic fraud carried out over the phone, but critics argue the police could abuse their new powers and invade personal privacy. However, they will still need to obtain warrants in order to gain access to the wiretapping devices, which will be kept at NPA outlets and information and communication departments of prefectural police. Wiretapping instructors — a newly created position to address concerns — will monitor whether investigations are being conducted appropriately, the police said. For each criminal case, an instructor will be assigned from among chief inspectors and higher-ranking officials. A total of 141 wiretapping devices will have been installed across the country by June 1 and another 47 are due to be added by the end of March next year. The new device receives encrypted data from carriers before deciphering it. Previously, police investigators could only listen to real-time conversations, but they will now have the ability to record them. Since the original wiretapping law entered into force in 2000, police have used wiretaps in 145 cases, which led to the arrests of 857 people, according to the Justice Ministry.
|
yakuza;organized crime;privacy;phones;wiretapping;npa;surveillance;police
|
jp0003759
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Not so fast: Trump's Alaska drilling study slammed by U.S. wildlife regulator
|
NEW YORK - The Trump administration failed to adequately consider oil spills, climate change and the welfare of polar bears in its expedited study of proposed drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to comments published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week. The unusually harsh criticism from federal wildlife regulators could deal a blow to one of the most high-profile items in President Donald Trump’s energy agenda, and reflects the pitfalls of the administration’s drive to speed up big projects with quicker, shorter environmental studies. The Interior Department wants to hold its first lease sale of at least 400,000 acres in ANWR, America’s largest wildlife sanctuary, later this year, but could face lawsuits if its permitting process is flawed. The Fish & Wildlife Service said the ANWR Coastal Plain draft environmental impact study (EIS) failed to include oil spill response plans, analyze the effects of climate change on the Arctic, or ensure that surveys of polar bear denning habitats are required. The Interior subagency also listed dozens of other information gaps in its 59 pages of comments and implied that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management wrote the study without properly consulting wildlife regulators. “The Service has managed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its resources for several decades and has information and expertise that is valuable in formulating a final EIS that can withstand the scrutiny of legal sufficiency,” the agency’s Alaska director, Gregory Siekaniec, wrote. The Fish & Wildlife Service declined to provide further comment. The Interior Department said its Bureau of Land Management had received thousands of comments on the draft study, all of which would be considered. “BLM has an obligation to consider all of these comments — including those from its sister agency (Fish & Wildlife) — and anticipates they will inform the Final EIS in multiple ways,” spokeswoman Molly Block said in an email. BLM completed the draft environmental impact study at the end of December, after Trump expressed an interest in opening the zone to drilling. The comment period ended on March 13. The study was among the first of its kind since Trump’s Interior Department in 2017 issued an order that assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act be completed within one year and be no longer than 150 pages. NEPA studies under past administrations have taken years and filled out thousands of pages, a major source of frustration for drillers, miners and other industries that argue the process creates unnecessary delays. Experts said the effort to streamline environmental permitting, however, could also cause problems. “Imposing the timelines and page limits will mean significant impacts go un-analyzed. Tribal consultation and coordination will likely get shortchanged, important scientific data will not be considered, and the public’s ability to provide meaningful input on alternative courses of action will be compromised,” said Geoff Haskett, former Fish & Wildlife Service director for Alaska and president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. ANWR covers some 19 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope, home to bears, caribou, lynx and muskox, and overlying around 16 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, according to federal officials. It has been a lightning rod of contention between energy companies that want to develop it and conservationists that want to protect it since the 1970s.
|
gas;oil;global warming;environment;alaska;donald trump;polar bears;oil spills;arctic national wildlife refuge
|
jp0003760
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Japan urges China to 'graduate from' ADB loans, as finance chiefs consider adding yen and yuan to crisis pool
|
NADI, FIJI - Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday he told his Chinese counterpart, Liu Kun, that China should no longer depend on loans from the Asian Development Bank. China must “graduate from” ADB loans, Aso told a news conference after holding talks with Liu on the sidelines of an annual ADB conference that opened in the Fiji resort city of Nadi the same day. Aso said he finds it problematic that China, while taking loans from the ADB as a developing country, makes excessive loans to emerging economies, which causes some of them to face repayment difficulties. “It’s the same as excessive lending by consumer credit companies,” he added, noting that some developing countries may not realize the interest commitments they are taking on along with the debt burden. China’s 99-year lease of the port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, was one example, Aso said. By criticizing Beijing’s stance, Aso apparently aims to pave the way for the ADB to reduce its loans to China and allocate more funds to emerging countries that need financing for infrastructure development. Developing a method to enable low-income countries to continue repaying their loans has become an issue in relation to China’s “Belt and Road” regional development initiative. On that matter, Aso and Liu discussed ways to develop guiding principles for high-quality infrastructure investment based on repayable loans. “We had arguments but could gradually have calm discussions,” Aso told the news conference, suggesting that the two sides had been able to meet each other halfway on some areas. Japan and China are expected to continue talks on the issue. The two finance ministers apparently remained apart on ways to assess the circumstances of borrower countries. Such issues are also likely to be discussed at a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors set to be held in Fukuoka in June. At a meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 2017, G20 financial officials adopted operational guidelines for sustainable financing. Japan plans to ask its G20 counterparts, including China, to check independently on whether they are following these guidelines. Meanwhile, Asian finance chiefs agreed Thursday to consider the yen and Chinese yuan for currency swap arrangements in addition to the U.S. dollar in an effort to deal with possible financial crises, while also rejecting protectionism amid U.S.-China trade tensions. The addition of local currencies to swap agreements, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, are “one enhancement option,” the finance ministers and central bank governors of Japan, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations wrote in a joint statement following their meeting in Fiji. The Chiang Mai Initiative is a U.S. dollar-denominated multilateral currency swap arrangement under which member countries facing short-term liquidity shortages can access a pool of dollars in exchange for their currencies. The initiative was launched in 2000 with the aim of preventing a repeat of the 1997 Asian currency crisis. Members are now considering adding the Japanese and Chinese currencies to the $240 billion safety net in a bid to reduce its overreliance on the dollar. The move is expected to help internationalize the yen and the yuan, while expanding the economic clout of Japan and China in the region. But it is unclear whether the United States would accept such a development. The participants also shared their concerns about negative impacts on economies in the region from the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. “We reaffirm our commitment to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system and open regionalism, while resisting all forms of protectionism,” the joint statement said.
|
china;yen;taro aso;adb;banks;development;yuan;loans;currencies;lui kun
|
jp0003762
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Trump decided to do Abe a favor and delay Japan-U.S. trade talks until after poll, Time reports
|
WASHINGTON - Full trade talks between Japan and the United States are likely to be held after this summer’s Upper House election, U.S. magazine Time has reported. U.S. President Donald Trump did Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a favor during their meeting late last month by offering to push back the start of full bilateral trade talks until after the House of Councilors election, the magazine quoted U.S. officials as saying. Trump values his relationship with Abe, and his decision to ignore the advice of his chief negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, to negotiate Japanese auto exports and U.S. farm products at the most recent summit is “a reflection of that personal touch,” according to Time. At the summit, Japan’s representatives are believed to have told Washington that Tokyo wants to minimize the impact on the Upper House election of talks around opening markets for farm products and autos, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Japan and the U.S. kicked off the trade talks in April. While bilateral working-level discussions on tariff cuts and their elimination for individual products are expected to begin later this month, a final accord is highly likely to be delayed until after the election, the sources said. Meanwhile, Trump “has not let go of his threat” to impose 25 percent tariffs on Japanese vehicles unless Japan opens its markets further to U.S. beef and other agricultural products, the magazine said. Trump faces a May 18 deadline for deciding on the additional tariffs on vehicles from Japan and other countries for national security reasons. But he could delay the decision “by as much as 180 days,” according to Time. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Tuesday he is seeking a swift agreement with Japan on tariff cuts for farm goods, hopefully by the end of May. “(We want) maybe not a comprehensive type of bilateral trade negotiation but certainly one that seals down the agricultural issues that we are very concerned about, and I think we can get that done quickly and hopefully by the time the president visits Japan,” Perdue told reporters in Washington. Perdue said he talks with Lighthizer “on a frequent basis,” and that the chief U.S. trade negotiator “is very much interested in sealing the deal sooner rather than later.”
|
agriculture;trade;elections;carmakers;tariffs;u.s.-japan relations;donald trump
|
jp0003763
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Global security officials meet to hammer out united 5G security approach
|
PRAGUE - Global cooperation is key to ensuring the security of 5G networks, cyber security officials said on Thursday at a meeting in Prague aimed at hammering out how to combat threats as nations begin rolling out next-generation telecoms equipment. The United States has been seeking to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies in building 5G networks due to fears they could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei has denied the allegations. Officials say they hope to conclude the meeting — attended by representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia — with an outline of practices that could form a basis for a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures. Russia, China and Huawei were not invited, although a number of participants said no single company or country was being singled out. “It is an attempt to widen the discussion to a platform that should involve the entire Western civilization,” said one diplomatic source, adding that a non-binding summary by the chair to be issued on Friday was expected to provide principles for further discussions. Conclusions from the conference would be informal as some participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home, another diplomatic source said. A draft document seen by Reuters showed participants were discussing setting up certain security conditions for vendors that Chinese providers could find difficult to meet. “Risk assessments of supplier’s products should take into account all relevant factors, including applicable legal environment and other aspects of a supplier’s ecosystem,” the draft said. Huawei said it hoped the gathering would lead to a push for a more scientific and “unemotive” way of approaching technology. “We fully support international standards, international verification that is based on facts and evidence,” Huawei Senior Vice President and Global Cyber Security & Privacy Officer John Suffolk told reporters. The security issue is crucial because of 5G’s leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology for 5G connectivity is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them. Europe — where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are all preparing to auction 5G licences this year — has emerged as a key battle over Huawei’s next-generation technology. Timo Koster, the Dutch government’s top diplomatic official for cybersecurity, said any global measures should be in line with European Commission requirements issued in March to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks. “We need to find a balance between national security on the one hand and economic interests that we have on the other hand,” Koster said.
|
china;europe;u.s .;russia;eu;cybersecurity;telecoms;huawei;japan;5g
|
jp0003765
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Disney promotes Alan Bergman to studio co-chairman; May 4 officially declared 'Star Wars Day'
|
LOS ANGELES - Walt Disney Co. elevated Alan Bergman to co-chairman of its film division, putting the longtime company veteran in line to potentially lead Hollywood’s most-successful movie business. Bergman, 53, was promoted to co-chairman alongside Alan Horn, 76, who was given the added title of chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Studios after leading the division to unprecedented box-office heights. They will jointly oversee Disney’s film, music and theater operations, as well as its marketing and distribution globally, the company said Wednesday. After joining Disney in 2012, Horn led the Burbank, California-based studio on a stellar run, marked by huge hits from Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment and Pixar, all acquired businesses. Bergman’s elevation coincides with the $71 billion purchase of entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox, which greatly expands the slate Disney must manage, including “Avatar” movies. “Seven years ago, I had the good fortune of hiring Alan Horn as chairman of our studios, and since then, our Studio Entertainment group has delivered creative excellence and tremendous box office success,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “The new ‘co-chair’ structure formally recognizes the powerful partnership behind one of the most successful eras in our studios’ history and ensures we remain focused on creating extraordinary entertainment.” Bergman has been with Disney since 1996 and has been president of the Walt Disney Studios since 2005. He will continue to oversee the studios’ business groups, including operations, technology, business and legal affairs, labor relations, and finance, while Horn guides the overarching creative strategy. Disney hired Horn from Warner Bros., which had led the box office for years. There are no plans for him to retire, but the elevation of Bergman marks a potential longer-term succession plan for the studio. With films like “Avengers: Endgame” Disney has set new box-office records, earning over $1.3 billion in just a few days since its release. This year the studio is on track to challenge its own record-breaking 2018. The slate includes the final installment of its “Star Wars” trilogy, a remake of “The Lion King” and a sequel to “Frozen.” Under the current leadership, Disney became the first and only studio to cross the $7 billion mark at the global box office. In related news, the California Legislature voted Thursday to declare May 4 “Star Wars Day” in recognition of a Disneyland theme park slated to open later this month. It’s a play on the Star Wars’ phrase “may the force be with you.” The resolution by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Daly says it’s the largest single-site expansion in the park’s history and could generate $14 million in tax revenue for the city of Anaheim annually. The resolution also recognizes the Walt Disney Company’s “decades-long record of enhancing the quality of life for people in California and beyond.” A charity group that dresses up as Stormtroopers are at the Capitol and a hot air balloon that looked like Yoda flew outside.
|
marvel;walt disney co .;pixar;lucasfilm;alan bergman;alan horn
|
jp0003766
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Sexual assaults spike 38% in U.S. military, hitting new record
|
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday the estimated number of sexual assaults in the military climbed nearly 38 percent in 2018 compared with a survey two years earlier, data that critics say laid bare broken Pentagon promises of a crackdown. The Pentagon said there were 6,053 reports of sexual assaults last year, according to an anonymous, bi-annual survey. It is a record number and the highest since the U.S. military began collecting this kind of survey data in 2004. Taking into consideration unreported cases as well, the military survey estimated 20,500 male and female service members experienced some kind of sexual assault last year. The estimated number in 2016 was 14,900. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic presidential candidate who has been an advocate for overhauling rules for prosecution of sex crimes in the U.S. military, said the data made clear that it was time for Congress to act. “Sexual assaults continue to increase dramatically while the number of cases going to trial goes down,” she said. “The status quo is not working.” The report found that the odds of a military woman between the ages of 17 and 20 being sexually assaulted was 1 in 8. “It is time for Congress to stop giving the failing military leadership the benefit of doubt and pass real reform empowering military prosecutors. Enough is enough,” said Don Christensen, a retired colonel and former chief Air Force prosecutor who now leads the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders. The Pentagon said it was going to make changes to deal with the spike. “To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,” acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a memo. “This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on. We must, and will, do better.” In a briefing on Thursday, a senior official told reporters that the Pentagon was looking to make sexual harassment a stand-alone crime.
|
congress;u.s. military;pentagon;sex crimes;kirsten gillibrand
|
jp0003767
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
On National Day of Prayer, Trump defends clinicians' right to refuse to perform abortions
|
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is putting the finishing touches on a regulation to protect the rights of clinicians who object to participating in abortions. President Donald Trump made the announcement Thursday during a speech in the White House Rose Garden to mark the National Day of Prayer. According to an earlier draft from the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule would require that hospitals, universities, clinics and other institutions that receive funding from federal programs certify that they comply with some 25 federal laws protecting conscience and religious rights. Most of these laws address medical procedures such as abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide. The conscience rule is a priority for religious conservatives. Some critics fear the rule could become a pretext for denying medical care to LGBT people.
|
religion;u.s .;abortion;donald trump
|
jp0003768
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Florida passes measure to ban 'sanctuary cities'
|
MIAMI - Lawmakers in Florida on Thursday passed a bill prohibiting so-called sanctuary cities, requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with immigration authorities. The measure comes as President Donald Trump pushes policies aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, while frequently demonizing the migrants as criminals. Florida’s lower house passed the bill 68-45 and it was sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally who campaigned on taking a tough stance against illegal immigration. “We are a stronger state when we protect our residents, foster safe communities and respect the work of law enforcement at every level,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Local law enforcement agencies can and should work with the federal government to ensure that accountability and justice are one in our state.” The soon-to-be law requires police and other local law enforcement agencies to comply with federal agencies’ order of an “immigration detainer” — holding a person who is believed to be a “removable alien” under federal law. In sanctuary cities — such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — local law enforcement limit cooperation with U.S. immigration officials. Florida has no sanctuary cities, according to local media. “This bill is about respecting the rule of law,” said Sen. Joe Gruters, who sponsored the legislation and also chairs the Republican Party of Florida. “It’s about cooperating with the federal government, and it’s about promoting public safety.” The American Civil Liberties Union issued a “travel alert” for Florida, a hub for Latin American immigration and home to large communities of Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians. “Both Florida residents, citizens and non-citizens, and travelers could face risks of being racially profiled and being detained without probable cause,” it said. The group recommended that all residents memorize the phone number of an immigration lawyer. According to the U.S. Census, immigrants make up 20 percent of Florida’s population, although in large cities like Miami and Orlando the ratio is closer to half.
|
u.s .;immigration;refugees;florida
|
jp0003769
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in ground test, and site still inaccessible due to toxic fuel
|
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SpaceX has confirmed its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago. A company vice president told reporters Friday it’s too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the capsule’s March space flight contributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire. SpaceX still cannot access the test stand at Cape Canaveral, Florida, because of toxic fuel contamination. Vice President Hans Koenigsmann says the cargo version of the Dragon capsule, meanwhile, is safe to fly to the International Space Station. SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early Friday morning. The flight was delayed by a power problem that occurred at the station Monday and was fixed Thursday.
|
iss;nasa;space;spacex;falcon;air accidents
|
jp0003770
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Mass evacuations as monster cyclone draws bead on India
|
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA - Nearly 800,000 people in eastern India have been evacuated ahead of a major cyclone packing winds gusting up to 200 kph (125 mph) and torrential rain, officials said Thursday. The Indian weather service said Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani should make landfall on Friday around noon (0630 GMT) in Odisha state and barrel north-northeastwards toward Bangladesh on a pathway that is home to more than 100 million people. As it progresses into West Bengal state it should weaken gradually into a severe cyclonic storm with winds of 90-100 kph and gusts of 115 kph before entering Bangladesh as a cyclonic storm on Saturday evening with winds of 60-70 kph. In Odisha on Friday, along with “extremely heavy” rainfall in places, a storm surge of about 1.5 meters (5 feet) is “very likely” to inundate some low-lying areas, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. A state relief department official told AFP that 780,000 people were moved to safer places overnight from at least 13 districts of Odisha, home to 46 million people, which will bear the brunt of the storm. “We are expecting more than a million people to move out of the danger zone in next 12 hours,” Bishnupada Sethi, Odisha Special Relief Commissioner, told AFP. Some 3,000 shelters in schools and government buildings have been set up to accommodate more than a million people. More than 100,000 dry food packets are ready to be dropped if needed, reports said. On Thursday the storm, which reports said was the biggest to hit eastern India in nearly two decades, was brewing in the Bay of Bengal and moving steadily and ominously toward land. It was predicted to pack sustained wind speeds of 180-190 kph and gusts up to 200 kph, equivalent in strength to a Category 3 to 4 hurricane. It was expected to make landfall near the Hindu holy town of Puri, a major tourist hot spot. More than 100 trains have been canceled in the past 48 hours, according to Indian Railways. Three special trains were running from Puri to evacuate pilgrims and tourists. Flights have been cancel led in and out of Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar for 24 hours from midnight (1830 GMT). Authorities have asked tourists to leave coastal areas and avoid unnecessary travel. Special buses have been deployed in Puri and other towns. The management of one hotel in Puri visited by AFP as intermittent heavy rain fell outside had been told to vacate all 175 rooms, causing a wedding party to be cut short. Dozens of officials were making announcements on hand-held megaphones across the coastal belt asking residents to leave their homes. Fishermen have been advised not to venture out and the Indian Navy has also been put on alert. India’s biggest oil and gas producer ONGC has evacuated close to 500 employees from offshore installations and moved drilling rigs to safer locations, the Press Trust of India reported. “Heavy rains are expected in all the coastal districts amid fears of flash floods. We are all geared up for the challenge,” said Sethi. Forecasters have warned of the “total destruction” of thatched houses, the bending and uprooting of power and communication poles, the “flooding of escape routes” and damage to crops in some areas. Bangladesh disaster management chief Mohammad Hashim said that 3,600 cyclone shelters had been opened in 13 coastal districts. Coastal-area farmers in Bangladesh were instructed to harvest their paddy fields as a surging tide may inundate and ruin crops. Fani is the fourth major storm to slam into India’s east coast in three decades, the last in 2017 when Cyclone Ockhi left nearly 250 people dead and more than 600 missing in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The worst cyclone on record in Odisha in 1999 killed almost 10,000 people and caused an estimated $4.5 billion worth of devastation. “I am not scared,” said Loknath, 24, who works in a bookshop in Cottack in Odisha. “I am accustomed to such types of situation… Nothing will happen except rain and wind.”
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india;bangladesh;disasters;floods;cyclone fani
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jp0003771
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
I've protected many, Julian Assange tells U.K. court as he fights U.S. extradition warrant
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LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a London court on Thursday his work had protected “many people” and refused to agree to be extradited to the United States to face trial for one of the largest compromises of classified information in history. The United States has requested the extradition of Assange, who was dragged from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on April 11, and has charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which carries a maximum penalty of five years. Asked at a preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court whether he agreed to be extradited to the United States, Assange, appearing via a video link from a British prison, said: “I do not wish to surrender for extradition. I’m a journalist winning many, many awards and protecting many people.” Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. To some, Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power by modern states and for championing free speech. To others, he is a dangerous rebel who has undermined U.S. security. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison by a British court for skipping bail after fleeing to Ecuador’s Embassy in London, where he remained for seven years until police dragged him out last month. Assange had sought refuge in the embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face an allegation of rape, which he denies, saying he feared he would be sent to the United States to face action over the WikiLeaks’ release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables. Hours after his arrest last month, U.S. prosecutors said they had charged Assange with conspiracy in trying to access a classified U.S. government computer. “The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” said Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the United States. He said in early 2010, former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning had downloaded 90,000 activity reports relating to the Afghan war, 400,000 relating to the conflict in Iraq, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs and 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. The vast majority of these were later released on WikiLeaks. There were computer room chats showing real-time discussions between Manning and Assange over cracking a password to gain access to classified U.S. documents and the public release of the information, Brandon said. “Despite what you heard from the prosecutor in the courtroom today, this case is not about hacking,” Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said outside court. “This case is about a journalist and a publisher who had conversations with a source about accessing material, encouraged that source to provide material and spoke to that source about how to protect their identity. This is protected activity that journalists engage in all the time.” She said the action against him had been launched under former U.S. President Barack Obama and aggressively pursued by the administration of Donald Trump. The case was adjourned until May 30 for a procedural hearing with a more substantial hearing planned for June 12. The full extradition hearing was some months away, Judge Michael Snow told the court.
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u.s .;u.k .;ecuador;julian assange;wikileaks;extradition;chelsea manning
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jp0003772
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
White House letter blasts Mueller report, saying Trump has right to tell advisers not to testify
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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has the right to instruct advisers not to testify before congressional oversight probes related to the Russia investigation, the White House said in a letter that blasts special counsel Robert Mueller’s report as defective. White House legal counsel Emmet Flood, in an April 19 letter to Attorney General William Barr obtained by Reuters on Thursday, said Trump’s decision to let advisers cooperate with the Mueller probe does not extend to congressional oversight investigations. “It is one thing for a president to encourage complete cooperation and transparency in a criminal investigation conducted largely within the Executive Branch. It is something else entirely to allow his advisers to appear before Congress…, ” the letter said. The letter was transmitted to Barr a day after the release of the Mueller report, in which the special counsel determined that Trump did not collude with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign but pointedly did not say whether the president committed obstruction of justice. Flood’s letter said the Mueller report itself suffers from “an extraordinary legal defect.” According to relevant law, the letter said, Mueller should have rendered a judgment on whether to prosecute or not to prosecute. Instead, Mueller produced “a prosecutorial curiosity — part ‘truth commission’ report and part law school exam paper,” the letter said.
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u.s .;congress;robert mueller;donald trump;russia probe;emmet flood;william barr
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jp0003773
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Sri Lanka Mass canceled over fresh 'specific threat' fears
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COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church scrapped plans to resume Sunday services following a “specific threat” against two religious locations after the deadly Easter attacks. The archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said Thursday that a “reliable foreign source” had alerted him to possible attacks this weekend. “The information we have from a reliable foreign source is that attackers are planning to hit a very famous church and a Catholic institution,” the Cardinal said in a statement. He did not name the source. He also said that Catholic schools which were due to re-open after an extended Easter vacation on Monday would now remain shut “until further notice. Sri Lankan authorities had advance warnings from Indian intelligence of the impending Easter attacks in which 257 people died, but police and security forces ignored them. However, the government said all 10,194 public schools will reopen on Monday amid tight police and military security, with at least one armed guard outside each one. “We have been assured that all schools will be searched and safe for us to resume the new school term,” Education Minister Akila Kariyawasam told reporters in Colombo. Last Sunday, a week after the April 21 attacks, all public masses were canceled and Cardinal Ranjith conducted a private memorial service for the victims that was broadcast live on television. Armed guards have been stationed outside churches, Buddhist temples and mosques across the country since the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels. All political parties scrapped May 1 rallies amid fears of bomb blasts. The Cardinal has also been given several bodyguards and a large security contingent but returned a bullet-proof limousine given to him by the government. “I am not afraid. I don’t need bullet-proof vehicles to go about. The Lord is my protector,” he said. “But I want security for my people, and for the country.” Ranjith said he had concerns about the progress of security operations against jihadis behind the worst single-day attack against civilians in the country’s history. Police say they have arrested more than 150 suspects since the attacks and have accounted for all six jihadi suspects who were declared as most-wanted. Two suspects have been killed while four others were in custody, police said. President Maithripala Sirisena announced on Friday that the authorities believed there were 140 Islamic State-inspired jihadis in Sri Lanka and he had ordered security forces to track them down. The Easter attacks were blamed on the local National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) whose leader was among the suicide bombers. The group had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group. Meanwhile, police said Muslim clerics had refused to preform burial rites for 10 Muslim radicals who were killed during a confrontation with security forces in the island’s east last week. Three suicide bombers killed themselves and three women and six children inside an Islamist safe house near the town of Kalmunai. Another four people defending the house were shot dead by security forces. “No relatives or clerics agreed to perform the final rites, so the police took steps to bury them,” spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. The six children were spared that fate, he added. Clerics have previously said they would not undertake last rites for any of the suicide bombers involved in the attacks.
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terrorism;sri lanka;catholic church;islamic state;national thowheeth jama'ath;sri lanka attacks
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jp0003774
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Main U.K. parties take Brexit battering in local elections
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LONDON - Britain’s governing Conservatives and the Labour main opposition took a drubbing Friday in English local elections as voters vented their frustration with the Brexit deadlock. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives lost control of several local authorities and hundreds of seats but Labour failed to capitalize, with votes going instead to smaller parties. The results do not bode well for the two main parties ahead of the European Parliament elections, set to take place in Britain on May 23. Britain was meant to leave the European Union on March 29 — meaning it would never have contested the polls later this month — but now has an extension until October 31. Voters went to the polls Thursday in mainly rural and suburban areas of England, with more than 8,000 seats up for grabs. “It looks as though the key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is ‘a plague on both of your houses,’ as both of them find themselves losing both votes and seats on an extensive basis,” polling expert John Curtice told the BBC. The main parties “have been losing votes most heavily in those wards where they were strongest,” with the Conservatives losing seats in southern England and Labour in the north. All 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland were also being contested among the province’s own parties. The Conservatives are traditionally strong in the areas being contested on Thursday and were defending a high water mark. These local authority seats were last contested in 2015, alongside the general election in which then prime minister David Cameron won a surprise majority for the centre-right party. But even though left-wing Labour were fighting from a low base, they too lost ground. With more than a third of the votes counted, the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats and Greens saw gains, along with independent candidates. Meanwhile the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party did better than in last year’s local elections. “The Liberal Democrats are the big winners of this year’s elections, with already our best result for over 15 years and more gains expected,” said party leader Vince Cable. “Voters have sent a clear message that they no longer have confidence in the Conservatives, but they are also refusing to reward Labour while the party prevaricates on the big issue of the day: Brexit.” The problems for the two main parties could worsen at the European elections when they will also face the Brexit Party, who are riding high in the opinion polls, and the anti-Brexit group Change UK, largely formed of centrist Labour defectors. Neither of the newly-formed groups contested the local elections, the polls coming too soon to find the thousands of candidates.
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u.k .;elections;conservatives;liberal democrats;labour;brexit
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jp0003775
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Senate upholds Trump veto of bill to end U.S. support in Yemen war
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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s embattled Yemen policy received a lifeline Thursday as the U.S. Senate failed to override his veto of a measure that would end American support for the Saudi-led coalition in a country devastated by war. Congress dealt Trump a harsh rebuke in March when both chambers passed a historic resolution that would have curtailed a president’s war-making powers, and on April 16 Trump issued just the second veto of his presidency to block the measure. The Senate on Thursday voted 53 to 45 to override Trump’s veto. But 67 votes are needed to do so in the 100-member chamber, and the minority Democratic camp could only muster crossover support from a handful of Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who supports Trump on Yemen, said the vote offered lawmakers “a second chance to send the right message regarding America’s commitments to our partners in the region, to important humanitarian missions, and to eradicating al-Qaida from the Arabian Peninsula.” Trump has argued that U.S. support for the bloody war between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels was necessary for a variety of reasons, including protecting the safety of more than 80,000 Americans residing in certain coalition countries. Democrats have long complained that U.S. involvement in the Yemen conflict — through intelligence-sharing, logistical support and now-discontinued aerial refueling — is unconstitutional without congressional authority. Bernie Sanders, the liberal senator who is running for president in 2020 and is a sponsor of the resolution that passed Congress, framed the veto vote as a life or death issue. “We can save thousands upon thousands of people if we override Donald Trump’s veto,” he tweeted shortly before the vote. The war in Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with millions of people at risk of famine. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, while rights groups say the toll could be far higher. Another U.S. presidential hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris, called Trump’s veto a “mistake,” and that U.S.-backed war “has led to famine, destruction, and senseless death.” Bipartisan anger has simmered in Congress since the murder last October of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by commandos from Riyadh.
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conflict;u.s .;congress;yemen;saudi arabia;republicans;bernie sanders;donald trump;jamal khashoggi
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jp0003776
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Venezuela's top court orders re-arrest of key opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez
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CARACAS - Venezuela’s top court on Thursday ordered the arrest of opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who has sought refuge in the Spanish embassy since claiming to have been freed from house arrest two days ago by rebel military personnel. Lopez, who was imprisoned in 2014 and transferred to house arrest three years later, made a sensational public appearance alongside opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday as the National Assembly president tried to incite a military uprising against President Nicolas Maduro. Later that day Lopez sought refuge in the Chilean Embassy with his wife and daughter before moving to the Spanish Embassy. The Supreme Court accused Lopez, 48, of “flagrantly” violating the terms of his house arrest. Lopez’s wife, Lilian Tintori, claimed on Twitter on Wednesday that their house had been robbed and ransacked while they were away. Lopez was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2014 after he was accused of having incited violent protests against Maduro that left 43 people dead. At the time he was a leading opposition figure and the founder of the Popular Will party, which counted Guaido among its members. The Harvard-trained Lopez comes from a prominent family — some of his ancestors held top government positions — but has been branded as “far right” and a “coup plotter” by socialist Maduro. Popular Will describes itself as a progressive center-left movement.
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venezuela;nicolas maduro;leopoldo lopez;juan guaido
|
jp0003777
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Russia and Assad forces seen stepping up attacks on rebel-held northwest Syria
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AMMAN - Russian and Syrian forces intensified airstrikes and shelling in rebel-held northwestern Syria overnight, the heaviest assault since the area was declared a demilitarized zone under a Russian-Turkish deal, residents and medics said on Thursday. The targeted villages and towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib fall within a buffer zone agreed last September between Russia and Turkey as part of a deal which averted a major offensive on the area. Schools, health facilities and residential areas have been hit, United Nations regional humanitarian coordinator Panos Moumtzis told Reuters on Thursday. “The barrel bombing is the worst we have seen for at least 15 months.” He added that 300,000 people live in the buffer zone where there are hostilities. Earlier this week, the United States warned violence in the buffer zone “will result in the destabilization of the region.” Since Tuesday, attacks have forced thousands of civilians to flee to camps further north along the Turkish border and damaged four medical facilities, according to Idlib civil defense officials and a U.S. medical aid agency working in the area. “Medical facilities are being evacuated, leaving the most vulnerable with no access to medical care. We are on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe,” Khaula Sawah, vice president of the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations said in a statement on Wednesday. Syrian army helicopters have dropped barrel bombs, which are drums or cylinders packed with explosives and shrapnel that cause indiscriminate destruction, killing at least 15 civilians and injured dozens, rescuers in Idlib province said. Opposition-run civil defense agencies say hundreds of people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Russian and Syrian strikes since the September deal, which prevented a potentially devastating offensive on Idlib and nearby areas held by insurgents and now home to over 3 million people. Syrian state media, quoting army sources, blamed rebels for the assaults and said it had targeted “terrorist groups” in towns in northern Hama including Kfr Nabouda. It also said al Qaeda-inspired groups have stepped up drone attacks on Russia’s main air base near the Syrian Mediterranean coast, but that these have been unsuccessful. The military escalation is expected to be a focus of talks in Geneva on Friday between envoys from seven countries including U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey and U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. Idlib is the last major area of Syria still in rebel hands after a string of government offensives backed by Russian air power since 2015 turned the tables in a protracted civil war. President Bashar Assad has regained control over most of the country, with the northeast held by Kurdish groups backed by the United States. Idlib is held by an array of rebel groups. The most powerful is Tahrir al-Sham, an amalgam of Islamist groups dominated by the former Nusra Front — an al-Qaida affiliate until 2016. Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the strikes with little success. The main Turkish-backed rebel grouping said they were rushing extra fighters to the main fronts to face all “possibilities.” In response to the escalation, rebels said they mounted several rocket attacks on army positions including the Breideej army base in northern Hama, injuring and killing at least four Russian soldiers in a mortar attack that hit their vehicle. “We have stepped up our readiness and sent troop reinforcements to confront any attack (by) the regime and the Russians on any area,” said Naji al-Mustafa, spokesman for the National Liberation Front coalition of rebel groups. “We cannot leave matters like this. … We are preparing for any possibility…,” he added.
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conflict;russia;syria;u.n .;bashar assad;idlib;hama;panos moumtzis
|
jp0003778
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Chinese family lost $6.5 million in Stanford admissions scam
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HONG KONG - The mother of a Chinese student admitted Friday she paid $6.5 million to the man at the heart of a U.S. college admission scandal but said she was duped into believing the sum was a charitable donation. American academia has been rocked by a colossal bribery scandal run by William “Rick” Singer who has pleaded guilty to working with corrupt coaches, university administrators and exam monitors to get the children of wealthy families into prestigious colleges. The $25 million scam, which was revealed by U.S. prosecutors earlier this year, has seen some 50 people charged including Hollywood actors and industry CEOs. Most of the cases that have come to light through indictments or guilty pleas have involved parents paying anywhere between $15,000 and $600,000 to ensure their children got into college. But earlier this week U.S. media reported that Singer received a huge payment of $6.5 million from a wealthy Chinese family whose daughter Yusi Zhao got into Stanford in 2017. On Friday, Hong Kong-based lawyers for Zhao’s mother released a statement on her behalf in which she said the payment was made but that Singer had led her to believe it was a legitimate donation that would go towards Stanford’s staff salaries and scholarship program. “The donation is in the same nature as those that many affluent parents have been doing openly to prestigious universities,” the statement read, adding they had made it a month after their daughter was accepted into Stanford. “Since the matters concerning Mr. Singer and his foundation have been widely reported, Mrs. Zhao has come to realize she has been misled, her generosity has been taken advantage of, and her daughter has fallen victim to the scam,” it added. Law firm Mayer Brown declined to give the mother’s full name or say whether Yusi Zhao is still at the prestigious Ivy League college. The New York Times said her father is a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in traditional Chinese medicine and health supplements. A reporter from the paper who visited the family’s home in an ultra-wealthy district on the outskirts of Beijing this week said a Ferrari, a Tesla, a Bentley and a Land Rover could be seen parked outside a California-style mansion. Prosecutors in the U.S. have not filed any charges against the Zhao family. American colleges are highly sought after among Chinese families and a booming industry has flourished offering consulting and test preparation advice. Chinese students have also become a hugely lucrative demographic for those colleges. U.S. media have reported only one other family paid Singer a seven figure sum — a Chinese family who allegedly paid $1.2 million to get their daughter into Yale.
|
china;u.s .;fraud;universities;stanford;william singer
|
jp0003779
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"science-health-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Cute or creepy: Why humans love some species, loathe others
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PARIS - The Chinese giant salamander, the largest amphibian in the world, is not cute. Weighing as much as an adult human, it has slimy brown skin, a giant mouth curled to a gormless grin, and puny, mistrustful eyes. It is also one of the world’s most endangered species. And yet, unlike its compatriot the giant panda, the giant salamander rarely makes the news. Why do some animals strike a chord with humans, prompting them to donate millions toward their conservation, while others draw little more than disgust? And is a sad-eyed panda really worth saving more than a slimy salamander? Size, intelligence, behavior, rarity, how closely an animal resembles the human form — all play a part in our reaction to various endangered creatures. “One of the biggest factors is ‘cuteness’: physical characteristics such as big eyes and soft features that elicit our parental instincts because they remind us of human infants,” Hal Herzog, emeritus professor at West Carolina University’s Department of Psychology. An expert in human-animal relationships, Herzog said the dark rings around pandas’ eyes triggered humans nurturing instincts. “Compare that to the Chinese giant salamander,” he said of the 2-meter, 70-kg creatures. “Google it. It looks like a 6-foot-long, 150-pound bag of brown slime with beady little eyes.” The salamanders are a vital part of their ecosystem, just as worms are essential to soil health around the steams and lakes they live in — which is just about everywhere. Yet, like maggots, rats and snakes, the main instinct they inspire in humans is revulsion. According to Graham Davey, a specialist in phobias from the University of Sussex’s School of Psychology, we learn to revile certain creatures at a young age. “Disgust is a learned emotion. Babies are not born with it. … It’s probably transmitted socially, culturally and within families,” he said. Some animals are reviled due to their resemblance to “primary disgusting things” such as mucus or feces, Davey said, while others are perceived — rightly or wrongly — to pose a direct danger to the beholder. “In terms of threat to humankind, disease and illness are bigger than being attacked by an animal,” he said. This might explain why most of us don’t find lions and bears repellent — they are covered with the same type of soft fur that coat cuddly toys for children, even if it might be better to avoid one in real life. As with most things, popular culture has a huge effect on how society perceives animals. Whereas the movie “Free Willy” prompted a wave of sympathy for the endangered orcas, “Arachnophobia” hardly helped spiders’ cause. And no need to mention what “Jaws” did for sharks. Even the depiction of fictional creatures can have a knock-on effect on public perception toward certain animals. Take the main being in “Alien,” for example. “Seeing the one from the first film that had that mucus-y drawl dripping from the alien’s mouth … sensitizes people to disgusting things,” Davey said. Nor is it just the public at large who are liable to “speciesism,” or discrimination against other species in favor of our own. A study in 2017 found a strong correlation between society’s preferred animals and those most studied in scientific research. “Maybe that’s because it’s easier to get money” to study well-known animals, said Frederic Legendre, a researcher at France’s National History Museum. And popular species make money in return, according to Christo Fabricius from WWF — a conservation group indelibly linked to its panda logo. “Reptiles, for example, are not very marketable,” he said. Not that favoring certain cute or charismatic species is necessarily a bad thing for conservation. “When we protect an iconic species, we protect their habitat and therefore all the organisms within it also benefit,” said Legendre. But such species can become a victim of their own popularity. One recent study suggested that a “virtual” presence of wild animals such as elephants and tigers — be that on computer screens, T-shirts or in children’s books — can fool people into thinking they are more common in the wild than they really are. The populations of most megafauna — from hippos to giraffes and gorillas — remain in peril. Then there is the risk of poaching. The rarer the species “the more value they provide for traditional medicine, for trophy hunting, and therefore they are poached more often,” said Franck Courchamp, an ecologist at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research. So the next time you see a picture of a giant Chinese salamander, remember that there is more to saving Earth’s wild species than looks.
|
film;nature;animals;endangered;psychology;pandas;zoos
|
jp0003780
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"science-health-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive
|
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN - His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan’s fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. “I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops,” Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the front line of Islamist militancy in Pakistan. This dangerous hostility to immunization teams flared last week after religious hard-liners in the city spread false rumors, raising a scare on social media that some children were being poisoned and dying from contaminated polio vaccines. The rumors spread like wildfire, triggering mass panic in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Mobs burned a village health center, blocked a highway and pelted cars with stones. Medical workers were harassed and threatened. Mosques made announcements that children were having cramps, vomiting and diarrhea after they were given “poisonous” polio drops. Word went out on social media that some children had died. Panicked parents rushed their children to hospitals, overwhelming health authorities. In Peshawar alone, about 45,000 children were brought to hospitals complaining of nausea and dizziness. Officials described it as mass hysteria, asserting there had been no deaths confirmed. It is easy to feed the fears of communities that feel under siege, as in northwest Pakistan. Mistrust of outsiders and modernity goes a long way to explaining why Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are two of just three countries in the world — Nigeria is the third — where polio remains endemic. Some Muslim clerics have peddled stories that the vaccines are part of Western plot to make Muslims sterile, while militant groups have killed nearly 100 health workers and their guards since 2012 on the pretext that they could be Western spies. Those killings escalated after a doctor in Peshawar involved in the campaign against polio helped U.S. forces track down and eliminate al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. Just late week, militants shot and killed a medical worker and two policemen guarding other vaccination teams in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighboring Baluchistan province. But the scale of the most recent backlash against a campaign to eradicate polio is something new for government officials, who worry that the suspicions and backward thinking of a hard-line minority has infected the wider public. “The mistrust in one segment of society, that refuses vaccinations due to religious beliefs, is translating into the rest of the country, which is something not seen in the past,” Babar Atta, the government’s top coordinator in the drive against polio, said. Every year Pakistan’s government mounts public education campaigns and recruits Muslim religious leaders to reassure people, but their suspicions persist. As a result of last week’s false rumors, families of hundreds of thousands of children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and elsewhere refused to participate in the latest campaign to eradicate a virus that can cause paralysis or death. “No drops for us in the future!” Saif-ur-Rehman, a father of eight, repeating the rumors that the vaccines were contaminated or expired. “Even my son was saying: ‘The next time they bring polio drops to school, I am going to get up and run away from school.’ I said, ‘Do that.'” An inquiry found the false stories originated at two schools on the outskirts of Peshawar. Health workers seeking to vaccinate pupils from the Dar-ul-Qalam and Roza-tul-Atfaal schools had met with repeated refusals, according to provincial officials. Investigators also identified and arrested a man seen in a video telling dozens of children to pose as if the vaccine had rendered them unconscious, Farooq Jameel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s senior-most health official, said. Police also arrested 16 other men, some of whom had threatened vaccination teams on the streets. A provincial leader of a conservative Islamist party that officials suspected had some links to the schools’ owners denied any connection and went on to endorse the immunization program. “I have been vaccinating my own children and will continue to give them polio vaccine till a certain age, but people have some misconception and doubts about polio vaccine, and the government needs to address their concerns,” Abdul Wasey, secretary-general of Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said. But the damage has been done. Pakistan has made huge strides in tackling polio, but officials say that while the latest immunization drive succeeded in inoculating 37.6 million children, 1.4 million were left unprotected. Citing fears of attacks on health workers, authorities called off a two-day catch up for the vaccination drive last week. The global campaign against the disease over the past few decades has been a great success story, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting just 33 cases of polio worldwide in 2018. But most of them were in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the danger is that so long as a single child remains infected the virus can quickly spread into polio-free countries and unimmunized populations. There is no known cure for polio, but the disease can be prevented if children are given multiple treatments with the vaccine. Nadia Gul, a housewife, is among the volunteer health workers who make up the vaccination teams. Two children in her close family are victims of polio. Covering her face with a veil to talk with strangers, Gul spoke of the dangers she faces due to the heinous slurs propagated by ill-educated opponents, but she refuses to be cowed. “We have fears in our minds and in our hearts, but we will not lose courage,” Gul said. “Our aim, the aim of all the polio workers, is that we end this scourge in our country, so that no child, God forbid, is crippled.”
|
pakistan;disease;social media;polio;fake news
|
jp0003781
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Monster Cyclone Fani smashes eastern India
|
NEW DELHI - Cyclone Fani tore through India’s eastern coast on Friday as a grade 5 storm, lashing beaches with rain and wind gusting up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and affecting weather as far away as Mount Everest. The India Meteorological Department said the “extremely severe” cyclone in the Bay of Bengal hit the coastal state of Odisha around 8 a.m., and was forecast to weaken to a “very severe” storm as it moved north-northeast toward the Indian state of West Bengal. In Bhubaneswar, a city in Odisha famous for an 11th-century Hindu temple, palm trees whipped back and forth like mops against skies made opaque by gusts of rain. The national highway to Puri, a popular tourist beach city with other significant Hindu antiquities, was littered with fallen trees and electricity poles, making it impassable. A special train ran Thursday to evacuate tourists from the city. The airport in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, closed from 3 p.m. Friday to Saturday morning. At least 200 trains were canceled across India. The National Disaster Response Force dispatched 54 rescue and relief teams of doctors, engineers and deep-sea divers to flood-prone areas along the coast and as far afield as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a group of islands that comprise a state located about 1,300 kilometers (840 miles) east of mainland India in the Bay of Bengal. On Mount Everest, some mountaineers and Sherpa guides were descending to lower camps as weather worsened at higher elevations. The government issued a warning saying that heavy snowfall was expected in the higher mountain areas with rain and storms lower down the mountain, and asked trekking agencies to take tourists to safety. Hundreds of climbers, their guides, cooks and porters huddled at the Everest base camp, according to Pemba Sherpa of the Xtreme Climbers Trek, who said weather and visibility was poor. May is the best month to climb the 8,850-foot (29,035-foot) Everest when Nepal experiences a few windows of good weather to scale the peak. “It is still the beginning of the month, so there is no reason for climbers to worry” that weather from the cyclone will cost them their chance to reach the summit, Sherpa said. On India’s cyclone scale, Fani is the second-most severe, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane. Its timing is unusual, according to data from the Meteorological Department. Most extremely severe cyclones hit India’s east coast in the post-monsoon season. Over roughly half a century, 23, or nearly 60 percent of the cyclones, to hit India were observed between October and December. Because Fani spent 10 days gathering strength over the sea, it delivered a huge blow when it made landfall. Some of the deadliest tropical cyclones on record have occurred in the Bay of Bengal. A 1999 “super” cyclone killed around 10,000 people and devastated large parts of Odisha. Due to improved forecasts and better coordinated disaster management, the death toll from Cyclone Phailin — an equally intense storm that hit in 2013 — were less than 50, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The 1999 super cyclone reached wind speeds of 260-280 kph (161-173 mph)r, said India Meteorological Department scientist Dr. M. Mohapatra. “This is not as bad,” he said. Around 1.2 million people were evacuated from low-lying areas of Odisha and moved to nearly 4,000 shelters, according to India’s National Disaster Response Force. Indian officials put the navy, air force, army and coast guard on high alert. Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi, who said the evacuation effort was unprecedented in India, said communications were disrupted in some areas, but no deaths or injuries had been reported. In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh just south of Odisha, Fani topped electricity poles and uprooted others, leaving them in sharp angles. In the Srikakulam district, where around 20,000 people had been evacuated, thatched-roof houses collapsed and fishing boats left unmoored on beaches had been sliced into shards. The district experienced wind speeds of 140 kph (87 mph) and received heavy rains but no loss of life or major damage was reported, district collector J. Niwas said. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the storm would reach the southwestern part of Bangladesh by Friday. Aid agencies warned that the more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar living at refugee camps near the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar were at threat. Hillol Sobhan, local communications director for the aid group Care, said it had emergency supplies for the refugees in Cox’s Bazar. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority said it suspended operations of all vessels. Authorities also halted activities at Chittagong Seaport, which handles 80 percent of the country’s overseas trade.
|
india;weather;storms;disasters;typhoons;cyclone fani
|
jp0003782
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Pentagon warns about risk of Chinese submarines in Arctic
|
WASHINGTON - Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could also pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon said in a report released on Thursday. The assessment is included in the U.S. military’s annual report to Congress on China’s armed forces and follows Beijing’s publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June. In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a “Polar Silk Road” — building on President Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road” initiative. China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing’s long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments. The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China’s interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station, establish a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining. “Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks,” the report said. The Pentagon report noted that China’s military has made modernizing its submarine fleet a high priority. Its navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, it said. “The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020,” the report predicted. The United States and its allies, in turn, are expanding their anti-submarine naval deployments across East Asia. This includes stepped-up patrols of America’s advanced, sub-hunting P-8 Poseidon planes out of Singapore and Japan. The expansion of China’s submarine forces is just one element of a broad — and costly — modernization of its military, which U.S. experts say is designed largely to deter any action by America’s armed forces. Although Beijing’s official defense budget for 2018 was $175 billion, the Pentagon estimated that China’s budget actually topped $200 billion, when including research, development and foreign weapons procurement. It estimated that China’s official defense budget would likely grow to about $260 billion by 2022. Much of China’s military doctrine is focused on self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a renegade province. On Jan. 2, Xi said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but would strive to achieve peaceful “reunification.” The Pentagon report outlined a number of potential scenarios that China might take if Beijing decides to use military force on Taiwan, including a comprehensive campaign “designed to force Taiwan to capitulate to unification, or unification dialogue.” But the U.S. analysis appeared to downplay prospects for a large-scale amphibious Chinese invasion, saying that could strain its armed forces and invite international intervention. It also noted the possibility of limited missile strikes. “China could use missile attacks and precision air strikes against air defense systems, including air bases, radar sites, missiles, space assets, and communications facilities to degrade Taiwan’s defenses, neutralize Taiwan’s leadership, or break the Taiwan people’s resolve,” the report said. China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island on drills in the past few years and worked to isolate Taiwan internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies. It has also strongly objected to U.S. warship passages through the Taiwan Strait, which have greatly increased in frequency in the past year. Taiwan’s military is significantly smaller than China’s, a gap that the Pentagon noted is growing year by year. Recognizing the disparity, the Pentagon report noted, “Taiwan has stated that it is working to develop new concepts and capabilities for asymmetric warfare.” Separately on Thursday, a senior official said that the United States rejects attempts by countries such as China that are not members of the eight-nation Arctic Council to claim a role in crafting policies governing the polar region. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland, starting on Monday. The United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden make up the Arctic Council, while China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Italy and Japan have observer status. “The eight Arctic states conduct governance of the Arctic region and we reject attempts by non-Arctic states to claim a role in this process,” the official told reporters to preview Pompeo’s trip, which will also include Germany, Britain and Greenland. “Observers have interests, but we know for example that China sometimes refers to itself as a ‘near-Arctic state’ and there is no such definition in the council’s lexicon,” the official added. The council, which coordinates Arctic policy, is gaining clout as sea ice thaws and opens up new trade routes, intensifying competition for oil and gas — estimated at 15 percent and 30 percent of undiscovered reserves. China has become one of the biggest mining investors in the region, while Russia has been pouring money and missiles into the Arctic, and reopening and building bases there. Tensions have emerged in the run-up to the meeting over Washington’s refusal to sign off on draft language on climate change, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The Arctic, especially its islands, is warming far quicker than the world average as the retreat of snow and sea ice exposes darker water and ground that soaks up ever more of the sun’s heat. President Donald Trump has stood by his 2017 decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord signed by almost 200 governments in 2015. They agreed to limit a rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times by 2100. Worldwide, temperatures are up about 1 Celsius. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed its first climate-change bill in a decade, voting 231-190 to require that administration keep the United States as a party to the Paris accord.
|
china;u.s .;military;arctic;denmark;greenland;arctic council
|
jp0003783
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Indonesia sentences Pole to five years for links to Papua separatist rebels
|
WAMENA, INDONESIA - A Polish man was sentenced to five years in prison for treason on Thursday after meeting with rebels in the restive Indonesian province of Papua. Jakub Fabian Skrzypski, 39, was arrested in August and accused of plotting to overthrow the Indonesian government and making contact with an outlawed separatist group. “The charges of treason have been proven legally and convincingly,” said Wamena district court head judge Yajid, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. Skrzypski has denied all wrongdoing and his lawyer, Latifah Anum Siregar, told AFP he would appeal the verdict, which was lighter than the 10 years’ jail demanded by prosecutors. Jakarta is deeply sensitive about Papua, where a low-level insurgency against the central government has simmered for years, and routinely blames separatists for violence in the region. Prosecutors said the Pole had met with leaders of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) and was found with documents and video detailing the Papuan struggle for independence. Papua shares a border with independent Papua New Guinea (PNG), just north of Australia. The former Dutch colony declared itself independent in 1961, but neighboring Indonesia took control of the region two years later on the condition it allow a referendum on independence. About 1,000 handpicked Papuans then unanimously chose to be part of Indonesia in the UN-backed vote, which many consider a sham. One of Indonesia’s poorest regions, Papua has seen several spasms of violence over the past year, including in December when at least 16 employees of a state-owned company — who were building bridges in a major infrastructure push for the impoverished region — were killed by separatist rebels. Indonesian security forces have long been accused of rights abuses against Papua’s ethnic Melanesian population including extrajudicial killings of activists and peaceful protesters.
|
indonesia;papua;papua new guinea;jakub fabian skrzypski
|
jp0003784
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"offbeat-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Three-eyed snake found in Australian town of Humpty Doo
|
SYDNEY - A three-eyed snake found slithering down a road in the northern Australian town of Humpty Doo has sparked amusement in a country already accustomed to unusual wildlife. Rangers dubbed the unusual serpent “Monty Python” after finding it on a highway in late March. X-rays showed all three of its eyes were functioning and the extra socket likely developed naturally while the snake was an embryo, the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission said in a Facebook post, noting that such deformities are common among reptiles. Wildlife officers told the Northern Territory News the 40-centimeter (18-inch) carpet python was about 3 months old and died after about a month in captivity. “It’s remarkable it was able to survive so long in the wild with its deformity, and he was struggling to feed before he died last week,” ranger Ray Chatto told the newspaper on Friday. But the late Monty Python found a new life on the internet after the Wildlife Commission posted photos of it on their Facebook page this week. “I tried to come up with a few jokes, but they just got cornea and cornea,” wrote one user. Another thought the joke was elsewhere: “Not even disturbed by the three eyed snake … just incredibly amused that there’s a place called Humpty Doo.”
|
australia;animals;snakes;humpty doo
|
jp0003785
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Vietnamese woman in Kim Jong Nam murder case freed, but plotters may never face trial
|
KUALA LUMPUR - A Vietnamese woman who had been accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother was freed from prison Friday, ending legal proceedings over the brazen killing after an often-bizarre two-year saga. Kim Jong Nam, the estranged relative of Kim Jong Un and once seen as the heir apparent to the North’s leadership, died in agony after having his face smeared with a banned nerve agent as he waited at Kuala Lumpur’s airport in February, 2017. The sensational killing made headlines around the world and sparked a furious diplomatic tussle as Seoul accused Pyongyang of an elaborate plot to murder a figure who had spent years in exile and been critical of his family’s rule. Doan Thi Huong, from Vietnam, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were arrested after being spotted on CCTV approaching Kim but always denied murder, insisting they had been tricked into carrying out the hit by North Korean agents who said it was a prank for a reality TV show and then fled Malaysia after the killing. The women went on trial, but in March prosecutors dropped the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, after diplomatic pressure and she flew home. Then last month they withdrew murder charges against Huong, who pleaded guilty to a reduced count of “causing injury” and was told she would be released in May at the end of her sentence. More than two years after her arrest, the 30-year-old former hair salon worker was freed from prison outside the Malaysian capital at about 7:20 a.m., said her lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik. Journalists waiting outside the prison saw a van and a car with tinted windows race past, and a court official at the scene also confirmed Huong had been released. After her sentencing last month, Huong told reporters she wanted to “sing and act” when she returned to Vietnam. While there is relief for the women, no one else is in custody over the murder and those behind the plot are unlikely to ever be punished. “The assassins have not been brought to justice,” said Hisyam, adding that the women’s legal teams consistently argued that four North Koreans who fled Malaysia after the killing, and were charged in absentia, were the real murderers. The killing took place early on a February morning two years ago. Kim Jong Nam, a balding man and wearing a gray suit, entered the Kuala Lumpur airport, glanced up at the departures board and walked to check in for his flight to Macau. Moments later, his killers struck. A few steps away from a Starbucks cafe and a Puffy Buffy Malaysian food stall, a woman stood in front of Kim to distract him. Her partner approached from behind, pulled from her handbag a cloth drenched in liquid VX, a chemical weapon, reached around his head and clamped it to his face. That was enough to deliver deadly poison. Carrying a backpack containing $100,000 and four North Korean passports, Kim had been traveling under the pseudonym “Kim Chol,” police said. After the attack, he approached a help desk and explained that someone seemed to have grabbed or held his face and now he felt dizzy. He was taken to a small glass-fronted surgery one floor down, near the arrivals area, but it was too late. Kim, who had fallen from grace in the North after a bizarre attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland, died in agony shortly afterwards in an ambulance on the way to a hospital. The women, who faced death by hanging if convicted of murder, went on trial in October 2017 but the case was slow-moving due to the large number of witnesses and appeals from the defense teams. After Aisyah’s release in March, Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong’s murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. The assassination sparked a furious row between North Korea and Malaysia, previously one of nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s few allies, and prompted both countries to expel each other’s ambassadors. Ties have improved in recent times however with Malaysia saying it plans to reopen its embassy in Pyongyang, which was closed shortly after the murder.
|
malaysia;murder;north korea;chemical weapons;kim jong un;kim jong nam;doan thi huong;siti aisyah
|
jp0003786
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Busy schedule ahead for Japan's new Crown Prince Akishino and family
|
New Crown Prince Akishino is set to have an even busier schedule after he assumed the title on Wednesday, in line with Emperor Naruhito’s accession to the imperial throne the same day. Crown Prince Akishino, 53, first in line to the throne, and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, 52, will take over most of the official duties that Emperor Naruhito, 59, and Empress Masako, 55, performed when they were crown prince and crown princess. In June, Crown Prince Akishino, the brother of the new emperor, is slated to visit Poland and Finland for his first overseas trip in the role. Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko will inherit from the emperor and empress the tasks of attending the national green conservation meeting, the national high school sports festival, the national sports festival for people with disabilities and the national forest conservation festival. The crown princess will take on the solo role of participating in the national convention for promoting blood donation. Crown Prince Akishino is slated to maintain his current honorary positions. The crown prince, who serves as honorary patron for the Rugby World Cup, to be held in Japan this year, is scheduled to declare the opening of the quadrennial event in September. Among other members of the family, 12-year-old Prince Hisahito, who is the only son of the crown prince and crown princess and is second in line to the throne, advanced to Ochanomizu University Junior High School in April after graduating from the elementary school affiliated with the national university in March. The couple’s eldest daughter, Princess Mako, 27, is set to take part in three annual events that have been attended by her father, including the national urban green festival. Princess Kako, the couple’s 24-year-old daughter who graduated from International Christian University in March, is likely to expand the scope of her official activities. In October, she is slated to attend for the first time the national sports festival for people with disabilities.
|
royalty;prince hisahito;imperial family;imperial change;crown prince akishino;crown princess kiko
|
jp0003787
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Japan and Vietnam defense ministers agree to peacefully tackle Beijing's South China Sea expansion
|
HANOI - Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Vietnamese counterpart, Ngo Xuan Lich, confirmed Thursday that the two countries will work together to peacefully resolve the issue of China’s rapid expansion in the South China Sea. Meeting with Vietnam’s minister of defense in Hanoi, Iwaya also stressed the importance of steadily implementing U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea to realize the country’s denuclearization. Iwaya asked for Vietnam’s support in resolving North Korea’s abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago. Lich indicated Vietnam’s readiness to cooperate on the denuclearization issue. “Japan hopes to further deepen ties with Vietnam in the era of Reiwa,” Iwaya said at the outset of talks with Lich, referring to the nation’s new imperial era under Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the throne Wednesday. Lich expressed his congratulations over the succession, and told Iwaya that he hopes his visit to Vietnam will “contribute to pushing bilateral defense ties to a new stage.” In line with Iwaya’s visit to Vietnam, the two countries’ defense authorities exchanged a memorandum of understanding stipulating the two governments’ intention to call for cooperation between the Japanese and Vietnamese defense industries. Based on the MOU, cooperation is likely to be promoted in fields such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and cybersecurity, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Tensions remain high in the South China Sea, with China pushing its claims to almost the entire body of water — a vital shipping lane with rich fishing grounds and possibly large oil and natural gas deposits. Vietnam as well as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan claim parts of the waters. During the talks, Iwaya explained Japan’s latest national defense guidelines that were endorsed in December last year, which called China’s military activities in the South China Sea and surrounding waters “a serious security concern for the region including Japan and for the international community.” Japan is locked in a territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu. The discussions in the Vietnamese capital were the first official talks between the two countries’ defense ministers since June last year.
|
china;defense;security;military;south china sea;vietnam-japan relations
|
jp0003788
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
|
Japanese Defense Ministry mulls further steps against power harassment as SDF recruiters struggle
|
The Defense Ministry plans to compile a set of measures this summer to prevent power harassment, a senior ministry official said Friday. The ministry believes existing measures have been ineffective in light of the increasing number of punishments that have been issued for power harassment. While receiving advice from two outside experts, the ministry will draw up a specific direction for new measures in June. The steps might even include a review of the defense minister’s orders related to the execution of duties, the senior official said. One of the external advisers is University of Tsukuba professor Ichiyo Matsuzaki, who wrote the book “Crusher Joshi” (“Crusher Bosses”), which analyzes bosses who engage in harassment. The other is Yoshitomo Takahashi, a professor at the same university who is well-versed in issues related to suicide. In the book, Matsuzaki says diversity in human resources tends to be poor at workplaces where so-called crusher bosses have a strong presence. The measures taken so far by the ministry include the establishment of a consultation hotline and education against power harassment, but they have failed to produce results. Cases of power harassment-related penalties at the Defense Ministry and in the Self-Defense Forces rose to 94 in fiscal 2016 and 114 in fiscal 2017, compared with 42 in fiscal 2013. Apparently behind the increase is the organizational culture at the SDF. The senior official stressed the need to get rid of such a culture, saying the SDF cannot be truly strong if superiors use power harassment as a tool to control subordinates. The plan to work out new measures is also believed to reflect the ministry’s eagerness to change the image of the SDF among young people following recent shortfalls in their recruitment goals.
|
harassment;self defense forces;defense ministry
|
jp0003789
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/03
|
On Constitution Day, Abe again vows to revise Japan's top law, aiming for enactment in 2020
|
Seventy-two years after the enactment of Japan’s pacifist Constitution, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe renewed his pledge Friday to revise the supreme law and emphasized that he still hopes to see an amended Constitution go into effect in 2020. “I made clear at this very forum, two years ago, that I hoped 2020 would be the year this nation sees a newly revised Constitution come into effect. That hope hasn’t changed for me,” Abe said in a prerecorded video message shown during a forum to discuss constitutional change hosted by a conservative grassroots group aligned with Japan Conference (Nippon Kaigi). The pacifist Constitution has been a topic of debate because its war-renouncing Article 9 bans the country from maintaining any “war potential.” Abe has argued the article should be revised to formalize the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces, although the government has long maintained the SDF are constitutional despite Article 9 and polls have shown a majority of voters support that interpretation. Pacifist political forces remain opposed to Abe’s ideas, fearing any revision of Article 9 could change the status quo and lead to unrestrained reinterpretation of the article in the future. Referring during Friday’s forum to a poll that indicated about 90 percent of respondents had a positive impression of the Self-Defense Forces, Abe said: “This level of trust is something the SDF has earned for themselves,” and that “now it is time for us in politics to do our part as well.” “We must write the role of the Self-Defense Forces into the Constitution to put an end to the debate over its constitutionality,” he added. Abe proposed such a revision at the same rally in 2017, adding at the time that he hoped to see an amended top law enacted in 2020. In a video message shown at last year’s forum, however, Abe didn’t mention the 2020 target, in a move that observers said underlined the political difficulty he faced in achieving his long-held ambition. This year Abe re-emphasized the 2020 goal, but Diet sessions on constitutional matters have remained stalled. Political observers say that whether Abe is able to reboot his drive for constitutional change will depend on the results of the Upper House elections scheduled for July. The forum is hosted by a conservative group that has promoted a revision of the top law and this year attracted 1,100 people to its main event, held on Constitution Day, according to the organizers. Among groups supporting the event is Japan Conference, the nation’s largest political group representing conservative, right-wing and nationalist causes. Abe is known to be a strong advocate of constitutional revision, but his push for change has been brought to a deadlock in recent months with opposition parties resisting reforms and Upper House elections looming in the summer. Discussions at the Commission on the Constitution at the House of Representatives have been on hold since the start of the year when the ordinary Diet session opened. A bill to revise the national referendum law was tabled for discussion, but following a data scandal that found statistical inaccuracies in employment figures opposition parties have refused to attend discussions at the commission. Unlike other parliamentary committees, custom dictates that the commission’s discussion on constitutional reforms must be held with consensus among all members about meetings being held, so as to ensure that a majority bloc alone cannot change fundamental political systems purely in their own favor. The situation was further exacerbated when Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda spoke on an internet broadcast aired in mid-April, saying that with talks of constitutional change stalling and a new imperial era on the horizon it may be necessary to “get a bit rough” about pushing discussions forward. He added that lawmakers had been “very patient” with the lack of commitment from opposition representatives. A flurry of criticism followed, and Hagiuda eventually apologized for his remarks. Following that apology, a brief meeting was held — the first this year — ahead of the long Golden Week holiday period. Attendees agreed that a meeting requested by the opposition to discuss television commercials for national referendums would be held after Golden Week. Conservative politicians have claimed that holding commission meetings and discussing constitutional revision will pave the way for a referendum, and that refusing to engage in any discussions at all deprives voters of their right to have a say on the matter. Constitutional revision itself, however, appears low on the agenda for the public. In a survey conducted by the daily Asahi Shimbun in April, with multiple answers allowed, the leading issues respondents said they would use as the basis for their choices during this summer’s elections were employment and the economy, at 66 percent, followed by social security, at 65 percent. Constitutional reform ranked low for importance, with only 22 percent saying that they would consider it when voting. In a separate poll, conducted jointly by Sankei Shimbun and broadcaster FNN in October following Abe’s Cabinet reshuffle, 30 percent of respondents said they hoped the new Cabinet would work on social security issues such as pensions and nursing, and 16 percent said they hoped to see better economic and employment policies implemented. Only 3 percent said the government should be working on constitutional reform.
|
shinzo abe;constitution;self defense forces;article 9;nippon kaigi;japan conference
|
jp0003790
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
|
In utero at time of Hiroshima A-bomb, hibakusha tells U.N. that quest for nuke-free world will outlive him
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NEW YORK - Jiro Hamasumi, who was in his mother’s womb when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, told the United Nations on Wednesday he and other survivors will persist with their efforts to spare future generations the suffering caused by nuclear weapons. “The hibakusha, whose average age has exceeded 80 years old, have endeavored to create a world without nuclear weapons in our lifetime, so that future generations will be free from the fear of having another hell on earth,” he said in a speech. He was speaking at the third and final session of the preparatory committee for the 2020 review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that got underway on Monday and ends May 10. Hibakusha refers to those who were exposed to fallout from the atomic bombs. The first bomb was dropped over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. Nagasaki was hit three days later. As assistant secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, Hamasumi was speaking along with the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as an activist from the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs — Gensuikyo in Japanese — and other members of civil society. Hamasumi recalled growing up looking at the portrait of his father, who died in the initial blast, and the hardships his mother faced while raising seven children by herself. He is among an estimated 7,200 hibakusha exposed in utero through their mothers, he said. Despite living with fears about his health and the welfare of his family, he has committed to pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons. “We believe it is the mission of the hibakusha, as well as that of each and every one of the adults all over the world, to hand down the blue and clear sky free of nuclear weapons and wars to our children,” he said. The discussions are viewed as a critical step in setting the tone for what can be expected to be achieved at the five-year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, lasting roughly a month. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the treaty, which came into effect in 1970. This year’s negotiations are taking place in an environment marred by heightened security challenges. Against this backdrop, the United States and Russia in particular — the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals — are increasingly at odds. The situation was exacerbated in February when U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington was withdrawing from its bilateral nuclear arms control treaty that dates back to 1987. The move was a response to alleged violations carried out by Moscow, stoking fears it may spark a new arms race involving other nations, such as China. “We see disturbing trends, including the recent intention of the U.S. and Russia to terminate the INF Treaty,” said Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who also spoke at the conference. He voiced concerns about a global security system that remains based on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, and nuclear-armed states that keep modernizing their arsenals. Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue raised concerns about the approximately 14,500 nuclear warheads in the world and called on leaders of nuclear-armed states to do more to live up to the promise of reducing their arsenals. “Please work in better faith for nuclear arms reductions in keeping with the promise you have with the world under the special status afforded you in the framework of the NPT,” he said, adding Moscow and Washington have a “responsibility to initiate a dialogue.” After the session, Sueichi Kido, a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing and secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, handed over a petition with 9.4 million signatures calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons to Malaysian Ambassador Syed Mohamad Hasrin Aidid, chair of the session. Called the Hibakusha Appeal, it was last presented in the fall of 2018 by Kido and Hamasumi to an ambassador who chaired a committee tackling disarmament and international security. At that time there were more than 8 million signatures. “Listening to the hibakusha you can somehow feel the pain, but it is not the same, so we hope that the delegates listen to what they have been saying and work towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” Aidid said after meeting hibakusha for the first time.
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nagasaki;hiroshima;u.n .;nuclear weapons;hibakusha;atomic bombings
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jp0003791
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
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Tokyo police investigating drone flights near imperial residences a day after emperor's accession
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Police are looking into a number of witness reports of drones being flown Thursday night near the Imperial Palace and other locations in Tokyo linked to the imperial family, investigative sources said. The Metropolitan Police Department began receiving reports from riot police in central Tokyo after 8 p.m. of drones flying near the Imperial Palace and the Akasaka Estate, currently home to a few members of the imperial family including Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the throne Wednesday, the sources said. Witnesses said the drones flew above the imperial residences through late Thursday and had flashing red and white lights, according to the sources. A drone was also witnessed flying near the Musashino Imperial Graveyard in Hachioji, western Tokyo, where imperial family members — including the great-grandfather and grandfather of Emperor Naruhito — are buried. The law prohibits the operation of drones in central areas of cities, densely built-up areas and around airports. People are also banned from flying them at night anywhere in the country.
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tokyo;drones;imperial family;imperial palace;abdication;hachioji;musashino imperial graveyard;emperor naruhito;akasaka estate
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jp0003792
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/03
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Mount Aso belches smoke over Kyushu in first eruption since mid-April
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KUMAMOTO - A small eruption on Mount Aso shot smoke as high as 1,600 meters over Kyushu on Friday, the Meteorological Agency said. The eruption in Kumamoto Prefecture was the first since the small eruptions on April 16 and April 19. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The latest one occurred at 3:40 p.m. at the No. 1 Nakadake crater, the agency said. The volcanic alert level for Mount Aso remains at 2 on a scale of 1 to 5. This means municipalities have restricted access to areas within 1 km of the crater.
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eruption;kumamoto;mount aso
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jp0003795
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[
"business"
] |
2019/05/04
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Asian Development Bank to spend $5 billion in fight against marine waste
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NADI, FIJI - The Asian Development Bank has announced plans to spend $5 billion, including through syndicated loans, from 2019 to 2024 to help the Asia-Pacific region tackle plastic waste and other forms of marine pollution. The Manila-based ADB also plans to support sustainable tourism and fishery operations in the region, its Japanese president said. “Healthy oceans are essential to our planet and for millions of people in Asia and the Pacific. But our oceans are in danger,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said in his opening address at the bank’s annual meeting in Nadi on Friday. Noting that rising water temperatures, untreated wastewater and plastic pollution are damaging the oceans, Nakao warned, “If we do not act now, by 2050, 90 percent of the region’s coral reefs will be dead, and there will be no commercially exploitable wild fish stocks left.” The $5 billion will cover four areas, including the development of sustainable port infrastructure. The aid will help countries in the region “reduce, reuse and recycle” plastic waste and address other marine pollution problems, the former vice finance minister for international affairs said. The ADB will also provide technical support while working to attract private-sector investment. At the annual meeting, a seminar was held on marine environment protection. Measures to tackle marine waste are expected to be high on the agenda at the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Osaka in June.
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adb;waste;takehiko nakao;plastic;plastic waste
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jp0003796
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[
"business"
] |
2019/05/04
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Japan calls on Asian Development Bank to reduce loans to China
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NADI, FIJI - Finance Minister Taro Aso called on the Asian Development Bank on Saturday to scale back easy money to countries like China that have developed to the point of no longer needing financial aid. “ADB should hold substantive discussions on a concrete path toward graduation while prioritizing its assistance in areas conducive to graduation,” Aso said in a speech at the bank’s annual conference. His remarks were a dig at China, which has continued to receive low-interest loans even as it has grown into the world’s second-largest economy and its income levels have risen. China accounted for 12 percent of ADB’s contracts in 2018, second only to India. Critics have also pointed to China’s large amount of lending to developing economies through its “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative which has saddled some countries with significant debt. In the speech in the Fiji resort city of Nadi, Aso said, “In order to make effective use of its limited resources, ADB should prioritize assistance to low-income and vulnerable countries, including small island states.” The World Bank, whose largest contributor is the United States, is set to cut back its loans to China, while Japan ended its official development assistance to the country in March. In an interview with media outlets last month, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said his bank is not planning to downsize the amount of lending to China, saying that it will focus on environmentally friendly projects and those that will positively impact neighboring countries. He also stressed some merits of loans to China, such as keeping a constructive relationship. Yet the issue is likely to come up again at a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders to be held in the city of Fukuoka in June.
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china;taro aso;adb
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jp0003797
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[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/05/04
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Momo-3 is Japan's first private rocket to reach space
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KUSHIRO, HOKKAIDO - A Japanese aerospace startup successfully launched a small rocket on Saturday, making it the country’s first privately developed model to reach outer space. Interstellar Technology Inc. said the unmanned Momo-3 launched from its test site in Hokkaido and reached about 110 kilometers (68 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean after 10 minutes of flight time. “It was a complete success. We’ll work to achieve stable launches and mass-produce (rockets) in quick cycles,” said company founder Takafumi Horie. Measuring 10 meters in length and 50 centimeters in diameter and weighing 1 ton, it was first due to be launched Tuesday, but that launch was shelved due to a glitch in the fuel system. On Saturday, the first launch attempt at 5 a.m. was called off at the last minute due to the detection of an abnormality. The cause of the problem was identified before the second attempt. According to the company, Momo-3 was launched at 5:45 a.m. and its liquid fuel was burned for about two minutes as planned. About 1,000 people gathered to watch the liftoff. It was the venture company’s third launch attempt after previous tries failed in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the operator lost contact with Momo-1 shortly after launch. In 2018, Momo-2 only made it some 20 meters off the ground before crashing and bursting into flames due to a problem with a control system. Founded in 2013 by Horie, former Livedoor Co. president, Interstellar Technology aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to carry satellites to space.
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space;rockets;takafumi horie;momo-3;interstellar technology
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jp0003798
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[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/04
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SoftBank said to be considering IPO for $100 billion Vision Fund
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A handful of executives at SoftBank Group Corp. are weighing the idea of an initial public offering for its Vision Fund, the $100 billion behemoth that has invested in technology companies ranging from Uber Technologies Inc. to WeWork Cos. The idea is in an early stage, said a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because it was private. If pursued, an IPO would give investors in the fund a way to cash out part or all of their stakes. The fund might consider a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO, the person said. A listing of any sort would be unusual for a venture firm, but the Vision Fund has operated outside of traditional venture parameters since its debut in 2016. It dwarfs other funds in size and invests more broadly than most venture funds, including in mature companies like chipmaker Nvidia Corp. The Vision Fund has explored raising an additional $15 billion to keep funding its ambitious investment activities. SoftBank is planning a second Vision Fund, and is also launching a Latin American fund in the mold of the Vision Fund. A representative for SoftBank declined to comment. Discussions about a potential Vision Fund IPO were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. The Vision Fund’s largest investor is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which came under fire last year when the country’s crown prince was accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. Other investors include Mubadala Investment Co., Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment fund. The Vision Fund owns a 16.3 percent stake in Uber, which is set to list next week on the New York Stock Exchange. It also has a stake in Slack Technologies Inc., which like Uber and WeWork, is planning to go public. SoftBank Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said in an interview last year that he planned to raise $100 billion every two to three years to create Vision Fund successors.
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softbank;investment;ipos;softbank vision fund
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jp0003799
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
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Venezuela's neighbors accuse Nicolas Maduro of protecting 'terrorist groups' in Colombia
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LIMA - The Lima Group regional bloc on Friday accused the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of protecting “terrorist groups” in Colombia, keeping up pressure days after an attempted military uprising failed to dislodge Maduro from power. The bloc, a dozen countries in the Americas that meet regularly to discuss Venezuela, did not provide details on the groups in Colombia that it alleged Maduro was protecting. But it said in its joint statement that it rejected any attempt to assassinate Colombian President Ivan Duque or undermine regional security. Duque said on Twitter on April 27 that explosives set off at a military base had been orchestrated from Venezuela, where he alleged Maduro was protecting Colombian ELN rebels. Maduro’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maduro often accuses the right-wing Duque, the Lima Group and the United States of plotting to overthrow his socialist government. The Lima Group, which includes Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, reiterated on Friday that it opposes military intervention to remove Maduro from power, and encouraged Venezuelans to continue efforts to keep fighting for democracy. “This process must be done peacefully and respecting the constitutional order in Venezuela,” Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio told journalists after meeting with his counterparts in a Lima Group meeting in Peru. The Lima Group backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s push to oust Maduro on Tuesday, which failed to trigger the military defections needed to wrest control of key institutions. The Lima Group said it wants Maduro’s ally Cuba to join efforts to end the political crisis in Venezuela, and called for an urgent meeting with the EU-backed International Contact Group, which has placed more emphasis on dialogue to find a solution.
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venezuela;colombia;nicolas maduro;peru;ivan duque;juan guaido
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jp0003800
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
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U.S. targets Iranian uranium but lets 2015 nuclear deal stay alive
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WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday it would start imposing sanctions over Iranian exports of enriched uranium allowed under a nuclear deal rejected by President Donald Trump, even as it granted waivers to allow the accord to survive. The move comes amid growing Iranian frustration with the nuclear deal, with which U.N. inspectors say Tehran is complying but which has not led to a promised economic boom, with the Trump administration instead imposing sweeping sanctions. Under the 2015 deal, which was negotiated under former President Barack Obama and still enjoys strong support among European powers, Iran was limited to keeping 300 kg of uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent — far below the level needed to build nuclear weapons. As part of the agreement, Iran was to sell any enriched uranium above that threshold on international markets in return for natural uranium, with Russia a key player. But in Friday’s policy change, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would start to impose sanctions on anyone involved in the trade of natural for enriched uranium — as well as in the storage of Iranian heavy water that was in excess of limits. “The Trump administration continues to hold the Iranian regime accountable for activities that threaten the region’s stability and harm the Iranian people. This includes denying Iran any pathway to a nuclear weapon,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. At the same time, the United States issued new three-month waivers to allow the continuation of the major parts of the nuclear deal. In particular, the United States said it will not target the transfer of scrap and spent nuclear fuel out of Iran and will not impose sanctions over work at Bushehr, the country’s only civilian nuclear power station, although it said it may punish any activity that expands the site. The Trump administration pulled out of the nuclear accord a year ago and instead vowed “maximum pressure” aimed at curbing the regional role of Iran, an archrival of U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Israel. Some observers believe the Trump team is trying to goad Iran into breaking the terms of the nuclear deal, thereby causing it to collapse and significantly deepening Tehran’s international isolation.
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u.s .;nuclear weapons;iran;nuclear energy;sanctions
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jp0003801
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
South Sudanese parties agree on six more months to form unity government
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JUBA - South Sudan’s ruling and opposition parties agreed on Friday to give themselves six more months to form a unity government as part of a peace deal they signed in September, the regional group IGAD said in a statement. Also on Friday, President Salva Kiir lifted a state of emergency imposed in 2017 in five northern states of the country, South Sudan Radio reported, in a bid to help foster peace. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into a civil war two years later. After a string of failed agreements, a peace deal was signed last September between the two sides, represented by Kiir and his former deputy turned rival, Riek Machar. As part of the peace deal, the two sides aimed to form a national unity government by May 12. The parties met in neighboring Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday to seek a way forward on the unity government. “The Parties identified lack of political will, financing and time constraints as the major challenges that have delayed implementation of the Pre-Transitional tasks and underscored the need to ensure that specific pending tasks are adequately funded within a clearly set out and reasonable time frame,” IGAD said in a statement. “In light of the above, the Parties unanimously agreed to extend the Pre-Transitional period by an additional six (6) months effective from 12th May 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks,” the intergovernmental group added. While the peace deal has helped to reduce fighting and partly alleviated the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country, a U.N. panel of experts on South Sudan said in a report on Tuesday that the country still faces significant challenges. IGAD, which has been helping to mediate between the two sides, said the new agreement will be presented for consideration at its council of ministers meeting to be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba in South Sudan.
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conflict;south sudan;salva kiir
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jp0003802
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[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Congo's Ebola deaths top 1,000
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KINSHASA - More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a “deeply worrying situation.” The current outbreak is the second-deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016. Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever have been hampered by fighting but also by resistance within communities to preventative measures, care facilities and safe burials. “In total, there have been 1,008 deaths (942 confirmed and 66 probable),” the health ministry said in a daily update late Friday. The central African country declared a 10th outbreak of Ebola in 40 years last August centred in the city of Beni in North Kivu province before the virus spread into the neighboring Ituri region. The World Health Organization had initially voiced hope it would be able to contain the outbreak, thanks in part to a new vaccine. But in recent weeks senior WHO officials have conceded that insecurity, scarce financial resources and local politicians turning people against health workers had seriously undermined the containment effort. “We are dealing with a difficult and volatile situation,” Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. “We are anticipating a scenario of continued, intense transmission,” he added. The long-standing presence of various rebel groups in Ituri and North Kivu has made it difficult for health workers to access those who might have come into contact with Ebola, a figure that currently stands at 12,000 people. But beyond the militias, communities in the aftermath of DRC’s December elections “are being manipulated” against cooperating with Ebola responders, Ryan said. “Communities … need to be assured that all parties are supporting the public health response and that Ebola should not become further politicized in the process,” he added. Ryan said the U.N. health agency currently has enough vaccine stocks to meet its needs but doses may run short. “We don’t necessarily know which way this outbreak is going,” he said. More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak began. Neighboring Rwanda and Uganda have also been vaccinating health workers. Humanitarian groups meanwhile warned Friday of health risks faced by tens of thousands of people uprooted by the resurgence of violence in the east of the country. Among them, some 7,000 displaced people are housed in a primary school where the only water source is a nearby river and there are not enough toilets, 18 non-governmental organizations said in a statement. In such conditions, the “risk of disease spread is high,” they added. “This is a deeply worrying situation. These people fear going back to their homes and are being forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions in an area where Ebola remains a significant threat,” said Tamba Emmanuel Danmbi-saa from Oxfam, one of the groups that signed the document. “These people urgently need food and adequate sanitation facilities as well as clean water and health services.” The groups said violence in the region, with rival rebel groups competing for resources and power, made it very difficult for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it, with some 60,000 people displaced in April alone. Many of them, added the NGOs, find themselves trapped between the Ugandan border to the east, a region in their own country plagued by violence, and another nearby that is riddled with Ebola. “As a result, some displaced people are being left with little choice but to return to the villages they fled, where they are at risk of further attacks. “Others are avoiding official border points and choosing to cross illegally through the forests along the border or by boat across Lake Albert. This also increases the risk of Ebola being spread, since people are not being screened as they would be at the official border crossings.” In the conflict-ridden country as a whole, more than 13 million people need humanitarian aid, the NGOs said. More than 5 million have had to flee their homes, and Uganda is already home to more than 1.2 million refugees.
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disease;congo;ebola
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jp0003803
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Major U.N. biodiversity report to call for 'Paris moment' to protect nature and avoid human misery
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PARIS - Revamping global food production, retooling the financial sector, moving beyond gross domestic product as a measure of progress and other “transformative changes” are needed to save nature and ourselves, a major U.N. biodiversity report will conclude. Delegates from 130 nations were to wrap up weeklong negotiations in Paris on Saturday on the executive summary of a 1,800-page tome authored by 400 scientists, the first U.N. global assessment of the state of nature — and its impact on humanity — in 15 years. The bombshell Summary for Policymakers, to be unveiled on Monday, makes for very grim reading. Up to a million of Earth’s estimated 8 million species face extinction, many of them within decades, according to a draft version. All but 7 percent of major marine fish stocks are in decline or exploited to the limit of sustainability. At the same time, humanity dumps up to 400 million tons of heavy metals, toxic sludge and other waste into oceans and rivers each year. Since 1990, Earth has lost 2.9 million hectares — an area more than eight times the size of Germany or Vietnam — of forests that play a critical role in absorbing record emissions of carbon dioxide. The heavily negotiated text does not make explicit policy recommendations but will serve “as a basis for redefining our objectives” ahead of a key meeting of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in China next fall, said Yunne Jai Shin, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles, France. But the pressure to set clear targets — similar to the cap on global warming in the 2015 climate treaty inked in the French capital — has sparked calls for a “Paris moment” on biodiversity. The report details how humans are undermining Earth’s capacity to produce fresh water, clean air and productive soil, to name a few “ecosystem services.” The direct causes of nature’s degradation — in order of importance — are: shrinking habitat and land-use change; hunting for food or illicit trade in body parts; climate change; pollution; and predatory or disease-carrying alien species such as rats, mosquitoes and snakes. “There are also two big indirect drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change: the number of people in the world and their growing ability to consume,” Robert Watson, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), said ahead of the meeting. The way humanity produces, distributes and consumes food — accounting for a third of land, 75 percent of the use of fresh water and a quarter of the emissions of greenhouse gases — is especially destructive, the report shows. Fertilizer use, which degrades the soil’s ability to grow plants and absorb carbon dioxide, has risen fourfold in just 13 years in Asia and doubled worldwide since 1990. “Feeding the world in a sustainable manner entails the transformation of food systems,” the report notes. Local food production, less demand for meat, fewer chemical inputs, use of renewable power, sustainable limits for fisheries, a sharp decline in tropical deforestation — all are feasible and would help restore nature. The report also spotlights “harmful subsidies” that encourage environmentally damaging fishing, agriculture, livestock raising, forestry and mining. It cites estimates that tax havens finance about 70 percent of vessels implicated in unregulated fishing, and an equal share of the soy and beef sectors that are ravaging the Amazon. The summary for policymakers maps out what Watson calls “several plausible futures,” some inviting, others less so. One, labeled “economic optimism,” sees burgeoning international trade unfettered by regulation. In this scenario, population growth slows but per capita consumption is high, leading to more climate change and pollution. A “reformed markets” variant features more policies aimed at poverty alleviation and protecting the environment, but consumer demand would remain high, although more equally distributed. “Global sustainable development” would see politicians and the public prioritize environmental issues and strict regulations. Policies and education would promote low population growth, sustainable production and a concept of progress based on well-being, not just gross domestic product. In such a scenario, people eat a lot less meat, and energy consumption declines. “All variations of this archetype are beneficial for biodiversity,” the underlying report says. In a kindred world, international institutions would weaken, but regional ones would pick up the slack toward the same ends. Finally, the last two scenarios — “business-as-usual” and “regional competition” — would plunge the planet into a nightmarish, downward spiral of conflict, growing inequality and continuing degradation of nature.
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pollution;nature;animals;u.n .;endangered;biodiversity;climate change
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jp0003804
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Malawi sentences man to death for murder of albino teenager
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BLANTYRE - A man was sentenced to death in Malawi on Friday for killing an albino teenager in a case has become a campaign issue ahead of a national election this month, with the opposition accusing the government of inaction. Belief in witchcraft is widespread in rural Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, fueling ritual killings particularly targeting people with albinism because of the belief that their body parts can increase wealth. In the first such punishment for the abduction and killing of people with albinism, Justice Mclean Kamwambe said he wanted to send a stern warning to would-be offenders. The judge said the killings and abductions of albinos since 2014 has tainted the international image of Malawi and has reduced the country to “a state of terror.” The focus on albino murders has sparked finger-pointing among politicians ahead of the election on May 21, with the main opposition party, the Malawi Congress Party, accusing the government of doing little to stop the killings. The government, which has formed a judicial inquiry into the killings and abductions, says it cannot interfere in work of the police and courts. The government has also offered cash rewards for information about the abductions and killings, which have reached at least 150 since 2014, according to the United Nations. According to the court’s ruling, the convicted 28-year-old confessed to the murder and said he wanted to use the 19-year-old victims’ body parts to become rich on instructions from a witch doctor in neighboring Mozambique. The superstitions, stigmas and maiming and killing of people with albinism is visible across a number of southern and eastern African countries, with cases reported in Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. There is a lucrative market for albino body parts in the region and internationally. One Malawian albino who narrowly escaped death was street musician Lazarus Chigwandali, who was once lured into a car and kidnapped to be killed for his body parts but managed to escape. Chigwandal’s life story is the center of “Lazarus,” a new short documentary playing at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The singer Madonna, who has adopted four children from Malawi, was executive producer. This past week he gained a new fan in Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, playing a private show for the actor and his friends in New York.
|
murder;malawi;supersitition
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jp0003805
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Trump and Putin discuss possible new nuclear accord, White House says
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for more than an hour on Friday, discussing the possibility of a new nuclear accord, North Korean denuclearization, Ukraine and the political situation in Venezuela, the White House said. “Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin of Russia,” Trump said in a post on Twitter, noting they had discussed trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, nuclear arms and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Trump and Putin talked about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear accord between the United States, Russia and China, or an extension of the current U.S.-Russia strategic nuclear treaty. She called it an “overall positive conversation.” The two men, who last chatted informally at a dinner of world leaders in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, briefly talked about the Mueller report, which concluded Trump did not collude with Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign. The Mueller probe discussion was “essentially in the context of that it’s over and there was no collusion, which I’m pretty sure both leaders were very well aware of long before this call took place,” Sanders said. The Kremlin confirmed the two leaders talked and highlighted in its statement that the call was initiated by Washington. It said the two leaders agreed to maintain contacts on different levels and expressed satisfaction with the “businesslike and constructive nature” of the conversation. With the United States concerned about a Russian military presence in Venezuela at a time when Washington wants Venezuelan President Nicolas Madwort to leave power, Trump told Putin “the United States stands with the people of Venezuela” and stressed he wanted to get relief supplies into the country, Sanders said. Putin told Trump that any external interference in Venezuela’s internal business undermines the prospects of a political end to the crisis, the Kremlin said. The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each other’s intentions, arms control advocates say. The New START treaty required the United States and Russia to cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades, and limit delivery systems — land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers. It also includes extensive transparency measures requiring each side to allow the other to carry out 10 inspections of strategic nuclear bases each year; give 48 hours notice before new missiles covered by the treaty leave their factories; and provide notifications before ballistic missile launches. Trump has called the New START treaty a “bad deal” and “one-sided.” “They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well,” Sanders said. The Kremlin said the two sides confirmed they intended to “activate dialogue in various spheres, including strategic security.” Sanders also said the two leaders discussed Ukraine. Trump canceled a summit meeting with Putin late last year after Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships on Nov. 25 and arrested 24 sailors. Putin also told Trump that the new leadership in Ukraine should take steps to solve the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said. Trump also raised with Putin the issue of getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump has met twice with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has yet to agree to a disarmament deal. Sanders said Trump mentioned several times “the need and importance of Russia stepping up and continuing to put pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.” The Kremlin said both leaders highlighted the need to pursue denuclearization of the region. During an April summit with Kim in Vladivostok, Putin expressed Russian support for a gradual process of trading disarmament for sanctions relief.
|
north korea;vladimir putin;nuclear weapons;ukraine;donald trump;2016 u.s. presidential election;new start;russia probe
|
jp0003806
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Congress gives U.S. attorney general deadline to release full Mueller report
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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and a senior U.S. House Democrat tightened the screws on U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Friday over the Mueller report, making new demands on him after an already tough week for the Justice Department chief. Trump said it will be up to Barr to decide whether special counsel Robert Mueller, author of the report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which wants to hear from him. Earlier in the day, House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a new deadline of Monday at 9 a.m. for Barr to comply with a subpoena seeking an unredacted version of the report before moving to hold Barr in contempt of Congress. The two developments ensured that Barr, Mueller and his report will remain in sharp focus in the coming week in Washington, where Congress and Trump are on a collision course over investigations being led by Nadler and other committee leaders. At the White House, speaking to reporters, Trump was asked whether he would let Mueller testify to the Senate panel. The president responded, “That’s up to our attorney general.” Barr, who was appointed by Trump, testified on Wednesday for four hours to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He took heavy criticism for it from congressional Democrats, who have accused Barr of misrepresenting the findings of Mueller’s much-anticipated two-year investigation. The same committee now wants to talk to Mueller. His 448-page report unearthed many links between Russians and Trump’s campaign, but concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Moscow. It also described attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller’s probe, but did not say whether Trump had committed a crime. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a Republican, wrote to Mueller to ask whether he wanted to appear before his panel to discuss any misstatements Barr may have made about the special counsel’s investigation. The special counsel’s office would not comment on Graham’s invitation. In a letter to Barr, House Judiciary Chairman Nadler set the Monday deadline for Barr to comply with the subpoena demanding the unredacted report, as well as underlying evidence from the Mueller probe. He also offered to negotiate further to gain the Justice Department’s cooperation, but made clear what would be at stake if Barr refused. “If the department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse,” the New York Democrat wrote. The Justice Department declined to comment. Barr on April 18 released a redacted version of the Mueller report. Nadler subpoenaed the entire document a day later. If Barr does not comply, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to move forward on Monday with a contempt citation that could ultimately lead to a civil court case against Barr, followed by fines and even imprisonment for failure to comply. Also on Friday, Trump said he will decide in coming days whether he will let former White House lawyer Don McGahn testify to Congress. Mueller’s report said McGahn told investigators that Trump contacted him in an attempt to get Mueller fired.
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u.s .;congress;robert mueller;donald trump;2016 u.s. presidential election;russia probe;william barr
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jp0003808
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
|
U.S. OKs nearly $6 billion in weapons sales to Persian Gulf allies
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WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $6 billion worth of weapons sales to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in three separate packages, the Pentagon said on Friday after notifying Congress of the certification. The United States depends on allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian influence. In April, the U.S. moved ahead with part of a THAAD missile defense system sale to the kingdom. In one of the notifications sent to Congress on Friday, Bahrain could potentially buy various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment for an estimated cost of $2.48 billion. That potential Bahraini deal included 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles known as GEM-T, an upgrade that can shoot down aircraft and cruise missiles. In a separate State Department notification sent to Congress, Bahrain was also given the nod for various weapons to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. That package included 32 AIM-9X missiles, 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles and 100 GBU-39s which are 250-pound small diameter bombs and other munitions. In a third State Department notification, the United Arab Emirates was given potential approval for $2.73 billion worth of Patriot missiles and related equipment including 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale. The notification process alerts Congress that a sale to a foreign country has been approved, but it does not indicate that a contract has been signed or negotiations have concluded. The principal contractors for the sales were Raytheon Co. and Lockheed Martin Co.
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u.s .;saudi arabia;military;iran;bahrain
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jp0003809
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/04
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Boeing 737 slides into Florida river with 136 on board; no fatalities
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - A Boeing 737 commercial jet with 136 people on board slid into the St. John’s River near Jacksonville, Florida after landing on Friday, a spokesman for Naval Air Station Jacksonville said. There were no reports of fatalities. The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9:40 p.m., the air station said. The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was “alive and accounted for” but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water. “The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter. The sheriff’s tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane bearing the logo of Miami Air International resting in shallow water and fully intact. Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening. A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.
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u.s .;accidents;boeing;aviation;florida;air accidents
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jp0003810
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/04
|
King Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned Rama X of Thailand
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BANGKOK - King Maha Vajiralongkorn — Rama X of Thailand — was crowned Saturday in a dazzling show of pageantry, laced with Hindu and Buddhist ritual, vowing to reign “with righteousness” on behalf of the Thai people. Starting at the auspicious time of 10:09 a.m., the public was granted a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation began. King Vajiralongkorn is the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782. He ascended to the throne over two years ago following his the death of his beloved father but waited until after a long mourning period before setting his coronation date. Saturday’s somber ceremony opened with the white-gowned king — the folds of his robe leaving one shoulder bared — receiving sacred water from across Thailand and dabbing it gently across his face at a shrine inside the Grand Palace complex. A cannon salute marked the moment as pipes played and Buddhist monks chanted. Several gray-haired Hindu Brahmins were also in attendance at the syncretic ceremony, which symbolizes Rama X’s transformation from a human to divine figure. He later took his seat under the umbrella of state and was handed the great crown of victory, a tiered gold 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) headpiece topped by a diamond from India. Uttering his first, brief royal command, he vowed to reign “with righteousness” for the benefit of the Thai people. His fourth wife, Suthida — married in a surprise ceremony days before the coronation — was invested as queen, kneeling in respect in front of her husband, who sat on a throne. For most Thais, it is the first time they have witnessed the pomp and grandeur of a coronation — the last was in 1950 for the king’s beloved father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom until his death in October 2016. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects. Fiercely private and four times married, he has inherited one of the world’s richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged by political crisis. Thailand has been run by an archroyalist junta since 2014. Rama X is widely seen as an adroit player of Thailand’s treacherous politics, intervening several times — including in the March 24 election — during his short reign. Those elections have yet to yield a new government, with the kingdom split between pro and anti-junta blocs — the latter crying foul over the vote count so far. Full results are due to be announced in the coming week, with the ruling junta tipped to return as the civilian government. “The coronation distracts from the popular indignation regarding election irregularities,” said Thai politics expert Paul Chambers of Naresuan University. The Thai monarchy takes primacy in the country’s power pyramid but is buttressed by the army. Junta leaders past and present were prominent in Saturday’s ceremonies. The king arrived at the Grand Palace in a cream Rolls-Royce, his hand raised in a wave but his face characteristically inscrutable. On Friday, the king warmly greeted family members, a rare glimpse of royal family intimacy broadcast on Thai television, including his elder sister Ubolratana. She stunned Thailand in February when her name was forwarded as a candidate for premier by an anti-junta party — a move swiftly shot down by her brother in a rare royal command. Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible. Thailand’s normally hyperactive social media were subdued in the days leading up to the coronation. Born on July 28, 1952, the British-schooled Vajiralongkorn is known for his love of cycling and piloting jets, but he spends much of his time overseas — mainly in Germany — and remains something of a mystery to many Thais.
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history;thailand;royalty;tradition;king maha vajiralongkorn
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jp0003811
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/04
|
North Korea fires several rounds of short-range 'projectiles' into Sea of Japan, South Korea says
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North Korea fired several rounds of unidentified short-range “projectiles” into the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The North “fired multiple rounds of unidentified projectiles from its east coast town of Wonsan in the northeastern direction between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. today,” the JCS said in a release. They flew for a range of about 70 kilometers to 200 kilometers, the JCS said. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the projectiles did not reach anywhere near the country’s coast and that Japan is not facing any security threat. The ministry said it has not detected signs that any of the projectiles fired Saturday reached in or around the country’s territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone. Japan is seen as likely to avoiding any harsh response as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to secure a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The JCS had initially referred to the weapons as being missiles. The change suggested the firings could have involved multiple rocket launches, not missiles. “What the North fired this time is not a ballistic missile,” the South’s Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified official with the country’s military as saying. The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan also spoke separately with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the telephone, with Washington agreeing to “prudently” handle the North Korean launch, the South’s Foreign Ministry said. “Regarding today’s launch, the two sides agreed to prudently deal with it and continue to communicate while continuing additional analysis (of the launch),” the ministry said in a statement. The Pentagon was also looking into the apparent launch, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman said. If the launch was of missiles, it would be the first by the nuclear-armed country since November 2017. The move was likely to raise tensions as denuclearization talks with the United States remain deadlocked. It comes just days after North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, a key figure in nuclear negotiations with the United States, warned of an “undesired consequence” for the U.S. if Washington does not adjust its policy on North Korea’s denuclearization by an end-of-the-year deadline Kim has set. In mid-April, the North Korean leader also oversaw a test of what the country called a new type of “guided tactical weapon.” That and Saturday’s launches appeared to signal that Kim was working to escalate tensions in an attempt to gain leverage with Washington. The nuclear talks have stalled since the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in February with no deal on the North’s denuclearization. While Choe did not elaborate as to what that consequence might mean, it could suggest a resumption of nuclear or missile tests by the North. Choe said in March that the country was rethinking whether to continue talks with the U.S., adding that Kim would decide soon whether to stay on the track of dialogue and maintain its informal nuclear and missile moratorium. Around the end of 2017, North Korea informally adopted a freeze on missile flight tests, and in April last year, it declared a “suspension” of nuclear and long-range missile tests. At a meeting of the North’s rubber-stamp parliament in April, Kim said he is willing to meet with Trump for a third time for nuclear talks — if Washington comes to the table with the “correct posture” — but laid down a year-end deadline “for a bold decision from the U.S.”
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north korea;kim jong un;missiles;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump
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jp0003812
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Background on the royal instruments for Thai king's coronation
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BANGKOK - During Thailand’s main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday, the monarch was presented with five royal regalia marking the legitimacy of his reign. Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known. The items were first made for the coronation of King Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I) and are heavily infused with Hindu-Brahman beliefs. Here are the five royal instruments that played a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) the 10th divine monarch of Thailand’s Chakri dynasty. The great crown of victory : The crown is the most important article among all the royal regalia. Adorned with diamonds set in gold enamel, the crown is 66 cm (26 inches) tall and weighs 7.3 kg (16 pounds). At the tip of the cone-shaped crown is a large diamond from Kolkata called Phra Maha Wichian Mani. During coronation ceremonies of the early reigns, kings Rama I to III would only place the crown next to them upon receiving it. But later, when Siam had more contact with European countries, King Rama IV started the practice of placing the crown upon his head, to be more in line with the Western idea of kingship. The high-reaching crown symbolizes the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra’s heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch’s royal burden. The sword of victory : The sword is believed to be an ancient sword of the Khmer Empire, which was lost at the bottom of a lake in Siem Reap until it was caught in a fisherman’s net and later presented to King Rama I. The king then ordered the sword’s hilt and sheath to be ornamented in gold enamel and precious gems, becoming the sword Phra Saeng Khan Chai Sri as we now know it. The length of the sword is 89.8 cm (35 inches), including the 64.5-cm (25-inch) blade. It weighs 1.9 kg (4.2 pounds) when enclosed with the sheath. It represents the king’s ability to protect his nation. The royal scepter : The 118-cm (3.8-foot) staff, called Than Phra Kon, is made of Javanese cassia wood enameled in gold. The finial is shaped like a trident gilded with gold, and its iron hilt is also inlaid with gold. The staff symbolizes the righteousness of the king. The royal fan and fly whisk : The Walawichani was originally only a fan made of a palm leaf, with gold-trimmed rim and gold-enameled rod. However, King Rama IV said Walawichani, in the Pali language, refers more to a whisk-like item, made from the hair of a yak, an animal found in the Himalayas. The king, therefore, ordered the whisk to be made and included it in the royal regalia along with the original palm-leaf fan. The fan and whisk signify the king’s duty to chase away his people’s troubles. The royal slippers : The curve-tipped slippers, called Chalong Phrabat Choeng Ngon, are made of colorful enameled gold and inlaid with diamonds. During the coronation ceremony, the chief Brahmin, who presents the king with the five royal regalia, put the slippers on the king’s feet. The royal slippers represent the ground of Mount Meru, the abode of the god Indra.
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history;thailand;royalty;tradition;king maha vajiralongkorn
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jp0003813
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/04
|
North Korea faces food crisis due to drought, heat, floods and bad policy: U.N.
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GENEVA - Four in 10 North Koreans are chronically short of food, and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday. Official rations are down to 300 grams (under 11 ounces) per person per day, the lowest ever for this time of year, the U.N. said following a food security assessment it carried out at Pyongyang’s request from March 29 to April 12. Many families eat very little protein, surviving on a diet of rice and kimchi cabbage most of the year. “This is worrying because many communities are already extremely vulnerable, and any further cuts to already minimal food rations could push them deep into a hunger crisis,” said Nicolas Bidault, who co-led the mission. It found that 10.1 million people were suffering from severe food insecurity, “meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest,” U.N. World Food Programme spokesman Herve Verhoosel said. North Korea’s population is around 25.2 million, according to its Central Bureau of Statistics, the report said. Verhoosel said the word “famine” was not being used in the current crisis, but it might come to that in a few months or years. “The situation is very serious today — that’s a fact.” The country suffered a famine in the mid-1990s that is believed to have killed as many as 3 million people. For its assessment the WFP, one of only a few aid agencies with access to the country, gained widespread entry to farms, households, nurseries and food distribution centers. Verhoosel blamed a combination of dry spells, heat waves and flooding for the new crisis, which the U.S. State Department said was the government’s fault. “The DPRK regime continues to exploit, starve and neglect its own people in order to advance its unlawful nuclear and weapons program,” a department spokeswoman said, adding that it could meet its people’s needs if it redirected state funds. After a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump failed to produce a deal to end the program in return for sanctions relief, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set a year-end deadline for Washington to show more flexibility. North Korea has for years relied on regular supplies of U.N. food aid. Its agricultural output of 4.9 million tons was the lowest since 2008-2009, leading to a food deficit of 1.36 million tons in the 2018-2019 marketing year, the WPF report said. Prospects for the 2019 early-season crops of wheat and barley are worrisome. “The effects of repeated climate shocks are compounded by shortages of fuel, fertiliser and spare parts crucial for farming,” Verhoosel said. The WFP plans to make another assessment during July and August.
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north korea;food;agriculture;u.n .;north korea nuclear crisis;hunger
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jp0003814
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[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Cyclone Fani targets Kolkata on coastal rampage
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KOLKATA - Cyclone Fani headed for the major Indian city of Kolkata on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction along the country’s east coast. Fani, one of the most powerful storms to come out of the Bay of Bengal in the past decade, has reportedly killed at least eight people in India and one person in Bangladesh — some hit by flying trees and lumps of concrete carried by ferocious winds. While weakening, the storm — which had packed winds of 200 kilometers (125 miles) an hour — lashed torrential rain onto Kolkata, and its normally packed streets were empty ahead of the arrival of Fani, which means ‘snake’ in the Bengali language. The international airport in the city of 5 million people was ordered closed. Train services were also halted. The storm moved north into West Bengal state from neighboring Odisha, where more than 1 million people were moved away from coastal areas. Eight people were killed in Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, including a teenage boy crushed under a tree and a woman hit by concrete debris. Authorities in Bangladesh, next in Fani’s path, said a woman was killed by a tree, and that 14 villages were inundated as a tidal surge breached flood dams even before the storm arrived. Some 400,000 people have been taken to shelters, officials told AFP. While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster management official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 people injured in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Puri alone. The storm made landfall just south of Puri and immediately tore up trees and flimsy thatched roof homes. “It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five meters in front of us,” said one Puri resident. “There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air,” the man told AFP. “The wind is deafening.” PTI reported that a construction crane collapsed and that a police booth was dragged 60 meters by the wind. As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to remove fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services. Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and windows on many buildings were smashed. Puri’s famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped damage. Gouranga Malick, 48, was solemnly picking up bricks after the small two-room house he shared with his six-strong family collapsed, its roof blown away. “I have never witnessed this type of devastation in my lifetime,” he told AFP. “Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed,” Odisha’s chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. In Kolkata, many businesses took precautions ahead of the storm’s arrival. Shopping malls shut and hawkers moved their stalls off the roads. Only a few vehicles packed with people heading home plied the roads. Subrata Das, manager of the AXIS Mall, said: “We have seen how the cyclone ravaged some buildings in Bhubaneswar. We don’t want to take any risk. We are trying to survive the cyclone.” “If we don’t take our things, we fear the cyclone will raze everything,” said Murad Hussain, 45, who runs a stall. “We are monitoring the situation 24/7 and doing all it takes. … Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days,” West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, tweeted. The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) and Nepali authorities cautioning helicopters against flying. Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hundreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs. “We are mooring our boat because it’s the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again,” Akbar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.
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india;weather;storms;typhoons;kolkata;cyclone fani
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jp0003815
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Rising political star Shinjiro Koizumi calls for closer Japan-U.S. alliance and vows domestic reforms
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WASHINGTON - Rising political star Shinjiro Koizumi on Friday called for a deepening of the alliance between Tokyo and Washington while expressing his commitment to reforms that will help Japan cope with its rapidly aging population. “I am absolutely convinced that Japan will remain a reliable partner for the United States and for the world,” Koizumi, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in a speech in Washington. With the rise of China leading to a shift in the regional balance, Koizumi said there will be room for further collaboration between Japan and other democratic countries in the Indo-Pacific, such as the United States, India and Indonesia. “Japan should engage more with the world and play a more significant role on the international stage,” he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. “Shifting geopolitical dynamics now more so than ever put Japan and the United States in the same boat, both politically and economically.” A son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the 38-year-old is seen as a potential future prime minister. The younger Koizumi studied at Columbia University and served as a fellow at the CSIS. Despite the nation’s declining population, the Japanese market “has been expanding significantly in recent years,” Koizumi said, citing the enforcement of a revised 11-member Pacific trade pact and a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union. He also voiced confidence that Japan will further increase exports of agricultural products, given a rising demand for healthy Japanese farm produce abroad. Koizumi said Japan is “at the edge of a new frontier” with its shrinking population and high life expectancy, and he pledged to help the country thrive in the future by advancing social security and employment reforms. “New frontier” was a term used by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. “Just like President Kennedy, I am also determined to do everything I can to inspire the Japanese people to undertake all reforms necessary for our survival,” Koizumi said. “The guiding principle for Japan’s future should be its engagement with the world and its reinvention,” he said.
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ldp;shinjiro koizumi;u.s.-japan relations
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jp0003816
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/04
|
New group of South Korean lawmakers plans fence-mending visit to Japan; Nam Gwan-pyo named new ambassador
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SEOUL - Moon Hee-sang, speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly, has set up a group of lawmakers to beef up interchanges with Japanese politicians, the office of the assembly’s press secretary announced on Friday. Suh Chung-won, an independent who formerly headed an association of National Assembly members that promotes relations with Japan, was named head of the new group. Korean politicians including Suh and Kang Chang-il, the association’s current head, will visit Japan this month. They will hold talks with senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to seek ways to stop the deterioration in bilateral relations, according to sources close to them. Earlier this year, Moon called on the emperor to apologize to former South Korean “comfort women,” a euphemism for women who provided sex — including those who did so against their will — for Japanese troops before and during World War II. The Japanese government has been urging Moon to withdraw the remark and apologize. Under the circumstances, Moon will not visit Japan this time, according to the sources. In the meantime, Nam Gwan-pyo, former second deputy chief of the National Security Office at the South Korean presidential office, was formally named ambassador to Japan on Friday. The relationship between the two Asian neighbors has also been souring in the wake of a series of court rulings, including by the South Korean Supreme Court, ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation to Koreans who were requisitioned to work for them during the war.
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comfort women;south korea-japan relations;moon hee-sang;nam gwan pyo
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jp0003818
|
[
"national",
"media-national"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Japan's gang members are running out of places to hide
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Membership in organized crime syndicates has been decreasing about 10 percent each year since 2011, according to National Police Agency statistics. The reasons for the decline in membership are complex but we should give credit to the police for using every means at their disposal to put them behind bars or force them to go straight. Law enforcement officials are finally utilizing legislation that has existed for years without really being applied effectively. Gangsters that remain in syndicates have no place left to hide, with many being picked up for either trying to hide their identity or conceal evidence. According to the Osaka Police Department, several Yamaguchi-gumi gangsters attacked a rival gang member in the street on Feb. 7. Interestingly, security cameras at the entrance of the syndicate caught the assault on tape. Police officers arrested five gang members on assault charges in April 2018, asking the syndicate to voluntarily hand over the tapes for review. The syndicate refused to comply with the request. After obtaining a search warrant, police officers then raided the syndicate’s offices and seized the tapes. The period of time when the assault had taken place had been erased. In November, the police then arrested 11 members of the gang for willfully destroying evidence, which constitutes a violation of the organized crime control laws. A veteran organized crime case officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said prosecuting gangsters for destruction of evidence was a new tactic in the war against organized crime. “There was a time when violence between gangs was overlooked,” the officer says. “Over time, however, we’ve realized that such crimes can spill over and hurt ordinary people. But by prosecuting gang members for destroying evidence, we’re also adding pressure on gangsters to confess to their crimes — like they used to in the old days.” The organized crime ordinances that went into effect nationwide on Oct. 1, 2011, not only criminalized paying off syndicates but also prompted banks, real estate agencies and other firms to revise their contracts and exclude syndicates as clients. Such clauses appear on forms like gym membership applications, where potential members are asked to check a box confirming they’re not part of a gang. If a gang member is later found to have checked this box, they can be arrested for fraud — and often are. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, 59 of 120 banks nationwide had used exclusionary regulations to cancel contracts with gang members as of Sept. 4 last year. More than 1,300 bank accounts have been closed as a result. Some gang members argued the regulations are a violation of their human rights but courts in Japan disagree. In a case contesting the unilateral closing of yakuza accounts, the Fukuoka High Court ruled that “exclusionary clauses governing organized crime are necessary to restrict the economic activities of gangs and limit their acquisition of funds.” Moreover, the court ruled, “they exist to protect the peace and safety of society” and were, therefore, perfectly legal. Gang members now find themselves in a bind. If they attempt to hide their identity or conceal evidence, they are arrested. If they reveal their identity, they can’t open a bank account, rent a car or stay at a hotel. Gang members can also be arrested if they hide their income. In July 2018, the leader of the Kitakyushu-based Kudo-kai gang was found guilty of failing to pay taxes worth an estimated $3 million. He was sentenced to three years in jail and fined ¥80 million. The court ruled that the revenue the group had been collecting from construction companies as “hospitality payments” was effectively criminal income and that the portion subsequently paid to the syndicate boss was the equivalent of personal income. That does leave gang members with the option of openly declaring their income, but such a move might also incriminate them at the same time. Of course, some question whether the police aren’t taking things a little too far. In January, Tokai Television reported that a 60-year-old gang member was arrested for working at a post office and hiding his affiliation. He had signed a form declaring that he was not a member of any crime syndicate. After four days of work, he confessed to being a gangster and resigned. Yet, he was still arrested. According to a report in the Kobe Shimbun newspaper on Sept. 24, police helped 4,810 people leave crime syndicates between 2010 and 2017. Only 2.6 percent of these former gang members were able to subsequently find a job. Many former gang members go from being thugs with a modicum of ethics — don’t rob, steal, swindle, sell drugs, etc. — to being common criminals without much muscle very quickly. Crime syndicates are, for the most part, parasites that prey on weaker members of society and profit from labor exploitation and shady deals. It’s good to see the authorities finally cracking down on the syndicates but if gang members are being driven out of hiding, then we need to find a place for them to be rehabilitated.
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yakuza;organized crime;gangs
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jp0003819
|
[
"national",
"media-national"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Social media fails to follow traditional news outlets' stricter approach to portrait rights in Japan
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A man in Chiba Prefecture became irritated last month at how long it was taking for a barrier at a rail crossing to open. Losing patience, he fetched a hand saw from his van and removed the barrier arm so that he could drive through. Unfortunately, another person recorded the incident on their phone and posted it on Twitter . The user apologized for capturing a few passing cars’ license plates, but believed it was important to capture the man’s behavior. The post went viral , attracting tons of attention online before ultimately being picked up by television networks. When excerpts from the video were broadcast on TV, news programs blurred the man’s face. This is common practice for mass media in Japan, but this was only one of several recent incidents underlining how social media has changed such perception of privacy. Sites such as Twitter and YouTube are far more likely to encroach into someone’s space, whether the purpose is to shame someone for acting badly … or simply score some laughs. Part of the appeal of the internet early on in Japan was the sense of anonymity granted to users. This allowed sites such as 2channel or Mixi to become hubs of online activity. Even today, Twitter in Japan stands apart from other platforms because of this, with its privacy policy even specifying that pseudonyms are acceptable. This anonymity has emboldened users to attack others, with no hesitation about hiding their identity. One of the most popular genres of video online is the DQN video, a slang term referring to people acting in a stupid or obnoxious fashion. Compilations on YouTube capture such behavior in convenience stores and on the streets . This has extended to all corners of the internet, where some use the Net as a way to shame anyone doing something they shouldn’t be doing . A recent example of this occurred in Nagoya, where a man delayed a train by refusing to let its doors close . A video of the incident was shared online and was ultimately picked up by TV networks, which also blurred the faces of the people that appeared in the frame. This is because the networks are playing it safe. Media law in Japan gives people the right to be left alone, while portrait rights allow individuals to avoid being photographed. Such legislation has been around for decades as a way to protect identities, although the application of such laws gets blurry pretty fast . In short, if you film in public and you publish the results online, a person in the footage can in theory file a complaint if their identity is clear. Such practice also applies to social media, as a person can file similar complaints to YouTube or Twitter. In general, traditional media abides by these standards to avoid lawsuits. They are bigger targets with large financial reserves, after all. Individual online users generally don’t have to worry about this too much, although it is possible to find yourself in hot water for uploading such posts. It isn’t all about documenting jerks and teens messing with food . The Twitter account Shibuya Meltdown shares photos and videos of people sleeping in the entertainment district, along with images of other chaotic behavior. “Yeah, for some reason it’s the funniest thing in the world,” account founder Thom O’Brien told Vice in 2016 . Is it ethical? In the Vice interview, O’Brien wrestles with this question, but justifies it by saying being in public makes them fair game (while also avoiding ethical pits such as photographing homeless individuals). Shibuya Meltdown is ultimately a DQN account without the shaming ( down to highlighting recent incidents ), and has proven popular both at home and abroad. It helps that O’Brien says he doesn’t profit from the site or try to sway public opinion — compare this to a like-minded Polish photographer’s series , which was published in a book and tried to take a broader look at life in Japan. People weren’t so happy . However, trepidation still exists. Sometimes, Japanese netizens post images on #shibuyameltdown but go so far as to blur out faces . Maybe the best way to look at privacy on social media in Japan is to treat each user like its own TV station, and it is up to them to decide whether or not to play it safe and blur the faces. Hopefully, they will be able to save a few barrier poles at rail crossings in the process.
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social media;japan pulse;portrait rights
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jp0003820
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[
"national",
"media-national"
] |
2019/05/04
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Talking trash: The sport of collecting as much waste as possible
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Thanks to Netflix, many are familiar with Japanese clutter-buster Marie Kondo and her soothing remedies for the melancholy brought on by conspicuous consumption. Kondo is already a superstar in Japan, where closet sizes barely keep up with snowballing affluence, but she wasn’t the first in her field, nor necessarily the most influential. She reportedly now lives in Southern California but occasionally comes back to Japan to oversee her publishing and mentoring empire. A few weeks ago, NHK took advantage of KonMari mania with a show about the ecstasy of organizing , but mainly had to settle for her local acolytes. As is often the case, NHK is behind the curve because domestic media organizations have already moved on to the next stage in personal space care, which is what to do with all the junk produced when you rid your life of things that no longer spark joy. Supposedly, the KonMari boom in America has done wonderful things for second-hand book and clothing stores, but less great things for the environment . Given Japan’s limited space, refuse is a more compelling concern here, and I’m not just talking about gomi-yashiki (garbage houses), where trash accumulation is so severe that residents can barely move around. The issue there is mostly one of temperament, which is why TV shows about hoarding seem to be universal. However, excess trash is firstly a matter of excess consumption, a slippery slope for the authorities, who want people to buy things in order to keep the economy running. So the real challenge is taking charge of one’s garbage. This challenge has been met with a sub-genre of recreational activity and entertainment that finds enjoyment in the management of trash. In January, the Asahi Shimbun ran a story about something called supo-gomi taikai , a “sport” where teams compete to collect as much litter as possible. The article focused on one such meet held in Wakayama Prefecture in December. Around 70 participants ranging in age from 6 to 78 were divided into teams of between three and five persons. Everyone started at the same point in a public park, and when signaled to begin they started collecting trash within a 1-kilometer radius of that point. When a player found a piece of trash they called out their discovery, which was not limited by size. In fact, smaller items are often valued more because points are rewarded not just for the weight of the garbage collected, but the type as well, the idea being that certain items, such as cigarette butts, have a higher priority. So just because a team ends up with the most volume of trash at the end of the allotted time, it doesn’t mean they will win. The man who came up with the sport, Kenichi Mamitsuka, told the Asahi Shimbun that whenever he went out for his daily run he would often pick up litter and, in order to make the activity more fun, he tried to collect as much trash as possible without extending his exercise time. He then realized that such a challenge might be appealing to young people, who usually don’t pick up trash. He set up an organization to promote litter collection as a sport , and so far has overseen 639 events nationwide and abroad comprising about 76,000 participants. One research institute reported that the sport has demonstrably improved environmental awareness among children who take part. They can directly see the benefits of such activities, even more so than turning out the lights to save electricity. The entertainment sector wasn’t going to ignore such a phenomenon. TV Tokyo, which never met a theme it couldn’t exploit on the cheap, aired a special program in March featuring boy band Da Pump in competition with a civic volunteer group in a bid to clean up a section of Tokyo Bay near Yokohama. The competition was a convenient excuse. The real purpose was to reveal the kinds of things people throw away so irresponsibly and, if that purpose was to shock, the show was successful. A team of scuba divers dredged up appliances, cellphones, a bullet casing and a bus-stop pole. When they found a woman’s wallet complete with credit cards and a driver’s license, they brought it to the police, assuming it had been stolen and tossed in the sea after the cash was removed. However, those finds were almost trivial compared to the amount of common garbage they collected, the bulk of which was made up of PET bottles and other plastics, thus leading to a mini-report on the scourge of illegal dumping, which amounts to 16 million tons nationwide every year. Part of the problem, according to TV Tokyo, is that legal landfill sites charge money and have strict rules. The program’s guests managed to track down one illegal dumper in Mie Prefecture and show him how to dispose of his garbage properly. There is one comedian, in fact, who has managed to boost his brand by moonlighting as a refuse collector. In his book “Kono Gomi wa Shushu Dekimasen” (“ We Can’t Collect This Garbage ”), Shuichi Takizawa says that when he became a father he realized his work with the comedy duo Machine Guns didn’t pay enough, so he got a job as a garbage man with his local government. While working he often tweeted about how much fun he was having, and other show business personalities would retweet his comments. He was more famous as a sanitation engineer than he was as a comedian. However, the most successful example of turning refuse into entertainment is probably the YouTube channel for Katazuke Tonton, a cleaning service out of Aichi Prefecture that make videos of their jobs tidying up gomi-yashiki that are as sophisticated as any you will find on commercial TV. The channel’s videos are in fact much more edifying in that these workers are not only total professionals but more attuned to the psychology of hoarding than Marie Kondo is, since they actively do the work of decluttering people’s lives. When you’re this intimate with someone’s garbage, you can see into their soul.
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waste;trash
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jp0003821
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[
"national",
"history"
] |
2019/05/04
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Japan Times 1944: Potatoes to be grown on Diet Building lawn
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100 YEARS AGO Saturday, May 24 1919 Mad dog bites seven children in Tokyo A dog kept by Tomoki Hayashi, of Dobocho, Kanda ward, suddenly went mad and bit seven children on the street yesterday morning. The dog was killed by police at once. The master was also bitten by the dog. 75 YEARS AGO Thursday, May 4, 1944 Potatoes to be grown on Diet Building lawn THE JAPAN TIMES Neat squares of Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn will dot the spacious lawn of the Diet Building grounds in a movement not to leave any cultivable land idle. The work on the first plot in the Diet grounds was tackled by 45 attendants of the Diet Building on Wednesday. Another plot of 100 tsubo will be dug up and planted by the end of May. The first crop of early potatoes, expected in June and other products of the garden will be offered for use of the restaurant in the Diet Building and served first of all to Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo. The amateur farmers are looking forward eagerly to the time when the Prime Minister will taste the results of their efforts in gardening. Idle grounds in the three famous parks of Japan, the Kanazawa Kenroku-en, Okayama Koraku-en and the Mito Kairaku-en will also be tilled by the neighborhood and school children groups. Thus the parks will become not mere spots of pleasure but a real unit of “fighting Japan.” 50 YEARS AGO Sunday, May 18, 1969 Graduate files lawsuit over job offer loss THE JAPAN TIMES A 22-year-old university graduate Saturday filed with the Otsu District Court a suit against Dai Nippon Printing Co. of Tokyo demanding ¥2 million in solatium for the firm’s unexplained cancellation of a tentative decision to hire him. This is the first time a person has filed a suit over the cancellation of an informal decision to employ him by his prospective employer. The outcome of the suit will have far-reaching significance as not a small number of graduates or prospective graduates this year have had their tentative employment cancelled on the ground that they had engaged in militant political activities. The plaintiff in the suit is Munetada Takemoto, 22, who graduated from the faculty of economics of Shiga University last March. He took an employment exam for Dai Nippon, the nation’s leading printing company, on July 2 last year, and was notified by the company on July 12 that the company had tentatively decided to employ him. It is customary for Japanese business organizations to notify prospective employees of their tentative decision to employ them immediately after approving their employment, and then to officially employ them at a later date, typically in April. The plaintiff argued that his receipt of the tentative employment notice constituted the conclusion of a labor contract with the company. The printing company, the plaintiff said, notified him on Feb. 12 that it had cancelled his employment, without showing any reason for the cancellation. The unilateral action caused him to lose a chance to apply for positions in other leading organizations, he argued, Dai Nippon Printing Co. should pay him the April salary of ¥29,500 paid to other newly employed personnel and ¥2 million in solatium, the plaintiff argued. A lawyer for the plaintiff said that it was apparent that the company canceled his employment because of his ideological inclination. Discriminative employment based on one’s thought violated the Constitution, he said. Orie Kitajima, president of Dai Nippon Printing Co., said that as far as the company was concerned tentative employment did not constitute formal employment but only an act of reservation. He would not give any reason why the company canceled Takemoto’s employment. He said the company would like to settle the issue out of court. 25 YEARS AGO Tuesday, May 10, 1994 Harm to birds leaves bridge in the dark THE JAPAN TIMES Use of lights on Sato Ohashi Bridge, a major local tourist attraction, will be curbed due to a complaint from the Environmental Agency that the illumination may be harmful to birds, officials have said. Citing the possibility that the lights disturb the birds’ sense of direction, the agency complained to the Honshu Shikoku Bridge Authority and the authority agreed to cut the number of days the bridge will be illuminated this year from 80 to 53. Under a regulation to protect natural scenery, the bridge authority must negotiate with the agency before determining the number of days the bridge can be illuminated each year. “It is not desirable to light up the bridge for a long period because, as things stand now, we cannot rule out its effect on birds,” said a spokesman for the Seto-naikai National Park Office, a department of the agency. According to the Wild Bird Society of Japan, no incidents of illumination having an effect on wild birds have been reported. There have been reports, however, that some migratory birds were blinded by a lighthouse and died when they flew into it, society officials said. Migratory birds often travel at night. Both Okayama and Kagawa prefectural governments regret the decision. “We naturally assumed that the bridge authority installed the light system in a way that would not affect wild birds,” a local official said. “We wanted to have the lights on for as long as possible.” Officials in the prefectures, which the giant bridge links across the Seto Inland Sea, said they were surprised by the cut. They had counted on the lights drawing tourists to the area. The lights have been shining for about 30 days a year since 1989 on occasions such as the New Year’s holidays, the Bon festival and other festivals.
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potatoes;dai nippon printing;sato ohashi bridge
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jp0003822
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/04
|
Trump repeatedly took up abduction issue with Kim Jong Un: senior U.S. official
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WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly took up the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February, a senior U.S. official said Friday. Matt Pottinger, senior director for Asia at the National Security Council, disclosed the information at a meeting in Washington with family members of abduction victims. Pottinger pledged U.S. support for efforts to resolve the decades-old issue. According to Lower House lawmaker Keiji Furuya, Pottinger explained that at the bilateral summit, Trump referred to the abduction issue repeatedly, although Kim tried to change the subject of their talks. Furuya, who chairs a group of lawmakers working on the abduction issue, joined the meeting between Pottinger and the family members of abductees. Takuya Yokota, a younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was taken at age 13 in 1977, asked the United States to help with the immediate resolution of the abduction issue. Noting that his 86-year-old father, Shigeru Yokota, is in the hospital, Yokota said his family is running out of time. After the meeting, Yokota told reporters, “We learned that we and the United States are on the same wavelength, and this is a significant result.” But Yokota also said he requested Washington refrain from easing sanctions on Pyongyang unless all victims are returned. Speaking at an event in Washington, Yokota also urged the U.S. government not to extend economic aid to North Korea during denuclearization negotiations unless Pyongyang immediately resolves the abduction issue. Koichiro Iizuka, a son of Yaeko Taguchi, who was kidnapped from an unknown location in 1978 at the age of 22, filed a similar request. Yokota and Iizuka, together with Japanese lawmakers, also met with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for North Korea, on Thursday. Akira Sato, senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office, said he requested that Pottinger ask Trump to spend time with abductees’ families when he visits Japan in late May for a meeting with Emperor Naruhito. Speaking at the event, Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student who died in 2017 following more than a year in detention in North Korea, expressed solidarity with the families of Japanese abductees. Warmbier said the U.S. government should not ease sanctions on North Korea. Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korea’s involvement in many more disappearances. While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Pyongyang maintains that eight — including Megumi Yokota — have died and the other four never entered the country.
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abduction;megumi yokota;north korea-japan relations;takuya yokota
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jp0003823
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/04
|
140,000 people greet Japan's Emperor Naruhito as he makes first public appearance since accession
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Emperor Naruhito expressed his hopes for progress toward world peace on Saturday at the Imperial Palace, where tens of thousands of people gathered to witness his first public greeting since ascending to the throne on May 1. “I am deeply blessed and grateful for everyone here today who has offered congratulations,” the emperor said in a prepared statement. “Not only do I pray for everyone’s health and happiness, I hope that our nation can join hands with countries around the world and together make progress toward achieving world peace.” More than 140,000 people gathered for greeting sessions scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the Imperial Household Agency, in which members of the imperial family made roughly five-minute appearances once every hour. The figure exceeded around 109,800 for the former emperor’s first public appearance in November 1990 following his ascension to the throne, according to the Imperial Household Agency. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greet well-wishers during their first public appearance in their new roles at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. | REUTERS The celebration in 1990 took place nearly two years after the death of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, as the country remained in mourning. The emperor — who was born in 1960 — has never experienced war. He was educated at Oxford University and traveled during his time in Europe. Empress Masako, a former diplomat and Harvard University graduate who is fluent in French and English, spent significant parts of her formative years in Moscow, New York and Boston. Emperor Naruhito (center) thanks well-wishers at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. Kyodo | KYODO “We’ve never had a bilingual imperial couple with no memory of or connection to World War II,” said Setsuko Okada, an 84-year-old Tokyo resident who came to the greeting. “Or any war for that matter, at least, not directly.” “Because of that he’ll want to build peaceful relationships with other nations.” A woman waves a Japanese flag and fans featuring the name of the new imperial era, Reiwa, on them before the first public appearance of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. | REUTERS Okada’s father and brother were extremely fond of the imperial household, she explained. While she has walked past the palace numerous times over the years, the emperor’s public greeting on Saturday was the first time she had ever stepped foot inside the Imperial Palace grounds, much less caught a glimpse of the imperial couple. She brought her 43-year-old daughter, Nozomi, along with her. Women wear kimono during Emperor Naruhito’s first public appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. More than 140,000 people are estimated to have taken part in celebrations. | AFP-JIJI The mother and daughter agreed that Emperor Naruhito seems like a good person — much like his father — and with Empress Masako at his side, they believe the imperial household will continue to modernize. Setsuko said it’s important for the monarchy to have a strong connection to the rest of the world. “For better or worse, this country changed every time a new emperor took the throne,” she said. “The world gets bigger every day. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will help us build bridges with other countries.” Well-wishers wait in line to enter the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday before the first public appearance of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in their new roles. | REUTERS It was the Shibuya family’s first time inside the grounds of the Imperial Palace as well. The young mother and father, along with their 1-year-old child, thought the beginning of a new era — and the accession of the new emperor — was a good opportunity to make their first visit. The father, who preferred not to give his first name, said he was nervous leading up to the emperor’s first public appearance since ascending to the throne. “He thought we were going to get much closer,” the mother said, laughing. “We’ve been meaning to come to one of these for years but we never had the chance.” A dog attends festivities surrounding Emperor Naruhito’s first public appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI “But I’m glad we did,” she said. “Emperor Naruhito’s demeanor reminds me of his father. I hope he carries on his legacy by praying for disaster victims, doing his best to give them energy and hope, and meeting us ordinary people at the same level, just as his father did.”
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imperial family;abdication;imperial change;emperor naruhito;empress masako
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jp0003824
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/05
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Rugby World Cup organizers express concern over beer stocks as Japan girds for thirsty foreign fans
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The Japanese organizing committee of the 2019 Rugby World Cup is calling on business operators in cities that host games to secure sufficient beer supplies in preparation for the expected arrival of beer-guzzling fans from abroad. On the occasions of past World Cup matches, many restaurants and bars ran out of beer, the organizers said. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, beer consumption at games was more than six times the amount consumed during soccer games at the same venues, according to the committee. Total beer consumption during the last quadrennial event stood at 1.9 million liters, including sales at public viewing sites. Of the total, 1.3 million liters was consumed at game venues. More than 400,000 foreign nationals are forecast to visit Japan during the World Cup, which will start in September. The organizing committee has held briefing sessions in the cities of Sapporo and Oita, which are expected to receive visits by particularly large numbers of foreign nationals among the 12 host cities. The committee warned restaurant and hotel operators that running out of beer would cost them lucrative business opportunities and could prompt bad publicity to be spread on social media. “After explanations by the organizing committee, not only restaurants but also wholesalers took it as a realistic problem,” an official from Oita Prefecture said. The prefectural government has asked four major brewers to bolster their beer supply systems, according to the official. It has also called on restaurants and bars to extend business hours so that visitors can enjoy drinking beer after games and cautioned all-you-can-drink establishments against running out of stock. “We hope they will pump up the event while taking care to ensure enough beer is in supply during the event,” the official said.
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restaurants;tourism;rugby;beer;bars;drinking;rugby world cup;2019 rugby world cup
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jp0003825
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[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/05/05
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Japanese banks to boost fight against money laundering
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The banking industry will strengthen efforts to prevent money laundering in preparation for the planned review of industry efforts by an international organization in the autumn. Next month, MUFG Bank, a core unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., plans to terminate overseas remittances made at the counter of branch offices that bypass bank accounts. Other banks are likely to follow suit. The review will be carried out by the Financial Action Task Force, an international framework in which 36 countries and regions mutually examine measures to forestall money laundering and terrorist financing. In the previous review conducted in 2008, the FATF concluded that measures taken by the Japanese government and financial institutions were insufficient. If the industry receives a similarly inferior evaluation again, Japanese banks’ international transactions may be subject to restrictions, and overseas settlements and remittances, as well as transactions for cross-border trade, may be affected. Regional banks have taken the lead in stopping some forms of overseas fund transfers, since the services are not frequently used in smaller cities and are thus unprofitable. Shimane Bank is one of the regional lenders that have withdrawn from all types of overseas remittances, including services that use bank accounts. The Financial Services Agency will keep all financial institutions and other businesses informed of the need to urge foreign students and workers in Japan to close their bank accounts in the nation when they return home. The request comes after many such bank accounts were sold for extra income and used in money laundering and remittance fraud cases. “Japan is a rare country where the number of crimes is small, which led to the delay in efforts to fight money laundering,” a senior official of a major bank said. According to the National Police Agency, however, suspected transfers of criminal proceeds are increasing, making it urgent for banks to step up efforts to tackle money laundering.
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money-laundering;mitsubishi ufj financial group;mufg bank
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jp0003826
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[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/05/05
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Germany expresses readiness to work with Japan on free trade and WTO reform
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BERLIN - Germany is ready to cooperate with Japan on promoting free trade and reforming the World Trade Organization, Germany’s economic minister, Peter Altmaier, said in a recent written interview with Jiji Press. Altmaier made the statement in the lead-up to a Group of 20 ministerial meeting on trade and digital economy in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, which will take place early next month. In the interview, Altmaier stressed that Japan is a close partner with his country. He said that as free trade benefits all countries, Germany will make every effort to lower trade tariffs and strengthen the WTO. Japan and the European Union have sent a message against protectionism by concluding an economic partnership agreement, the minister noted. Both Japan and the EU are facing tough trade negotiations with the United States under President Donald Trump. While the EU aims to negotiate with the United States for the mutual abolition of tariffs on industrial products, the U.S. side is poised to demand that the EU open up its agricultural markets. The Trump administration is expected to seek concessions from the EU and others by threatening to impose higher tariffs on imported vehicles. The German minister claimed that raising automotive tariffs would not serve U.S. interests, saying many U.S. lawmakers and industry stakeholders consider it the wrong path.
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trade;eu;germany;g20;wto
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jp0003828
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[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Drop while they shop: Osaka firm offers room to weary dads in no mood for Golden Week shopping
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In Osaka’s busy Minami downtown district, a rental office company offered a special service targeted at fathers and children just for Golden Week — a special room for rent where they could rest while other family members shopped. The firm, Naniwa Midosuji Hall, offered space in the 200-square-meter room under the advertising slogan: “We Keep Your Dads.” For a basic fee of ¥500 per person per hour, sleeping mats and huge cushions were made available. Users could also enjoy Wi-Fi, manga, beer and other drinks for additional charges. The firm usually rents out office rooms for business use, but Golden Week is a very slow time of the year. “In a cafe, I would feel uncomfortable because other people would see me,” said a man in his 40s, who came from Nara Prefecture with his wife who was shopping at that time. “This room helps me a lot.” Another man came to stay in the room as his wife and daughter went to a music concert. Women were also welcome, the firm said.
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holidays;golden week;shopping;naniwa midosuji hall;namba
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jp0003829
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[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Zozo founder Yusaku Maezawa says he is selling valuable paintings and jokes that he never has any money
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Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa said he plans to auction off artworks worth millions of dollars because he has no money. Maezawa, the founder and CEO of online fashion retailer Zozo, said in a Twitter post on Saturday that he plans to sell several items at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on May 16. The art-loving billionaire attached screenshots of two pieces to the post — an Ed Ruscha painting with an estimated value of $2 million to $3 million and an Andy Warhol flowers painting with an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million. In response to a user query of whether the sale was because he has no money, Maezawa replied in a Twitter post on Sunday, “Yes, I never have any money because I always spend it,” ending the post with a laughing face emoji. The publicity-seeking entrepreneur’s past spending antics include the $110 million purchase of a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting and signing up to be the first private passenger taken around the moon by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Maezawa’s ambitions have hit turbulence with the billionaire only recently returning to Twitter after a series of corporate missteps saw Zozo’s stock price plunge by more than half and left its cash position weakened.
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auctions;andy warhol;sotheby 's;yusaku maezawa;zozo
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jp0003830
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Probe begins into Boeing 737-800 that slid off runway into Florida river
|
LOS, ANGELES/CHICAGO/MILWAUKEE - Federal investigators on Saturday began searching for what caused a Boeing jetliner with 143 people on board to slide off a runway into a shallow river while landing at a Jacksonville, Florida military base during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people. The Boeing 737-800 chartered by the U.S. military was arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members when it slid into the St. Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Friday night, authorities said. No one was badly hurt and the 21 people taken to a hospital were listed in good condition, the local sheriff’s office said. The National Transportation Safety Board posted a photograph on Twitter on Saturday showing NTSB investigator Dan Boggs holding an orange flight data recorder recovered from the aircraft. Earlier in the day, the agency said 16 investigators were arriving in Jacksonville. The plane, chartered from Miami Air International, was attempting to land at about 9:40 p.m. local time amid thunder and lightning when it slid off the runway and came to rest in the shallow water of the river, authorities and passengers said. “It is a miracle. We could be talking about a different story,” Capt. Michael Connor, commanding officer at the Jacksonville station, said at a news conference on Saturday. “There’s a lot to say about the professionalism of the folks that helped the passengers off the airplane … because it could have very well been worse.” Active-duty military members, civilian government employees and their dependents were on the jetliner, Connor told CNN. The military base is on the western bank of the St. Johns River about 8 miles (12.87 km) south of central Jacksonville, about 350 miles (563.27 km) north of Miami. Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane. Representatives of the airline did not immediately reply to requests for comment. A spokesman for Boeing Co. said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information. The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly “rotator” round-trip service between the U.S. mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base. It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, Dougherty said.
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u.s .;accidents;boeing;aviation;florida;air accidents
|
jp0003831
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Deaths on both sides as militants fire hundreds of rockets into Israel, drawing strikes on Gaza
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GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - Gaza militants fired fresh rocket barrages at Israel early Sunday in a deadly escalation that has seen Israel respond with waves of strikes as a fragile truce again faltered and a further escalation was feared. Gazan authorities reported four Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the escalation that began Saturday, but Israel disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant mother and her baby. One 58-year-old Israeli man was killed by a rocket strike on the city of Ashkelon near the Gaza border, Israeli police and the hospital said. The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the cease-fire. Israel said 430 rockets had been fired from the Palestinian enclave since Saturday and its air defenses intercepted many of them. Beyond the man killed, an 80-year-old woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, police and medics said. A man was also hospitalized in Ashkelon, said police, which spoke of other injuries without providing details. A house near Ashkelon was damaged while other rockets hit open areas. The Israeli Army said its tanks and planes hit some 200 militant targets in Gaza in response. They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, it said. Two multistory buildings in Gaza City were destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said an office for its state news agency, Anadolu, was located in the building and strongly denounced the strike. Israel said the other building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices. The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes killed a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother, 37, in addition to two Palestinian men, while 40 were wounded. Israeli Army spokesman Avichay Adraee on Twitter challenged the account of the mother and her baby being killed in an Israeli strike, suggesting they died from Palestinian fire. Adraee did not provide more details and the army refused to comment further. Israel’s military said it was targeting only military-related sites. As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs on Saturday but had not commented publicly. A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more. Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. Israel closed its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire. Egyptian and U.N. officials were engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza. The U.N. envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nickolay Mladenov, called on “all parties to immediately de-escalate and return to the understandings of the past few months.” The United States condemned the rocket attacks on Israel and said it fully supported its “right to self-defense against these abhorrent attacks.” The escalation follows what had been the most violent clashes along the Gaza border in weeks on Friday. Four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, were killed after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests there. Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth. A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel’s April 9 general election. But the past week saw a gradual uptick in violence. With the cease-fire at risk, a Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar went to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials. The cease-fire has seen Israel allow Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage. Several factors may lead Israel to seek to calm the situation. Netanyahu is engaged in tough negotiations to form a new government following last month’s election, while Israel is due to host the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv from May 14 to 18. The country also celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday. On the Gazan side, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the week ahead. Palestinians have participated in regular demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza border for more than a year, calling on Israel to ease its crippling blockade of the enclave. At least 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began in March 2018, the majority along the border. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period. Israel accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks and says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations.
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conflict;religion;israel;gaza;military;palestinians;hamas;ethnicity
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jp0003832
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Trump proposal would make it easier to deport immigrants, including green card holders, who use benefits
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WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is considering reversing long-standing policy to make it easier to deport U.S. legal permanent residents who have used public benefits, part of an effort to restrict immigration by low-income people. A Department of Justice draft regulation, seen by Reuters, dramatically expands the category of people who could be subject to deportation on the grounds that they use benefits. Currently, those legal permanent residents who are declared to be a “public charge,” or primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, can be deported — but in practice, this is very rare. The draft regulation would use a more expansive definition to include some immigrants who have used an array of public benefits, including cash welfare, food stamps, housing aid or Medicaid. While the plan is at an early stage, might not become official government policy, and is likely to attract lawsuits, it is one part of efforts by the Trump administration to restrict legal immigration, in addition to its efforts to reduce illegal immigration to the United States. The full possible impact is not known, but the change in policy could affect permanent residents — also known as green card holders — who are legally entitled to use public benefits soon after their arrival in the United States, such as refugees. Department of Justice spokesman Alexei Woltornist said the agency “does not comment on or confirm draft regulations.” U.S. law allows for the deportation of immigrants who have become “public charges” within five years of admission if their reason for seeking help preceded their entry to the United States — for example, if they had a chronic health condition that was not disclosed. But due to a 1948 ruling, the deportation of immigrants for using public benefits has been strictly limited to cases in which the government has demanded payment for public services, and the person has failed to pay. Immigration lawyers said they have rarely if ever heard of someone being deported for using public benefits. The draft rule indicates the government would override that precedent to allow for deportation of some green card holders who have used certain public benefits within five years of admission. For the plan to go into effect, it would be subject to public comment, after which it could be revised. Attorney General William Barr would then have to sign off on it. The public benefits in question include Supplemental Security Income, given to disabled and older people; the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps; Section 8 housing vouchers; many Medicaid benefits; and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a cash assistance program. According to federal policy, many permanent residents do not qualify for public benefits unless they have had a green card for five years, making it unlikely they could be targeted for deportation on the basis of “public charge” even under the draft rule. But dozens of states have looser rules — for instance, allowing pregnant women and children who are permanent residents to access Medicaid without a waiting period. And the effort to tighten the rules could affect thousands of immigrant veterans, refugees and asylees, who are eligible to receive many benefits without time restrictions. Active members of the military would not be affected. Administration officials had earlier indicated that the Justice Department, which oversees U.S. immigration courts, planned to issue a regulation on who can be deported for using public benefits, but its details were not previously known. Immigrant advocates said the impact of the possible change is unclear, because it would be such a departure from long-standing practice. “We’re in new territory here because this has never been tested,” said Charles Wheeler, an attorney with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network nonprofit group. “I’m concerned that it’s going to be targeted at permanent resident aliens who otherwise thought they were free and clear to receive SSI and other public benefit programs.” The change, if implemented, fits with broader Trump administration efforts to squelch legal immigration by transforming public-charge rules. The administration has also slashed refugee admissions and imposed a broad travel ban on citizens of several mostly Muslim countries. The Justice Department’s draft proposal is based on a similar plan by the Department of Homeland Security to significantly broaden the definition of what it means to be a public charge. While DHS can decide whether to grant or deny immigration benefits, DOJ’s immigration judges can also decide whether a resident ought to be deported. The DHS is expected soon to tighten regulations so that a “public charge” would be any foreigner “who receives one or more public benefits,” including an array of cash and noncash benefits, such as food stamps, housing vouchers and Medicaid. The DOJ’s draft proposal mirrors that and also directs immigration judges to consider the use of public benefits as a heavily weighted negative factor when determining whether to admit a foreigner to the United States. The State Department is also trying to restrict entry to the United States of people it suspects might use public benefits. Last year, it gave U.S. consular officers more discretion to reject visas for people they believe may become public charges. The number of people refused immigrant visas on public-charge grounds was four times higher in 2018 than in 2017, and the highest total since 2004. In addition to considering new standards for deporting legal residents, the DOJ is also looking at requiring foreigners seeking permanent residency status to submit a declaration to an immigration judge that demonstrates their self-sufficiency. The form asks for a detailed listing of assets, income, and debts, among other information.
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u.s .;immigration;donald trump
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jp0003833
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Russia's one-fingered 'hero' blogger defiantly rips Kremlin, one click at a time
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MOSCOW - He must use a wheelchair and has limited use of his hands, but Alexander Gorbunov, the author of hugely popular social media accounts in Russia, has emerged as one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and using his right index finger to type, the 27-year-old author of StalinGulag skewers the “hypocrisy” of Putin’s system and the everyday injustices ordinary Russians face. Known for his dry wit and generous use of profanities, StalinGulag has built an army of 1.5 million followers on Twitter and Telegram, with a total media outreach believed to include several million more. For years the StalinGulag author’s identity remained one of Russia’s best-kept secrets but Gorbunov blew his cover after authorities began harrassing his 65-year-old mother and 80-year-old father late last month. Gorbunov, an intelligent, soft-spoken man with a goatee, said he and his wife have been on tenterhooks. “They can easily arrest and put in prison anyone,” Gorbunov said in an interview, noting that even a short stint in jail could kill him. “They don’t care.” In an increasing crackdown on dissent, Putin in March signed laws that allow courts to fine and briefly jail people for showing disrespect towards the authorities and to block media for publishing “fake news.” Gorbunov, who is a successful self-taught financial trader by day, dreads publicity but last week revealed his identity to BBC and later spoke to AFP after gun-toting police inspected his parents’ home in the North Caucasus city of Makhachkala. His relatives in Moscow have also been intimidated, he says. “If the authorities are afraid of what I write they are worthless,” he said. Gorbunov’s story has stunned Russia. “This person is a damn hero,” said screenwriter Andrew Ryvkin, while author Denis Bilunov called Gorbunov “the person of the year.” In a show of solidarity, Pavel Durov, the self-exiled founder of the Telegram messenger app, verified the StalinGulag account and offered his author help in moving abroad. Gorbunov said he was heartened by the outpouring of support from Russians who have flooded him with offers of help and money. He has chalked up some 40,000 new followers over the past week. The blogger insisted he is neither a hero nor an opposition activist. He said he merely puts in writing his thoughts on everything from Russia’s foreign policy blunders to the excessive lifestyle of Putin’s inner circle. “What’s happening in the country is terrible,” Gorbunov said. “Injstice is what angers me the most.” In a 2018 post, he issued a dark warning to his readers. “Really scary times are coming,” he said, urging Russians to look out for each other. “This is the reality and not everyone will get out alive.” Gorbunov lives with his partner of seven years in a comfortable Moscow apartment, employs two drivers and a live-in aide and enjoys an active social life. He does not want to reveal his income but says he forks out around 400,000 rubles ($6,145) every month just to cover his rent and pay his helpers. He refuses to take any medication, saying his condition is incurable and he had no illusions about his future. “I don’t want to turn my life into a silly battle,” he said. “It’s a battle I am going to lose.” A lawyer by training, he works more than 10 hours a day, sometimes waking up at night if the market moves. He writes posts for his StalinGulag accounts when the mood strikes him and he needs a short break from work. He appears to take some of his inspiration from his favorite book, “Journey to the End of the Night” by French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Celine. The 1932 World War I classic filled with profanities expresses disgust with the hypocrisy of society and laments the misery of human existence. Gorbunov is fiercely protective of his wife, who sometimes holds his hand as he speaks and helps him drink from a cup. They met seven years ago but refuse to reveal details about their relationship. His story has generated huge media interest in Russia, but Gorbunov hopes the buzz will soon subside. He wants to get on with his life, watch the last season of “Game of Thrones” and keep trading and writing his blogs. He travels sometimes but has never been to Europe. Not that he plans to leave Russia, even though life for people with disabilities here is a relentless daily struggle, saying he wants to be together with his loved ones. For all his dark humor and keen intelligence, Gorbunov refuses to make any predictions about the future of the country. He has a feeling, however, that he will not see a change of leadership in his lifetime. “I am not an optimist in this sense.”
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vladimir putin;russia;social media;blogs;alexander gorbunov
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jp0003834
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Austrian far-right leader ramps up anti-immigration rhetoric ahead of European elections
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ZURICH - The head of Austrian junior coalition partner and far-right Freedom Party pledged on Sunday to fight “creeping Islamization,” doubling down on his anti-immigration stance ahead of European elections on May 23. Heinz-Christian Strache, who serves as Austria’s vice chancellor, also insisted he would not stop referring to immigration as “population displacement,” a term used by far-right groups in Austria who want to reverse the inflow of newcomers into the country. Most polls in Austria showed the party was in third place, with its senior coalition partner, the conservative Austrian People’s Party in first and the opposition Social Democratic Party in second place. “There is a creeping Islamization, a population change, or a population displacement,” Strache told Austrian newspaper OE.24. Critics counter this view with government data on immigration, which shows that in 2018, roughly 16 percent of Austria’s population has foreign citizenship, up from 10 percent a decade earlier. Austria’s public broadcaster has compared anti-immigrant posters created by the FPO’s youth wing to Nazi propaganda, while the vice mayor of the Austrian town where Adolf Hitler was born resigned from the party after writing a poem comparing migrants with rats. Anti-immigration sentiment in Austria was stoked in 2015 during Europe’s migration crisis, during which thousands of migrants passed through the country on their way to other EU states such as Sweden and Germany. Many of them were Syrian War refugees. Austria took in asylum-seekers numbering the equivalent of around 1 percent of its population during the 2015 crisis. “It is our goal to correct the legacy of the previous government’s immigration policy and to stop immigration from Islamic countries and promote integration,” Strache told the newspaper.
|
immigration;elections;austria;heinz-christian strache
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jp0003835
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Britain-France Channel Tunnel, now 25, was centuries in the making
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PARIS - On May 6, 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand boarded the royal Rolls-Royce and took an undersea train to Britain — a 50.5-kilometer (30-mile) trip that inaugurated a tunnel two centuries in the making. Followed by their spouses in a Citroen, their journey 100 meters (330 feet) underwater officially opened a route that has since been used by 430 million travelers and handles a quarter of the goods moved between Britain and Europe. It was a feat of engineering that cost billions of euros but was beset by delays, challenges and surprises. Already in 1802, French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier had submitted to Napoleon Bonaparte a plan for a tunnel under the English Channel to be used by horse-drawn carriages. A hundred or so other projects were hatched over the 19th century as an alternative to the sea crossing, including bridges and underground tubes. In 1855 a proposal by Frenchman Aime Thome de Gamond won the approval of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III: a train in a bored rail tunnel. British mine owner and engineer William Low solved the tricky question of ventilation. Nearly two kilometers were drilled between 1878 and 1883, when work was halted. Britain — apparently wary of risks to its national defense — cited “strategic reasons.” The project would be revived 75 years and two world wars later. In 1957 the Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed to research the project. Around a decade later the two governments took the decision to build. Work got underway in 1973 and some 300 meters were dug out on the French side at Sangatte and 400 meters near Dover on the British side. But two years later, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson halted construction for budgetary reasons. After Margaret Thatcher took power in Britain in 1979 and Mitterrand in France two years later, the project to cross the channel gained new impetus. A group of Franco-British experts presented four options: a rail and road bridge, a rail and road bridge and tunnel, a rail and road tunnel or a rail tunnel. Most Britons followed Thatcher’s preference for a road link, while the French were keener on the rail option. It was a plan for a double undersea rail tunnel that got the final nod and the “Eurotunnel” was confirmed in a Franco-British agreement signed at Canterbury in February 1986. Europe’s biggest construction site involved up to 15,000 people with about 4,100 workers on the French side and nearly double the number in Britain. Media tracked the tunnel’s progress, a rate of “500 meters a month,” as well as the delays, strikes and technical problems — and, eventually, a countdown of the final kilometers. Then, at 12:12 p.m. on Dec. 1, 1990, workers from each side drilled through the final wall of rock separating their respective tunnels and joined up. A photograph shows the two helmeted men, each holding their national flags, making contact through the opening in the blue-black chalk. In a historical aside, the British miner, who then was a poster boy for the continental connection, is now a Brexit supporter. In a recent interview, Graham Fagg said he still marvels at one of humankind’s “greatest achievements” but admitted he has soured on closer relations with mainland Europe. “I worked on the Channel Tunnel and did the breakthrough, but I actually voted for Brexit,” the 70-year-old said. “I don’t see that as incompatible.” Fagg said he supported joining the European Economic Community — the forerunner to the EU — in a 1975 referendum, but had not envisaged it would become a political union. “We voted for a trade deal,” he explained. “I can’t remember anybody ever saying to me, ‘we’re going to turn it into a federal Europe. We’re going to set all the rules and you’ve got to obey them.'” Construction wrapped up in December 1993, the six years of work claiming the lives of nine workers, seven of them British. “Throughout this century, throughout the most difficult tests, the joining of French elan and British practicality has been marvellous,” Elizabeth said in French at a ceremony in the French town of Coquelles on May 6, 1994 to inaugurate the tunnel. “We now have, Madame, a land border,” said Mitterrand. The project would be “decisive” in strengthening the European union and the single European market, he said. After cutting a red, white and blue ribbon of Calais lace, the queen and president boarded her claret Rolls-Royce, which — due to its large size — was loaded onto a shuttle designed for buses and caravans for the subsea crossing to the terminal on the British side in Cheriton, Kent. Following behind in a car once owned by the late French President Charles de Gaulle were Mitterrand’s wife, Danielle, and the Duke of Edinburgh. During the 25-minute crossing, officials and journalists left their vehicles to mingle in the train and share their impressions, with U.K. Prime Minister John Major reportedly joking that Britain was “still an island.” Six months later the first members of the public would make the journey.
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history;eu;u.k .;english channel;anniversaries;brexit;channel tunnel
|
jp0003836
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/05
|
25 years after Rwanda massacre, remains of nearly 85,000 genocide victims finally laid to rest
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KIGALI - The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered in Rwanda’s genocide were laid to rest Saturday in a somber ceremony in Kigali a quarter of a century after the slaughter. Mourners sobbed as 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mass killings were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital. They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, massacred over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militia forces determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda. Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 — the day the genocide began. But this year has witnessed particular commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary. “Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is every Rwandan’s responsibility — and so is giving them a decent burial,” Justice Minister Johnston Busingye said at the mass burial. Some mourners broke down wailing as survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the funeral by ushers. Emanuel Nduwayezu said the discovery meant he finally had somewhere to come each April 7 and lay a wreath in memory of his murdered family. “Right now I am very happy because I have buried my dad, my sister and her children, and my in-law. Twenty-five years have passed and I had not known where they were,” he said. “Everyday I was thinking and getting confused (about) where my dad was but now I found him and I have a buried him.” The remains of those interred on Saturday were only found early last year, when 143 pits containing thousands of bone and clothing fragments were discovered beneath homes on the outskirts of Kigali. Those exhumed for burial on Saturday came from just 43 such pits — leaving 100 more to go. A painstaking effort was undertaken so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothing and other markings. They join 11,000 other victims already laid to rest at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial. Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organization for genocide survivors, said a landlord from the area revealed the location of the graves only after he was threatened with arrest. More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 with dumping corpses, came forward with new information. Dusingizemungu said it was likely those living on the graves knew what lay beneath their homes. “It is unfortunate that … these perpetrators, now free, never bothered to reveal to bereaved families the location of these grave sites, so they could get closure,” he said. Clementine Ingabire was the only person from her extended family of 23 to survive the massacre. Seven of her relatives were identified from the pits, their remains scattered among the coffins. But at least they were granted a dignified burial, she said. Just seven at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous she made it out alive. “Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others,” the 32-year-old said. “I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend to my mother. She saw me running and grabbed me … that’s how I survived.” The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing the genocidal killers out of Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became Rwanda’s president and has remained in power ever since.
|
africa;history;ethnicity;genocide;rwanda
|
jp0003837
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Despite data scandals, Australian parties get free rein to gather personal info on voters
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SYDNEY/SAN FRANCISCO - Australian political parties are using voter email addresses to find matching social media profiles and combining them with the country’s compulsory electoral roll data, illustrating how privacy scandals have done little to slow the march of data-driven campaigning. While the use of data and public profiles from Facebook, Twitter and other social media for political campaigning has become widespread globally, Australia is one of the countries most open to online information gathering by political operatives. “Most Australians have little idea about how many data points organizations like political parties, let alone Facebook, have on each of them,” said Glenn Kefford, a political scientist at Macquarie University who has written extensively about data-driven campaigning. “They would be shocked and probably disgusted.” Australia, which goes to the polls on May 18, is one of the few Western democracies where voting is compulsory. What is more, Australian political parties and candidates are exempt from privacy laws covering access to the electoral roll data — full names and addresses — that all 16 million voters are required to provide. In the United States, just 60 percent of adults are registered to vote, limiting the number of voters whose electoral roll information can be dragged into a data profile. Last year, Europe introduced sweeping laws requiring political organizations to get specific permission before scraping a person’s data from another website. Australia’s government, however, rejected calls for a review of its exemption from privacy laws. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said it has been asking the government for over a decade to overturn that exemption and “continues to hold the view that this exemption should be re-examined in light of the changing digital environment and data collection practices.” Branches of the left-leaning Labor and Greens parties, the conservative Liberals and the rural-focused Nationals have all hired consultants to run the U.S.-owned campaigning software NationBuilder, a Reuters analysis of party websites shows. Privately held NationBuilder, which counted several senior Facebook personnel among its early investors and markets itself as politically neutral, launched its social media “match” function in 2013 but stopped automatically offering it in Europe in 2018 due to new digital privacy laws. NationBuilder’s vice president of strategic partnerships, Toni Cowan-Brown, said the company was looking at spreading its “model of privacy by default and consent” beyond Europe but it had not stopped offering its “match” function by default in Australia. “It’s a very delicate line between innovation and privacy,” Cowan-Brown said. “The way customers are innovating is very cool and we don’t want to stifle that.” In 2018, amid a political data harvesting scandal involving now defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, Facebook made it more difficult for third party apps like NationBuilder to harvest some user data, although it still lets them import people’s profile photo and name based on an email address match. NationBuilder is trying to regain access to Facebook event RSVPs, the only data it uses that is affected by the new policy, said Cowan-Brown. Unlike Cambridge Analytica, the firm does not pull data on a person’s emotions or habits, Cowan-Brown added. NationBuilder customers can also collect the names of people who “like” or comment on their Facebook posts. Facebook declined to comment on interactions with NationBuilder specifically, but said third-party apps could no longer ask for access to personal information such as religious or political views, relationship status, education or work history. The company has also limited access to information in its groups, pages and events features, a spokeswoman said. With Twitter, NationBuilder customers can under certain circumstances import a person’s written profile bio, location, personal website, as well as their name and photo and tweets when a customer is mentioned, Cowan-Brown said. Twitter said its data reflected information that users choose to share publicly. “Our API (application programming interface) provides broad access to public Twitter data that users have chosen to share with the world,” Twitter said in an emailed response to Reuters. The major parties also prospect for email addresses with social media “petitions” about hot-button topics, some collecting emails addresses without a person typing it, thanks to other software linked to the person’s Facebook account. “It is a wet dream for marketers,” said Curtis Harrison, a NationBuilder consultant who has worked on Australian political campaigns for five years. “You start off with an email address, and once you get that email address you get a name. And once you get a name you get a phone number. Once you get that phone number you get more and more and more.” Attorney-General Christian Porter said in an email the exemption was “designed to encourage freedom of political communication and support the operation of the electoral and political process.” He did not respond to a question about whether politicians had access to too much voter data. A spokesman for the Labor Party’s shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said the political exemption was “put in place to facilitate political engagement, which is a foundation of our system of representative democracy.” When the Australian Labor Party posted on Facebook a video of two of its leaders bantering on a campaign bus last month, artist Jaymie Faber was one of 1,600 people who clicked “like,” automatically sending the party’s NationBuilder database her name and Facebook photo. From there, the party could manually enter her public profile information, which included her employment situation and home city, to match with electoral roll information. “While I never intended for the information to be collected into a database, I also accept that I had the knowledge that it could be a possibility,” Faber said. “I don’t believe that it should be allowed or legal to be collected in such a matter, but unfortunately it is.”
|
internet;australia;privacy;elections;social media;personal information
|
jp0003838
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Trump shrugs off North Korean weapon firings after South revises 'missiles' to 'projectiles'
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HONG KONG - President Donald Trump brushed off news of a possible weapons test by North Korea, vowing that leader Kim Jong Un “will do nothing to interfere” and that a denuclearization deal with the U.S. “will happen.” Saturday’s tweet, posted while Trump was in a motorcade to the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, was the president’s first response to news overnight that Pyongyang had fired numerous short-range projectiles off its eastern coast on Saturday, according to South Korean authorities. The move was seen as Kim’s latest and most provocative signal of frustration over talks with Trump following the pair’s failed summit in Vietnam in February. The significance of the test was difficult to assess. South Korea revised its account of the nature and scale of the weapons discharged from the eastern port of Wonsan just after 9 a.m. Saturday. After first calling them “missiles,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff later changed its description to “projectiles,” saying greater clarity would require more analysis. Seoul’s defense ministry said Sunday that an analysis of the launch indicated Pyongyang had tested “240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers and a new type of tactical guided weapons with a range of around 70 to 240 kilometers” (45 to 150 miles). North Korean state media said Sunday that Kim had overseen a test of rockets and tactical guided weapons. Trump has cited Kim’s self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue negotiations with the North Korean leader. South Korea’s descriptions of the incident suggested shorter-range rockets or artillery, which would be less likely for the U.S. to interpret as a violation of Kim’s pledge to refrain from testing. “We are aware of North Korea’s actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. National security adviser John Bolton briefed the president about the launch, according to a senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the matter. The weapons were fired from the Hodo Peninsula, which has been the site of past live-fire artillery exercises, and traveled 70 to 200 km (45 to 125 miles), the joint chiefs said Saturday. The Yonhap news agency later reported that the weapons fired were “not missiles,” citing unidentified lawmakers briefed by intelligence officials. “Missiles are projectiles, but South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff might be using ‘projectile’ to imply an unguided rocket, like one of North Korea’s older rocket artillery systems,” said Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. “This could also be a politicized attempt to make the word ‘missile’ not so prominent, in case that creates the kind of news cycle that Trump doesn’t want.” The weapons test was nonetheless Kim’s most significant provocation since he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017, declared his nuclear weapons program “complete” and opened talks. South Korea President Moon Jae-in’s spokeswoman condemned the incident, saying in a statement that the launches “go against” a military agreement the two Koreas reached in September to halt “hostile activities.” Kim has expressed increasing frustration since Trump refused his demands for sanctions relief and walked out of their second summit in Hanoi in February. After a year of talks, Kim has made only a pledge to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” without defining the phrase. The North Korean leader accused the U.S. of “bad faith” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok the previous week. He had earlier told North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly that he would wait “with patience till the end of this year” for the U.S. to make a better offer. A shorter-range test could also signal displeasure with South Korea’s participation in joint military drills with the U.S., despite Trump’s decision to scale down those exercises. North Korean state media has repeatedly complained about the drills in recent weeks and Kim pledged “corresponding acts” during his speech last month to the rubber-stamp parliament. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed Saturday’s incident with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo by phone, the ministry said in a statement. Nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon made a separate call to U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun, who is slated to visit Japan and South Korea this week. “This is an expected move from North Korea — not too provoking, but urging the U.S. to take a slightly stronger stance than their initial one,” said Kim Hyun-wook, of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. “This seems like a message for Stephen Biegun’s planned trip to the peninsula.” Japan’s defense ministry said Saturday that it did not detect any missiles entering Japan’s exclusive economic zone and thus there was no immediate impact to its national security. Although Saturday’s launch was the most significant since Kim’s detente with Trump, North Korea has announced more limited weapons tests in recent months. Kim personally oversaw the test-firing of a “new-type tactical guided weapon” last month, which South Korea later said appeared to be a system intended for ground combat and not a ballistic missile. Descriptions of the current incident suggested weapons ranging from rocket-propelled artillery to multiple rockets fired from launchers, analysts said. Firing such a weapon could serve a range of goals from pushing back against South Korea, to reassuring Kim’s domestic audience of his leadership. “The range they have would only be really good for hitting targets across the border in South Korea,” said Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher. “It could be seen that this was a signal to the ROK that the DPRK is losing patience,” he said, using the acronyms for the two Korea’s formal names.
|
north korea;military;kim jong un;nuclear weapons;south korea;north korea nuclear crisis;donald trump;kim-trump summit
|
jp0003839
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Newly crowned Thai king carried through Bangkok in elaborate royal procession
|
BANGKOK - Thailand’s newly crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn was carried by soldiers on a gilded palanquin through the streets of Bangkok Sunday, in front of crowds who craned to witness the historic event. The king, Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, wore a bejewelled robe and broad-brimmed hat with a feather on the second of three days of pageantry and royal splendor. The 7-kilometre procession brings the public into close proximity with the 66-year-old monarch for the first time, two years after he ascended the throne in an increasingly assertive reign. It started around 5 p.m. at the grand palace in Bangkok’s old quarter as trumpets blared, soldiers shouted commands and cannons fired a 21-gun salute. Thais wearing yellow shirts — the royal color — and carrying hats and umbrellas to protect against temperatures reaching 36 C filled the streets outside with many clutching portraits of Vajiralongkorn and shouting “Long live the King!” “It may be my first and last chance to see this,” 57-year-old Nattriya Siripattana said ahead of the first ceremony of its kind in 69 years. The three-day coronation, which started Saturday, is the first since Vajiralongkorn’s adored and revered father was crowned in 1950. The highlight of Saturday’s sombre ceremonies was the King’s anointment with holy water, before he placed the 7.3 kilogram (16 pound) golden tiered crown on his head. Early Sunday, the king bestowed royal titles on family members who crawled to his throne in a striking show of deference to the monarch. He was joined by his new Queen Suthida. The queen, 40, was deputy commander of the king’s royal guard before her marriage to Vajiralongkorn, which was announced days before the coronation. During the procession, she marched in red and black uniform next to the palanquin. Thailand’s monarchy is swaddled in ritual, protocol and hierarchy all orbiting around the king, who is viewed as a demigod. During the hourslong procession Thais will have the opportunity to “pay homage” to the king who will also stop at several major temples to pray before large gilded Buddha images. On the ground, authorities sprayed mists of water over the crowds whose numbers were bolstered by droves of “Jit Arsa” — or “Spirit Volunteers” — intended to project a show of devotion and fealty to the monarchy. But soaring temperatures threatened to thin out the numbers. Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne in 2016 after the death of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej. The elaborate coronation ceremonies have been broadcast on live television and include a network of the powerful and influential in Thailand. Junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a 2014 coup, took part in many of the key rituals, including the procession. The king and queen stayed the previous night in the royal residence, where a Siamese cat and a white rooster were placed on a pillow as part of housewarming rituals intended to bring good tidings. One of the family members to receive royal titles was 14-year-old Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, who knelt and prostrated in front of his father as he was anointed with water. The teenager is the king’s son from his third marriage. He has six other children, including four sons from two previous wives. Criticism or in-depth discussion of the royal family in Thailand is guarded by harsh lese-majeste rules that carry up to 15 years in prison. All media must self-censor and the country’s lively social media platforms have been subdued. But the dazzling display of the primacy of the monarchy in Thai life belies a simmering political crisis held over from elections in March. The junta that seized power in 2014 and has vowed to defend the monarchy is aiming to return to power through the ballot box. Its proxy party has claimed the popular vote. But a coalition of anti-military parties says it has shored up a majority in the lower house. Full results are not expected until May 9, a delay that has frustrated many Thais. “When the event (coronation) is finished we will have to focus on politics,” said Titipol Phakdeewanich, a lecturer at Ubon Ratchathani University. Since ascending the throne the king has taken several assertive moves, including bringing the assets of the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control. Though the royal family is nominally above politics, the king issued an election-eve message calling on Thais to vote for “good people” against those who create “chaos.” And in February, he scuttled the prime ministerial bid of his older sister, Princess Ubolratana, with an anti-junta party.
|
thailand;bangkok;rama x;king maha vajiralongkorn;enthronement
|
jp0003840
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/05
|
India's rapid response to devastating Cyclone Fani wins praise
|
NEW DELHI - U.N. and other experts have praised India for its early warning systems and rapid evacuation of more than 1 million people, which they said helped minimize loss of life from a deadly cyclone that battered its eastern coast. Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, tore into Odisha on Friday, leaving a trail of devastation across the coastal state of 46 million people before swinging towards Bangladesh. In 1999 the same state was hit by a devastating 30-hour supercyclone that saw a storm surge sweep 20 kilometers inland. Unprepared for the scale of the diaster, authorities struggled to evacuate the stricken population and some 10,000 people were killed. This time, improved forecasting models, public awareness campaigns and well-drilled evacuation plans — backed up by an army of responders and volunteers — has seen Odisha’s inhabitants spared the worst of Fani’s fury. Only 12 people have been killed by the cyclone in India — which escaped being hit by a major storm surge — and at least 160 injured, local media reported. As soon as it became clear this week that Fani was on course to hit Odisha, emergency teams began the mammoth task of evacuating those living in low-lying regions, moving 1.2 million residents away from danger areas and in to temporary shelters. Alerts asking residents to stay indoors and follow the dos and don’ts were issued repeatedly on TV and radio, and broadcast through loudspeakers in public places. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) praised the government’s “effective” evacuation, saying it had “saved many lives.” The state government in Odisha along with national disaster response teams and volunteers have worked in tandem to carry out evacuations and set up safe shelters. Workers have been equipped with satellite phones and inflatable boats along with food and medicines to distribute in the storm’s aftermath. Some 7,000 kitchens catering to 9,000 shelters have been set up, thanks to an army of 45,000 volunteers. Emergency workers are now focussing on restoring damaged infrastructure, including power and telecom lines, and clearing roads. Mahesh Palawat, the vice president of meteorology at private forecaster Skymet, said the early warnings had been vital in allowing authorities to plan in advance. “From April 25 onwards we (the Indian Meteorological Department and Skymet) had been monitoring the track and intensity of the cyclone continuously, what time it would make landfall and the probable points of landfall,” Palawat told AFP. Numerical models, adopted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in 2014 to supplement the more traditional statistical modeling, allowed forecasters to track Fani’s progress and wind profiles in the upper atmosphere. Denis McClean, a spokesperson for UNISDR, said “the almost pinpoint accuracy” of the early warnings from the IMD had enabled the authorities to “conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan.” Social media users also lauded the Indian authorities for averting a mass human disaster, despite the fact that a densely populated region was in the eye of the storm. “Credit goes to #India authorities for their aggressive pre-impact response, including massive evacuations,” wrote Josh Morgerman, a U.S.-based cyclone expert.
|
india;weather;storms;bangladesh;typhoons;cyclone fani
|
jp0003841
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Number of children in Japan declined by a third during Heisei Era
|
The number of children in Japan fell by a third during the 30 years of the Heisei Era, which ended in April, internal affairs ministry data showed Saturday. The number aged under 15 was estimated at 15.33 million as of April 1, down 180,000 from a year before and the lowest since comparable data became available in 1950. The total, which marked the 38th straight year of decrease since 1982, was about two-thirds of the 23.2 million in 1989, the first year of the Heisei Era. In the new era of Reiwa, an easy solution to the problem is not expected to be found soon to halt the declining numbers, analysts said. The nation’s birthrate has also remained low amid a lack of support for working women, many of whom continue to face the burden of homemaking and other traditional roles while having to work long hours. According to the data, released before Children’s Day on Sunday, those aged under 15 accounted for 12.1 percent of the nation’s total population, down 0.2 percentage point year on year and falling for the 45th straight year since 1975. Japan ranks lowest among countries with a population exceeding 40 million, followed by South Korea at 12.9% and Italy and Germany at 13.4%, according to the Statistics Bureau figures. The share for Japan was down 6.7 points from the 18.8 percent in 1989. Of all children, boys accounted for 7.85 million and girls totaled 7.48 million. By three-year age brackets, the numbers fell as the ages become lower. Those aged 12 to 14 stood at 3.22 million, 9 to 11 at 3.21 million, 6 to 8 at 3.09 million, 3 to 5 at 2.95 million and 0 to 2 at 2.86 million. As of Oct. 1, 2018, the number of children increased by 8,000 to 1.55 million in Tokyo, the only local government that posted growth. The number remained unchanged at 247,000 in Okinawa Prefecture and decreased in all 45 of the other prefectures. The share of children in the total prefectural population was highest in Okinawa Prefecture, at 17.0 percent, followed by Shiga Prefecture, at 14.0 percent, and Saga Prefecture, at 13.6 percent. The share was lowest in Akita Prefecture, at 10.0 percent, followed by Aomori Prefecture, at 10.8 percent, and Hokkaido Prefecture, at 10.9 percent.
|
children;heisei;reiwa
|
jp0003842
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Japanese health ministry to urge hospitals to enhance disaster preparedness
|
The health ministry will urge all of the nation’s hospitals designated as disaster response medical centers to stock enough fuel to run their power generators for at least three days by March 2021, people close to the matter said Sunday. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will also ask those 736 hospitals across the country to store enough water to sustain their treatment for three days without external supply or access to ground water, they said. The decision comes after the ministry’s survey following the deadly torrential rains in western Japan and the earthquake that caused a complete blackout in Hokkaido last year found that more than 100 of the hospitals do not meet either of the criteria. Of the 736 hospitals, 114 said their power generator fuel reserve is not enough to keep their operations running for three days, meaning they could be vulnerable if power and gas lines get severed during an earthquake or other disasters. Among the 114, 62 facilities planned to receive fossil fuel from regional supplies, while 12 said they would rely on city gas to run their generators. The current guidelines only require hospitals to find ways to secure fuel to keep their generators running on their own for three days or so, but not necessarily in the form of fuel reserves. In the case of the powerful earthquake that caused a blackout in Hokkaido in September, most of the prefecture’s 34 designated hospitals were forced to scale down their operations. Some of them went without power for over 40 hours. “It is hard to know how much fuel reserves we need (to survive a blackout) until a disaster actually hits,” one hospital official said. Other hospital operators said they do not have enough space or funding to set up additional fuel storage facilities. The hospitals are required to have three days’ worth of drinking water, but there is no specific requirement for water needed in treatment such as dialysis. The survey showed 177 facilities do not have water tanks large enough to store the required amount of drinking water. None of them has access to ground water.
|
disasters;hospitals;mhlw
|
jp0003844
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Japan and Vietnam agree to promote defense cooperation
|
HANOI - Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met in Hanoi on Saturday and agreed to strengthen their countries’ defense cooperation. The two nations will promote exchange programs for their defense industries while Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels will make port calls in Vietnam, Japanese officials said. “Drawing on the results of this visit, Japan would like to strengthen ties with Vietnam and contribute to regional stability and peace,” Iwaya told reporters after the meeting held on the last day of his three-day visit to Vietnam. Thursday, Iwaya and his Vietnamese counterpart, Ngo Xuan Lich, held talks where they agreed to seek a peaceful resolution for territorial issues in the South China Sea. China lays claim to almost the entire sea, which has raised tensions with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan, all of whom make claims to parts of the region. The disputed waters are rich fishing grounds and possibly hold large oil and natural gas deposits. Japan is promoting bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation with Southeast Asian countries under its defense guidelines to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
|
vietnam-japan relations;nguyen xuan phuc;takeshi iwaya
|
jp0003845
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Long traffic jams and packed bullet trains: Travelers return to Tokyo after Golden Week
|
The rush of travelers returning to Tokyo from the extra-long Golden Week holiday grew Sunday, with traffic jams over 30 km long seen on some parts of expressways, and major airports and railway stations reporting massive crowds. With people returning to work on Tuesday after the unprecedented 10-day national holiday, bullet trains were full of passengers. Masafumi Mori, 38, a high school teacher in Kawasaki, arrived at Tokyo Station after volunteering in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, which was hit by major tsunami in March, 2011. He helped local workers pack seaweed. “Shopping streets were full of people,” he said. “I can take another day off this time, although I was exhausted after working” as a volunteer in the Tohoku region, he said. Junta Ogata, 24, arrived at Narita airport after a trip to Europe with his girlfriend. “I feel blue because I need to start working tomorrow,” he said with a wry smile. Japan Road Traffic Information Center reported traffic jams of more than 30 km around the Takasaka rest area in Saitama Prefecture, and 20 km around Joban Kashiwa interchange in Chiba Prefecture. “I refreshed myself by playing golf, but I immediately got exhausted after I was caught in a traffic jam,” said Osamu Oide, 55, of Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward. This year’s holiday was specially extended to 10 days to celebrate the imperial succession. Emperor Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his 85-year-old father became the first Japanese monarch in 202 years to abdicate.
|
golden week;holiday
|
jp0003846
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/05
|
Education ministry draws up reference guide on gambling addiction for Japan's schoolteachers
|
The education ministry has come up with reference documents for high school teachers to guide them in preventing addiction to gambling and other activities and substances. The documents, which are in line with new guidelines on the school curriculum to be used from fiscal 2022, are intended to improve teachers’ understanding of addictions by detailing the factors that cause them. Under the curriculum guidelines, physical education classes will address prevention of and recovery from mental diseases. The instruction manual for the guidelines cites addiction as a mental disease. It calls for teaching students that, in addition to addictions to substances including alcohol and drugs, excessive participation in gambling and other activities is at risk of becoming an addiction behavior and adversely affecting people’s daily lives. The reference documents say the repeated use of drugs and other substances tends to lead to increases in the amounts and frequencies of such use, causing problems with health and daily living. Behavioral addicts, such as gambling addicts, cannot abandon their habitual practices at will, the documentation warns. With the help of illustrations, the documents explain the mechanisms of the brain, such as how the secretion of dopamine excites the central nervous system and causes pleasing sensations and euphoria. The documents also emphasize that addictions must be treated at specialist medical institutions. The creation of the reference documentation was called for in the government’s basic policy on measures to address gambling addictions, which was adopted in April. Later in fiscal 2019, the education ministry plans to draw up educational documents for children that correspond to their development stages, in an effort to provide better education, officials said.
|
teachers;education;gambling;schools;addiction;mental health;mext
|
jp0003847
|
[
"reference"
] |
2019/05/05
|
The week ahead for May 6 to May 12
|
Monday Substitute holiday for Children’s Day. Classic car parade “The Ginza Run” to be held in central district of Tokyo. Tuesday New town offices of Okuma, hit by 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, to start operation. Automaker industry body to release Japan’s new car sales in April. Restaurant chain operator Kisoji Co. to close all restaurants through Wednesday to give employees holidays as part of improvement to labor conditions. Wednesday Toyota Motor Corp. to release earnings report for business year ended March 31. Japanese auto giant is expected to report record sales due to robust global demand. 49th session of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to be held in Kyoto through May 12. Emperor Naruhito to attend Kijitsu Houkoku no Gi ceremony at Imperial Palace and report dates of Sokuirei Seiden no Gi ritual in October to proclaim his enthronement and the Daijosai offering ceremony in November. Thursday Tokyo Olympic organizing committee to start accepting applications for 2020 Games ticket lottery from residents in Japan. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to visit United States to seek cooperation in settling issue of North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese nationals. As minister in charge of abduction issue, Suga plans to meet with high-ranking U.S. officials including Vice President Mike Pence. Friday Earnings reports by Japanese companies for business year ended in March to peak with around 500 firms listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange releasing results. Focus will be earnings outlook for current year amid slowdown in China’s economic growth. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to announce household spending in March and fiscal 2018. Foreign Minister Taro Kono to hold talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on territorial dispute over islands called Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia. Saturday Two-day Group of 20 agriculture ministers’ meeting to be held in city of Niigata. Season for traditional cormorant fishing in Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture to begin. Sunday 15-day Summer Grand Sumo Tournament to begin at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan
|
weekly events;the week ahead;schedule
|
jp0003849
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Boycott of Brunei-owned businesses over gay sex death penalty expected to expand
|
LONDON - Businesses will likely continue to shun companies owned by Brunei, activists and consultants said, as they come under pressure to honor commitments to LGBT+ rights after the sultanate imposed the death penalty for gay sex and adultery. Meanwhile, global oil company Shell, which has a joint venture with the Brunei government, is being urged by investors to protect LGBT+ staff working in the Muslim-majority former British protectorate. The small Southeast Asian country sparked a global outcry when it rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws, or sharia, on April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning, and theft with amputation. The move, which was condemned by the United Nations and the European Parliament, led actor George Clooney and singer Elton John to call for a boycott of nine hotels owned by the sultanate. Banks, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Citi and Nomura, have banned staff from using the hotels, which include the Dorchester in London and the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, while numerous organizations have canceled events. Transport for London (TfL), which is responsible for London’s transport system, removed adverts promoting Brunei as a tourism destination from the city’s public transport network last month. STA Travel, a global travel agency, stopped selling flights on Royal Brunei Airlines, while Virgin Australia Airlines ended an agreement that offered staff discounted tickets on the national carrier. “A lot of businesses have just looked on in horror with what’s happened,” Iain Anderson, the chairman of Cicero, a communications consultancy, and an LGBT+ activist, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “As long as Brunei continues to be unbending on the issue, then I think that you’re going to see more and more companies coming out to not use Dorchester Collection hotels, or indeed other companies within the Brunei government’s ownership.” In a letter to the United Nations last month Brunei defended the imposition of strict sharia laws, which it began introducing in 2014 but halted after a backlash, as more for “prevention than to punish. “This particular boycott is likely to have longevity,” said Ian Johnson, head of consultancy OutNow, which works with companies on LGBT+ issues. “You’ve got very high profile voices driving mainstream opinion.” He pointed out that since the first boycott of Dorchester Collection hotels in 2014 LGBT+ rights such as same-sex marriage have become more widespread globally, spurring more businesses to declare support for gay and trans people. “Inclusion, diversity and equality are the foundation of Dorchester Collection,” the hotel group said in a statement last month. “Our values are far removed from the politics of ownership.” A spokeswoman for the group declined comment further. Anderson said there had been a huge growth in “quiet diplomacy” by companies on gay and trans issues in the last 10-15 years. Brunei’s sharia laws have prompted more public action from companies, though. “This is so off-the-scale egregious … that they need to be seen to act,” Anderson said. But Shell, which touts its support for its LGBT+ employees on its website, has largely stayed quiet. “Our core value of respect for people means that we respect all people, irrespective of gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation and all the things that make people different,” a spokeswoman said. The oil major would never discuss sharia law with Brunei’s government, a Shell employee who used to work in the country said. “It’s a directive from the sultan,” the employee said. “It’s not something you try to challenge or criticise.” Shell, which achieved a perfect score of 100 from advocacy group Human Rights Campaign on an index that rates companies on their LGBT+ policies, is nonetheless coming under pressure from investors to ensure its gay and trans staff are protected. “It is expected from the company that they live up to their policies on inclusion and LGBT-equality, wherever they have operations,” said a spokesman for Eumedion, a Dutch group that represents investors. “Considering the recent developments in Brunei, this issue may be put on the dialogue-agenda during our regular conversations with Shell,” he said in an emailed statement. The spokesman emphasized that the focus of any meeting would be on protecting Shell’s workers rather than advocating for legal change in Brunei. Robeco, a Dutch asset manager that leads Eumedion’s discussions with Shell, declined to comment.
|
rights;lgbt;nomura;brunei;shell;sharia;george clooney;elton john;boycotts
|
jp0003850
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/02
|
U.S. and China reported near deal to end some tariffs amid 'productive' talks
|
BEIJING - The United States and China are nearing a trade deal that would roll back a portion of the $250 billion in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, Politico reported on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two countries completed “productive” talks in Beijing. Mnuchin, along with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, held a day of discussions with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, aimed at ending a trade war. The talks are to resume next week in Washington, where some observers say a deal announcement is possible. “Ambassador Lighthizer and I just concluded productive meetings with China’s Vice Premier Liu He. We will continue our talks in Washington, D.C. next week,” Mnuchin wrote on his Twitter account. He gave no details. The three appeared before cameras at the end of talks at a state guest house in Beijing, chatting amiably among themselves without speaking to reporters. “The discussions remain focused toward making substantial progress on important structural issues and rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told pool reporters, adding only scheduling details. Politico quoted two people close to the talks as saying the sides have reached an understanding on how to enforce the agreement, but details need to be worked out. It would track closely to a framework described by Lighthizer to members of Congress: a series of meetings to address complaints about China’s compliance with the accord, ending in unilateral U.S. tariff actions if the dispute cannot be resolved. A USTR spokesman declined comment on the Politico story. Lighthizer has insisted on a strong enforcement mechanism to hold China to any promises to address U.S. demands for reforms of Beijing’s policies governing intellectual property rights, technology transfers and cyber-theft of trade secrets. In written replies to questions on the Senate Finance Committee website on Wednesday, Lighthizer said: “To the extent that there are issues that cannot be resolved at the vice-premier level, then the United States would have the right to act unilaterally to enforce. This mechanism I described did not exist in past dialogues.” A deal would involve immediate removal of 10 percent tariffs on a portion of $200 billion in Chinese goods affected by that duty, with a phased removal of tariffs on remaining goods “quickly,” Politico said. The United States has imposed tariffs on about $250 billion in Chinese goods, with a 25 percent duty on $50 billion worth of machinery, semiconductors, electronic and industrial components and autos. U.S. officials have said privately that an enforcement mechanism for a deal and timelines for lifting tariffs are sticking points. China’s official Xinhua news agency, in a brief report, noted that the latest talks had taken place and said the next rounds would take place in Washington next week as planned. Beijing and Washington have cited progress on issues including intellectual property and forced technology transfer to help end a conflict marked by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost both sides billions of dollars, disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets. Chinese officials have acknowledged that they view the enforcement mechanism as crucial, but said it must work two ways and cannot put restraints only on China. In Washington, people familiar with the talks say the question of how and when any U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will be removed will probably be among the last issues to be resolved. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he may keep some tariffs on Chinese goods for a “substantial period.” The United States has also been pressing China to further open its market to U.S. firms. China has repeatedly pledged to continue reforms and make it easier for foreign companies to operate in the country. In comments published in Wednesday, China’s top banking and insurance regulator said the government would further open up its banking and insurance sectors.
|
china;u.s .;tariffs;donald trump;robert lighthizer;steve mnuchin;trade war
|
jp0003851
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with solemn ceremony as Netanyahu hit surge in anti-Semitism
|
JERUSALEM - Israel on Wednesday began commemorating its Holocaust Remembrance Day in honor of the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis, as leaders voiced concerns about a rising wave of anti-Semitism around the world. In emotional addresses to an opening ceremony at Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, the country’s ceremonial president warned the government against getting too close to far right parties in Europe, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that last weekend’s deadly synagogue shooting in San Diego was the latest reminder of growing anti-Semitic hatred. The 24-hour remembrance period began at sundown with the main ceremony at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and came just hours after Israeli researchers reported that violent attacks against Jews rose significantly last year. This spike, highlighted by the San Diego attack, was most dramatic in western Europe. President Reuven Rivlin warned of anti-Semitism in Europe, which he said “is once again raising its head, fueled by waves of immigration, by economic crises, and by disillusionment with the political establishment.” In veiled criticism of Netanyahu, he urged the government to be cautious about forging alliances with the far-right parties in Europe. “Every country and society has the legitimate right and even the duty to choose its policy and to protect its identity. Not every right-wing party in Europe that believes in controlling immigration or in protecting its unique character is anti-Semitic or xenophobic,” Rivlin said. “But political forces where anti-Semitism and racism are part of their language, their legacy or their ideology can never be our allies. “No interest and no consideration of realpolitik can justify a dishonorable alliance with racist groups or elements who do not acknowledge their past and their responsibility for the crimes of the Holocaust,” he added. Rivlin did not identify any particular countries. But Netanyahu has come under criticism for embracing a string of Eastern European leaders who have offered strong political support to Israel while promoting a distorted image of the Holocaust. A slew of former communist nations whose leaders recently visited Israel and paid their respects at Yad Vashem, such as Hungary, Lithuania and Poland, are swept up in a wave of World War II-era revisionism that seeks to diminish their culpability in the Holocaust while making heroes out of anti-Soviet nationalists involved in the mass killing of Jews. In Israel, established in the wake of the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews, many say Netanyahu is cynically betraying the victims’ memory. Netanyahu, meanwhile, warned of rising anti-Semitic extremism as well. He said that the extreme right, extreme left and radical Islam agree on “one thing: their hatred of Jews.” He noted the deadly synagogue shootings in San Diego last weekend and in Pittsburgh last October as well as vandalism at Jewish cemeteries. He also took aim at a recent political cartoon in the New York Times’ international edition, saying that even “respected newspapers” have gotten swept up in the trend. “We’re not talking about legitimate criticism of Israel,” he said, “but of systematic, poisonous and shallow hatred.” Holocaust Remembrance day is one of the most melancholy days on Israel’s calendar. Places of entertainment and cafes are closed. TV and radio stations broadcast Holocaust documentaries and interviews with survivors or somber music until sundown the next day. Israelis come to a mournful, two-minute standstill to remember the dead Thursday morning when sirens wail across the country. Pedestrians stop in their tracks. Cars pull over on roads and many people exit their vehicles to stand still in contemplation. The names of Holocaust victims are read out in parliament.
|
israel;hungary;poland;benjamin netanyahu;anti-semitism;judaism;holocaust;reuven rivlin
|
jp0003852
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Escalation of violence in Syria's Idlib displaces nearly 140,000: U.N.
|
BEIRUT - Fighting in northwestern Syria has displaced nearly 140,000 people since February, the UN said on Wednesday, as the regime and its ally Russia have stepped up their bombardment. “Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib,” said David Swanson of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. “Between 1 and 28 April, its estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates,” he told AFP. Idlib has been protected from a massive regime offensive by a September deal inked by Damascus ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. But the region of some 3 million people has come under increasing bombardment since former the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group took full control of it in January. The escalation has killed more than 200 civilians since February, the U.N. said last week. A new wave of shelling and airstrikes this week targeted schools and medical centers, according to Swanson. “The U.N. is deeply concerned over the recent escalation,” he said. The attacks targeted parts of Hama and southern Idlib, including the village of al-Qasabiyah. “The majority of the Al-Qasabiyah village residents reportedly displaced to safer villages due to hostilities in the area,” Swanson said. AFP correspondents saw intense bombardment of Al-Qasabiyah Wednesday, with bombs dropped by warplanes sending huge plumes of gray smoke billowing into the sky. Vehicles loaded with mattresses, carpets and even household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines could be seen leaving villages in southern Idlib. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said that regime shelling over the past two days has been the most intense since the agreement between Moscow and Ankara. The monitor said at least seven civilians were killed in the bombardment on Wednesday. The United States on Tuesday urged Russia to abide by its commitments and stop an “escalation” in Idlib. “The violence must end,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. An estimated 3 million people live in Idlib and adjacent rebel-held territory, 1.7 million of whom were already displaced from other parts of Syria since the conflict erupted in 2011. The figure for those displaced there since February is more than double the number of people forced to move during battles against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria between December and March. OCHA on Wednesday said more than 63,000 people were displaced from territory held by IS in southeastern Deir Ezzor between December and March as a U.S.-backed force snuffed out its self-declared “caliphate. The civil war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began.
|
conflict;syria;u.n .;idlib
|
jp0003853
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
No Cuban troops in Venezuela, diplomat from Havana tells AP
|
WASHINGTON/HAVANA - Cuba has no troops in Venezuela and engages in no security operations there but maintains the right to military and intelligence cooperation with its ally, a top Cuban diplomat said Wednesday. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba’s director-general of U.S. affairs, told The Associated Press in Washington that the U.S. is falsely accusing his country of having more than 20,000 troops and intelligence agents in Venezuela. De Cossio said there are roughly 20,000 Cubans in Venezuela but virtually all are medical workers. “There are no troops,” he said in English. “Cuba does not participate in military operations nor in security operations in Venezuela.” In Cuba’s most detailed public remarks yet on the U.S. accusations, de Cossio said that despite the lack of Cuban boots on the ground, he could not deny intelligence cooperation because “I don’t have that information.” Broader intelligence or military cooperation would be “totally legitimate,” he added. “The United States has over 800,000 Americans stationed around the world with over 600-700 military bases anywhere in the world. Any two countries in our region have military or intelligence cooperation and we have it with many countries. So it is totally legitimate, it is a sovereign right of Cuba and Venezuela to do so,” de Cossio said. “But what I am saying is that in spite of having that right, there are no military personnel of Cuba or troops, nor do we participate in any military or security operation as is constantly alleged,” he added. Cuba and Venezuela have had an extraordinarily tight alliance over the last two decades. That relationship has centered on Venezuela sending an estimated $30 billion worth of oil since 2003, in exchange for Cuba dispatching tens of thousands of medical workers and other civilian government employees. Cuba also has a large and highly professional security and intelligence apparatus, which includes thousands of operatives who would not be considered military troops. Venezuelan defectors have reported the presence of Cubans in key positions among the Venezuelan armed forces and intelligence services, but to date there has been no public proof. The Trump administration has nonetheless repeatedly insisted that there are more than 20,000 Cuban security operatives in Venezuela tasked with directly supporting embattled President Nicolas Maduro. “If this afternoon 20-25,000 Cubans left Venezuela, I think Maduro would fall by midnight,” U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said at the White House on Tuesday. “It’s this foreign presence that sits on top of the military, sits on top of the government, that makes it impossible for the people’s voice to be heard.”
|
conflict;u.s .;venezuela;cuba;coups;donald trump;carlos fernández de cossío
|
jp0003854
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
160,000-year-old Chinese fossil sheds light on Denisovans, the mysterious kin of Neanderthals
|
NEW YORK - Nearly 40 years after it was found by a monk in a Chinese cave, a fossilized chunk of jawbone has been revealed as coming from a mysterious relative of the Neanderthals. Contemporaries of the Neanderthals — and like them, possibly wiped out by anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens — the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago. Their existence was determined through a piece of finger bone and two molars unearthed at the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia’s Altai Mountains and dated to some 80,000 years ago. Until now, the only known remains of these Denisovans were the few scraps of bone and teeth recovered in the Siberian cave. DNA from those fossils showed kinship with Neanderthals. But the remains disclosed little else. The new discovery was made roughly 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) to the southeast in China’s Gansu province. The right half of a jawbone with teeth is at least 160,000 years old, scientists reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. No DNA could be found, but scientists recovered protein fragments that they compared to the Siberian DNA. That showed the fossil came from a Denisovan. The find addresses several mysteries. One was why the Siberian DNA indicated Denisovans were adapted to living at high altitudes when the Siberian cave is relatively close to sea level. The Chinese cave, by contrast, is on the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau, about 3,280 meters (10,800 feet) high. In 2015 researchers found that ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese living at altitude had buried in their genetic code an unusual variant of a gene, EPAS1, that regulates hemoglobin, the molecule that hauls oxygen around the blood. At high altitude, common variants of the gene overproduce hemoglobin and red blood cells, causing the blood to become thick and sludgy — a cause of hypertension, low birth weight and infant mortality. But the variant found in Tibetans increases production by much less, thus averting the hypoxia problems experienced by many people who relocate to places above 4,000 meters in altitude. The mutation is nearly identical to that found in the DNA of Denisovans discovered in Siberia — at an altitude of less than 700 meters. “Now we have an explanation,” said Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, one of the paper’s authors. In fact, “it’s a big surprise” that any human relative could live in the cold climate and thin air of the plateau at that time, more than 100,000 years before our species showed up there, he told reporters. Previous research had indicated that Denisovans must have lived somewhere other than Siberia, because traces of their DNA can be found in several present-day populations of Asia and Australia whose ancestors probably didn’t pass through that region. The new finding expands their known range, although Hublin said it is still not clear where Denisovans first appeared. The new work was a long time in coming. The monk who found the fossil in 1980 gave it to a Buddhist leader, who passed it along to Lanzhou University in China. Study of it began in 2010. The discovery also provides new anatomical details that can be compared to other fossils from China, some of which are “good candidates for being Chinese Denisovans,” Hublin said. Experts unconnected to the research agreed the fossil could help identify other remains as Denisovan. “We always assumed … that Denisovans were distributed all across Asia,” said Bence Viola of the University of Toronto. The Nature paper points out similarities to a fossil jaw reported in 2015 that had been dredged by a fishing net off the coast of Taiwan. So maybe the Denisovan range can be extended that far south, he said. Such linking of fossils might eventually reveal Denisovan body shape and size, he said. From the scant known remains “I assume they were large guys, but it’s kind of hard to prove,” Viola said. In addition to the anatomy, the study’s approach of using protein from the bone or teeth could also be used on fossils to look for evidence of Denisovan identity, said Eric Delson of Lehman College in New York. Even if a fossil is found not to be Denisovan, the analysis could reveal details of how it fits on the evolutionary tree, he said. “The method potentially tells us a whole new way of looking at fossils,” he said. Katerina Harvati of the University of Tuebingen in Germany said the ability of Denisovans to adapt to the inhospitable climate of the Tibetan Plateau is remarkable. It adds to growing evidence that our ancient relatives were more capable than scientists had thought, she said.
|
evolution;archaeology;neanderthals;denisovans
|
jp0003855
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Aluminum fraud caused satellite failures that cost $700 million, NASA says
|
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Faulty materials supplied by a unit of Norsk Hydro ASA, one of the world’s top aluminum producers, led to more than $700 million of losses in two failed NASA satellite launch missions, according to an investigation by the space agency. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission in 2009 and Glory mission in 2011 didn’t reach orbit and broke up on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere after payloads failed to separate from Taurus XL rockets. Aluminum producer Sapa Profiles Inc. had altered test results and provided false certifications to the rocket’s manufacturer relating to extrusions used in a key component for the payload delivery system, NASA said in a statement. “When testing results are altered and certifications are provided falsely, missions fail,” wrote Jim Norman, director for launch services, in the statement. “The Taurus XLs that failed for the OCO and Glory missions resulted in the loss of more than $700 million, and years of people’s scientific work.” Both missions were intended to launch monitoring instruments related to climate. Norsk Hydro confirmed in March that it had agreed to resolve Department of Justice investigations related to the unit. Norsk Hydro agreed to pay $46 million to NASA, the Department of Defense and others to resolve criminal charges and civil claims related to a 19-year fraud, the DOJ said in an April 23 statement. Sapa, now known as Hydro Extrusion Portland Inc., is currently excluded from U.S. federal government contracting, NASA said in its statement.
|
nasa;rockets;fraud;satellites;norsk hydro
|
jp0003856
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Who's a good boy? Wolves, not dogs, apparently
|
WASHINGTON - If you are looking for a word to describe your adorable pet pup, “selfish” might not top the list. But a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE suggests Fido’s reputation for being caring is all a ruse — at least if you are a fellow dog. A series of touchscreen experiments carried out by the Wolf Science Center in Vienna found that wolves make for more selfless pack mates than dogs that were also raised in groups. The study’s authors say the findings suggest domestic dogs inherited their cooperative tendencies from their fierce wolf ancestors, rather than through their contact with human beings, a competing hypothesis. Researchers trained the animals to use their snouts to press a “giving” symbol on a screen that delivered food to an adjacent enclosure where a fellow animal may or may not be present. Over multiple trials, wolves opted to deliver food to members of their own pack, knowing they would not get anything in return — but lost interest if they were shown an unfamiliar wolf. Dogs, on the other hand, showed no inclination to feed other dogs when no personal payoff was involved, regardless of whether they knew them or not. “This study shows that domestication did not necessarily make dogs more pro-social,” said lead author Rachel Dale. “Rather, it seems that tolerance and generosity towards group members help to produce high levels of cooperation, as seen in wolves.” But don’t write off your pooch just yet. The authors cautioned against applying the results of an experiment carried out on pack dogs to pet dogs, which have been found to have pro-social tendencies in past studies. The researchers believe those behaviors could be the result of training or encouragement, and say more research is needed to determine what accounts for the differences.
|
nature;evolution;animals;pets;dogs;wolves
|
jp0003857
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Australian scientists find antidote for deadly box jellyfish sting
|
SYDNEY - Australian researchers believe they have found an antidote to a sting from the world’s most venomous creature, the much-feared box jellyfish. Researchers at the University of Sydney had been investigating how the venom is so deadly that one box jellyfish can kill as many as 60 people. The team noticed the venom needs cholesterol to kill human cells, and decided to test whether existing drugs could stop it. “Since there are lots of drugs available that target cholesterol,” said lead author Raymond Lau, the team tried one out. “It worked,” he said. “It’s a molecular antidote.” Running tests using human cells and mice, the team found it could stop the tissue scarring and pain that are associated with the sting — as long as the medicine was injected within 15 minutes. Stings from box jellyfish — which can be smaller than a fingernail or up to 3 meters long, depending on the species — can cause acute muscular pain, violent vomiting, feelings of “impending doom,” hair that stands on end, strokes, heart failure and death within minutes. There are at least 50 species of box jellyfish but only a few have been confirmed to be involved in human deaths, and some pose no serious threat at all. So far the researchers have only tested the sting from the larger, deadlier species. “We know the drug will stop the necrosis, skin scarring and the pain completely when applied to the skin,” said Neely, an associate professor. “We don’t know yet if it will stop a heart attack. That will need more research, and we are applying for funding to continue this work.” The team hopes that eventually a topical cream or spray can be developed to prevent stings that are thought to kill dozens of people each year and hospitalize thousands more.
|
medicine;oceans;australia;biology;pests;jellyfish
|
jp0003858
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
One giant bid: First moon landing manual could fetch $9 million at auction
|
LOS ANGELES - The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie’s said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apollo 11 lunar module timeline book details every procedure that was needed to undock, land and rendezvous the Eagle with its Columbia command module when Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. “These are step-by-step instructions that cover the entire portion of the Eagle flight. It is a series of instructions on everything from ‘don your helmets’ to ‘check your power system,’ ” Christina Geiger, head of books and manuscripts at Christie’s, told Reuters. Along with technical data, the book, which was carried aboard the Eagle, contains drawings and almost 150 check marks and annotations written in real time by Armstrong and Aldrin. Since there was no audio or video recording of what happened in the cockpit of the Eagle, the manual is regarded as a unique witness to space history. It also marks the first writing by a human being on another celestial body. It is being sold by a private collector who purchased it previously from Aldrin, Christie’s said. Collectors pay huge sums for space exploration artifacts. In 2017, Sotheby’s sold a zippered bag used by Armstrong and laced with moondust for $1.8 million. “Everybody wants something that has flown to space or to the moon. It’s so cool to be able to gaze up at the moon and think: ‘I’ve got an object in my pocket that was there,’ ” said Geiger. The last manned mission to the moon took place in 1972. Christie’s has placed a $7 million to $9 million estimate on the timeline book, which will go on public view in New York from May 3 to 17 ahead of a global tour before the auction on July 18. The book is the star item in a 150-lot auction marking the 50th anniversary of the moon landing called One Giant Leap: Celebrating Space Exploration 50 years after Apollo 11.
|
space;auctions;moon;christie 's;neil armstrong;buzz aldrin
|
jp0003859
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
U.S. missile contracts have surged since decision to exit arms treaty, study shows
|
GENEVA - Washington has signed more than $1 billion in new missile contracts in the three months since it announced plans to withdraw from a key Cold War-era arms treaty, campaigners said Thursday. “The withdrawal from the INF treaty has fired the starting pistol on a new Cold War,” warned Beatrice Fihn, who heads the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). U.S. President Donald Trump announced last October that his country would leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement concluded between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in 1987. Washington, which accused Russia of violating the treaty through a new missile system, began the official process of withdrawing from the pact in February. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by saying Moscow would also leave the INF treaty, which is considered the cornerstone of global arms control. In the three months following the October announcement, the U.S. government “proceeded to arrange no less than $1 billion in new missile contracts,” according to a report by ICAN and another anti-nuclear campaign group, PAX. The report detailed over $1.1 billion in new contracts with six mainly U.S. companies. U.S. defense contractor Raytheon saw the biggest windfall, tallying 44 new contracts worth some $537 million. Lockheed Martin meanwhile scooped up 36 new contracts, worth $268 million, while Boeing grabbed four new contracts totalling $245 million, the report found. “Congress should investigate the lobbying roles of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon who took the lion’s share of these contracts,” Fihn said in a statement. The report authors acknowledged that it was unclear if all of the new contracts awarded between Oct. 22, 2018, and Jan. 21, 2019, were for new nuclear weapon production. “What is clear is that there is a new rush towards building more missiles that benefit a handful of U.S. companies and intend to flood the market with missiles regardless of their range,” they said. At a global level, the report found that governments are currently contracting at least $116 billion (€102 billion) to private companies in France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain and the U.S. for the production, development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. At the same time, it stressed that the private sector involvement in the arsenals of China, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia remain largely hidden, with little insight into how much is being contracted and which companies are getting the deals. Many of the outstanding contracts identified in the report were granted around 2015 and are set to expire in 2020, but some of the contracts have far longer time frames. For example, one contract for a key component necessary to launch U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles runs until at least 2075, the report showed. “President Trump is heralding the need for global denuclearization, but U.S. deeds, and those of nuclear-armed allies do not match those words,” said Susi Snyder, PAX nuclear disarmament program manager and the lead author of the report. “We see the U.S. and other states planning for a nuclear-armed century, with contracts to maintain weapons through at least 2075, despite growing domestic and global calls to reverse course,” she lamented.
|
military;weapons;nuclear weapons;missiles;donald trump;arms-makers;defense procurement;inf
|
jp0003862
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Thousands protest Maduro regime as Venezuela standoff sparks U.S.-Russian tensions
|
CARACAS - Thousands of marchers protested in Venezuela on Wednesday to try to force socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power as tension grew between Russia and the United States over the political standoff in the OPEC-member nation. Opposition leader Juan Guaido had called for the “largest march” in Venezuela’s history and on Tuesday asked the military for their backing, but the armed forces leadership has so far remained loyal to Maduro, who has been in power since 2013. “If the regime thought we had reached maximum pressure, they cannot even imagine,” Guaido told thousands of cheering supporters in eastern Caracas. “We have to remain in the streets.” Under a scorching sun, supporters banged drums and carried Venezuelan flags and banners proclaiming “freedom.” At a different site in Caracas some protesters, their faces covered in shirts, threw projectiles from an overpass at National Guard officers below, who responded by firing tear gas canisters. The Venezuelan opposition has often staged huge street protests against Maduro but has failed to dislodge him despite deep economic recession and hyperinflation. Guaido — who heads the opposition-run National Assembly — is recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate president by the United States, Europe and others, but Maduro is backed by countries including Russia, China, and Cuba. The fault lines are increasingly putting Venezuela at the heart of global geopolitical tensions, with the United States and Russia accusing each other of intervention in Venezuela’s affairs. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on the Maduro government and refused to rule out military intervention, although it says it prefers a peaceful transition. “Military action is possible. If that’s what’s required, that’s what the United States will do,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox Business Network. The Pentagon appeared to downplay any active preparations to directly intervene in Venezuela, but acknowledged detailed contingency planning. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Pompeo by phone on Wednesday that further “aggressive steps” in Venezuela would be fraught with the gravest consequences, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. Lavrov also condemned U.S. “interference” in Venezuela’s internal affairs as a breach of international law. In turn, the United States has also accused Moscow of interfering in the South American country, an ally of Russia since the time of Maduro’s predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez. Pompeo said on Tuesday that Maduro had recently been prepared to leave Venezuela but changed his plan after Russia intervened. A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry denied that. White House national security adviser John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, said Moscow’s interference was not welcome. “This is our hemisphere,” he told reporters outside the White House. “It’s not where the Russians ought to be interfering. This is a mistake on their part. It’s not going to lead to an improvement of relations.” Maduro retains control of state institutions and the loyalty of the armed forces, frustrating Guaido’s bid to assume the day-to-day functions of government on an interim basis — which he says would be a prelude to calling new elections. Guaido faces a challenge to maintain momentum, amid frustration among some supporters that Maduro remains in office more than three months after the opposition leader invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Seeking to appeal to Maduro’s traditional base among the working class, Guaido said on Wednesday in Caracas he would consider a proposal from public workers to call for a series of stoppages leading up to a general strike. Carlos Alberto, a 70-year-old small-business owner, draped in a Venezuelan flag, said: “We are tired of this regime, that has brutally impoverished us. My children and almost all my family have already left Venezuela. … We know that if it’s not today, it will be tomorrow, because this has to end.” Venezuelan living standards have declined even further in the first several months of the year, with blackouts and water shortages adding to hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine that have prompted millions to emigrate. Triple the usual daily number of Venezuelans fled across the border to Brazil on Tuesday, Brazilian government data showed. Maduro, who says Guaido is a puppet of the United States seeking to orchestrate a coup, called a march of his own supporters on Wednesday. “We have been confronting different types of aggression and attempted coups never before seen in our history,” he said on Tuesday. Several thousand Maduro supporters, wearing red shirts, headed toward the Miraflores presidential palace. Educator Mercedes Martinez called Guaido a “lapdog” and said: “The empire wants to smother us, cut off our head and colonize us. … The people of Venezuela are defending Venezuela.” Elsewhere in Latin America, millions of Cubans took to the streets to protest new sanctions imposed on the Caribbean island by the Trump administration and U.S. efforts to topple Maduro.
|
u.s .;russia;venezuela;nicolas maduro;juan guaido
|
jp0003863
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/02
|
Russia denies U.S. claim it told Venezuela's Maduro not to flee
|
MOSCOW - Russia on Wednesday rejected a U.S. allegation it had persuaded Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro not to flee the country the previous day, calling the assertion a calculated attempt to demoralize the army and escalate the crisis there. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told broadcaster CNN on Tuesday that Maduro was prepared to leave the country that morning in the face of a call for an uprising by opposition leader Juan Guaido, but reversed his plan after Russia intervened. Pompeo suggested Maduro had been planning to fly to Cuba, which Maduro himself has since dismissed. Russia, which has acted as a lender of last resort to Venezuela and supplied it with weapons, has accused the United States of trying to foment a coup against Maduro, someone Moscow counts as one of its closest allies in Latin America. Asked to comment on Pompeo’s comments, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said they were part of an “information war.” “This was absolute disinformation and fake news,” she said. Washington realised that the army’s continued support was crucial for Maduro which was why it was focusing its efforts on trying to sow doubt in it ranks, she added. Venezuelans were expected to take to the streets on Wednesday, a day after Guaido called for the military to oust Maduro. Zakharova said the United States had in the past waged a similar disinformation campaign about Syrian President Bashar-al Assad, another close Russian ally, which had flopped. Russia has accused Venezuela’s opposition of resorting to violence, and President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation there with his Security Council on Tuesday. Russia has sent nearly 100 military personnel to Caracas, a contingent the Kremlin has described as military specialists. Pompeo was scheduled to discuss Venezuela with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov later on Wednesday, White House national security adviser John Bolton said. “This is our hemisphere,” Bolton told reporters. “It’s not where the Russians ought to be interfering.”
|
u.s .;russia;venezuela;nicolas maduro;sergey lavrov;mike pompeo;john bolton;juan guaido
|
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