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jp0004179
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Renault to decide by next week whether to proceed with Fiat Chrysler merger talks
|
MILAN/PARIS - Renault SA’s board will hold informal work sessions within days and likely decide next week whether to enter an agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to proceed with merger talks, two sources said. On Monday, FCA pitched a finely balanced merger of equals to Renault to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world’s third-biggest automaker. If it goes ahead, the $35 billion-plus tie-up would alter the landscape for rivals including General Motors and Peugeot maker PSA Group, which recently held inconclusive talks with Fiat Chrysler, and could spur more deals. Renault said it is studying the proposal from Italian-American FCA with interest, and considers it friendly. Shares in both companies jumped more than 10 percent Monday as investors welcomed the prospect of an enlarged business capable of producing more than 8.7 million vehicles a year and aiming for €5 billion ($5.6 billion) in annual savings. It would rank third in the global auto industry behind Toyota Motor Corp. and Germany’s Volkswagen AG. The carmakers are moving ahead without Renault’s 20-year partner, Nissan Motor Co., and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the other member of their troubled alliance. Fiat has conditioned the merger talks on Renault agreeing not to pursue a transaction with Nissan in the short term, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Japanese company would be welcome to join the merged entity later. Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa late Monday welcomed a possible merger between the two carmakers, saying it is “positive news for the future as a whole because it provides greater opportunities.” “It would be good for the scope of the alliance to widen,” he said in Tokyo, referring to Nissan’s current partnership with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors. He said Nissan wants to discuss the matter with Renault and Mitsubishi. Top executives of the three automakers are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Japan. FCA proposed an all-share merger under a listed Dutch holding company. After a €2.5 billion dividend for existing FCA shareholders — giving a big upfront boost to the Agnelli family that controls 29 percent of FCA — investors in each firm would hold half of the new entity. The merged group would be chaired by Agnelli family scion John Elkann, sources familiar with the talks said, while Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard would likely become CEO. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini welcomed the merger proposal but said Rome may need to acquire a stake, balancing France’s 15 percent holding in Renault— which is set to be diluted to 7.5 percent of the combined group. A deal could also have profound repercussions for Renault’s 20-year-old alliance with Nissan, already weakened by the crisis surrounding the arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn late last year. In a letter to employees, FCA Chief Executive Mike Manley cautioned that a merger with Renault could take more than a year to finalize. A deal could help both companies address some of the shortcomings that have led their market valuations to lag behind major rivals, as well as the shift to electric and self-driving technologies amid tightening emissions regulations. The French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder, supports a merger with FCA in principle but will need to see more details, its main spokeswoman said. France will be “particularly vigilant regarding employment and industrial footprint,” another Paris official said, adding any deal must safeguard Renault’s alliance with Nissan, which recently rebuffed a merger proposal from its partner. Seeking to soothe concerns, FCA said the deal plans “are not predicated on plant closures but would be achieved through more capital-efficient investment.” The carmakers have given commitments to maintain industrial jobs and sites, one source said — leaving room for white-collar and engineering layoffs as well as some plant downsizing. Appealing to Nissan, which is 43.4 percent owned by Renault, FCA said the Japanese carmaker would nominate a director to the 11-member board of the new company. Nissan and affiliate Mitsubishi would also benefit from €1 billion in cost and investment savings, it said.
|
nissan;carmakers;mitsubishi motors;renault;acquisitions;merger;fiat chrysler
|
jp0004180
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
In the clear for now, Japan braces for more trade pressure from Trump after July
|
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have won some respite from U.S. pressure on trade for now, but analysts expect President Donald Trump to push Japan in a few months into making concessions on agriculture and automobiles as he looks for a major win to bolster his 2020 re-election bid. In official and informal talks Sunday and Monday during a state visit to Japan, Trump indicated Washington would not press Tokyo for a bilateral trade deal until after the Upper House elections in July — apparently taking into consideration Abe’s desire to avoid pressure to cut tariffs, which may affect farmers. Trump, however, still complained about the “tremendous” trade imbalance between the two countries and said there would be some announcements regarding bilateral trade “probably in August.” Given that farmers have been a reliable source of votes for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, he would not want to upset them — especially amid speculation that he may dissolve the Lower House for a snap election to be held simultaneously with the Upper House vote. In a meeting with Abe in Washington just a month ago, Trump said he wants to “get rid of” Japan’s “very massive” tariffs on American farm products in a deal he said he might strike with Abe by late May, although negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement only started in April. “Mr. Trump does Mr. Abe a favor this time,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo. “After the Upper House election, the president may use the favor to extract concessions from the prime minister in a deal that would be more favorable to the United States.” Abe and Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in late August in France and at the U.N. General Assembly in September in New York. Trump is likely to press Japan to make concessions, particularly on increased access to its agricultural market to appease American farmers and ranchers amid the 2020 presidential race, according to analysts. Just like Abe, Trump needs votes from U.S. farming states for re-election. “Great progress being made in our Trade Negotiations with Japan. Agriculture and beef heavily in play,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “Much will wait until after their July elections where I anticipate big numbers!” U.S. farmers and ranchers are pushing the administration to level the playing field because they have started losing market share in Japan following the recent enactment of a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 11-nation regional free trade agreement, and an FTA between Japan and the European Union. Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP — which includes Japan and farming nations such as Australia and Canada — in 2017, citing his preference for bilateral trade deals. For its part, Japan has been calling for the elimination of U.S. tariffs on Japanese vehicles, including a 2.5 percent levy on cars and a 25 percent duty on trucks, as had been agreed by President Barack Obama’s administration for the TPP. Tokyo levies no taxes on imported vehicles. But the Trump administration has expressed reluctance to remove those auto-related tariffs. The president regards automobiles as emblematic of the trade imbalance with Japan, as automobiles and car parts accounted for about 75 percent of the U.S. trade deficit as of 2017. In a threat to Tokyo and other major auto exporters, Trump on May 17 delayed his decision on a potential 25 percent tariff on imported cars and vehicle parts for up to six months, and directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate deals with Japan and others to address what his administration claims is a threat to U.S. national security. “I think they both understand that agriculture and automobiles are somehow going to be a part of any deal, but exactly how and when agriculture and autos is going to be addressed is still very much up for debate,” said Matthew Goodman, senior adviser for Asian economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. Referring to the 180-day window for negotiations, Goodman said Trump is likely to use what the administration calls “the threatened impairment of national security” as an excuse to demand voluntary export restraints or quotas from Japan and other major auto exporters — a practice that is restricted by the World Trade Organization. Experts say the speed of Japan-U.S. talks will depend on whether the Trump administration demands one-sided concessions from Japan or is willing to live with more realistic compromises. “If the U.S. insists on agricultural concessions beyond the TPP levels or on quotas restraining Japanese auto exports to the U.S., I think we are in for protracted negotiations,” said Mireya Solis, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Lighthizer’s counterpart in the bilateral trade talks, has said Tokyo opposes quotas and other trade-distorting measures that are incompatible with WTO rules. “The fastest scenario would ensue if the U.S. and Japan agree to reinstate the market access schedules they had agreed under the TPP,” Solis said. “Chances of that are slim, however, because of President Trump’s obsession with the trade deficit and his predilection for tariffs.” Underscoring Solis’ concern, Trump blasted the TPP, telling reporters Monday that the multilateral pact “would’ve destroyed our automobile industry and many of our manufacturers.”
|
china;u.s .;agriculture;tpp;trade;carmakers;tariffs;ustr;donald trump;trade war
|
jp0004181
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Japan to restrict foreign investment in IT firms
|
The government will expand its national security restriction on foreign investors acquiring shares in Japanese firms by adding information technology-related firms in August. The move is aimed at preventing the outflow of sensitive information and technologies to other countries, including China. The announcement Monday followed a U.S. decision earlier this month to effectively ban American companies from supplying parts to Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., citing national security concerns, and put it on a list of companies that U.S. firms cannot trade with without a license. The Japanese government will add 15 industry sectors, including mobile phone and computer manufacturers, to its restriction list and expand the scope of companies included in five already-covered industries, such as regional and long-distance telecommunications businesses. The arms, airline and nuclear industry sectors have been subject to the restriction in accordance with the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law. Foreign investors will be obliged to notify the government in advance when they seek to obtain more than a 10 percent stake in listed firms or buy shares in unlisted companies in Japan. The government will then screen their notifications to examine whether the stock acquisition would damage the country’s safety.
|
china;investments;huawei technologies co .
|
jp0004182
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Canada says Microsoft and Facebook will do more to help ensure security of election
|
OTTAWA - Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. have agreed to help boost the security of Canada’s October election by removing fake accounts and cracking down on bots, a top government official said on Monday. The measures are outlined in a nonbinding declaration on electoral integrity, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould told legislators. Last month Gould complained the world’s major social media companies were not doing enough to help combat potential foreign meddling in the election and said the government might have to regulate them. “The Wild West online era cannot continue — inaction is not an option. Disinformation must not stand,” said Gould. Government officials say they fear Russian actors will try to interfere in the vote. Microsoft and Facebook had also agreed to intensify efforts to combat disinformation, promote safeguards to address cybersecurity incidents and explain their rules about accepting political advertising, Gould said. “I urge other platforms to follow suit in the coming days,” she added in a clear reference to Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
|
microsoft;canada;elections;facebook;cyberattacks
|
jp0004183
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Dollar falls to around ¥109.40 in Tokyo trading
|
The dollar fell to around ¥109.40 in Tokyo on Tuesday, weighed down by position-squaring selling. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.40-41, down from ¥109.57-57 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1185-1186, down from $1.1196-1197, and at ¥122.38-38, down from ¥122.68-68. After briefly rising above ¥109.60 in the midmorning, the dollar fluctuated around ¥109.50 for the most of afternoon trading amid a dearth of fresh trading incentives. Late in the afternoon, the dollar eased to levels around ¥109.40 on selling to reduce dollar-long positions against the yen, traders said. “Investors were waiting for news,” an official at a foreign-affiliated securities firm said. Players are focusing on the U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index for April and China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for May, both due out Friday, traders said. “A strong PMI reading could send the dollar above ¥110,” an official at a major Japanese bank said. “But the greenback may drop below ¥109 if the reading turns out to be dismal.”
|
currency;forex
|
jp0004184
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Tokyo stocks rise again
|
Stocks extended gains Tuesday thanks to a lack of major sellers in dormant trading. The Nikkei 225 average rose 77.56 points, or 0.37 percent, to end at 21,260.14 after adding 65.36 points Monday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 3.99 points, or 0.26 percent, higher at 1,550.99. It gained 5.79 points Monday. The market opened almost flat, with investors sitting on the fence following the three-day weekend in the United States and Britain. They also refrained from active trading because there were no releases of closely watched economic indicators overseas overnight and in the early Tokyo morning, brokers said. But the market soon started going up and continued the rise until midmorning, as buying in Tokyo Electron swelled following the chipmaking gear manufacturer’s announcement the previous day of a plan to buy back shares, they noted. The Nikkei and Topix both stayed in positive territory throughout the afternoon session. Behind the day’s rise was lethargic trading by foreign investors, who have been major sellers of Japanese stocks recently, after the long weekend, said Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc. “The Nikkei is expected to move mainly between 21,000 and 21,500 for the time being, with no incentives powerful enough to pull the key price gauge out of the range in sight,” said Hiroaki Hiwada, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. Despite the rises in the two leading market yardsticks, falling issues slightly outnumbered rising ones 1,040 to 1,012 in the first section, while 89 issues were unchanged. Volume increased to 1.719 billion shares from Monday’s 901 million. Although actual trading was inactive, transactions associated with a reshuffle in the component issues of an important index for institutional investors surged, brokers said. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors jumped on media reports of a possible merger between their French alliance partner Renault SA and Italian-U.S. auto giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Drugstore chain Kusuri No Aoki soared thanks to a rise in same-store sales. Among other winners were electronics company Sharp and automaker Suzuki. By contrast, Leopalace21 met with heavy profit-taking selling after a recent jump, brokers said. Also on the negative side were daily goods supplier Kao and drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo.
|
stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
|
jp0004185
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Delivery by robot soon to be reality in China as startup Neolix begins mass production of 'robovans'
|
BEIJING - Forget drones. The future of deliveries may be “robovans.” A Chinese startup called Neolix kicked off mass production of its self-driving delivery vehicles Friday — saying it’s the first company globally to do so — and has lined up giants such as JD.com Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co. as customers. Neolix expects to deliver a thousand of the vehicles, which resemble tiny vans, within the first year as it broadens out. The implications are potentially huge: Billionaire Jack Ma predicts there will be 1 billion deliveries a day in China within a decade and the commercialization of the technology could provide lessons for autonomous vehicles carrying passengers. Neolix isn’t alone in this space as Silicon Valley’s Nuro raised almost $1 billion this year and is starting to deliver groceries in Arizona. “Driverless cars will change the world, just like the shift from the carriage to the automobile,” Neolix founder Yu Enyuan, 45, said in an interview at his office in Beijing. “I have been looking for something that is worth fighting with everything I have and what I am doing now is that.” Yu has been testing more than a hundred of the vehicles in enclosed areas such as Chinese campuses. The vehicles are priced similar to a regular car — a Neolix van costs about $30,000. The entrepreneur, who was previously an inventor of smart tools for the logistics industry, said delivery of goods is just the start. Down the road, he envisages fleets of robovans providing everything from 24/7 mobile vending to help with running errands. His confidence stems from the Chinese e-commerce boom that has spawned behemoths such as Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which is valued at $400 billion. While humans are trying to keep up and becoming more efficient with inventions such as smart lockers, there’s no doubt robots are becoming an increasing threat. With robovans, there’s no need for a messenger who will need a salary, and “robovehicles” are bound to have fewer accidents than humans. One limitation: either a human needs to be present to accept the package, or the vehicle has to leave the parcel at a prearranged accessible location such as a ground-floor locker. One solution proposed by Ford Motor Co. is a small robot that walks on two legs to bring the parcel from the vehicle to the doorstep. While self-driving cars that carry passengers still face significant regulatory obstacles, Yu says the path has been easier for unmanned delivery vehicles. The company’s vans are operating in the new Xiongan economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, as well as in limited areas of the capital and the city of Changzhou. China’s not the only place where “robodeliveries” are emerging. In the U.S., large self-driving trucks are hauling mail between Phoenix and Dallas, and Nuro started a robodelivery service with grocer Kroger Co. in Scottsdale, Arizona, in December. As to Yu, he decided to expand into driverless vehicles in 2016 from logistics products including smart lockers and digital assistants for delivery personnel. He is the largest shareholder of closely held Neolix. Other investors include Autohome Inc. founder Li Xiang, venture-capital firm Yunqi Partners and Glory Ventures. Neolix’s initial production line in the eastern city of Changzhou has an annual capacity of more than 30,000 vehicles, and the company plans to set up factories overseas with partners when sales ramp up, Yu said. Neolix is talking to potential customers in countries including Switzerland, Japan and the U.S. It targets annual sales of 100,000 units in five years. “We want to start with the smallest product,” Yu said. “When ‘robotaxis’ really enter our daily lives, we may already have over a million self-driving delivery vehicles in use, and makers of those vehicles will be a key driver behind the autonomous-driving technology.”
|
china;robots;arizona;cars;self-driving;automation;neolix
|
jp0004186
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Indonesia and Inpex reach deal on Masela gas block's development
|
JAKARTA - The Indonesian government has reached a deal with Japan’s biggest oil and gas developer, Inpex Corp., on the framework for a $20 billion development plan for an onshore liquefied natural gas facility. An agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June. In a statement Monday, Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that after over 20 years of negotiations, both sides achieved a win-win solution in which Indonesia will get a 50 percent share in production from the Masela gas block in its eastern province of Maluku. The deal was reached during a meeting between Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan and Inpex CEO Takayuki Ueda in Tokyo. It is estimated that the Masela block, located in the Arafura Sea, will be able to produce 1.200 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 24,000 barrels per day of condensate for 24 years, according to the ministry. The block is currently 65 percent controlled by Inpex and 35 percent by Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The facility is scheduled to become fully operational in 2024 and start piping gas in 2026, two years before Inpex’s and Shell’s contracts expire.
|
gas;indonesia;lng;inpex corp .;royal dutch shell;masela block
|
jp0004187
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Toyota and Mazda affiliates to jointly make car seats in U.S.
|
NAGOYA - Toyota Boshoku Corp., an automobile parts manufacturer affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp., and two makers of car seats under the wing of Mazda Motor Corp. have said they will jointly produce car seats in the United States. The seats will be supplied to a joint automobile assembly plant to be built by Toyota and Mazda in Alabama due to start operating in 2021. The announcement of the joint car seat production, made Monday, apparently reflects the companies’ aim to call President Donald Trump’s attention to their efforts to increase production in the United States. The president was on a four-day visit to Japan through Tuesday. For the joint production, a unit of Toyota Boshoku overseeing the company’s operations in the United States will set up a new firm later this year in Alabama together with a joint company between the two Mazda affiliates — Delta Kogyo Co. and Toyo Seat Co. The new company will be capitalized at $60 million.
|
u.s .;toyota;carmakers;mazda;donald trump
|
jp0004189
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Brazil indigenous chief Raoni meets pope as Amazon threat rises
|
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Monday met Brazil’s legendary indigenous chief Raoni, who is on a European tour to highlight increasingly acute threats to the Amazon since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took power. The elderly Kayapo chief, internationally recognizable through his traditional lip plate and feather headdress, is seeking to raise €1 million ($1.1 million) to better protect the Amazon’s Xingu reserve — home to many of Brazil’s tribal peoples — from loggers, farmers and fire. Raoni Metuktire, famous for his work campaigning in defense of Brazil’s rain forest alongside personalities like pop star Sting, is accompanied by three indigenous leaders from the Xingu. The Vatican did not release details of Monday’s meeting, but the Amazon region will be the focal point of a world bishops’ meeting, or synod, to take place in October. Local tribal leaders and conservationists are increasingly concerned about rampant illegal gold mining and logging that have devastated ancestral lands. Raoni’s trip comes as the Amazon faces increasing threats from mining and farming lobbies who have found a champion in President Bolsonaro, a climate change skeptic. There are hundreds of demarcated territories in Brazil, established in the 1980s for the exclusive use of their indigenous inhabitants, where access for outsiders is strictly regulated. But Bolsonaro’s anti-environment rhetoric before and after winning last October’s elections has alarmed indigenous communities and green groups. Bolsonaro has said he wants to “integrate into society” Brazil’s estimated 800,000 indigenous people who have long battled to protect their traditional way of life, away from towns and cities. A number of recent reports have sounded the alarm over rampant destruction of the Amazon and threats to indigenous inhabitants. An indigenous alliance warned last month that native peoples in the Amazon faced an “apocalypse. They warned in particular of Bolsonaro’s pledges to allow more farming and logging in the Amazon, and to ease safeguards and grant more licenses for Brazil’s huge mining industry, and build more dams.
|
brazil;vatican;amazon;pope francis;environment;indigenous people;jair bolsonaro;raoni
|
jp0004190
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Sudan opposition pushes ahead with two-day strike
|
KHARTOUM - Sudan’s alliance of opposition and protest groups said on Monday that it will push ahead with a general two-day strike starting on Tuesday after talks with the ruling military council collapsed. Wagdy Saleh, speaking for the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance, said the Transitional Military Council (TMC) demanded a two-thirds majority, of eight to three, on a sovereign council that would lead the country after the ouster of long-time president Omar al-Bashir last month. The deputy head of the TMC, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said earlier on Monday that the council was ready to hand over power swiftly, but said the opposition was not serious about sharing power. “These people do not want to partner with us,” said Dagalo, who is known as Hemedti and heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, adding they wanted to confine the military to a ceremonial role. “By God, their slogans cheated us. I swear we were honest with them 100 percent,” Hemedti said at a dinner with police and diplomats. “That’s why, by God Almighty, we will not hand this country except to safe hands.”
|
sudan;omar al-bashir;hamdan dagalo
|
jp0004191
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Blood and thunder at sea: British veteran remembers D-Day, 75 years on
|
LONDON - Seventy-five years ago, a young British sailor stood on the bridge of a warship, its gun barrels pointing out to the coast of France, and watched the devastation being rained down on a country he wanted to liberate. Today, Richard Llewellyn, 93, is among the dwindling number of veterans of the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy — an operation that turned the tide of World War II and marked the beginning of the end of the conflict. The invasion of France is usually told as the story of brave, young men struggling across beaches and fighting their way inland. However, another battle unfolded at sea that day, between the Allied ships and the massive German coastal guns. Llewellyn describes the thunderous explosions rolling along the shore as every ship in the Allied fleet was blazing away. The enormous firepower sent shells pounding into the cliffs, churning earth, rock and entire landscapes. All the while the German battery guns blasted back. The men on the boats could hear the scream of the shells as they passed overhead. The engines of the bombers above added to the concussion of noise. Dead bodies floated in the sea. Llewellyn compares the scene to watching a spectacular firework display. The warship guns belched out enormous orange balls of flames and mustard-colored smoke. Some of the battleships fired 16-inch shells, almost as heavy as a car, and so big they could be seen as they went past. “The noise was just unbelievable. One of the things that I remember afterwards more than anything else was the noise,” said Llewellyn, who was 18 at the time, and a midshipman on HMS Ajax, which was a light cruiser in the British navy. “If you go to the cinema and you hear a lot of noise and gunfire and so on, it doesn’t really register. But if you are actually there the whole air is vibrating all the time.” The assault by almost 7,000 ships and landing craft along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast remains the largest amphibious invasion in history. In the decades since, the invasion has become a touchstone for the leaders of Britain, the United States, France and other western countries who will gather in Normandy next month to invoke the heroism. The event will take place as the trans-Atlantic relationships that D-Day forged are fraying. Differences over military spending for the NATO alliance, disagreements over how to approach the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co. and the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union have raised tensions in the decades-old alliance. These concerns are a far cry from the epic mobilization of military machinery and manpower that resulted in the invasion of France in 1944. Then, tens of thousands of men piled into ships and planes to cross the English Channel. Llewellyn, who has a white goatee and is smartly dressed in a navy jacket and beret for his interview on the HMS Belfast in London, is eloquent and perfectly recalls the events that day. He effortlessly climbs the ship’s steep steps without help. He said the mood among the men as they crossed the sea was more anticipation than fear or tension. “It was exciting,” he said. “We were far more patriotic in those days than we are now. We knew that the Germans had to be defeated and anything had to be done to make it possible.” He dismisses the idea that people were praying or savoring their last meal as the invasion began. “We weren’t Americans, I am afraid,” he said with a chuckle. Although only a teenager, his experiences living through the German bombardment of London, known as the Blitz, meant he was familiar with being bombed. On D-Day, Llewellyn’s ship was engaged in a duel with German gun batteries, particularly those at Longues-sur-Mer, nestled high on the cliff tops, situated between where British and American troops were landing on the Gold and Omaha beaches. In what was perhaps one of the most accurate or luckiest shots of the war, his ship situated a few miles offshore, scored a direct hit, landing a heavy shell through the narrow slit of one of the fortifications. On the bridge of the ship, Llewellyn watched the invasion through binoculars as the haze of smoke shrouded the shore. “There were landing craft destroyed,” he said. “They really met a hostile reception and you could see that and you could see the landing craft being hit by shells, there were a lot of fires.” As his ship continued to shell the German positions it faced its own threat from mines, shelling, and the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. At one point, a German plane dropped a bomb that landed just a few meters from his boat. The explosion winded him and sent the ship violently swaying from side to side. Was it terrifying? “I suppose it was in a way,” he said with typical understatement. Llewellyn survived the onslaught and the Allies conquered the coastline. He plans to attend the D-Day anniversary in Normandy next month. He has been back several times and says it is an emotional experience, particularly visiting the graveyards. But he also feels guilty about the destruction caused to France, particularly as the navy began firing shells at targets further inland, some of which fell in nearby villages. “The ordinary citizens come up and say how grateful they are. I found that quite difficult to take actually. I don’t feel that we had done anything special, especially for them,” he said. “Their homes were knocked down by shells and troops. Unfortunately, war leaves a lot of destruction.”
|
conflict;wwii;military;u.k .;nazis;anniversaries;d-day;normandy
|
jp0004192
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Defying tribunal ruling, Moscow court prolongs detention of 24 Ukraine sailors
|
MOSCOW - A Moscow court on Monday upheld extending the arrest of 24 Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia off Crimea last year, defying an international tribunal that had urged their immediate release. The Moscow City Court declined an appeal against the extension of the sailors’ detention until July, filed by their lawyers. Russia in November fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels, capturing two dozen sailors near the Kerch Strait, as they tried to pass from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea. It was the first open military clash between Kiev and Moscow since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and a pro-Russian insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine. On Saturday, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, based in the German port city of Hamburg, urged Russia to “immediately” release the sailors and return them to Ukraine. The tribunal was established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Monday dismissed the ruling, saying Moscow would continue to “consistently defend its point of view.” Peskov claimed that the convention did not apply in the current case. Ukraine had taken the case to the tribunal last month. Russia said it does not recognize the Hamburg-based court’s jurisdiction and did not send representatives to the hearings. Moscow accuses the sailors of violating its maritime borders. If convicted, the Ukrainian sailors face up to six years in prison, lawyers have said. Saturday’s ruling by the international tribunal had been hailed as a victory in Kiev. Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said over the weekend that if Russia complied with the tribunal’s demand to release the sailors, that “could be the first signal from the Russian leadership about a real readiness to end the conflict with Ukraine.” Some 13,000 people have been killed in the war in eastern Ukraine since 2014, according to the U.N.
|
conflict;courts;russia;ukraine;crimea
|
jp0004194
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Shared alerts: Monkey experiments offer clues on origin of language
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PARIS - Green and vervet monkeys live on either side of Africa and their evolutionary paths diverged 3.5 million years ago, and yet the two species share a hardwired vocabulary when faced with danger, clever experiments have shown. The new research, published Monday, sheds light not only on how primates — including humans — respond to threats, but also on the building blocks of language itself. Vervet monkeys in the savanna of East Africa utter three distinct cries depending on whether they spot a leopard, a snake or an eagle, their three main predators. Fellow monkeys who hear the cries but cannot see the peril react accordingly: The leopard call sends them scurrying up a tree, a snake call prompts them to stand motionless on two legs and the eagle cry makes them scan the sky while seeking shelter. It’s as if a sentinel is shouting, “Freeze, it’s a snake!” or “Get off the ground, it’s a leopard!” The discovery 30 years ago of these unique warning cries sparked debate as to whether they were like primitive words, noted Julia Fisher, head of the cognitive ethology laboratory at the German Primate Center in Gottingen, Germany, and senior author of a study in Nature Ecology & Evolution. It also raised the question of where they came from. Did young vervets learn them through imitation, were the cries genetically imprinted? To deepen their understanding, Fisher and colleagues set up an experiment with a community of green monkeys in Senegal that they have been observing for more than a decade. Like their distant cousins across the continent, green monkeys also emit specific danger calls for big cats and snakes, and react accordingly. But because the raptors in their neighborhood pose no threat, anything like the vervet “eagle call” is simply not in their repertoire. Even when the scientists tried to scare the green monkey with dummy birds, it didn’t work. “Any attempt to get them to vocalize in response to model eagles failed utterly,” said Fisher. But then she had an idea. “We decided to bring in a drone and fly it over the green monkeys, to expose them to something potentially dangerous in the air that they had never seen before,” she explained. The drone flew at an altitude of about 60 meters (200 feet) over the unsuspecting animals. Once the monkeys spotted it, the response was immediate: they gave alarm calls and scurried for cover. Not only was the cry different from the response to leopards or snakes, it was “strikingly similar” to the eagle alarms of East African vervets. “Despite 3.5 million years of evolutionary divergence, the call structure stayed essentially the same,” Fisher noted. In the vocabulary of evolutionary biologists, in other words, the danger cry was “highly conserved.” The fact that the green monkeys reacted to a drone and not other large birds native to the area suggests a subtle but important distinction, Kurt Hammerschmidt, also from the German Primate Center, told AFP. “The alarm call is not linked to eagles per se,” he said by phone. “It seems to correspond to a broader category: ‘things that fly.'” To see what the monkeys might have learned from the drone flyover, the scientists followed up a few days later with a second experiment. They hid a loudspeaker near a lone monkey that was looking for food and played back the sound of the drone. “Upon hearing the sound, the animal looked up and scanned the sky,” Fischer said. Subsequent tests showed that a single exposure to a new threat was enough for the monkeys to know what the sound means, showing a remarkable ability to adapt. The researchers speculate that the hardwired monkey calls — and the meaning attached to them — are similar to noises that infant humans make. “When a child is born, it has the same innate repertoire of pre-verbal sounds such as moaning, laughing and crying,” said Hammerschmidt. Somehow, humans learned to move beyond this built-in vocabulary and produce new sounds associated with new meanings. But underneath all the layers of culture and learning, certain core responses that fall within the domain of evolutionary psychology remained.
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africa;animals;language;monkeys;green monkeys;vervet monkeys
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jp0004195
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[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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U.S. measles outbreak grows to 940 with 60 new cases across 26 states
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BANGALORE, INDIA - The United States recorded 60 new measles cases last week, taking confirmed cases for the year to 940, the worst outbreak since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 6.8 percent increase in the number of measles cases in the week ended May 24 in an outbreak that has now reached 26 states. The agency has been providing weekly updates every Monday. Experts warn that the outbreak is not over as the number of cases edges closer to the 1994 total of 958. That was the highest number since 1992, when the CDC recorded 2,126 cases. Public health officials have blamed the measles resurgence on the spread of misinformation about vaccines, as a vocal fringe of parents oppose vaccines, believing, contrary to scientific studies, that ingredients in them can cause autism. Although the virus was eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning the disease was no longer a constant presence, outbreaks still happen via travelers coming from countries where measles is still common, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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u.s .;measles;cdc
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jp0004196
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[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Scientists zoom in on bug behind strep throat and scarlet fever
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LONDON - Scientists studying a bacterium that causes scarlet fever, severe sore throat and a form of heart disease say they are closer to developing a vaccine that could one day prevent hundred of thousands of infections a year. In a study in the journal Nature Genetics, scientists from Britain and Australia found detailed differences between strains of Group A Streptococcus bacteria — known as Strep A — from 22 countries, but also found several molecular targets common across many strains, offering potential for vaccine development. Strep A is one of the world’s top 10 causes of death from infectious diseases. It is estimated to cause more than half a million deaths every year. It can cause several different infections, ranging from strep throat to scarlet fever, which are constant threats in many parts of the world, to an illness called rheumatic heart disease, which can affect certain populations including Aboriginal Australians. There is no effective vaccine for Strep A, and efforts to develop one have been hampered by the huge number and variety of Strep A strains — meaning it is very tricky to develop a vaccine that could be effective against all of them. In this work, researchers from Britain’s Wellcome Sanger Institute and Cambridge University, and from Australia’s Doherty Institute and Queensland University, sequenced the DNA of more than 2,000 Strep A samples from 22 countries, including in Africa and from Australian Aboriginal communities. “Using all the data we collected, we narrowed down common genes in almost all strains of Strep A globally,” said Mark Davies of the Wellcome Sanger and Doherty institutes, who co-led the work. “This is a tremendous step forward in identifying what may work as a global vaccine candidate.” Mark Walker, director of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, said the findings should “renew the momentum” and enable a fast-track approach to a global Strep A shot since potential drug developers could use the database to find the molecular targets most likely to lead to an effective vaccine.
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australia;health;u.k .;heart disease;disease;bacteria;scarlet fever
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jp0004197
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[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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U.S. study suggests e-cigarette flavorings may pose heart risk
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WASHINGTON - E-cigarettes aren’t considered as risky as regular cigarettes, but researchers have found a clue that their flavorings may be bad for the heart. Longtime smokers who can’t kick the addiction sometimes switch to e-cigarettes, in hopes of avoiding the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke. But cigarette smoking doesn’t just cause lung cancer. It’s a leading cause of heart attacks, too, and little is known about e-cigarettes and heart disease. Chemicals in the inhaled vapor may pose unique risks that are important to understand, especially as more and more teens take up vaping. “It’s not possible for me to go into a patient and strip their artery and test it” for a reaction to vaping, said Dr. Joseph Wu, director of Stanford University’s cardiovascular institute. So his team tried the next best thing for a study published Monday: In laboratory dishes, they grew cells that normally line healthy human blood vessels. They exposed the cells to six different e-cigarette flavorings, testing if the flavors — and not just the nicotine — caused any effects. They also tracked what happened when those cells were bathed in blood taken from people right after they had an e-cigarette, the way chemicals from vaping would make their way to the cardiovascular system. They also compared the cells’ exposure to blood from nonsmokers and people who smoked a regular cigarette. Vaping and some flavorings, even without nicotine, triggered blood vessel dysfunction that can increase the risk of heart disease, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Cinnamon and menthol seemed the most toxic. But overall, cells showed signs of damage and were inflamed, less able to form new blood vessels or heal wounds. Small laboratory studies like this one can’t prove vaping really does harm, cautioned Dr. Jane Freedman of the University of Massachusetts, who wasn’t involved in the research. But she said the work should spark additional safety testing. The findings “suggest that even without the smoke of combustible cigarette products, there may be a smoldering fire of adverse health effects,” she wrote in an accompanying editorial. Another study at a recent heart meeting looked at health records to conclude e-cigarette users had a higher risk of heart attack than people who neither vape nor use tobacco products, but that, too, was only a clue, not proof. Wu’s team plans additional studies. The researchers are working with iPS cells, ordinary cells taken from healthy volunteers and reprogrammed into a state where they can be grown into any type of tissue. Next up are tests of heart and brain tissue. U.S. public health officials are alarmed by an explosion of underage vaping, but Wu said it’s not just a question for teens. He worries about people who already have heart disease and may think switching from tobacco to e-cigarettes is enough protection. “This is really a warning shot that people should not be complacent and think that these e-cigarettes are completely safe,” Wu said.
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medicine;health;cancer;e-cigarettes;tobacco
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jp0004198
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Khalifa Hifter's forces push toward Tripoli's center
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CAIRO - Heavy clashes have been slowly nearing the center of Libya’s capital, Tripoli, as forces loyal to the military commander Khalifa Hifter battle to seize power, an official and residents said Monday. Hifter opened a military offensive on Tripoli in early April despite commitments to move toward elections in the North African country. Libya is divided between Hifter, whose self-styled Libyan National Army controls the east and much of the south, and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, who runs the U.N.-supported but weak government in Tripoli. In recent weeks, the clashes had receded with the start of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk. But in the past couple of days, the capital’s siege has intensified. Hifter’s forces have pushed ahead in Tripoli’s eastern and southern suburbs. The LNA’s media office said they have taken control of areas near the Tripoli International Airport, which was largely destroyed in the civil war following the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Saraj al-Majbri, an aid to the LNA’s chief of staff, said its forces have also made gains in the area of Salah al-Deen, a few kilometers from the city center. He claimed the forces’ march toward the city center had been slowed in the past weeks because they did not want to use heavy artillery in populated areas. Two residents said heavy fighting was taking place along a strategic road linking the capital with the airport, which the LNA already controls. They spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety. Hifter has said he won’t stop his offensive as long as the militias remained in control of Tripoli — and, he claimed, the militias remain in control of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj’s U.N.-supported government. Six rounds of talks with the government had failed to strike a political deal, he said. “In the last round of negotiations I realized that it’s not him who decides,” Hifter said. “Of course a political solution remains the objective, but to get back to politics we have to finish with the militias.” Hifter’s comments came in an interview last week with France’s Journal du Dimanche during his visit to Paris, where President Emmanuel Macron urged the Libyan leader to work toward a cease-fire and a return to the political process. Hifter and the Tripoli government had agreed to hold nationwide elections in the divided country after a Paris meeting in May 2018. But in the interview, Hifter lashed out at the U.N. special envoy, saying that Ghassan Salame was no longer impartial. “He has now taken sides,” he said, before adding: “Partition of Libya is maybe what our adversaries want. This is maybe what Ghassan Salame also wants.” Forces loyal to the U.N.-supported government said they have hindered LNA advances and cut off supply roads to Hifter’s forces in the southern areas of the capital. The Tripoli-based government said earlier this week that an airstrike by the LNA targeted a civilian facility located in a high populated area, where lawmakers in Tripoli used to meet. The U.N. mission in Libya condemned the airstrike along with a reported kidnapping of a member of a government advisory body. The advisory body said Mohammed Abu Ghamga was kidnapped last week from his hometown of Qasr Ben Ghashir, some 20 km (12.5 miles) south of the capital, after it was seized by Hifter’s forces. It accused the LNA of kidnapping Abu Ghamga, a charge denied by its media office. The fighting has killed at least 562 people, including 40 civilians, a U.N. agency said Monday. It added that among the killed, were two health workers, when shelling hit their ambulance cars south of Tripoli on Thursday.
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conflict;u.n .;libya;tripoli;khalifa hifter
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jp0004199
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[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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EU rights watchdog slams Malta for failing to uphold rule of law after journalist's killing
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PARIS - The failure of Maltese authorities to identify the masterminds behind the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia raises questions about the rule of law in Malta, according to Europe’s chief human rights watchdog. Caruana Galizia, whose reporting uncovered widespread corruption, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. Her murder exposed the dark side of the Mediterranean island that is both a member of the EU and a haven for online gambling, offshore finance and cryptocurrencies. In the draft of a report seen by Reuters and due to be released on Wednesday, the Council of Europe concludes Malta’s rule of law is undermined by weak checks and balances on power and says more must be done to strengthen judicial independence and bolster law enforcement. “Malta’s weaknesses are source of vulnerability for all of Europe: Maltese citizenship is European Union citizenship, a Maltese visa is a Schengen visa, and a Maltese bank gives access to the European banking system,” rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt’s writes in the draft. “If Malta cannot or will not correct its weaknesses, European institutions must intervene.” A spokesman for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment. However, in response to a leak of the report to Maltese newspapers, Muscat told state television last Wednesday that it was “totally biased. The Council of Europe’s Human Rights and Legal Affairs Commission is expected to adopt the report at a meeting in Paris on Wednesday, before it goes to the council’s assembly in June. In examining where failings lie, the draft report zeroes in on the powerful position of the prime minister’s office. It said Muscat has wide powers of appointment, including senior civil servants, the head of police and the attorney general, judges and magistrates. His office has also overseen a number of activities that present a risk of money laundering, including the sale of passports, it said. “Malta still needs fundamental, holistic reform, including subjecting the office of the prime minister to effective checks and balances, ensuring judicial independence and strengthening law enforcement and other rule of law bodies,” the report says. The government has repeatedly said Malta’s financial services sector is as transparent, solid and compliant as any other European jurisdiction. The government says the gambling and passport initiatives are legitimate. More than a year-and-a-half after Caruana Galizia’s assassination, the main suspects have not gone on trial and Maltese authorities have failed to identify who ordered the hit. The custody time limit expires in two months, after which they will have to be released, the report says. They have pleaded not guilty. Two of the three suspects on Monday protested in court in Malta over the Council of Europe report, saying it ignored their presumption of innocence. The 70-year-old Council of Europe is the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights and the creator of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
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media;murder;rights;eu;journalism;malta
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jp0004200
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[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Baghdad court condemns fourth French Islamic State member captured in Syria
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BAGHDAD - The French former members of the Islamic State group were brought into the courtroom in Baghdad one after the other on Monday and made to sit inside a wooden cage in the middle. As they spoke in French, a government official typed up the translation into Arabic, which immediately appeared on a large screen behind the judge that the court could read. Mustafa Mohammed Ibrahim became the fourth French citizen to be sentenced to death by a Baghdad court for joining the Islamic State group that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before its defeat. His trial comes as questions swirl about the legal treatment of thousands of foreign nationals formerly with the extremist group. Wearing a yellow uniform and plastic flip flops, Ibrahim, 37, told the judge, “I don’t understand the charges.” Judge Ahmad Mohammed responded: “Your charge is a terrorist crime.” The man who came from France to Syria to join the group in 2015, said he was the victim of its propaganda. The self-proclaimed caliphate had promised him a good life including money, work and a house. Jobless back in Europe, Ibrahim came to Syria via Turkey where he took religious lessons and weapons training. He then married a Moroccan widow with four children who later gave birth to his child. When the judge asked Ibrahim if he was guilty, his response was: “I am not guilty of carrying out any crimes. I am guilty because they brainwashed me. I am the victim of the Islamic State. I am not guilty. “I am ready to help France in the fight against terrorism,” Ibrahim added. France said the Iraqi court has jurisdiction to rule in the cases, though a spokeswoman reiterated the French government’s opposition to the death penalty. The five Frenchmen on trial Monday — two were kept outside the courtroom — were among the 12 French IS fighters whom the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces handed over to Iraq in January. The Kurdish-led group spearheaded the fight against IS in Syria and has handed over to Iraq hundreds of suspected IS members in recent months. IS “terrorists must answer for their crimes in court,” said France’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Agnes von der Muehll. As Monday’s proceedings opened, the first to appear was Ibrahim, who is from the Mediterranean city of Nice and of Tunisian origin. “I ask for forgiveness from the people of Iraq and Syria and the victims,” Ibrahim said before the judge who ordered him to remove his top in order to see if there were any signs of torture on his body. None were visible. “No matter what the sentence will be against me I want to go back to my country,” said Ibrahim. He added that he used to work as a driver back in France before joining IS. The judge sentenced Ibrahim to death. Asked by The Associated Press later why the sentencing happened so quickly, Mohammed said the “case was complete and ready for a verdict.” He added that regarding executions, Iraqi law sentences any member of the group to death whether the person “participates in fighting or not.” The second man brought into the courtroom was identified as Fadil Hamad Abdallah, 33, of Moroccan origin. Abdallah said he was subjected to torture while in detention. The judge referred him to a medical committee for investigation and postponed his next session until Sunday. The judge postponed the sentencing of the three other Frenchmen until next Monday. Three French IS fighters had already been sentenced to death on Sunday. Those convicted can appeal their sentences within a month. Human rights groups have criticized Iraq’s handling of IS trials, accusing authorities of relying on circumstantial evidence and often extracting confessions under torture. Nadim Houry, the Human Rights Watch’s director of its terrorism and counterterrorism program, said: “There are few rights for the defense and grave due-process issues — that’s deeply worrying, especially when combined with the death penalty. In-depth investigations are not being carried out.” Houry added that no one should be transferred to a country where there is a risk of torture. “We have visited Iraqi prisons and we’ve seen rampant torture, usually to extract confessions,” he said. Iraqi prosecutors say the 12 French nationals were parties or accomplices to IS crimes, and threatened the national security of Iraq. Simply belonging to the extremist group is punishable by life in prison or execution under Iraq’s counter-terrorism laws. In Paris, von der Muehll said France’s position is that adults detained in Iraq must be tried by the Iraqi justice system, as soon as it declares itself competent. “France respects the sovereignty of Iraqi authorities” she added, though she expressed her country’s opposition to the death penalty, “in principle, at all times and in all places.”
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conflict;france;terrorism;syria;death penalty;iraq;islamic state
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jp0004201
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[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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At least 42 inmates found strangled in Brazil prison gang clashes
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SAO PAULO - At least 42 prisoners in Brazil were found strangled to death on Monday in four jails in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, where a fight between rival prison gangs resulted in 15 dead the day before, authorities said. A federal task force is being sent to Manaus in an effort to halt the violence. Prison clashes often spread rapidly in Brazil, where drug gangs have de facto control over nearly all jails. In January 2017, nearly 150 prisoners died during three weeks of violence in north and northeastern Brazil, as local gangs backed by Brazil’s two largest drug factions — the First Capital Command and the Red Command — butchered one another. A statement from the Amazonas state penitentiary department confirmed the number of deaths that took place on Monday and said authorities had regained control of the four prisons. No other details were provided. At least 15 inmates were killed at a jail in Manaus on Sunday, with authorities saying those who died were choked and stabbed to death. Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has vowed to regain control of the country’s prisons — along with building many more jails. But the vast majority of jails are administered at the state level. For decades they have been badly overcrowded and out of control of local authorities, essentially serving as recruiting centers for drug gangs.
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drugs;brazil;prisons;manaus;jair bolsonaro
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jp0004202
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[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Tens of thousands in Illinois may have guns despite revoked permits, probe finds
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CHICAGO - A Chicago Tribune investigation suggests that tens of thousands of Illinois residents whose gun licenses have been revoked could still have firearms. The problem was underscored in February when a man killed five former colleagues and wounded five police officers in Aurora, Illinois, using a gun he kept despite the revocation of his Firearm Owner’s Identification card in 2014. The Tribune reports that since 2015, nearly 27,000 Illinois residents whose FOID cards have been revoked haven’t updated authorities on what they have done with their guns. Local police departments are supposed to ensure those whose licenses have been revoked surrender their permits and transfer firearms to police or a legal gun owner. Acting Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly says he’s shocked by “the depth and breadth of the problem.”
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guns;u.s .;rights;illinois
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jp0004203
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Spanish ex-monarch Juan Carlos I retires from public life
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MADRID - Spain’s former monarch, Juan Carlos I, says he wants to completely retire from public life on June 2, five years after abdicating the throne. The king emeritus said in a letter published Monday on the Spanish royals’ website and addressed to his son, King Felipe VI, that “I think the moment has arrived to turn a page over in my life and complete my retirement from public life.” Juan Carlos added that he began thinking about fully retiring when he turned 80 last year and was honored in the Spanish parliament. That event coincided with the anniversary of the country’s 1978 constitution, which marked Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democratic rule. Despite health problems, Juan Carlos had maintained a busy public agenda since stepping down.
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royalty;spain;juan carlos i;spanish royalty
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jp0004204
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Battle just starting for EU's Greens after poll breakthrough
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PARIS - Green parties achieved a landmark breakthrough in the European elections but the challenge is only now starting for them to use newly found leverage in the EU parliament and further increase popularity to achieve real power. In the U.K., France, Germany and other EU states, environmental parties notched up major successes in the elections, breaking well into double figures and overtaking traditional forces. The gains, on the back of greater mobilization by young voters, came as climate change and environmental issues have been propelled to the forefront of political discourse across the continent. “Our responsibility is to build an alternative in order to win power,” said Yannick Jadot, who headed the list of France’s Europe Ecology — The Greens (EELV), which won 13.5 percent of the vote. The EELV came in third place, well ahead of the traditional socialist and right-wing parties, and will now seek to penetrate the two-way battle between centrist President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the far-right. In Germany, the Greens came in second place with 20.5 percent of the vote, overtaking Chancellor Angela Merkel’s partner, the left-wing SPD, and raising questions about the future of their grand coalition. Data in Germany showed a huge generational rupture in the Green vote, with more 18- to 44-year-olds backing the Greens than Merkel’s CDU-CSU alliance. “It is the mobilization of young people that has produced this result — above all in France and Germany,” said Jean-Francois Julliard, the head of Greenpeace France. “While we feared that young people would abstain, they mobilized for ecology.” The momentum for the green surge had been building over months as the strikes started last November by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, not only refused to lose steam but caught the imagination of youth across the world. Environmental parties were set to win 69 seats in the 751-member EU parliament, results showed, not enough to sway policy alone but a crucial contingent in a tightly contested new chamber. Analysts said that unlike the far right and centrists, the Greens form a much tighter and homogeneous group in the EU parliament, making them a more efficient political force. “There is no problem for the Greens to know what political group they are going to join,” said Vanessa Jerome, researcher at the University of Paris. “They will have to construct alliances but this is nothing new,” she added. French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, is likely to want to broaden his EU parliament coalition to include the Greens even if some consider his record on environmental issues to be mixed. Hugely prominent ecological campaigner Nicolas Hulot, who Macron had named environment minister, spectacularly quit the government last August, complaining that he felt “all alone.” And with the political lines of battle now being redrawn across Europe, environmentalists will now try to gain more power on a national level. Greens in government would not be a novelty in Germany, where they were the partners of SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, with veteran Green campaigner Joschka Fischer serving as a high-profile foreign minister from 1998 to 2005. But in countries like the U.K. and France it would be a huge change if Green forces were to challenge for power, as political parties grapple with the notion the people can vote for altruistic and not just material reasons. Juliet Grange, a professor at the Francois-Rabelais University in Tours, said the challenge for Green parties was to increase their appeal to show the electorate they were not just focused on single issues. “I think that there is a larger electoral potential on the condition that what they offer is more open and possibly more pragmatic,” she said, saying they should “really structure their arguments” and attract experts from outside. And activists from inside the Green movement acknowledge that it is still too early to predict the outcome of the weekend’s successes. “We have to see how much can be translated into in real politics,” said Wendel Trio director of the Climate Action Network Europe. “This is a strong opportunity but we need to wait for the majority that is going to be negotiated,” in the EU parliament.
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eu;elections;greens;greta thunberg;yannick jadot
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jp0004205
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Benjamin Netanyahu, quick to declare victory in last month's Israel vote, could face election rematch
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JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to declare himself winner of last month’s Israeli election, but he now has until Wednesday to appease an erstwhile ally, form a government and avoid a possible rematch. The man at the center of the crisis in Netanyahu’s coalition-building, former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, is sticking to his guns in a stalemate over military draft exemptions for Jewish seminary students. The brinkmanship six weeks after the April 9 election poses another challenge to the decadelong reign of the right-wing leader some Israelis have hailed as “King Bibi” and deepens political uncertainty in a country riven with division. Barring a breakthrough, Israel could hold a new election, with parliament already making initial moves towards a fresh poll and legislators proposing September for the national vote. Without the support of Lieberman’s far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, which has five seats in the 120-member Knesset, Netanyahu cannot put together a majority government led by his Likud party. Under a deadline mandated by law, he has until Wednesday to announce a new administration. Political commentators were hedging their bets. “Netanyahu is a wounded animal. The man is fighting for his life, and we shouldn’t make light of his abilities,” columnist Yossi Verter wrote in the left-wing Haaretz daily on Wednesday. Rivals had already smelled blood in the water when Israel’s attorney general said in February he intends to charge Netanyahu in three graft cases. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a political witch hunt. But in the closely contested April election, Netanyahu — dubbed “crime minister” by his opponents — appeared on course for a fifth term as head of a right-wing bloc. All it would take, according to conventional wisdom, was the usual wheeling and dealing on Cabinet posts and allied factions’ pet projects. Few imagined Netanyahu would not put a coalition together, even after he asked for and received a two-week extension to an original 28-day deadline. Suddenly, Lieberman became a wild card and the clock was ticking, with Netanyahu facing a scenario in which President Reuven Rivlin could pick another legislator to try to form a government if he failed. “A lot can be done in 48 hours,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday after parliament gave initial approval to a motion to dissolve itself. “The voters’ wishes can be respected, a strong right-wing government can be formed,” he said. If efforts to break the political deadlock fail, parliament would take a final vote on an election on Wednesday. A new ballot would mean Rivlin could not choose someone else to put together a governing coalition. But political commentators said it was still unclear if Netanyahu could muster the required 61 votes to pass the motion. The ball would then be in Rivlin’s court, leaving Netanyahu, who last lost an election in 1999, on unfamiliar sidelines looking in. Lieberman, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, began his climb up the Israeli political ladder as a Netanyahu aide and has long insisted ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students share other Israeli Jews’s burden of compulsory military service. That has put him at odds with United Torah Judaism in the coalition negotiations, a schism that has played well with Lieberman’s support base of Russian-speakers — some of them non-Jews under Orthodox criteria who came to Israel under a right of return for anyone claiming at least one Jewish grandparent. “Yisrael Beitenu’s only motive is standing on principle and the commitments we made to the public before, during and after the election,” Lieberman said on Wednesday. But for long-time Lieberman watchers, it’s a clear power play by a bare-knuckle politician who once worked as a nightclub bouncer and now seeks, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely of Likud, to seize control of the “national camp.” “According to Lieberman’s calculations, Netanyahu’s time in power is nearing its end. To preserve his own, he knows this is the moment to jump ship,” Anshel Pfeffer, who wrote a biography of Netanyahu, said in Haaretz. “And he’s doing so carefully, choosing a matter of principle — the military draft law … as the issue on which to break with Netanyahu.” On Twitter on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on the internal Israeli political dispute, expressing support for an ally he calls by his nickname. “Hoping things will work out with Israel’s coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever,” Trump tweeted, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “A lot more to do!” Both leaders have been in lockstep over policy towards the Palestinians, who have accused Trump of being partial toward Israel, and Iran. Netanyahu featured Trump in election billboards placed prominently in Israeli cities.
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israel;benjamin netanyahu;elections;avigdor lieberman
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jp0004206
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Steve Bannon sees 'friend' Nigel Farage in running to be British PM
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PARIS - Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said Monday he saw British Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage as being in the running to be prime minister later this year after his victory in European elections. In an interview with AFP, Bannon described Farage as a “friend and colleague,” adding that he had spoken to him during campaigning and had been in touch since results on Sunday night showed his Brexit Party winning 31.6 percent of the vote. “I congratulated him on a stunning victory,” Bannon said from a luxury hotel suite in Paris, where he has been staying during the final stage of the European Parliament election campaign. Bannon, who has attempted to forge links between far-right parties in Europe since leaving the White House in August 2017, said he was now looking ahead to a midterm election for a parliamentary seat in eastern England on June 6. Farage will test his Brexit Party’s new-found strength by fielding a candidate in the contest in the city of Peterborough. “If he wins that seat and they have a member in Parliament, it will be pretty earth-shattering. So I think Nigel Farage right now is set up to be quite competitive to be prime minister of England in the fall of this year.” In Britain’s European election, the ruling Conservatives finished fifth with 9 percent — their worst performance since 1832 — and the main opposition Labour Party was also punished for not clearly spelling out its Brexit stance. Farage only registered his party in February, but succeeded in leveraging his reputation as one of the architects of the 2016 referendum that triggered Britain’s attempt to split from the EU. He attributed his success Sunday to outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May’s failure to turn Brexit into a reality by its original March 29 deadline. Despite Bannon’s prediction about Farage on Monday, many analysts in Britain see a general election as less likely than before. The two main parties — the Conservatives and Labour — are seen as wanting to avoid a snap election after their drubbing in the European polls. Farage became the first British politician to meet with Trump after his election in 2016, congratulating the billionaire in person in New York on his electoral defeat of Hillary Clinton. Farage was photographed, open mouthed in delight, standing next to a tie-less Trump doing a thumbs-up sign in front of the tycoon’s gold elevator doors.
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u.s .;eu;u.k .;nigel farage;donald trump;theresa may;steve bannon;brexit party
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jp0004207
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Macron vs. Matteo Salvini: Two leaders face off over EU's future
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BRUSSELS - France’s pro-EU president and the leader of Italy’s euroskeptic, far-right movement jockeyed for the role of chief powerbroker on the continent Monday after elections to the European Parliament hollowed out the traditional political middle. The four days of balloting that drew to a close Sunday across the European Union’s 28 countries ended the domination of the main center-right and center-left parties in Parliament and established the anti-EU forces on the right and the environmentalists on the left as forces to be reckoned with. Voters delivered the highest turnout in 20 years, rejecting mainstream politics in France, Germany, Britain and Italy. The results could make the business of governing Europe even trickier, leaving the Parliament deadlocked over key issues to come, including immigration, a major trade agreement with the United States, global warming, regulation of the tech industry and, of course, Brexit. The outcome of the election is already setting off a power struggle. In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s party narrowly lost to the French far-right, led by Marine Le Pen. Macron, whose party was poised to secure 21 seats to 22 for Le Pen’s National Rally, spent Monday busily amassing allies ahead of a summit Tuesday in Brussels, hoping to build a durable pro-EU coalition. In Italy, Matteo Salvini’s right-wing League party won a third of the country’s vote and is poised to become one of the biggest parties in the European Parliament, with 28 seats in the 751-seat legislature. But his ambitions reached higher. By midday, he had already spoken to Le Pen, Hungary’s hard-line anti-immigrant prime minister, Viktor Orban, and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and was promising to single-handedly bring together a contradiction in terms — an international group of nationalists. “We want to be a group that has at least 100 members and has the ambition to be at least 150, if everyone can overcome jealousies, sympathies, antipathies. To create an alternative, you play. You don’t do it by turning up your nose,” he said. The center-right European People’s Party and the center-left Socialists & Democrats have dominated the Parliament with a combined majority since direct elections were first held in 1979. With results still coming in, the EPP was on track to secure 180 seats, down from 217 five years ago. The Socialists were slated to win 145, down from 187. Riding what they called Europe’s “green wave,” environmentalist parties seeking action on climate change made strong gains, notably in Germany. Another mainstream formation, the free-market ALDE group backed by Macron, saw its stake in the Parliament rise to 109 seats, from 68 in 2014. For the Parliament to choose a European Commission president and ultimately to pass legislation, new and uncomfortable alliances must be forged, and nearly all will require some combination of ALDE and the Greens. Well aware of the far-right’s potential to turn against itself, Macron launched a flurry of meetings ahead of the dinner summit Tuesday where the EU countries’ presidents and prime ministers will take stock of the election results. He started with Spain and was due to hold talks with the leaders of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. “The future majority of the European Parliament goes through us, without question. There isn’t one without us,” Pascal Canfin, one of the leading candidates from Macron’s party, told France Inter radio. In Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right movement also lost ground, leaders of the country’s governing parties met to weigh the fallout from their worst post-World War II showing in a nationwide election. “We are facing a shrinking center,” a subdued EPP candidate Manfred Weber said. “From now on, those who want to have a strong European Union have to join forces.” Senior figures from the EPP hold the top posts in the EU’s three main institutions: Parliament president; head of the EU’s powerful executive commission; and European Council president, who chairs summits of European presidents and prime ministers. Just over 50 percent of the EU’s more than 400 million voters cast ballots. While real power in Europe remains in the hands of the 28 member states, the Parliament’s influence has grown. It has helped improve air flight safety in Europe, cut down on plastics use, end mobile telephone roaming charges inside the bloc, boost data privacy, and cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars. Steve Bannon, who helped propel Donald Trump’s populist campaign to the White House, was in Paris on Monday to celebrate the victories of like-minded parties in Europe and gird for the battle ahead. “You see the trend, and it’s definitely nationalist-versus-globalist,” he said. He predicted the far-right will prevail by grinding the European Parliament to a halt: “Every day will be like Stalingrad.”
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france;italy;eu;u.k .;nigel farage;brexit;emmanuel macron;matteo salvini
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jp0004208
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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In mostly white Iowa, overwhelming dissatisfaction with Trump galvanizes black Democrats ahead of 2020 caucuses
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DES MOINES, IOWA - In Iowa, one of the whitest states in the nation, more than 100 black Democrats who expect to attend the 2020 caucuses crammed into a tiny community center in the capital city to position themselves as a force in the most wide-open presidential campaign in a generation. “There is hope! There is hope, I tell you, the same hope that Barack Obama brought us,” Jamie Woods, former chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus, implored the cheering group last month. In the state where Obama’s 2008 candidacy cleared its first important hurdle, black Democrats are energized as seldom seen, in part motivated by overwhelming dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump. That enthusiasm could make a difference in a state that holds a presidential caucus, which, unlike an open primary, attracts only the most motivated voters. That means a candidate who can rally more black voters in the caucuses can gain an outsized advantage, even though African-Americans make up only 2 percent of Iowa’s population. Iowa’s caucus, coming next February as the first event in the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating contest, is an early test of how voters are going to respond to two dozen candidates and could be a harbinger of the primary a few weeks later in South Carolina, where African Americans comprise most of the Democratic primary electorate. “They’re realizing that their voice needs to be heard,” said Deidre DeJear , the first African American to win a primary for statewide office in Iowa and now state chairwoman for Sen. Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. “And they are using the platform they have whether they’re elected or whether just a regular voter.” Stacey Walker, the first black county board chairman in Iowa’s second-most-populous metro area, said she hasn’t seen this kind of energy among black operatives, activists and officeholders in Iowa in years. “Not since the Obama coalition have we seen so many persons of color actively engaged and inspired by our politics,” Walker said. “It hasn’t always been this way, and certainly not in Iowa.” Giving an early indication of the energy within this small but influential segment of the caucus electorate, more than 200 black Democrats braved a driving ice storm in February to attend the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus winter fundraiser at a north Des Moines union hall. Candidates are looking to harness that energy. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of Newark, has convened city leaders, including Quentin Hart, the first black mayor of Iowa’s most densely African-American city, Waterloo. Booker met Saturday with Shane McCampbell, the first black mayor of Burlington, along the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa. Harris met privately with state Rep. Phyllis Thede, who is African American, before the four-term lawmaker moderated a campaign event for the California Democrat in eastern Iowa earlier this year. In 2008, when Obama became the first African-American to win the Iowa caucuses, 4 percent of caucus participants were black, double the percentage of the state’s overall black population. Obama received 76 percent of the black vote on caucus night. Non-black candidates are working to attract influential black supporters, who can help make the difference in a close race, especially given the crowded field. Amy Klobuchar, for instance, last month hired Woods, the former Iowa Black Democratic Caucus chairwoman, as her caucus campaign’s Iowa political director, giving the Minnesota senator a key ally in the competition for black votes. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang hired Al Womble, a black Des Moines-area businessman known for his behind-the-scenes organizing, as his Iowa campaign chairman. Multiple black candidates in the race and the outreach by others in the crowded field create a different scenario than in 2008, when Obama was the only black candidate. What’s more, most of the candidates put ending racial disparity in income and criminal justice atop their agendas. “Even though we’re talking about racial disparity and white supremacy, and all this is bad, that this isn’t who we are. No one single candidate is leading the charge,” said Guy Nave, a Democrat from Decorah who is black and plans to attend the caucus. Iowa Democrats are predicting turnout in the 2020 caucuses will beat the record 237,000 set in 2008, as Trump’s approval in Iowa has struggled to top 50 percent. Meanwhile, candidates themselves are working to attract first-time caucus participants to eke out any advantage in a field that now numbers 23. That means even a narrow edge of support from African Americans, in combination with a coalition of other voters, could make the difference for the winner in Iowa next February, said former Iowa Democratic Party executive director Norm Sterzenbach. “If you can find a candidate that has a stronghold in a particular demographic and is able to turn them out, that could turn into something extraordinary on caucus night,” said Sterzenbach, who is advising former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign.
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u.s .;democrats;african-americans;iowa;donald trump;2020 u.s. presidential election
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jp0004209
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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U.K.'s Brexit Party triumph boosts chances of 'no-deal'
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LONDON - Nigel Farage’s anti-EU Brexit party has topped European Parliament polls in the U.K., putting intense pressure on the ruling Conservatives — who suffered a historic rout — and raising the chances of a no-deal outcome. The single-issue Brexit Party, founded just three months ago by Farage, combined with pro-EU forces to trounce the nation’s two dominant political parties in the European Parliament election, as angry voters blamed the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the country’s Brexit impasse. With complete results announced Monday, the Brexit Party had won 29 of the U.K.’s 73 EU seats up for grabs and almost a third of the votes. On the pro-EU side, the Liberal Democrats took 20 percent of the vote and 16 seats — a dramatic increase from the single seat it won in the last EU election in 2014. The opposition Labour Party came third with 14.1 percent, followed by the pro-European environmentalist Greens who captured nearly 12.1 percent. The Conservatives — apparently blamed by voters for failing to deliver Brexit in March as planned — were in fifth with under 10 percent of the vote. The election leaves the U.K.’s exit from the EU more uncertain than ever, with both Brexiteers and pro-EU “remainers” able to claim strong support. The result raises the likelihood of a chaotic “no deal” exit from the EU — but also the possibility of a new Brexit referendum that could instead reverse the decision to leave. A triumphant Farage said he doubted the Conservatives, who are seeking a new leader, would be able to take the U.K. out of the 28-nation bloc on the currently scheduled date of Oct. 31. “The Conservative Party are bitterly divided and I consider it to be extremely unlikely that they will pick a leader who is able to take us out on the 31st (of) October,” Farage said. He said his party — which currently has no members and no policies apart from leaving the EU — would “stun everybody” in the next British general election if the country didn’t leave the EU on time. The elections, which took place Thursday, were never meant to happen; the U.K. was set to leave the bloc on March 29. But parliament has been unable to agree on how to leave, slowly sapping May’s authority and forcing her to finally announce last week she would quit to let somebody else try. Describing the EU result as “very disappointing,” she said: “It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in parliament.” Several of those vying to replace her, including Boris Johnson, were quick to repeat that Brexit must happen by the latest deadline, Oct. 31, with or without a deal with Brussels. “No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table,” Johnson wrote in his weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. In Sunderland, a Brexit-backing area in northeast England, several voters voiced support for a no-deal Brexit following the results. “It’s not going to kill us if we come out without a deal,” said Alan Bell, 67, a former chef. Farage only registered his party in February but succeeded in leveraging his reputation as one of the masterminds of the pro-Brexit campaign in 2016. He said his party should now have a say in any new Brexit negotiations with Brussels. The EU has said it will not re-open the withdrawal deal already agreed with May, but many of her would-be successors are still likely to try. Anti-Brexit campaigners also hailed the success of parties who want to keep Britain in the EU, suggesting voters are as split as they were when they voted 52 to 48 percent to leave three years ago. The Greens, who campaigned on an anti-Brexit ticket as well as for action on climate change, won seven seats. Adding in votes for the The Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru in Wales, all of which want a second referendum, supporters saw a resounding victory for pro-EU forces. “There will almost certainly be a referendum now and we’ve got to win that,” Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said at an event with the party’s new MEPs on Monday. Analysts, however, warned that European election results cannot be easily translated into success at British parliamentary elections, not least because a different voting system is used. May’s bickering Conservative party had been braced for poor results and barely bothered to campaign. But it must now decide what to do about the long-suffering EU withdrawal deal May reached with Brussels last year. Parliament was on course to reject the pact, intended to smooth Britain’s exit, for a fourth time before May announced she was quitting. Despite the calls for a “no-deal” Brexit, MPs have repeatedly voted against that option, fearing the economic impact of a harsh break with the U.K.’s closest trading partner. May’s Finance Minister Philip Hammond warned Sunday he might even be prepared to take the drastic step of voting to bring down a future Conservative government in order to avoid that situation.
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europe;eu;u.k .;nigel farage;brexit;theresa may;brexit party
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jp0004210
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Iran slams U.S. for 'causing tensions' after Trump nuclear weapons comment
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TEHRAN - Iran hit out at the United States on Monday for “causing tensions” after President Donald Trump said his government was not seeking regime change and that he would welcome talks with Tehran. The Trump administration was “hurting the Iranian people and causing tension in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter account. “Actions — not words — will show whether or not that’s @realDonaldTrump’s intent,” Zarif added, referencing the U.S. president’s Twitter handle. Zarif also denied Iran was seeking nuclear weapons, after Trump said during a visit to Japan that “we’re not looking for regime change (in Iran) … we’re looking for no nuclear weapons. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “long ago said we’re not seeking nuclear weapons — by issuing a fatwa (edict) banning them,” the foreign minister tweeted. Khamenei is said to have issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2003 and has reiterated it several times since. Iran is locked in a tense standoff with the United States which has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East in response to alleged threats from the Islamic republic. On Saturday, Zarif called a deployment of extra U.S. troops to the region “very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security.” It follows a U.S. decision earlier this month to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington’s leaders said they believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack U.S. assets. Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a “campaign” of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement in the attacks.
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shinzo abe;tokyo;u.s .;nuclear weapons;iran;iran nuclear deal;javad zarif;donald trump;ali khamenei
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jp0004211
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[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Mike Pence honors fallen U.S. service members at Arlington cemetery
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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - Vice President Mike Pence has paid tribute to fallen members of the U.S. Armed Forces, thanking their loved ones in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and acknowledging that for them “every day is Memorial Day.” Pence placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to remember dead service members whose remains haven’t been identified and observed a moment of silence. He told Gold Star families he was honored by their presence. Dignitaries attending Monday’s ceremony included Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. President Donald Trump and Melania Trump visited the Arlington, Virginia, cemetery last week and placed flags at several gravesites, a decades-old tradition known as “flags in.” Trump is in Japan , where he’s expected to address troops aboard a battleship.
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u.s .;military;memorial day;donald trump;mike pence
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jp0004212
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
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One killed as Syria and Israel exchange fire amid regional tensions
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DAMASCUS - Syria said an Israeli attack against a military post in the country’s south on Monday killed a soldier and injured another. Israel, in a rare statement acknowledging firing into Syria, said it was responding to an anti-aircraft fire from Syria against one of its combat planes. The back-to-back statements come amid heightened regional tension over Iran’s role in Syria and other parts of the Middle East. They also follow a number of reported Israeli strikes on Syria in the past 10 days, according to state run media. Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its strikes in neighboring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there. Syrian state TV al-Ikhbariya quoted a military official saying that the Israeli attack came shortly after 2100 local time (1800GMT) and targeted a military outpost east of Khan Arnabeh, a town in Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. An earlier statement on state media said one military vehicle was also damaged when a rocket landed in Tal al-Shaar in Quneitra. Israel said it was responding after an anti-aircraft fire from Syria targeted one of its combat planes in Israeli airspace. A statement from the Israeli army said that earlier Monday a Syrian anti-aircraft system fired at one of its aircraft “as it was carrying out a routine flight in Israel. The projectile landed in Syrian territory. In response, we targeted the Syrian launcher that was responsible for firing it.” The Israeli military “sees any threat against its aircraft with great severity and takes measures to defend them.” Israel’s prime minister said in statement shortly afterward that the Syrian army “tried to harm an Israeli plane, it didn’t succeed.” “Our policy is clear — we are not prepared to tolerate any aggression against us, we will retaliate against it forcefully and decisively,” the statement said. Syrian media had reported earlier this month two incidents in which Israeli strikes hit inside southern Syria.
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conflict;israel;syria;iran
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jp0004213
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Southeast U.S. sees record heat as Central Plains brace for floods
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NEW YORK - A heat wave with record-breaking potential gripped the southeastern United States on Monday, while the Central Plains will get a respite from the deadly weather that has pounded and flooded the region since last week, forecasters said. But the conditions for violent weather that spawned numerous tornadoes and drenching rains that prompted several riverfront evacuations will return in the coming week, they said. A tornado in Oklahoma killed two people on Saturday. As Americans celebrate the Memorial Day holiday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said 14 cities in South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida could tie or top their previous high temperatures for this date in a hot spell that could remain in place through the week. They include Atlanta with an expected high of 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius) and Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, where highs could hit about 100 degrees F (38 C). “We are expecting triple-digit readings for a good chunk of the southeast United States,” said meteorologist Brian Hurley at the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. Severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes pose a risk for northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, Hurley added. In Oklahoma, where the city of El Reno is still cleaning up from the tornado that killed two people and injured 29 on Saturday, chances for violent thunderstorms have diminished until late Monday or early Tuesday, he said. The pattern of drenching thunderstorms and tornadoes, which has been recurring in the Central Plains states since last week, has caused flooding in several river cities. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, officials are monitoring the rain-swollen Arkansas River after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raised the flow at the upriver Keystone Dam by 65 percent since last week to 275,000 cu. feet per second. The heavier flow, which is testing two aging levees in Tulsa, is still less than the 300,000 cu. feet per second high flow for the dam in 1986, the City of Tulsa said. All 77 Oklahoma counties are under a state of emergency, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said.
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floods;environment;tornadoes;heat;oklahoma;u.s. weather;nws
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jp0004214
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Syrian regime-led air raids hit crowded residential areas in Idlib, killing at least six
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BEIRUT - At least six people were killed and 10 remain under rubble following Syrian government air raids on a crowded residential area in the rebel’s last stronghold, rescuers and activists said Monday. The first responders known as White Helmets said five women and a child were killed. Rescue workers were still searching for survivors under the rubble after the airstrikes hit in the town of Ariha. Videos from the scene by the White Helmets showed a narrow alley blocked by the debris from a pulverized building. Survivors covered in white dust were among those who lifted a wounded man on a gurney and a young girl into the ambulance. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported six killed. The scene in Ariha was reminiscent of the violence that has hit many rebel-held areas as the government pursued similar military tactics to regain control of territory it had lost to armed opposition. In the last three years, Syrian troops, with support from Russia and Iran, have regained control of most of the country, displacing hundreds of thousands, mostly to Hama and Idlib, where rebels are making their last stand. But this rebel stronghold is home to nearly 3 million people, who have nowhere to run to escape the government offensive. A cease-fire in place since September, negotiated by Russia and Turkey, has all but collapsed. U.N. agencies say more than 200,000 are displaced within the stronghold, moving from the southern tip up north and crowding already packed camps and towns. Most of those displaced are living outside of camps, the U.N said, while some have sought safety near the Turkish border where they hope no airstrikes would pursue them there. Some 20 health facilities, three displaced people’s camps and one refugee camp were hit in the violence, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Friday. Since the violence picked up on April 30, the Observatory said at least 215 civilians, including 47 children were killed in the rebel stronghold. In adjacent government areas, 21 civilians were killed by rebel fire, according to the Observatory which monitors the war. On Monday alone, the Observatory said there were more than 100 air raids and as many as 93 barrel bombs dropped on the southern section of the rebel stronghold. Russia and the government announced last week the opening of two corridors for civilians to exit the rebel-held enclave— another familiar tactic followed to empty opposition areas amid a military operation. The U.N. said it was not party to discussions for such a corridor and said movement of civilians must be a choice, not forced by violence. The majority of the civilians living in the last rebel stronghold have either been evacuated from other opposition-held areas that were reclaimed by the Syrian military or are hard-core anti-government critics who refused to return to government control. Most of the enclave is administered by the al-Qaida-linked group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has collaborated with other armed opposition groups to fight government advances. Turkey says Syrian government forces are aiming to expand their control in the area despite the cease-fire deal. Damascus says Turkey has failed to reign in the militants in control of Idlib and allow for it to access two major highways that run through the enclave, according to the deal.
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conflict;russia;syria;iran;turkey;idlib;ariha
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jp0004215
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[
"world"
] |
2019/05/28
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Iran says it does not see need for mediation with U.S., plays down chances of military clash
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TEHRAN - Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday insisted it did not currently see the need for mediation with the United States, as it played down the chances of a military clash with Washington. Spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a news conference that Tehran “does not feel any tension or (the possibility of) clashes” and said concerns had been “created by others.” He told journalists that the Islamic republic “does not presently believe in” mediation. Iran is locked in a standoff with the United States which has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East in response to alleged threats from the Islamic republic. Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region in a show of force. The moves are the latest spike since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program and reimposed sanctions. Iran earlier this month rolled back parts of its commitments under the nuclear deal and gave an ultimatum to the remaining world powers involved if they did not provide sanctions relief. Mousavi warned that if sanctions relief is not offered Tehran “will with severity take the next steps,” meaning it could turn its back on more substantial parts of the accord. The situation between Iran and the U.S. has led a number of countries in the Middle East and others such as Japan and Switzerland to offer to mediate. Tehran insists that it will not hold direct talks with the U.S. government anytime soon despite Trump saying Washington would “like to talk” if Iran was ready. Mousavi said Iran was “listening to the views of countries” who have offered to mediate but had not received or given any “special message” during a flurry of diplomatic visits in recent weeks.
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conflict;u.s .;military;nuclear weapons;iran;nuclear energy;iran nuclear deal;donald trump
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jp0004216
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[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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Deaths on the rise but Nepal reluctant to limit number of permits for Mount Everest
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NAMCHE, NEPAL - Nepal’s reluctance to limit the number of permits it issues to scale Mount Everest has contributed to dangerous overcrowding, with inexperienced climbers impeding others and causing deadly delays, seasoned mountaineers said. During the short period this season when the weather was clear enough to attempt the summit, climbers were crammed crampon-to-crampon above South Col’s sharp-edged ridge, all clipped onto a single line of rope, trudging toward the top of the world and risking death as each minute ticked by. “There were more people on Everest than there should be,” said Kul Bahadur Gurung, general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, an umbrella group of all expedition operators in Nepal. Eleven people have died this season, the highest number since 2015. Most are believed to have suffered from altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. Once only accessible to well-heeled elite mountaineers, Nepal’s booming climbing market has driven down the cost of an expedition, opening Everest up to hobbyists and adventure-seekers. They are required to have a doctors’ note deeming them physically fit, but not to prove their stamina at such extreme heights. Because of the altitude, climbers have just hours to reach the top before they are at risk of a pulmonary edema, when the lungs fill with liquid. From Camp Four at 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) to the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak, the final push on Everest is known as the “death zone.” The conditions are so intense at such times that when a person dies, no one can afford to expend energy on carrying the body down from the mountain. “Every minute counts there,” said Eric Murphy, a mountain guide from Bellingham, Washington, who climbed Everest for a third time on May 23. He said what should have taken 12 hours took 17 hours because of struggling climbers who were clearly exhausted but had no one to guide or help them. Just a handful of inexperienced climbers, he said, is “enough to have a profound effect.” The deaths this year on Nepal’s side of the mountain included Don Cash, a sales executive from Utah, and Christopher Kulish, an attorney from Colorado, who both died on their way down from the peak. Nepal doesn’t have any regulations on the books to determine how many permits should be issued, so anyone with a doctor’s note can obtain one for an $11,000 fee, said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. This year, permits were issued to 381 people, the highest number ever, according to the government. They were accompanied by an equal number of guides from Nepal’s ethnic Sherpa community. Some climbers were originally issued permits in 2014 that were revoked mid-season when 16 Sherpa guides died in an avalanche and other Sherpas, whose support as guides and porters is essential, effectively went on strike. Another factor was China’s limit on the number of permits it issued for routes in its territory on the north side of Everest this year for a clean-up. Both the north and south sides of the mountain are littered with empty oxygen canisters, food packaging and other debris. Instead of the overcrowding, Sapkota blamed the weather, equipment and inadequate supplemental oxygen for this year’s deaths. “There has been concern about the number of climbers on Mount Everest but it is not because of the traffic jam that there were casualties,” Sapkota said in Namche, the town that serves as the staging area for Everest trips. Still, he said, “In the next season we will work to have double rope in the area below the summit so there is better management of the flow of climbers.” Instead of limiting the number of people who attempt to reach Everest’s peak, Saptoka said Nepal’s government will encourage even more tourists and climbers to come “for both pleasure and fame.” Mirza Ali, a Pakistani mountaineer and tour company owner who reached Everest’s peak for the first time this month, on his fourth attempt, said such an approach was flawed. “Everybody wants to stand on top of the world,” but tourists unprepared for the extremes of Everest endanger the entire industry, he said. “There is not a sufficient check on issuing the permits,” Ali said. “The more people come, the more permits, more business. But on the other side it is a lot of risk because it is costing lives.” Indian climber Ameesha Chauhan, recovering from frostbitten toes at a hospital in Kathmandu, described the agony of turning away from the peak when she realized her supplemental oxygen supply was low. Two of her team members died on the May 16 ascent. She returned and scaled the peak a week later. “Many climbers are too focused on reaching the summit,” she said. “They are not only risking themselves but also putting others at risk.”
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mount everest;nepal;mountaineering;climbing
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jp0004217
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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Taiwan lands aircraft on highway as part of military drills simulating Chinese attack
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CHANGHUA, TAIWAN - Taiwan landed warplanes on a normally busy highway Tuesday to simulate a response to a Chinese attack on its airfields, part of annual drills designed to showcase the island’s military capabilities and resolve to repel an attack from across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen presided at the exercise in the southern county of Changhua, not far from one of the island’s main air bases at Taichung, which comes amid perceptions of a rising military threat from China, whose rulers claim the island as their own territory. “Our national security has faced multiple challenges,” Tsai said. “Whether it is the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s long-distance training or its fighter jets circling Taiwan, it has posed a certain degree of threat to regional peace and stability. “We should maintain a high degree of vigilance,” she added. Aircraft deployed included U.S.-made F-16, French Mirage 2000 and Taiwan-made IDF fighter jets and U.S.-made E-2K airborne early warning aircraft. The drill marked the exercises debut of the first F-16 upgraded to the “V” configuration, featuring advanced radar and other combat capabilities. The air force is spending about $4.21 billion to upgrade 144 existing F-16A/Bs to the F-16V version under its “Phoenix Rising” project. Taiwan is largely dependent on the U.S. for military hardware and has also asked to purchase entirely new F-16V fighters and M1 tanks. American arms sales to Taiwan have long been a thorn in the side of U.S. relations with China, routinely drawing protests from Beijing that Washington was reneging on earlier commitments. In a sign of growing security cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. under the Trump administration, National Security Council Secretary-General David Lee met with his U.S. counterpart, national security adviser John Bolton, earlier this month, drawing a protest from China. The visit was the first between national security chiefs from the two sides since the breaking off of formal diplomatic ties in 1979. While no details were given, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Monday that China expressed its “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to (the meeting).” “We firmly oppose official exchanges in any form between the U.S. government and Taiwan on any pretext,” Lu said.
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china;u.s .;taiwan;military
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jp0004218
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[
"asia-pacific",
"science-health-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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Malaysia to send back plastic waste to foreign nations
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PORT KLANG, MALAYSIA - Malaysia will send back some 3,000 metric tons (3,300 tons) of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia in a move to avoid becoming a dumping ground for rich nations, Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Tuesday. Yeo said Malaysia and many developing countries have become new targets after China banned the import of plastic waste last year. She said 60 containers stacked with contaminated waste were smuggled in en route to illegal processing facilities in the country and will be sent back to their countries of origin. Ten of the containers are due to be shipped back within two weeks, she said, as she showed reporters contents of the waste at a port outside Kuala Lumpur. The displayed items included cables from the U.K., contaminated milk cartons from Australia and compact discs from Bangladesh, as well as bales of electronic and household waste from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and China. Yeo said the waste from China appeared to be garbage from France and other countries that had been rerouted after a ban imposed by China. In one case alone, Yeo said a U.K. recycling company exported more than 50,000 metric tons (55,000 tons) of plastic waste in about 1,000 containers to Malaysia over the past two years. “This is probably just the tip of the iceberg (due) to the banning of plastic waste by China,” Yeo told a news conference. “Malaysia will not be a dumping ground to the world … we will fight back. Even though we are a small country, we can’t be bullied by developed countries.” The government has clamped down on dozens of illegal plastic recycling facilities that had mushroomed across the country, shuttering more than 150 plants since last July. Earlier this month, the government also sent back five containers of waste to Spain. Yeo said China’s plastic waste ban had “opened up the eyes of the world to see that we have a huge garbage and recycling problem.” Citizens in rich nations diligently separate their waste for recycling but the garbage ended up being dumped in developing nations where they are recycled illegally, causing environmental and health hazards, she said. “We urge the developed countries to review their management of plastic waste and stop shipping the garbage out to the developing countries,” she said, calling such practices “unfair and uncivilized.” Yeo vowed to take action against Malaysian companies illegally importing used plastic, calling them “traitors to the country’s sustainability.”
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malaysia;china;u.s .;australia;u.k .;canada;recycling;waste
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jp0004219
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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'Moscow 8': The North Korean filmmakers who defied Pyongyang
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SEOUL - As the Korean War raged, eight of Pyongyang’s young heroes — all members of the North’s new elite, destined for a life of privilege and power — left for Moscow to study at a prestigious film school. They never returned. Scattered to the corners of the Soviet Union after they chose asylum and exile to denounce the personality cult around the North’s founder, Kim Il Sung, they lived as authors and filmmakers, forever separated from friends and family. “We call the places we are born our homes,” wrote one, Han Tae Yong, in a short story. “There should be a separate word for the places we die, a word that sounds as fond as the word ‘home’ does.” Now their lives have been made the subject of a documentary by South Korean scholar and filmmaker Kim So-young, “Goodbye My Love North Korea.” In a peninsula defined by the split between North and South, it highlights the Korean diaspora and the impact of separation from a unique perspective. Known as the “Moscow 8,” the group were chosen by Pyongyang to study at the Moscow Film School, now known as the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and the world’s oldest institution of its kind, in 1952, as Kim Il Sung’s forces — backed by Moscow and Beijing — fought against the U.S.-led United Nations coalition. At the time only the North’s brightest minds, regardless of academic background, were allowed to study cinema, filmmaker Kim said. Film was considered crucial in developing the loyalty of the masses. “The North was obviously heavily influenced by Lenin, who said cinema is the greatest art form that exists,” she said. “Among the eight exiles, one studied nuclear physics before being selected to study cinema in Moscow — he didn’t even know what a movie was until then,” she added. Kim Il Sung’s son and successor, Kim Jong Il — father of current leader Kim Jong Un — was an avid film fan who ordered the kidnapping of a South Korean film director and an actress in 1978 to help develop the North’s cinema industry. Even now the impoverished country pours significant resources into movies, although many of its productions are propaganda works extolling its juche (self-reliance) ideology and the ruling Kim family, with titles such as “Under the Guidance of the Great Brilliant Commander” and “We Will Follow You to the End of the Earth.” In what is known as the August Faction Incident in 1956, Kim Il Sung purged party officials who had plotted against him, executing hundreds, according to historians, months after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had denounced Stalin’s abuses of power in his “secret speech.” The following year, one of the eight, Ho Ung Pae, publicly condemned Kim Il Sung and announced he was seeking political asylum. He was later captured by North Korean diplomats and taken to the embassy, but escaped via a bathroom window. The other seven filed for asylum themselves in 1958, giving up the prospect of privileges awaiting them back in Pyongyang. The Soviet Union granted their request, but on condition they lived apart from each other, to avoid any risk of them mounting a conspiracy themselves and angering the North, still an ally. They were sent to cities as far apart as Irkutsk and Stalingrad — now Volgograd — while Kim Chong Hun, the last survivor of the eight, went to Murmansk near the Arctic Circle, where he recalls eating deer meat for all his meals and seeing the sun for only six months of the year. Later, he and three others settled in Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan, where many of the 172,000 ethnic Koreans Stalin deported from the Russian Far East in 1937 had been taken. “I was ecstatic to see so many ethnic Koreans in Almaty, and to see them selling kimchi, tofu and Korean fermented soybean paste,” Kim says in the film. The documentary is now showing in cinemas in the South, at a time when Pyongyang’s nuclear talks with the U.S. are deadlocked, leaving inter-Korean relations in limbo. “This movie shows the lives of North Koreans who formed multiple identities — as political exiles, ethnic Koreans and residents in the Soviet Union and Kazakhstan,” said film critic Lee Seung-min, adding it “discovers what had been undiscovered in Korean cinema history.” Among the group in Almaty was author Han, who led a renowned Korean-language theater and wrote plays critiquing both North and South. As well as Kim Il Sung’s personality cult, his subjects included the South’s participation in the Vietnam War, and its 1980 Gwangju Uprising against military rule — a legacy that saw South Korean president and former human rights activist Moon Jae-in visit the theater on a Central Asia trip last month. Han’s father was also a writer and a close ally of Kim Il Sung, and his family kept sending letters asking him to return, but he remained in exile and died in Kazakhstan in 1993. “Han was very much torn between his family and his political beliefs,” Kim says in the movie. “He had the biggest heartache among us.” Kim himself was “considered the best kind of communist back in the North,” he added. “I would’ve been able to work in Pyongyang until now if I went back home at the time. But I just could not betray and abandon my friends.”
|
film;north korea;human rights;pyongyang;politics;soviet union;korean war
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jp0004220
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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India won't invite Pakistan leader for Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony: sources
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NEW DELHI - India will not invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony for Narendra Modi, who will start his second term as India’s prime minister, two sources in the foreign ministry said, suggesting any early warming in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors is unlikely. Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan have fought three wars since both won independence from Britain in 1947, and came close to a fourth in February after a suicide attack by a Pakistan-based militant group killed at least 40 Indian police in the contested Kashmir region. An Indian government statement on Monday said the leaders of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan — all members, with India, of the little-known Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) — have been invited to Modi’s swearing-in. “This is in line with Government’s focus on its ‘Neighborhood First’ policy,” a government spokesman said. The leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius have also been invited, but two sources in Indian’s foreign ministry said Pakistan will not be on the list, without providing further information. For the swearing-in ceremony for Modi’s first term in 2014, all nations from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Maldives, were invited. In 2014 Pakistan’s then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the ceremony, to the anger of some of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist allies. Modi and Khan both claimed their air forces carried out airstrikes in enemy territory in March, to the alarm of world powers. Modi, who was widely believed to have benefited politically from the stand-off, won a second term with an increased majority in a general election whose results were declared last week. Khan called Modi on Sunday to congratulate him on his win. Modi could still meet Khan at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan next month that both leaders may attend. A spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi was not immediately available for comment.
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india;pakistan;elections;imran khan;narendra modi
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jp0004221
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[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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China deploys Confucius in bid to boost religion controls
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BEIJING - China has begun five-day Confucian culture immersion courses for religious leaders in the sage’s hometown as part of a campaign to extend government control over faith communities through a process of sinicization. The ruling Communist Party’s United Work Front Department said in a news release issued Monday that the activity was designed to ensure the primacy of traditional Chinese values above all. “To hold activities here … is a collective tribute to excellent traditional Chinese culture and a conscious identification and integration with Chinese culture,” said the release, posted on the department’s website. Participants pledged to “cultivate the Chinese cultural character of our nation’s religions so that our nation’s religions are rooted in the fertile soil of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and to ceaselessly and deeply advance the Sinicization of our nation’s religions,” it said. President Xi Jinping has launched the harshest crackdown in decades on religious practices, especially those viewed as foreign such as Christianity and Islam, while at the same time elevating home-grown Confucianism. While for decades the officially atheistic Communist Party attacked Confucius as a symbol of feudalism, he has been thoroughly rehabilitated in recent years as a means of rallying patriotism and countering foreign influences. Confucianism’s emphasis on strict social organization, advancement through study and exam taking, adherence to hierarchy and maintenance of social harmony appeals especially to the heavily bureaucratic party, which brooks no challenge to its authority. Xi has repeatedly called for religious leaders and believers to be guided by “socialist core values.” Party bureaucrats overseeing religion have demanded that key religious tenets and texts such as the Bible and Quran be interpreted “in conformity with the demands of modern Chinese development and excellent traditional Chinese culture.” That’s been accompanied with a campaign of removing crosses and bulldozing many churches, destroying mosques and locking an estimated 1 million Chinese Muslims in camps where they are forced to renounce Islam and their cultural traditions. Despite international condemnation, China claims it upholds freedom of religion and is seeking only to ensure regulations are followed while discouraging religious extremism and violence. Those participating at the launch of the five-day course included the president of the Chinese Taoist Association, vice president of the Chinese Islamic Association, chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and president of the Chinese Christian Association. Confucius was believed to have been born in the 6th century B.C. in the eastern town of Qufu. He is credited with authoring or editing key texts of statesmanship and social order, particularly the Analects that contain his key aphorisms and teachings.
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china;religion;communist party;rights;xi jinping;confucius
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jp0004222
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[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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American climber dies on descent from summit of Mount Everest
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KATHMANDU - An American climber died on the descent from the summit of Mount Everest on Monday, a Nepalese official said, taking the number of dead or missing mountaineers on the world’s highest mountain to nine on the Nepali side during the current climbing season. Christopher John Kulish, 61, scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak from the normal Southeast Ridge route in the morning but died suddenly at South Col after descending from the summit, said Mira Acharya, a Nepal tourism department official. The authorities did not say where he was from in the United States. The cause of his death was unclear. Most of the deaths on Everest this year have been attributed to exhaustion and tiredness, exacerbated because a crowded route to and from the summit has led to delays. The short climbing season ends this month. The route, also called the South Col route, was pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. About 5,000 people have scaled the Everest summit so far and about 300 have died on its slopes. Two climbers are also confirmed dead on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest this climbing season. A record 381 climbers had been permitted to scale the summit from the Nepali side this season. About 130 others were tackling Everest from the mountain’s northern side in Tibet.
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mount everest;nepal;mountaineering;tibet;christopher john kulish
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jp0004223
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[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/28
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North Koreans survive by paying bribes, U.N. report says
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GENEVA/SEOUL - North Koreans are forced to pay bribes to officials to survive in their isolated country, where corruption is “endemic” and repression rife, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday. Officials across North Korea extort money from a population struggling to make ends meet, threatening them with detention and prosecution — particularly those working in the informal economy, it said in a report. North Korea rejected the report, saying it was “politically motivated for sinister purposes.” “Such reports are nothing more than fabrication … as they are always based on the so-called testimonies of ‘defectors’ who provide fabricated information to earn their living or are compelled to do so under duress or enticement,” its Geneva mission said in a statement. North Korea blames the dire humanitarian situation on U.N. sanctions imposed for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006. But the report said that the military receives priority funding amid “economic mismanagement.” “I am concerned that the constant focus on the nuclear issue continues to divert attention from the terrible state of human rights for many millions of North Koreans,” Michelle Bachelet, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement. “The rights to food, health, shelter, work, freedom of movement and liberty are universal and inalienable, but in North Korea they depend primarily on the ability of individuals to bribe State officials,” she said. Four in 10 North Koreans, or 10.1 million people, are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, a U.N. assessment said earlier this month. “The threat of arrest, detention and prosecution provide State officials with a powerful means of extorting money from a population struggling to survive,” the U.N. rights office report said. Bribery is “an everyday feature of people’s struggle to make ends meet,” said the report, entitled “The price is rights.” It denounced what it called a “vicious cycle of deprivation, corruption and repression.” It is based on 214 interviews with North Korean “escapees,” mainly from the northeastern provinces of Ryanggang and North Hamgyong, bordering China. They were the first to be cut from the public distribution system that collapsed in 1994, leading to a famine estimated to have killed up to 1 million, it said. “If you just follow instructions coming from the State, you starve to death,” a woman from Ryanggang, now living in South Korea, was quoted as saying. “If you have money you can get away with anything, including murder,” another unnamed North Korean defector testified. Many North Koreans pay bribes of cash or cigarettes not to have to report to state-assigned jobs where they receive no salary, thus allowing them to earn income in rudimentary markets, the report said. Others bribe border guards to cross into China, where women are vulnerable to trafficking into forced marriages or the sex trade, it added. Bachelet urged North Korean authorities to stop prosecuting people for engaging in legitimate market activity and to allow them freedom of movement within the country and abroad. China should not forcibly repatriate North Koreans, she added. The United States called on North Korea this month to “dismantle all political prison camps” and release all political prisoners, who it said numbered between 80,000 and 120,000. Pyongyang, which says it protects human rights and is improving people’s standards of living, has long struggled to feed itself and last year recorded its worst harvest in more than a decade. Pyongyang has been frequently condemned by the international community for decades of prioritizing the military and its nuclear weapons program over adequately providing for its people — an imbalance some critics say the U.N.’s aid program encourages. Ahead of his Hanoi summit with leader Kim Jong Un last week, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly dangled the prospect of the North becoming an economic powerhouse if it gave up its arsenal, but the two failed to reach a deal.
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north korea;food;rights;u.n .;nuclear weapons;famine;bribery
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jp0004224
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
|
3 dead as unseasonably high temperatures continue across Japan
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Three women died and around 10 students were taken to hospitals Monday due to heatstroke symptoms as unseasonably hot weather continued in Japan, authorities have said. The mercury topped 30 degrees Celsius for a fourth straight day in central Tokyo, setting a new record for May, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. A 42-year-old woman found unconscious behind the wheel of a car parked at a supermarket in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, was later pronounced dead, while an 88-year-old woman died in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, after being found in her field, according to local government representatives. A woman in her 90s was also found dead in a field in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, with local authorities suspecting heatstroke. In Machida, western Tokyo, 24 junior high school students complained of feeling ill while practicing for sports day. Around 10 of them were taken to hospital but none were in a serious condition, police and other sources said. Among 926 monitoring posts across the country, about 400 registered temperatures above 30 C, the agency said. Kumagaya in Saitama marked 36.2 C, while Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture logged 36.0 C, the agency said. The heat is expected to gradually ease in the west of the country on Tuesday with the arrival of a moist air mass, it added. The mercury also rose on the island of Hokkaido, with Obihiro marking 35.8 C. Saroma logged 32.6 C, after registering 39.5 C on Sunday — a record-high May temperature for the country. Hokkaido Railway Co. canceled more than 100 train services Monday due to the risk of track distortion caused by the heat.
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weather;records;heat waves
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jp0004226
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[
"national",
"social-issues"
] |
2019/05/28
|
All by myself: From dining to camping, more Japanese women are going 'soloist' as stigma fades
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From dining out to camping, more Japanese women are doing things alone. In the past, women without family members, partners or friends were commonly looked upon in a negative light. This view has been changing as “soloists” as they are called grow in number. One who has been helping to change the perception of such women is freelance writer Mayumi Asai. One day last month she could be found picking strawberries at a farm in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture. Unlike the majority of visitors, who comprised couples and families, Asai had come by herself. After picking a few dozen strawberries, she went on to take pictures of the cherry blossoms along a nearby river. The 33-year-old Asai began striking out on her own as a university student after a female friend who had grown up abroad told her she liked to eat at ramen restaurants by herself. Asai had always felt it was a burden to have to consider the feelings of others when hanging out in a group, but this disappeared when she followed the example of her friend and began dining on her own. “I realized that I had been bound to the idea that dinner needed to be enjoyed in a group,” she said. Once she entered the workforce, Asai began to do even more by herself — from treating herself to full-course dinners to going to the zoo — and posting blogs and publishing books about her experiences. Her writing has garnered support from like-minded individuals who comment that they also enjoy undertaking activities by themselves and want experiences similar to hers. “You make your own decisions, so you get the chance to face yourself,” Asai said. “There is no feeling of loneliness, only one of significance and accomplishment.” A woman in Kyoto Prefecture who went camping by herself for the first time last fall mentioned how she was “tired of adjusting myself to others.” “It took a lot of effort to set up the tent and cook the rice, but I was able to spend quality time by myself,” the 29-year-old said contentedly. According to a 2015 study by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 48 percent of men and 36 percent of women responded that they would not feel lonely if they were to spend the rest of their lives by themselves, up 7 percentage points from the previous study five years before. As the number of people who enjoy doing things on their own increases, companies are offering new services and products for solo customers. At a branch of Hakata Motsunabe Oyama, Fukuoka-based hot pot restaurant operator LAV has made it easier for solo customers to enjoy a dish more commonly shared with others. They are given a designated seat at the counter — and more than half of the customers are women, according to the restaurant. “Many women come here during a solo or work trip and take pictures (of the dish) to upload to their social media,” said Yasuhiro Yoshimoto, who manages the branch. Kazuhisa Arakawa, head of a research group focusing on solo activities set up by advertising company Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., said the idea of being alone began to correlate with independence about four years ago, influenced by social media. Many people believed they would get married someday, but “those days are over,” Arakawa said. “It’s becoming impossible to ignore those who live solitary lives,” he said. “We may be entering a time when everyone can enjoy solo activities, regardless of their gender, age and marital status.”
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rights;women;marriage;recreation
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jp0004227
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Damage to Japan's farm sector from natural disasters and extreme weather topped ¥560 billion in 2018
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The cost of damage to the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries from abnormal weather and natural disasters including typhoons and torrential rain stood at ¥567.9 billion in 2018, a government white paper said Tuesday. The total also included damage caused by a powerful earthquake in Hokkaido. The figure is the second highest in the past 10 years, after the ¥2.71 trillion logged in 2011, the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The sum for 2018 included ¥112.2 billion in damage to agricultural crops, ¥213.8 billion in damage to farmland and agricultural facilities, and ¥227.5 billion in damage to the forestry sector, which was heavily hit by landslides. While damage to farm products from cold weather has declined in recent years due to climate change, damage from typhoons and heavy rain has increased, according to the white paper. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has quickened its decision-making process for support measures for farmers affected by natural disasters. The ministry has also expanded the range of assistance depending on the type of disaster, including subsidies for reinforcing greenhouses and purchasing emergency electricity supply systems. Also in the white paper, the government detailed efforts to promote “smart agriculture,” which uses information and communications technology and robotics, such as drones and unmanned tractors. The report said that the nation’s exports of agriculture, forestry and fisheries products and food hit a record high for the sixth straight year in 2018.
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agriculture;forests;disasters;maff
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jp0004228
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/05/28
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Japanese scientist puts forward theory to solve 50-year moon rock mystery (it's not cheese)
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The moon was formed when it was washed out of the right eye of the god of the land while he was bathing. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the moon god of Japanese folklore, then lived forever in the heavens after climbing a giant celestial ladder from his father’s bathroom. What I love is how the whimsy of folklore is equalled, if not surpassed, by modern explanations for the origin of the moon. For Natsuki Hosono of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) in Yokohama, the origin of the moon is the most interesting topic in all of planetary science. And that’s not just because his name contains the kanji for “ tsuki, ” the word for “moon.” Hosono’s study, which was published in April in the journal Nature Geoscience , helps explain why we have a very large moon when the other rocky planets nearby don’t (Mars has two moons but they are very small). It also sheds light on something that has puzzled geologists for 50 years, since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin brought back samples of rocks gathered from the lunar surface. The Apollo rocks showed that the moon is made of the same stuff as the Earth. What that means, scientists have surmised, is that the moon was born of the early Earth. The story Hosono’s team has pieced together goes like this. Once upon a time there were five “inner” planets between the sun and Jupiter: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Theia and Mars. I say Earth, but back then, and we’re talking about 4.5 billion years ago, the third planet from the sun was a different size to the one we live on. So it’s better to say proto-Earth or early Earth. Theia was a planet about the size of Mars, which is smaller than Earth. Theia’s orbit wasn’t settled. This was only 50 million years or since the solar system itself had formed, and everything was a bit chaotic. In an accident that set off an extraordinary series of events, Theia crashed into the proto-Earth. There was an explosion of unimaginable scale and energy. George Darwin — son of Charles — was the first to suggest this as the origin of the moon in 1898, and it’s since become known as the giant-impact hypothesis. To mix our folkloric examples, Theia is the name of the ancient Greek Titan who gave birth to the moon goddess Selene. (Mixing of legends, by the way, is acceptable astronomical practice: Selene is the name of a moon orbiter launched by Japan in 2007 that is also known as Kaguya — the moon princess from the famous Japanese fairy tale “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.”) Until recently, all the models for the formation of our moon ended up showing that it should be formed by rocks from Theia and not Earth. Hosono’s new model seems to have solved the problem by thinking of Theia colliding into an Earth covered by an ocean of magma. After the titanic impact, a monstrous plume of molten rock was smashed into space, and there it gradually cooled into a solid mass — our moon. According to JAMSTEC’s simulations, the rest of Theia eventually fell back and sank into the Earth. There are many missions being planned to the moon by countries such as the U.S., Japan, India, China and Israel, plus several private space companies, including Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Hosono is positive about the developments. “I think the simplest next step is to carry out high precision measurements of as many lunar fragments as possible,” he says. What about human settlements on the moon? “If there is a village on the moon, we might do on-site measurements,” he says. “That sounds interesting.” In a way, Hosono’s story of the formation the moon is analogous to the story from Japanese folklore, which described it as being formed from a teardrop washed from his father’s eye. In Hosono’s explanation, the moon was formed in the distant past, from a giant teardrop of molten rock, smashed from its parent planet.
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jamstec;earth;moon;apollo;japan agency for marine-earth science and technology;natsuki hosono;neil armstrong and buzz aldrin;theia
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jp0004229
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/28
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China's new ambassador — a Japan expert — to start work in Tokyo on Thursday
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Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou will assume his duties as ambassador to Japan on Thursday, according to the Chinese Embassy. Kong, considered an expert on Japan, will become Beijing’s man in Tokyo after Cheng Yonghua ends what has been an unusually long stint in the post. Kong will take the position around a month before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Japan in June for the Group of 20 summit in Osaka. It will be Xi’s first trip to Japan since he came to power in 2013. Educated at Shanghai International Studies University, where he majored in Japanese, Kong is a career diplomat who served as ambassador to Vietnam and assistant foreign minister before becoming vice foreign minister in 2017. Kong has doubled as China’s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs at a time when the international community is closely watching whether North Korea will denuclearize as its leader Kim Jong Un has pledged.
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china-japan relations;g20;xi jinping;ambassadors;kong xuanyou;cheng yonghua
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jp0004230
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/28
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Japan asks China to hold 'two-plus-two' security talks in hopes of de-escalating dispute over Senkakus
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BEIJING - The Japanese government has suggested to China that the countries should begin holding meetings between their foreign and defense ministers in order to deepen mutual understanding on security issues, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. Beijing has yet to accept or decline the suggestion, the sources said, indicating the issue may be on the agenda when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Osaka. By offering to hold the “two-plus-two” talks, Japan is hoping to de-escalate the situation in the East China Sea, where the countries are in a dispute over the sovereignty of the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, the sources said. China lays claim to the Japanese-controlled islands, which lie in waters rich with fish and potentially oil and gas deposits, and has continued to send government ships to the area. The islands, called Diaoyu by China, are also claimed by Taiwan, which calls them Tiaoyutai. China has also been increasing its presence in the South China Sea, creating man-made islands with military installations. According to the sources, Foreign Minister Taro Kono floated the idea of two-plus-two talks in meetings over the past several months with Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It is expected Tokyo will agree to set up the talks when Abe potentially goes to China later this year, or during another possible visit to Japan by Xi next year. If realized, the talks are expected to include Kono and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya on the Japanese side. Candidates to participate on the Chinese side include Yang and Wang, as well as Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army, and National Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.
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shinzo abe;xi jinping;wang yi;diaoyu;taro kono;senkaku;2 plus 2;tiaoyutai
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jp0004231
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[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/28
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In symbolic first, Abe and Trump jointly address military personnel aboard Japan's Kaga carrier
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YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA PREF. - Peppered with pomp and decorum, U.S. President Donald Trump’s four-day visit to Japan ended with a symbolic gesture highlighting the long-standing military ties between the U.S. and Japan, with Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly boarding the Japanese helicopter carrier Kaga to give an address to both the U.S. Navy and the Maritime Self-Defense Force. According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, Trump is the first U.S. president to board an MSDF vessel. Tuesday’s boarding by the pair underlines Abe’s long-standing efforts to further strengthen the bilateral military alliance, and show it off to the world in hopes of keeping China and North Korea in check. “At this very historic moment as Japan begins Reiwa, … we celebrate the U.S.-Japan alliance and the friendship between our freedom-loving peoples,” said Trump aboard the Kaga, currently stationed at Yokosuka Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture. “This is the only port in the world where an American naval fleet and an allied naval fleet are headquartered side by side. The American and Japanese sailors stationed in this bay are living testaments to the enduring power of our incredible partnership,” he added. The Kaga, an Izumo-class helicopter carrier, is one of two in the class operated as Japan’s largest warships, and they are planned to be remodeled into aircraft carriers. With the refurbishment, the vessel will be capable of carrying F-35B stealth fighter jets developed by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin. The Izumo, the other Izumo-class warship, has recently been dispatched to the South China Sea and Indian Ocean to conduct joint military drills with the U.S. and other countries. In a brief speech delivered while stood alongside Trump, Abe touched on Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy,” which stresses the rule of law and freedom of navigation. The concept, first proposed by Abe in 2016, is widely seen as a counter-policy against China’s growing economic and military power in East Asia, although Tokyo has denied that officially. “Our mission is to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific and to establish a foundation for regional peace and prosperity. As we gather here, I believe that every one of us shares an unwavering determination to fulfill such a mission,” Abe said in the speech. “The Japan-U.S. alliance has become more robust than ever under the great partnership that President Trump and I have developed. The fact that we stand together on board the JS Kaga today is a testament to such a robust alliance,” said Abe, adding that the address marked the first time that the two leaders of Japan and the U.S. held a joint address for their fleets. Retired Vice Adm. Toshiyuki Ito, a professor at Kanazawa Institute of Technology’s Toranomon Graduate School, said Trump’s visit to the Kaga not only sent a strong message to the world regarding the strength of Japan-U.S. military ties, but also represented a marked change in Trump’s understanding of the alliance. “The linchpin of the Japan-U.S. alliance is what would be called its ‘navy-to-navy’ policy. Namely, the partnership between Japan’s MSDF and the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet is at the very core,” of the two countries’ military alliance, he explained. During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Trump often criticized Japan for what he described as free-riding on the military alliance to defend itself in the case of war. However, the joint defense operation guidelines revised in 2015 stipulate that “Japan will have primary responsibility” to repel an armed attack against the country and that the U.S. would only provide “support” to Japan. This means the only time the U.S. would be dispatched to serve alongside the SDF to defend Japan would be when the SDF is mobilized, and Ito said that Trump might have finally understood how the military alliance would work to defend Japan. “I think this visit to the Kaga is emblematic of that change in his thinking,” Ito said. The joint address to the military personnel aboard the Kaga also sends a strong message that the U.S.-Japan alliance is firm, Ito added. “Military ships are completely different from normal ships” in that they represent the country’s intent and send clear international messages, Ito explained. “A maritime force is also a tool for diplomacy,” he added, and Trump boarding the Kaga also communicates the depth of the Japan-U.S. relationship both internally and abroad. In December, the Japanese government announced its plan to purchase 105 F-35A fighter jets from the U.S. for the Air-Self-Defense Force, a development that both leaders noted during Trump’s visit, as well as during the address aboard the Kaga. Japan also plans to purchase 42 F-35B jet fighters to be deployed on the two Izumo-class aircraft carriers.
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shinzo abe;u.s .;military;self defense forces;msdf;izumo;u.s.-japan relations;aircraft carriers;donald trump;kaga
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jp0004232
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Advisory panel to Japan's Justice Ministry to discuss limits of parental disciplinary rights
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Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita plans to ask the Legislative Council, an advisory panel, on June 20 to discuss reviewing parental disciplinary rights, sources with knowledge of the matter said Monday. Some people have urged the government to review parental disciplinary rights, including a clause on such rights in the Civil Code, claiming that they are being misused as an excuse to justify child abuse. A supplementary provision of legislation to ban physical punishments by parents calls for a review of parental disciplinary rights within two years of its entry into force. The Diet is expected to pass the legislation during its current session, which is set to end next month. Whether to keep parental disciplinary rights in the Civil Code was discussed previously in 2011. A proposal to delete the relevant clause was dropped at that time for fear that parents would not be able to educate or take care of their children properly.
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children;justice ministry;child abuse;parenthood;takashi yamashita
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jp0004233
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Japan the new 'leader of the liberal order in Asia,' top Australian think tank says
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Japan has become “the quintessential smart power” and the new “leader of the liberal order in Asia,” according to a new index of power in the region published Wednesday by a leading Australian think tank. The release of the Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index 2019 comes as China and the United States battle for global and regional dominance, but reveals that beyond the competition between the two titans, Japan, ranked No. 3 in the survey, lies within a “distinct tier” of leading powers that are themselves greatly influencing the region. “There is often a temptation to reduce the complexity of Asia’s international order to a two player game between the United States and China,” the report said. “In reality the Indo-Pacific ecosystem is created and sustained by a much wider array of actors.” Japan, as well as India, ranked No. 4 in the index, “occupy a distinct tier ahead of the most sizeable middle powers,” it said. The survey ranked 25 countries and territories in terms of their capacity to influence regional events, evaluating state power through 126 indicators across eight thematic measures: military capability and defense networks, economic resources and relationships, diplomatic and cultural influence, as well as resilience and future resources. Its release comes as the United States, led by the mercurial President Donald Trump, seeks to shake off what Trump sees as the shackles of the largely U.S.-created liberal international order — including longtime commitments in Asia — and as a rising China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping sharpens its ambitions amid the emerging vacuum. Trump’s quest has so far seen him pull Washington out of multilateral and bilateral trade, climate and arms control pacts, while Xi has overseen China’s emergence as an economic and military superpower. Japan, as the so-called quintessential smart power making efficient use of limited resources to wield broad-based diplomatic, economic and cultural influence in the region, “is helping at the margins to adapt the broader regional order” to these realities, the report said. Despite its limited resources, it achieved a top-four ranking across the four influence measures — diplomatic influence, economic relationships, defense networks and cultural influence — while finishing in the top two, just behind China, for diplomatic influence, according to the index. “Setting regional standards and maintaining an inclusive multilateral architecture has become a key organizing principle under the premiership of Shinzo Abe,” the report said. This has come despite the difficulties Abe has faced in balancing the often contradictory demands and desires of Trump. As an example, the report cited Tokyo’s successful resuscitation last year of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact as the TPP-11, after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2017. Japan, it added, has also proven a capable rival to China for infrastructure investment in South and Southeast Asia. “It has used its economic diplomacy to offer Washington alternatives to the Belt and Road Initiative and ease developing countries’ dependence on Chinese lending,” the report said, referring to Beijing’s multi-trillion dollar infrastructure-building spree. Japan, it said, has been the dominant foreign investor in strategically pivotal countries as varied as Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. Militarily, however, Japan has faced headwinds, the report noted, dropping from sixth to seventh place in the military capability ranking, displaced by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has the third-largest standing army in Asia. According to Herve Lemahieu, the director of the Lowy Institute’s Asian Power and Diplomacy Program and the author of the index, while Japan is trending up on so-called signature capabilities — such as by building helicopter carriers and actual aircraft carriers, and buying more cutting-edge U.S. aircraft and weapons — its ranking fell based on the relative state of its Self-Defense Forces and the military posture of its Asian neighbors. “In geostrategic terms, it’s the relativities that matter. Japan is modernizing, but other armed forces are enhancing their capabilities faster still,” Lemahieu said, noting however that defense investments often take a while to materialize into new capabilities and that Japan’s defense spending, despite hitting a record ¥5.26 trillion for fiscal 2019, remains comparatively low. Abe and Trump on Tuesday showcased the emerging fruits of the two nations’ military alliance aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s largest warship, the Kaga, which the Defense Ministry plans to upgrade so it can function as an aircraft carrier. It will then be able to carry U.S.-made F-35B stealth fighter jets, of which Tokyo plans to purchase more than 100. China, which has been the primary driver of Japan’s defense buildup, according to analysts, netted the highest gains in overall power in 2019, with first-place rankings in half of the eight index measures after leading last year in only three of the eight measures. “Despite steady advances, however, Beijing faces political and structural challenges that may make it difficult to establish undisputed primacy in the region,” according to the report. While it was ranked No. 2 for military capability behind the United States, long-term political will and defense economics will be deciding factors in the military rivalry between the two and with Japan. Beijing’s flexing of hard and soft power, meanwhile, “remains hobbled in key respects — not least due to a lack of trust among 11 of its neighbors with whom it has unresolved boundary disputes or legacies of interstate conflict.” In the East China Sea, Beijing is embroiled in a dispute with Tokyo over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, where they are known as the Diaoyu. And in the disputed South China Sea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims. China has constructed man-made islands, some of which are home to military-grade airfields and advanced weaponry, in the strategic waterway. Japan and the U.S. fear those outposts could be used to restrict free movement in the waterway — which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year.
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china;shinzo abe;north korea;military;self defense forces;donald trump
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jp0004234
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Seven infants left in Kumamoto baby hatch in fiscal 2018
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KUMAMOTO - Seven infants were left in a baby hatch in the city of Kumamoto in fiscal 2018, the municipal government said Monday. A total of 144 infants have been brought to the hatch, called Konotori no Yurikago (Storks’ Cradle), since it was set up at Jikei Hospital in 2007. The hatch allows parents having difficulty in rearing their babies to leave them anonymously. Four of the seven infants left in fiscal 2018 were boys. All seven were less than 1 year old. Five were less than 1 month old. Four were born at home without the help of medical personnel. The parents’ whereabouts were found for six of them. Regarding their reasons for using the baby hatch, with multiple answers allowed, poverty was cited by three of the parents and child-rearing anxieties by two. One of the reasons cited was an unwillingness to consult the local government, which women typically do to receive support when they get pregnant. A Kumamoto official said some people have difficulties finding government offices close to where they live or work. The city will continue asking the central government to strengthen consultation services and take other steps to help such parents, Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi said in a statement. In July 2017, the city asked the central government to prepare a consulting service for parents and consider legislation that would allow pregnant women to give birth at hospitals anonymously.
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children;poverty;kumamoto;hospitals;baby hatch;cradles
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jp0004235
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Emperor and empress bid farewell to Trump before he departs Japan
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At a Tokyo hotel Tuesday, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bid farewell to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, who have been visiting Japan as state guests. The Trumps have been staying at the hotel since their arrival in the nation on Saturday as the first foreign guests of the imperial couple since the emperor ascended to the throne May 1. The emperor said he was very happy to have been able to host the president and his wife, while Trump expressed his gratitude for a banquet held by the imperial couple the previous night, emphasizing how he now considers them personal friends, according to the Imperial Household Agency. The informal chat, in which the empress also participated, lasted around 20 minutes and was very relaxed, the agency added. It is customary for the emperor and empress to meet state guests on the last day of their stay. The Trumps also met with the emperor and the empress on Monday before the U.S. leader held a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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royalty;imperial family;u.s.-japan relations;donald trump;melania trump;emperor naruhito;empress masako
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jp0004236
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Over 200 bags of cocaine found in stomach of Japanese who died on plane
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LOS ANGELES - More than 200 bags of cocaine were found in the stomach and intestines of a Japanese man who died last week on a flight from Mexico to Japan, Mexican officials said Monday. An autopsy revealed that the 42-year-old man had swallowed 246 bags. The man died Friday from cardiac arrest caused by a drug overdose, the law enforcement officials said. The man took a flight from the Colombian capital of Bogota to Mexico City, where he boarded a flight to Narita International Airport. He started having a convulsive seizure and showed other symptoms of an overdose soon after taking off from the Mexican capital, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in the early hours of Friday at an airport in Hermosillo, the state capital of Sonora, Mexico. The man was declared dead soon after. Prosecutors identified the man as Udo N, while the local paper El Sol de Mexico reported the man’s name as Satoshi Udo. Carrying cocaine aboard passenger planes by swallowing small bags of the drug is a common smuggling tactic, and there have been many cases of smugglers dying from cocaine bags rupturing inside their bodies. The plastic bags were approximately 2.5 centimeters long and 1 cm wide, the officials said.
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u.s .;drugs;mexico;cocaine;air accidents
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jp0004237
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Archive to tell story of Beate Sirota Gordon's pivotal role in fight for gender equality in Japan
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RANZAN, SAITAMA PREF. - Documents related to Beate Sirota Gordon, the American translator who played a major role in the formulation of the Japanese Constitution’s gender equality protections, are being archived in a project exploring the development of women’s rights. The initiative, which aims to demonstrate the role women played in the postwar fight for gender equality in Japan, came with Gordon’s alma mater, Mills College in California, agreeing to donate six boxes of documents to the National Women’s Education Center, or NWEC, in Ranzan, Saitama Prefecture. “It is significant to keep them here in Japan to make them available for those studying, for example, the process of making the Constitution,” said Michi Mori, an information division official at the NWEC, which is hosting an exhibition about Gordon. The center has also received other materials from Gordon’s daughter, Nicole, as well as other people and groups linked to her work. The documents collected by the NWEC include a Japanese draft of the Constitution typed in the Roman alphabet. Gordon compiled the Constitution’s human rights clauses, particularly concerning women, which eventually resulted in Article 24, which stipulates gender equality. Among the document cache is a travel record from 1952, when Gordon attended a two-month U.S. tour with Fusae Ichikawa (1893-1981), a female activist and former Upper House member who spearheaded the women’s suffrage movement in Japan. “We are planning to organize these documents to post them on the internet for the benefit of those who are interested,” Mori said. Gordon was born in 1923 in Vienna as the only daughter of the internationally acclaimed pianist Leo Sirota and his wife, Augustine. She moved to Tokyo with her family in 1929 when her father started teaching at what is now the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. She spent roughly 10 years in Japan before moving to California to attend college. After graduating from Mills College and obtaining U.S. citizenship, she returned to Japan at the age of 22 in December 1945, four months after the end of World War II, to work at the headquarters of the Allied Occupation. She was assigned to help draft Japan’s new Constitution. In addition to Article 24, Gordon contributed to compiling Article 14, which stipulates equality before the law, reflecting the knowledge she gained through her own experiences witnessing the disadvantages suffered by Japanese women. Using her Japanese-language skills, Gordon also served as a civilian interpreter and translator for the Allies. She was involved in negotiations between them and the Japanese government over the wording of the Constitution. She moved to the United States in 1947 after witnessing the promulgation of the Constitution the previous year and worked as performance art director at the New York-based Japan Society and other institutions that endeavored to promote bilateral cultural exchanges. While for a long time she never spoke of her role in the drafting of the Constitution, Gordon began opening up in the early 1990s, partly on the recommendation of her former supervisor in Japan. From that point she was frequently invited by women’s groups all over Japan to deliver lectures championing women’s rights and the pacifism written into the Constitution. Koji Sugimoto, an exhibition designer, supported her activities in Japan. Sugimoto, 83, became acquainted with Gordon in 1965 when they worked together for a Japanese art festival project, and maintained mutual trust by visiting each other in Tokyo and New York until her death in 2012 at age 89. “Ms. Beate saw Japanese women eating dinners in the kitchen while their husbands did so in dining rooms and walking a step behind their partners before and during the war,” he said. “Struck with their subordinate status, she always wanted to do something for them, and even after the war, she continued encouraging them by directly talking to them.” The NWEC has also collected records on the lecture events compiled by the women’s groups, which show how enthusiastically women in Japan welcomed Gordon even a half-century after the creation of the Constitution. Reiko Aoki, a visiting researcher at the NWEC involved in compiling the documents, said, “We expect these archives to be a visual representation of how Japanese women have learned about equality and their human rights with Ms. Beate, and to spur their learning activities in the future.” Visitors to the NWEC are also able to see a copy of a speech Gordon delivered in 2006 in Sendai. “I think it is meaningful that the documents … show how women in Japan have been empowered by Ms. Beate, preserved and made public in a comprehensive manner at the NWEC,” Sugimoto said. Some of the Gordon-related documents, including photographs and video footage, are now displayed at an exhibition hall of the NWEC. The exhibition is free and runs through Sept. 30. For further information, call the NWEC at 0493-62-6195 or visit its website .
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wwii;history;rights;women;constitution;language;english;translation;beate sirota gordon
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jp0004238
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[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
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Body found as divers continue search for missing crew from ship collision off eastern Japan
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CHIBA - Another crew member was found dead Tuesday as divers searched inside a cargo ship that sank in the Pacific Ocean off eastern Japan, bringing the death toll from the accident to two, authorities said. The divers had resumed a search for missing crew members with the hope that survivors might be discovered after noises believed to be coming from the ship were detected. The victim was identified as Kazufumi Kamimura, 60, the chief officer of the 499-ton Sensho Maru. Earlier, Akira Yano, 72, was found dead. Another two crew members remained missing as of Tuesday night. The vessel sank to the seafloor at a depth of about 30 meters after colliding with another 499-ton cargo ship, the Sumiho Maru, about 12 kilometers off Inubosaki, Chiba Prefecture, early Sunday. The four crew members on the Sumiho Maru, based in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, escaped the incident safely. The captain of the Sensho Maru, based out of Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, was rescued. According to the local coast guard office, a diver heard a faint knocking sound from the Sensho Maru on Monday. The coast guard identified the two missing sailors as Hiroshi Seno, 69, and Saigo Umakoshi, 67.
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chiba;maritime accidents;sensho maru;inubosaki
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jp0004239
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[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/05/28
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Sendai court rules defunct eugenics law unconstitutional but denies damages due to statute of limitations
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SENDAI - A Sendai court determined Tuesday that the now-defunct eugenics protection law, which mandated the government stop people with intellectual disabilities from reproducing, was unconstitutional, but it dismissed a damages suit filed by two women who underwent forced sterilization. In the first ruling handed down in a number of suits filed with seven district courts nationwide, the Sendai District Court rejected the ¥71.5 million ($653,000) damages suit filed by women in their 60s and 70s in Miyagi Prefecture, saying the statute of limitations had expired. In the trial, the plaintiffs and lawyers said the 1948 eugenics law deprived the victims of self-determination with regard to giving birth and raising children, violating the Constitution, which guarantees the pursuit of happiness and equality under the law. They said the state failed to take legislative action to compensate the victims, but the government argued it had no obligation to do so as the victims could seek damages under the state compensation law. The state also argued it was not obliged to pay compensation due to the 20-year statute of limitations on demands for damages under the Civil Code, pointing out that the victims underwent surgery more than 40 years ago. Between 1948 and 1996, the eugenics law authorized the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or hereditary disorders to prevent births of “inferior” offspring. About 25,000 people with disabilities were sterilized under the eugenics protection law, including some 16,500 who were operated on without their consent, according to the health ministry and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. In April, the Diet enacted legislation to pay ¥3.2 million in state compensation to each person who underwent forced sterilization, irrespective of whether they were believed to have agreed to undergo the surgery or not. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a statement expressing regret and containing an apology, but he did not mention the legal liability of the state. The law setting out the compensation provisions, drafted by ruling and opposition parties, offers an apology to survivors, but critics say its wording lacks clarity over where responsibility lies.
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courts;rights;discrimination;disability;sterilization;eugenics;eugenic protection law
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jp0004240
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[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/05/28
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Kawasaki stabbing rampage leaves three dead, including schoolgirl and suspect; 17 injured
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KAWASAKI - An 11-year-old girl and a 39-year-old man died in a mass stabbing in Kawasaki on Tuesday morning, a rampage that injured an additional 17 people — including 15 elementary school girls and a boy — and saw the attacker turn the knife on himself, police said. Investigative sources said they had detained a suspect after the rampage, a man in his 50s, who later died of a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck area, they said. The man was identified as Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, of Kawasaki’s Asao Ward. Police identified the victims as Hanako Kuribayashi, 11, a sixth grader from Tama, Tokyo, and Satoshi Oyama, a 39-year-old Foreign Ministry official. They both suffered deep stab wounds to the neck. Oyama was the father of a child who was among the children at the scene. His child was not injured. Oyama was also stabbed in the back and shoulders, suggesting he might have been defending some of the children, police sources said. Kanagawa Prefectural Police officials said many of the victims, who were waiting at a school bus stop in Tama Ward about 250 meters northwest of Noborito Station, are students from Caritas Elementary School, a private Catholic school in the same ward. They said the suspect, who was wearing glasses, a black shirt and pants, slowly approached the girls and attacked them with knives in both hands. He assaulted the victims one by one. According to witnesses, some children screamed : “Help me!” and “Dad and Mom, what should I do?” Authorities said they found two knives at the site that appeared to have been used in the attack. The blades measured 30 cm each, according to police sources. Police said two more knives were found in what appears to be the suspect’s backpack. “I heard children scream ‘I’m scared’ and then turned to see a man with knives shouting, ‘I’m gonna kill you,'” said Toshichika Ishii, 57, who was at a park near the site, adding that he saw children falling to the ground. Police quoted a bus driver who witnessed the assault as saying, “I tried to stop him, but he started stabbing children and others.” “He then moved dozens of meters away and stabbed his own neck,” the driver said. Kazuhiro Yoshida, a 60-year-old bus driver for the elementary school, said he got off his bus when he arrived near the scene and saw “pools of blood.” “A man in dark clothing was lying on the ground and did not move a bit,” Yoshida said. Many of the victims sustained wounds to the neck, and they may also develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to hospitals treating them. A woman in her 40s who lives near the scene said she saw a rescue worker conducting CPR on a girl and “blood flowing from a man in a suit crouching on the ground and forming a pool.” The scene and its vicinity were cordoned off as investigators collected evidence. “I heard fire engines coming in the morning and I saw a man lying on the ground bleeding,” a man who lives nearby told public broadcaster NHK. “I saw many elementary school children lying on the ground near a school bus stop. School rucksacks were scattered all over the place. “There was another man lying on the ground bleeding at a municipal-run bus stop near the school’s bus stop,” the man added. A local resident, who declined to give his name, said children attending the school lined up for the bus at the site every day. “If you live in this neighborhood, everybody knows that these kids are there,” the 66-year-old said. “I’ve been in this area for a long time, I cannot believe that somebody targeted this bus and targeted these small children.” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that “children’s safety should be protected at any cost.” Education minister Masahiko Shibayama said at a news conference Tuesday that Abe instructed him to make every possible effort to secure safety at schools and school commuting roads. Parents arrived at the Catholic private school later in the day to pick their children up as the school and the local education board scrambled to gather information on the attack. “I heard from the school that my daughter was inside the bus (when the attack took place). I heard she’s fine but I have not been able to meet her yet,” said a father of a first grader. The rampage was a rare attack in a country with one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world. There was no immediate detail on the motive of the suspect. Schools in Japan have stepped up safety measures ever since a knife-wielding man, who sought to be sentenced to death, entered an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, and killed eight students and wounded 15 others in 2001. Many schools lock their gates once classes start and security cameras have been introduced. Volunteers and members of parent teacher associations also line the routes leading to schools. But such measures are limited. “Even if we thoroughly implemented the plan (for preventing crimes), it is difficult to totally prevent them,” said a senior education ministry official. U.S. President Donald Trump, who was wrapping up a state visit to Japan, offered his “prayers and sympathy” to the victims as he met troops outside Tokyo on the final day of his trip. Standing aboard a Japanese military ship, he said that “all Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and for their families.”
|
murder;children;kawasaki;kanagawa;stabbings;ryuichi iwasaki;kawasaki attack
|
jp0004241
|
[
"national",
"crime-legal"
] |
2019/05/28
|
A chronology of major violent rampage cases in Japan
|
The following is a chronology of major violent rampage cases with multiple victims in Japan: Sept. 8, 1999 : Man attacks pedestrians with a knife and hammer in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, killing two and injuring six. Sept. 29, 1999 : Man kills five people and injures 10 after driving a car into a crowd at Shimonoseki Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture before stabbing passersby. June 8, 2001 : Knife-wielding man enters an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, killing eight students and wounding 15 other pupils and teachers. March 23, 2008 : Man stabs pedestrians with a knife near a shopping mall in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, leaving one man dead and seven others injured. June 8, 2008 : Man kills seven people and wounds 10 after mowing down pedestrians with a truck in a vehicle-free zone before going on a stabbing spree with a knife in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. June 22, 2010 : Former temporary worker at automaker Mazda Motor Corp. hits employees with a car at a plant in Hiroshima Prefecture, leaving one man dead and 11 wounded. July 26, 2016 : Former employee of a residential mental health care facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, stabs residents and employees, killing 19 disabled people and injuring 26 others.
|
murder;children;stabbings;mass murder;kawasaki attack
|
jp0004242
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
|
2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay may include Fukushima reactor town
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The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games torch relay will pass through a town in Fukushima Prefecture that was devastated by nuclear meltdowns following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, sources said Tuesday. The Olympic torch relay course will include the environs of the No. 1 reactor at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex in Okuma as part of the organizers’ efforts to promote the games as the “reconstruction Olympics,” the sources said. The government lifted its mandatory evacuation order over parts of Okuma last month, but most of the town still remains a no-go zone. The relay will pass through the parts of Okuma and the surrounding area where the evacuation order has been lifted. After declaring that problems containing radioactive water accumulating at the No. 1 reactor were “under control” during the 2020 Olympic bid process, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the government have used the games to showcase the country’s recovery from the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 and ensuing nuclear disaster. But in districts of Okuma where the evacuation order has been lifted — which covers 40 percent of the town’s total land — only a tiny percentage of residents have returned, with some saying they have been left behind while more emphasis is placed on showing off the progress of recovery. Organizers announced in July 2018 that Fukushima would be the starting point for the relay. In March, organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori revealed the relay will begin some 20 kilometers from Fukushima No. 1 at the J-Village national soccer training center, which was used as an operational base for the crisis. The Olympic torch will arrive in Japan on March 20, 2020, and the flame will be taken to Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Recovery Memorial Park in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which was devastated eight years ago. It will then travel by train through Miyagi and Iwate prefectures — the two other prefectures hit hardest by the powerful earthquake and tsunami — before making its way to Fukushima. The Japan leg of the relay will begin on March 26, 2020, two weeks after the flame lighting ceremony in Greece, and will travel across all 47 prefectures over a period of 121 days. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held between July 24 and Aug. 9, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.
|
olympics;2020 tokyo olympics
|
jp0004243
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/28
|
Japan to open up job fields for foreign graduates from universities
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The immigration agency said Tuesday it will increase the number of business sectors that foreign nationals are allowed to work in after graduating from universities or completing postgraduate studies in Japan, in the latest effort to lure more laborers to the country. Under a revised Justice Ministry notification that is set to take effect Thursday, foreign graduates will be able to work at restaurants, retail shops and factory production lines under the Designated Activities status of residence. Up to now, such graduates have usually acquired the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa to work in fields such as engineering and accounting, according to the Immigration Services Agency. The status has not permitted work in the services sector and at factories on the grounds that they are irrelevant to their expertise. But the agency has now decided to allow holders of the Designated Activities visa to engage in such work. Under the plan, the revised Designated Activities visa will be issued on condition that the students will be ensured full-time employment and equal or higher wages compared with Japanese colleagues. They must also have a high level of Japanese-language proficiency. Prior to the change, the Designated Activities visa has been issued to people such as those serving as household employees for diplomats. The latest move comes as domestic companies are seeking to hire foreign workers with strong Japanese-language abilities on the back of a surge in the number of foreign tourists to the country. The agency believes that the expanded job opportunities will boost the number of foreign workers in the country by thousands a year. Japan is stepping up efforts to bring in more workers from abroad to cope with a chronic labor shortage due to the country’s rapidly graying population and low birthrate. New visa statuses were introduced last month to bring in blue-collar workers to labor-hungry sectors.
|
language;universities;foreign workers;students
|
jp0004244
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Fabled Orient Express train may return to Europe's rails again
|
PARIS - It conjures up the atmosphere of rail travel from a bygone golden age, steaming through Europe experiencing top-notch cuisine and the company of fellow passengers who could be writers or spies. And who knows, maybe a mysterious murder along the way deep in the night . . . The last true Orient Express traveled from Paris to Istanbul in 1977, drawing the curtain on almost a century of taking travelers on the fabled route from Western Europe to the shores of the Bosphorus in Turkey. The train also entered popular culture, playing a central role in celebrated books and movies, not least Agatha Christie’s 1930s novel “Murder on the Orient Express,” which has inspired several films. The brand name was acquired by the French rail operator SNCF, which has now, at huge expense, restored original Orient Express cars and is mulling re-launching the service. SNCF is this week exhibiting seven original cars at Gare de l’Est station in Paris, which have been returned to their original splendor after seven years of restoration. Three are dining cars that were used on the actual Orient Express in its heyday; the four others were used on routes run by the company in the south of France and other European routes. The cars display the height of luxury, with plush armchairs for seats, immaculately varnished wooden tables and art deco fittings. SNCF picked up the brand from Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits after the Orient Express service stopped in 1977, but barely exploited it until it began restoring the cars from 2011. “To restore them, we went into our archives to find the original plans or samples of tissues and so forth,” said Guillaume de Saint Lager, the executive director of Orient Express. “We used exceptional experts.” For SNCF Chief Executive Guillaume Pepy the display at the Gare de l’Est could be the start of a new beginning for the Orient Express. “It is clearly a big investment, some €14 million ($15.6 million), but it is an investment in railway heritage,” said Pepy. “They are a shop window for the expertise of the SNCF in preserving heritage.” After intense research, the SNCF found historic Orient Express cars in a siding in Poland close to the border with Belarus and can now boast a set of 16 cars — including nine sleeping cars and four saloon cars. SNCF last year sold 50.1 percent in the company holding the rights to the Orient Express brand to the French hotel group Accor, which wants to open luxury hotels under the name. Meanwhile, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express — a privately owned luxury train first established by an American entrepreneur in the 1980s — currently plies a route between Calais in northern France, Paris, Verona in Italy and Venice. An exhibition at Paris’ Museum of the Arab World in 2014 on the Orient Express proved a smash hit and encouraged SNCF to restore the cars. “Our aim is to have the Orient Express on the rails all around Europe,” said Pepy. But whether a re-launched Orient Express will again steam between Paris and Istanbul remains to be seen. “We need to look at the state of the carriages and see under what conditions they could travel again and how they could be brought in line with the security specifications that exist in Europe,” Pepy said. “We are doing the technical work now and hope we can have a positive decision this summer,” he added.
|
france;film;history;rail;paris;book
|
jp0004245
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Diet OKs revisions to transportation law to ensure safety of self-driving vehicles
|
The Diet on Friday enacted legislative revisions aimed at creating systems to ensure the safety of self-driving vehicles. The revisions to the Road Transport Vehicle Act, approved unanimously by the House of Councilors at a plenary session, call for the applying of vehicle safety standards to self-driving equipment necessary to check the surroundings, including cameras and radars. Under the revised law, special certification will be granted to auto safety inspection business operators capable of undertaking maintenance work for self-driving equipment. The original law did not have provisions that assumed vehicles would ever be self-driving. The revisions also require automakers to provide technical information necessary to carry out inspections of self-driving equipment. For operations to update programs installed in automobiles through the internet and other means, a permit system will be created so that abuse can be prevented. The legal revisions come at a time when the government aims to realize so-called Level 3 self-driving, in which the driver controls the vehicle in emergencies and on expressways, as early as 2020. Also by around the same time, it plans to introduce Level 4 automated driving, which does not require a driver in the vehicle, for transportation services in limited places including sparsely populated areas. The transport ministry plans to consider specific conditions under which self-driving equipment can be used, such as driving speeds, routes and weather conditions. Following a series of scandals last year in which automakers cheated on pre-shipment inspections of finished vehicles, the revised law has a provision allowing the government to order problem automakers to take corrective action, thereby virtually preventing them from mass production until adequate measures have been taken.
|
transportation;diet;carmakers;self-driving
|
jp0004246
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
U.S. won't seek cap on car exports from Japan in trade deal despite report, Tokyo's negotiator says
|
Japan’s top trade negotiator said Friday he has been assured the United States will not ask Japan to cap its automobile exports as part of a bilateral trade deal. Toshimitsu Motegi, minister for economic and fiscal policy, said that he had spoken with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer following a report by Bloomberg News that U.S. President Donald Trump is set to demand that Japan and the European Union “limit or restrict” their auto imports into the United States. “Japan has maintained that it is against measures that distort fair and open trade practices,” Motegi told a news conference. “Of course, that includes restrictions on exports — in other words, volume caps. (Lighthizer) confirmed that the United States will not seek such measures,” he said. The exclusion of an auto cap would be a relief for Japanese automakers, which have come under pressure as Trump presses for a reduction in the U.S. trade deficit with Japan. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Trump will sign an executive order within the week giving Japan and the European Union 180 days to agree to reduce their exports of automobiles and car parts in return for the United States delaying new auto tariffs that are set to take effect Saturday. Trump is scheduled to visit Japan starting May 25 with an itinerary that will include talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Motegi said there are no concrete plans to hold working-level talks on a bilateral trade deal ahead of Trump’s trip. But a person familiar with the negotiations said Lighthizer may instead accompany Trump to meet with Motegi. Japan has struck an agreement with the United States aimed at not escalating trade tensions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that when Japan and the U.S. agreed last year to open bilateral trade talks, the U.S. pledged not to impose auto tariffs while talks were under way. In February, the U.S. Commerce Department submitted its Section 232 national security report to the White House. The agency was investigating whether imports harmed U.S. national security by weakening American automakers’ ability to invest in future technologies. The Commerce Department’s specific recommendations have not been revealed. “Prime Minister Abe confirmed directly with President Trump that while trade talks are going on no actions will be taken against the spirit of the joint statement, and additional tariffs will not be imposed under Section 232 on cars or car parts,” Suga said. The U.S. imported $191.7 billion in passenger vehicles and light trucks in 2018 with more than $90 billion of those imports coming from Canada and Mexico, which are duty-free under the three-way trade deal that replaced NAFTA. Passenger cars are now subject to a 2.5 percent U.S. tariff but Trump has threatened to raise that to 25 percent, arguing that the EU and other countries have higher barriers to U.S. auto exports.
|
u.s .;trade;toshimitsu motegi;carmakers;tariffs;donald trump
|
jp0004247
|
[
"business",
"economy-business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Employment rate for Japan's college graduates close to record high at 97.6% amid labor shortage
|
The employment rate for job seekers who graduated from universities this spring stood at 97.6 percent, government data showed Friday, in the latest sign of a widespread labor shortage amid a graying population. The employment rate for fiscal 2018, which ended in March, was the second-highest on record after the 98.0 percent figure marked the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The government began recording such statistics in 1997. The latest figure marked the first fall in eight years. Employment demand remained strong among companies on the back of the labor shortage, an education ministry official said. In the job market for new graduates, the number of job openings substantially exceeded that of job seekers. The proportion of job seekers among university graduates rose 0.7 point from the previous year to a record 76.0 percent. Of the job seekers, some 10,700 students were unable to find a job, according to the survey, which covered 4,770 new graduates of 24 national or public universities and 38 private universities. The labor ministry said it will continue to provide support for the job seekers. On the slight fall in the employment rate, a labor ministry official pointed to some students who graduated without taking a job in order to try applying for their top-choice companies again. By gender, the employment rate for male students fell 0.2 point to 97.3 percent, while that for female students declined 0.8 point to 97.8 percent. Employment rates stayed high across the country. The Kanto region covering greater Tokyo logged 98.1 percent, down 0.4 point. By region, the rate also declined in the Chubu, Chugoku-Shikoku and Kyushu regions. On the other hand, the rate climbed to record highs in the Hokkaido-Tohuku and Kinki regions. Overall, there is no change in the favorable trend for employment, the labor ministry said. A separate survey by the education ministry showed the employment rate for job seekers who graduated from high schools rose 0.1 point to 98.2 percent at the end of March, marking the ninth consecutive year of increase and standing just below the record 98.3 percent recorded in fiscal 1990, when Japan was experiencing an economic bubble. Of new high school graduates, the employment rate of men remained unchanged at 98.5 percent, while that of women climbed 0.2 point to 97.6 percent. By prefecture, the rate was highest in Fukui, standing at 99.9 percent, and lowest in Okinawa, at 92.9 percent. Of a total 1.06 million high school graduates in March, the survey covered 187,342 new high school graduates who were seeking jobs, of whom 183,891 took up the jobs. Facing a tight labor market, major firms are changing their employment policy to hire university graduates year-round. Keidanren, the powerful business lobby also known as the Japan Business Federation, said last month it will no longer expect its member companies to adhere to the custom of offering jobs to college seniors in October each year to allow the new recruits to start working from the following April, when the new business year starts. The government has already introduced a series of steps to make up for a severe labor shortfall due to the nation’s rapidly graying population, such as bringing in more foreign workers and promoting women’s participation in the labor market. Still, Japan is expected to face a shortage of 6.44 million workers in 2030, according to an estimate by Chuo University and Persol Research and Consulting. Amid the backdrop of the labor shortage, the government on Wednesday urged companies to secure employment for workers up to the age of 70 through a host of options such as continued employment after reaching retirement age, support in finding new jobs at other firms, financial assistance for freelance contracts and entrepreneurship support.
|
jobs;universities;high schools;mext;mhlw
|
jp0004248
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Video game rivals Microsoft and Sony team up in the cloud
|
LOS ANGELES - Longtime video game console rivals Microsoft and Sony on Thursday announced an alliance to improve their platforms for streaming entertainment from the internet cloud. Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform will be used by the two rivals to support game and digital content streaming services, according to a statement from the companies. The Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox have for years battled as the two leading video game consoles, with exclusive titles often used as weapons to win the loyalty of players. Sony and Microsoft will also collaborate on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, potentially combining the Japanese company’s sensors and chips with the U.S. computer titan’s cloud systems and artificial intelligence. “For many years, Microsoft has been a key business partner for us, though of course the two companies have also been competing in some areas,” said Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. “I believe that our joint development of future cloud solutions will contribute greatly to the advancement of interactive content.” He added that Sony’s mission is to evolve the PlayStation platform into one that uses the internet cloud to provide players top-quality entertainment experiences any time, at any place. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the statement that the tie-up “brings the power of Azure and Azure AI to Sony to deliver new gaming and entertainment experiences for customers.” The partnership between the makers of Xbox and PlayStation consoles comes as Google works to disrupt the video game world with a Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish. The Stadia platform will open to gamers later this year in the United States, Canada, Britain and other parts of Europe. Google is focused on working with game-makers to tailor titles for play on Stadia, saying it has already provided the technology to more than 100 game developers. The Stadia tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on PCs, tablets, smartphones and other devices. Google’s hope is that Stadia could become for games what Netflix and Spotify are to television and music, by making console-quality play widely available. Streaming games from the cloud brings the potential to tap into massive amounts of computing power in data centers. For gamers, that could translate into richer game environments, more creative play options or battle royale matches involving thousands of players. The Microsoft-Sony deal stopped short of any specific plans or services to counter the Google Stadia offering.
|
microsoft;sony;video games;kenichiro yoshida;cloud;stadia;azure
|
jp0004249
|
[
"business",
"tech"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Boeing says it has completed software update for 737 Max jets and seeks FAA certification flight
|
DALLAS/BANGALORE, INDIA - Boeing Co. said Thursday it has completed a software update for its 737 Max jets, which have been grounded worldwide since March after they were involved in two fatal crashes. The announcement is a sign of progress for the aircraft-maker’s efforts to get its best-selling jetliner back in the sky after a grounding that has already lasted more than two months. The airplane manufacturer said it was providing additional information to address requests from the Federal Aviation Administration including details on how pilots interact with controls and displays in different flight scenarios. Once the requests are addressed, Boeing will work with the FAA to schedule its certification test flight and submit final certification documentation, the company said. The FAA is planning a meeting on May 23 in Fort Worth, Texas, with air regulators from around the world to update them on reviews of Boeing’s software fix and new pilot training. The aviation regulator said Boeing had not yet submitted its final software package to the agency for approval. Once that package is finalized, the FAA will schedule a flight test of the 737 Max’s new software by its pilots, the agency said. The FAA sees an uncertain timeline for its review of the software update. On Wednesday, acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said he expected Boeing to make its formal submission for its software update in the next week or so. The 737 Max was grounded following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 on board just five months after a similar crash of a Lion Air flight killed 189 people. The company hopes the software upgrade and associated pilot training will add layers of protection to prevent erroneous data from triggering a system called MCAS, which activated in both crashes. Boeing said it has completed associated simulator testing and its engineering test flight and developed training and education materials, which are now being reviewed by the FAA, global regulators and airline customers so that the jets can be returned to service. To date, Boeing has flown the 737 Max with updated software, for more than 360 hours on 207 flights, the company said. Boeing rose to session highs on the news. Since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, the shares slid 18 percent through Wednesday, the biggest decline on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
|
u.s .;boeing;faa;ethiopian airlines;737 max;lion air;air accidents
|
jp0004250
|
[
"business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Huawei ban seen clouding U.S.-China trade talks and tech sector
|
WASHINGTON/BEIJING - A U.S. bid to block China’s Huawei Technologies from buying vital American technology threw into question prospects for sales at some of the largest tech companies and drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, further ratcheting up tensions over trade. Shares of Huawei’s U.S. suppliers fell on fears the Chinese firm would be forced to stop buying American chips, software and other components after the Trump administration banned it from buying U.S. technology without special approval. Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker, said that losing access to U.S. suppliers “will do significant economic harm to the American companies” and affect “tens of thousands of American jobs.” “Huawei will seek remedies immediately and find a resolution to this matter,” the company said in a statement. The U.S. crackdown, announced on Wednesday, was the latest shot fired in a U.S.-China trade war that is rattling financial markets and threatening to derail a slowing global economy. Trade talks had looked close to collapsing in the past week after a dispute over Chinese changes to a draft text prompted the United States to hike tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing to retaliate with higher duties on U.S. products. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said the United States should avoid further damaging relations between the world’s two largest economies, and accused Washington of “trade protectionism.” “China will take all the necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese firms,” Gao told reporters. The Foreign Ministry also announced the formal arrest of two Canadian citizens who were detained shortly after Canada arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in December. Meng faces extradition to the United States on charges that she conspired to defraud global banks about Huawei’s relationship with a company operating in Iran. She and the company deny the charges. While China has made no specific link between the detentions of the two men and Meng’s arrest, experts and former diplomats say they have no doubt it is using their cases to pressure Canada. The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it was adding Huawei and 70 affiliates to its “Entity List,” which bars them from buying components and technology from U.S. firms without government approval. It later revised the number of affiliates down to 68. The order includes non-U.S. Huawei affiliates in Canada, Japan, Brazil, the U.K. and Singapore. Requests for approvals for transactions will be reviewed under a “policy of presumption of denial,” which suggests obtaining permission will be very difficult. Huawei was the world’s third largest purchaser of semiconductors last year, accounting for 4.4 percent of global market share, behind only Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Apple Inc., according to Gartner, a research firm. U.S. lawmakers have long feared that the firm’s equipment could be used to spy on Americans, and Democrats and Republicans lined up in support of the Trump administration’s move. But leading analysts downgraded their assessments for several U.S. microchip companies on Thursday. Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Christopher Rolland, who said he believed Huawei had built up a one-to-two-year supply of U.S. components, cut price targets on several microchip companies, including Xilinx Inc. Shares of Xilinx closed down 7.3 percent while those of rival chipmaker Qualcomm Inc fell 4 percent. As negotiations toward resolving the trade war stalled last week, the United States ramped up the pressure by raising tariffs on a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent, prompting China to retaliate with higher duties on a revised list of $60 billion worth of U.S. products. President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism and accused China of engaging in unfair trade practices, has threatened to put 25 percent tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Walmart Inc. said prices for shoppers would rise because of higher tariffs on Chinese goods even as the world’s largest retailer reported on Thursday its best comparable sales growth for the first quarter in nine years. Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs told Reuters the company would seek to ease the pain, in part by trying to buy from different countries. With few options left for levying its own tariffs, China could opt for other ways to pressure the United States, including blocking corporate mergers and other deals. “There’s other things they can do, and M&A would certainly be one thing,” said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with Bernstein. The United States wants to see significant changes in China’s approach to intellectual property rights and state subsidies as part of any trade deal, and Beijing is insisting that all tariffs be eliminated. The two sides are also at odds over how much more U.S. goods China would buy and how “balanced” the text of the draft trade agreement would be, Chinese state media said. Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Huawei case was a significant complication to the resolution of the trade dispute. “Every step by the United States makes it much harder for the Chinese not to push back,” he told reporters and analysts.
|
china;u.s .;trade;tech;tariffs;huawei;donald trump;trade war
|
jp0004251
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Dollar rises to around ¥110 in Tokyo
|
The dollar rebounded to around ¥110 in Tokyo trading Friday, helped by a jump in Tokyo stock prices. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.72, up from ¥109.45 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.1177, down from $1.1208, and at ¥122.64, down from ¥122.68. The Tokyo stock market’s rebound pushed the dollar above ¥110 for the first time since May 10. The dollar took a downturn in midmorning trading following a Chinese state media report that Beijing is little interested in resuming ministerial-level trade talks with Washington for now. After slipping through ¥109.60, however, the greenback showed resilience. “The drop below the threshold prompted repurchases,” a Japanese bank official said. “Some investors moved to buy back the dollar in view of the Chinese yuan’s fall,” another bank official said.
|
forex;currencies
|
jp0004252
|
[
"business",
"financial-markets"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Tokyo stocks rebound on continued Wall Street rally
|
Stocks staged a solid rally on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday in the wake of U.S. equities’ continued advance overnight. The 225-issue Nikkei average rose 187.11 points, or 0.89 percent, at 21,259.09. On Thursday, it sank 125.58 points. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 16.70 points, or 1.09 percent, at 1,554.25, after losing 6.60 points the previous day. Stocks spurted from the outset, with sentiment brightened by Wall Street’s three-day rally on a rosy U.S. business outlook shown by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as well as strong housing starts and building permit numbers for April, brokers said. Brisk earnings reports by Cisco Systems and Walmart also pushed up the Dow Jones Industrial Average markedly on the New York Stock Exchange. The Tokyo market, however, lost steam toward noon, pressured by Shanghai stocks’ weak performance following a U.S. presidential order effectively banning domestic firms from using telecommunications gear of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. In the afternoon, the market failed to go up further, although its downside was supported by repurchases by foreign investors, brokers said. “Investors refrained from tilting their positions either way amid persistent uncertainties over U.S.-China trade talks,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co. Ichikawa pointed to a Chinese state media commentary indicating Beijing’s reluctance to continue the negotiations. “Players took to the sidelines to brace for a possible downturn on Wall Street Friday,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,705 to 377 in the TSE’s first section, while 58 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.349 billion shares from Thursday’s 1.461 billion shares. Technology giant Sony rocketed 9.89 percent, after announcing on Thursday a share buyback plan and a tie-up with Microsoft Corp. in cloud-based gaming and content steaming services. Daio Paper shot up 5.90 percent thanks to the paper mill’s forecasts of substantial profit rises for the current business year through next March. Other winners included apartment rental firm Leopalace21 and network integrator Net One Systems. On the other hand, home and housing construction materials seller Nice Holdings extended its losing streak. Among other losers were online fashion mall operator Zozo and metal producer Mitsui Kinzoku. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average went up 220 points to end at 21,270.
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stocks;nikkei;tse;topix
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jp0004254
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/17
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Nissan to offer navigated highway driving system with hands-free component starting in fall
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YOKOHAMA - Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday that from this fall it will start offering a system that allows navigated highway driving and hands-off single-lane driving, in the automaker’s latest push toward self-driving vehicles. Nissan said its Skyline sedan for the Japanese market can be equipped with the new driver assistance system, the first of its kind in the world. Aiming to revive its sluggish earnings, the automaker is seeking to enhance the quality and brand image of its vehicles with next-generation technologies under a medium-term business plan unveiled Tuesday. “No other company has this technology of a navigated highway driving system with hands-off single-lane driving,” Nissan Executive Vice President Kunio Nakaguro told a news conference at the carmaker’s headquarters in Yokohama. Tetsuya Iijima, general manager of Nissan’s autonomous drive development, said it would not be easy for other carmakers to commercially offer a more sophisticated assistance system for the moment. To use the new system, drivers will need to first set their destinations in the navigation system before entering the highway. Once on the highway, the system will assist drivers with changing lanes until the highway exit is reached. It will also allow hands-off driving while cruising in a single lane. Drivers will need to place their hands on the steering wheel when changing lanes to pass slower vehicles. Navigated highway driving relies on 3D high-definition maps, cameras, radars, sonar and GPS data for 360-degree, real-time information on the surrounding environment and to determine the vehicle’s precise location. Carmakers and technology companies such as Google LLC and Tesla Inc. are developing self-driving vehicles not only to reduce road deaths but create new businesses such as ride-hailing services based on autonomous taxis. Audi AG has put a high-end A8 on the market that can, under certain circumstances, take full control of a vehicle away from the driver, while Daimler AG and BMW AG said in February they will jointly develop vehicles capable of automated driving on highways and during parking.
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nissan;carmakers;self-driving;tetsuya iijima
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jp0004255
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Toyota considers offering self-driving technology to ride-hailing firms in Asia
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NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. is considering offering autonomous driving technologies to ride-hailing firms, sources close to the matter said Thursday, in its latest push to become a company offering not only cars but also various mobility services. The automaker is planning to supply a new driverless system to be developed with U.S. ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. to companies such as Grab Taxi Holdings Pte Ltd. of Singapore and ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.’s Ola of India, the sources said. Toyota said last month it will jointly invest $1 billion in Uber’s new subsidiary to develop autonomous vehicles, together with SoftBank Group Corp. and auto parts supplier Denso Corp. SoftBank Group is the biggest shareholder in Uber and has also invested in Grab and Ola. Toyota is also a stakeholder in Grab, which has a wide range of businesses across Southeast Asia. The latest move signals Toyota’s desire to stretch the scope of its business and take the initiative in offering advanced mobility services, including developing self-driving technologies that could eventually lead to driverless taxis. Toyota and SoftBank Corp., the mobile phone unit of SoftBank Group, announced last year they will jointly develop services using self-driving vehicles and other advanced automotive technologies. SoftBank Group has also invested in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. But the Japanese group believes it is difficult to supply new technologies developed by a U.S. firm to a Chinese company as the two countries have been increasingly at odds over technology transfers and other trade practices, the sources said.
|
toyota;softbank;carmakers;self-driving;uber
|
jp0004256
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/17
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Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa won't be charged over Ghosn's underreported pay, sources say
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Prosecutors have decided not to indict Nissan Motor Co. CEO Hiroto Saikawa for his involvement in the alleged underreporting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s remuneration, sources close to the matter said Friday. A man in Tokyo had filed a complaint, alleging that Saikawa violated the financial instruments law as he was aware that Ghosn’s remuneration was being underreported for two years through March 2018 in Nissan’s securities reports presented to Japanese regulators. Saikawa’s name was cited in the financial reports as representative since fiscal 2016. The prosecutors made the decision not to indict the 65-year-old on April 26, the sources said. Ghosn, along with former Nissan director Greg Kelly, has been indicted for allegedly understating the former chairman’s remuneration for the eight years through March 2018 by around ¥9 billion. According to investigative sources, Saikawa admitted to prosecutors in December to have signed a company document that promised payment to Ghosn following his retirement. That remuneration was not written in the securities reports. Saikawa, who succeeded Ghosn as president and chief executive officer in April 2017, was quoted as telling investigators that he signed the document “without thinking deeply” because he thought the matter was already agreed upon by Ghosn and Kelly. Nissan as a company has also been indicted on the charge of violating the financial instruments law by underreporting the remuneration. Following his arrest in November last year, Ghosn was removed from the chairmanship posts at Nissan and at partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The 65-year-old has also been replaced as CEO of Renault. Ghosn, who also faces other charges of financial misconduct, has continued to claim he is innocent via interviews and a video message, blaming Nissan executives for conspiring against him.
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corruption;scandals;nissan;carmakers;carlos ghosn;hiroto saikawa
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jp0004257
|
[
"business",
"corporate-business"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan's Seven-Eleven and Lawson to discount foods close to expiration in bid to cut waste
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Seven-Eleven Japan Co. and Lawson Inc. said Friday they will start discounting rice balls and lunch boxes that are close to their expiration date in order to reduce food waste, a large issue in the country due to the 6 million tons of edible food discarded annually. The convenience store operators will offer customers enrolled in the chains’ point programs shopping credits worth 5 percent of the value of purchases as an incentive for buying such products. They have been selling products at list price and had all but banned franchise store owners from offering discounts. The move by the companies to embrace discounts is also expected to benefit outlets struggling with rising payroll costs at a time of severe labor shortages, which is occurring against the backdrop of a rapidly graying population. At 7-Eleven stores, edible foods that have expired would normally go to waste, with 85 percent of the cost for disposal paid by the store operators, the Nikkei business daily said. The Fair Trade Commission ordered Seven-Eleven Japan in 2009 not to hinder franchise store operators from selling items nearing their expiration at a discount, but operators say they could not get the headquarters’ approval to cut prices most of the time. The cost of giving shopping points to customers will be shouldered by the companies. “In the end, it’s better to sell out all the products,” Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu told reporters. Industry leader Seven-Eleven will start giving points to purchasers of any of the around 500 items targeted — mainly lunch boxes, rice balls, noodles and bread — which are generally set to expire in four to five hours. The initiative will be launched from this fall at around 20,000 stores nationwide. In a similar move, Lawson said it will start a trial at its stores in Ehime and Okinawa prefectures to offer rewards of 5 percent of the price in points to customers who buy from 4 p.m. or later rice balls and lunch boxes nearing expiration. In the trial running from June 11 to Aug. 31, Lawson will also separately donate 5 percent of the proceeds of sales of items close to expiration to entities supporting child-rearing. The company will consider expanding the discount system to stores nationwide based on the outcome of the experiment. “We will try to cut food loss by 50 percent by 2030 from the current levels,” Takemasu told a news conference. “It will be beneficial to customers, the environment and our store owners who had to carry the costs to discard unsold items.” Lawson said its 2,500 stores discarded around 44,000 tons of edible food in the year through March 2018. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, around 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally every year. Government data in fiscal 2016 showed 6.43 million tons were wasted in the country, with over half of it by the commercial sector. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in January urged industry groups of convenience stores and supermarkets not to overproduce seasonal sushi rolls, the first such request by the ministry, after images showing a massive amount of the discarded product were picked up on social media, sparking controversy. “It is extremely important from a social standpoint to decrease food loss,” industry minister Hiroshige Seko told a news conference Friday in reference to the Seven-Eleven’s move. “I would urge them to aim for mutual prosperity with the (store) owners.”
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food;waste;convenience stores;lawson;7-eleven;fair trade commission;seven-eleven japan
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jp0004258
|
[
"world",
"social-issues-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
After fleeing regime and Russian bombs, Syrian families shelter in olive groves near Turkey border
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ATMEH, SYRIA - Families who fled Syrian government and Russian strikes in northwestern Syria are sleeping in an olive grove near the Turkish border without enough food and no place else to go. They are some of the 150,000 people who have escaped an upsurge in violence in the last major Syrian rebel stronghold in the last few weeks. It marks the most intense escalation between President Bashar Assad and his rebel enemies since last summer, with dozens killed in the shelling of insurgent territory. “The house fell in over my children and grandchildren at night … but God saved them, they emerged from the rubble,” said a 70-year-old woman who gave her name as Aziza as she spoke under the shade of an olive tree. Aziza’s family is one of scores who fled targeted parts of southern Idlib and northern Hama province and are now living in the olive groves at the Turkish border. There is no room for them at the nearby camp for the displaced in the town of Atmeh. Aziza fled her town of Kfar Nabuda with 17 relatives nearly two weeks ago, taking nothing with her, as the warplanes flew overhead. The exodus has left many towns and villages empty. Some have made makeshift tents by stringing sheets between the olive trees. Infants sleep under mosquito nets suspended from the branches. One of the shelters was equipped with a kitchen stove. The jihadist Tahrir al-Sham is the dominant insurgent faction in the northwest. Rebels launched a counterattack this week to counter ground advances by Syrian government forces. Air strikes have struck a dozen health facilities and violence has destroyed at least 10 schools, the U.N. humanitarian affairs office says. The attacks have included the worst barrel bombing in 15 months, the U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator says. The Syrian government says it is responding to attacks by al-Qaida-linked militants. Much of the bombardment has hit a buffer zone agreed in September under a Russian-Turkish deal that spared the region and its 3 million residents from a full-blown assault. Ankara, which backs some rebels, has deployed forces into the region in agreement with Russia. They are stationed at a dozen positions, one of which was hit by shelling from Syrian government territory. Turkey has called on the Syrian government to stop the attacks. Still, Abu Abdo al-Khani said Ankara’s deal with Moscow had failed to help his family. “We were supposed to be within the secure zone, where is it?” Khani, 30, said. “Where are (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan and his guarantees to protect us?” Khani’s family fled the town of Khan Sheikhoun on foot through the countryside. He said they had received some blankets and water in the olive field. “We haven’t showered in 15 days. … We’re living under the trees at the border, who would accept such a life?”
|
russia;syria;refugees;turkey;al-qaida;bashar assad;idlib;hama
|
jp0004259
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Nine Islamic State militants killed in southwest Pakistan raid
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QUETTA, PAKISTAN - Pakistani security forces killed nine Islamic State militants during an hours-long raid near Quetta in the restive southwest of the country that has been hit by repeated jihadist attacks this month, officials said on Thursday. Four members of the security forces were wounded in the operation, which started early on Thursday morning in a mountainous area called Qabu Koh-e-Mehran in the Mastung district, 29 miles (47 km) from Quetta city. “Nine bodies (of Islamic State militants) have been brought to hospital from Mastung,” Waseem Baig, a spokesman for Civil Hospital Quetta, told Reuters. Security forces acted after a sudden surge in militant assaults across Pakistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Five police officers were killed in the latest attack, on Monday night in Quetta, which was claimed by Islamic State. “We acted on intelligence reports of a Daesh hideout,” a senior official of the Counter Terrorism Department of Baluchistan police told Reuters, requesting anonymity for security reasons, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. “A sizable cache of arms and ammunition including rocket launchers, several suicide vests were also been recovered during the raid.” Various Islamist militant groups as well as separatists fighting the central government are active in mineral-rich Baluchistan, with frequent attacks on gas and transport infrastructure and security posts. On Saturday, the Balochistan Liberation Army, which seeks greater autonomy for Pakistan’s poorest province, claimed responsibility for an attack on a luxury hotel in the Indian Ocean port of Gwadar, one of the focal points of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
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pakistan;terrorism;islamic state;quetta
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jp0004260
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Casualties reported as Saudi-led coalition airstrikes hit Sanaa
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SANAA - The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen carried out several airstrikes on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Thursday after the Iranian-aligned movement claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil installations. The Sanaa strikes targeted nine military sites in and around the city, residents said, with humanitarian agencies reporting a number of casualties. Rubble filled a populated street lined by mud-brick houses, a Reuters journalist on the scene said. A crowd of men lifted the body of a women, wrapped in a white shroud, into an ambulance. Houthi-run Masirah television quoted the Houthi health ministry as saying six civilians, including four children, had been killed and 60 wounded, including two Russian women working in the health sector. Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said two hospitals it supports in Sanaa took in 48 injured and four dead people as a result of the strikes. Preliminary reports indicated five children were among those killed, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen said. A coalition statement carried by Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV, said the Sunni Muslim alliance struck military bases and facilities and weapons storage sites with the aim of “neutralizing the ability of the Houthi militia to carry out acts of aggression. “The sorties achieved its goals with full precision,” the coalition said. It had urged civilians to avoid those targets. A later statement said “the possibility of an accident” had been referred to a body set up by the coalition to investigate claims. One resident reported a strike near a densely-populated district, where flames and clouds of smoke could be seen. A car was half-buried under rubble and twisted metal on a street lined with bystanders. “There was an airstrike near us, in the middle of an area packed with residents between Hael and Raqas (streets),” Abdulrazaq Mohammed told Reuters. “The explosion was so strong that stones were flying. This is the first time our house shakes so much.” Sanaa has been held by the Houthi movement since it ousted the internationally recognized government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power there in late 2014. The coalition has previously targeted suspected drone and missile storage sites in the city. Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister on Thursday accused Iran of ordering Tuesday’s armed drone attack on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom. “The terrorist acts, ordered by the regime in Tehran and carried out by the Houthis, are tightening the noose around the ongoing political efforts,” Prince Khalid bin Salman tweeted. The Houthis said they were responsible for the attack, which did not disrupt oil output or exports. The group denies being a puppet of Tehran or receiving arms from Iran, and says its revolution is against corruption. The head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee denied that Iran directed the strike and said the movement manufactures its drones locally. Tehran also denies providing arms to the Houthis. “We are not agents for anyone,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi told Reuters. “We make decisions independently and do not take orders for drones or anything else.” The coalition described the drone attack as a “war crime. The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that the Western-backed coalition, of which it is a main member, would “retaliate hard” for any Houthi attacks on coalition targets. The Sanaa airstrikes and renewed fighting in Yemen’s Hodeida port that breached a U.N.-sponsored truce in the Red Sea city, could complicate peace efforts to end the four-year war that has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. The coalition, which receives arms and intelligence from Western nations, intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore Hadi’s Aden-based government. The warring parties agreed last December at U.N.-sponsored peace talks on a ceasefire and troop withdrawal deal in Hodeida, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis that became the focus of the war last year. The pact, the first major breakthrough in over four years, stalled for months amid deep suspicion among all parties, but special envoy Martin Griffiths secured some progress when the Houthis started withdrawing from three ports last Saturday. Pro-coalition troops are expected to pull back as well under the deal once the two sides work out details for a broader phase two redeployment in Hodeida, the main entry point for Yemen’s commercial and aid imports and the Houthis’ key supply line.
|
conflict;yemen;saudi arabia;sanaa;msf;houthis
|
jp0004261
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Standing tall: First black African woman scales Everest
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KATHMANDU - A South African mountaineer reached the top of Mount Everest on Thursday, becoming the first black African woman to conquer the world’s highest mountain, her expedition organizer and her government said. Saray N’kusi Khumalo, a 47-year-old e-commerce executive, scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) mountain after three failed attempts that were foiled by bad weather and a deadly earthquake in 2015. “With her birth in Zambia, Rwandan bloodline and now a South African, this sister of Africa has achieved her goal of becoming the first black woman from Africa to summit Mount Everest,” her expedition organizer, Summits with a Purpose, said on Facebook. Mira Acharya, a Nepal tourism department official, confirmed Khuwalo’s ascent, but did not say if she was the first black African woman to do so. However, Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks hiking agency, which provided local support to Khumalo, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the record feat was one “hundred percent” true. “Congratulations to iMbokodo (strong woman) Saray Khumalo for being the first Black African Woman to reach the top of the world by conquering Mount Everest,” South Africa’s government said on Twitter. “Bosso ke wena!” it added, which means “you are the boss” in the local Sesotho language. Khumalo, who has conquered five mountains, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Elbrus in Russia, uses her expeditions to raise funds for children’s education and libraries in Africa. She also dedicates her quests to “women and girls, daughters of the African soil who dare to dream,” Khumalo says on her website. Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains. The climbing season ends in May and hundreds of climbers are currently on Everest. In 2003, Sibusiso Emmanuel Vilane, a South African park ranger, became the first black person to summit Mount Everest, according to Himalayan archives that record major climbs. Everest, which straddles the Nepal-China border, has been climbed by nearly 5,000 people since it was first scaled by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953, according to a post by Everest blogger Alan Arnette.
|
africa;mount everest;south africa;nepal;mountaineering;saray n'kusi khumalo
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jp0004262
|
[
"world",
"science-health-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Imaging black hole like listening to broken piano, scientist Katie Bouman says
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WASHINGTON - U.S. computer scientist Katie Bouman, who became a global sensation over her role in generating the world’s first image of a black hole, has described the painstaking process as akin to listening to a piano with missing keys. Testifying before Congress on Thursday, the postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics also suggested that the technology developed by the project could have practical applications in the fields of medical imaging, seismic prediction and self-driving cars. A photo released last month of the star-devouring monster in the heart of the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy revealed a dark core encircled by a flame-orange halo of white hot plasma. Because M87 is 55 million light-years away, “This ring appears incredibly small on the sky: roughly 40 microarcseconds in size, comparable to the size of an orange on the surface of the moon as viewed from our location on Earth,” said Bouman. The laws of physics require a telescope the size of our entire planet to view it. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration spent over a decade building an Earth-spanning computational telescope that combined signals received by telescopes working in pairs around the world. Because there are a limited number of locations, the telescopes are able to capture only some frequencies, leaving large gaps in information. “As an analogy, you can think about the measurements the EHT makes a bit like notes in a song; each measurement corresponds to the tone of one note,” said Bouman. “Observing the black hole with the Event Horizon Telescope is a bit like listening to a song being played on a piano with over half of its keys broken.” The approach led to numerous gaps that could be filled with infinite possibilities consistent with the data. “But just as your brain may still be able to recognize a song being played on a broken piano if there are enough functioning keys, we can design algorithms to intelligently fill in the EHT’s missing information to reveal the underlying black hole image,” she concluded. While the images were captured in 2017, the final result had to be independently validated by four EHT teams working around the world to avoid shared human bias. The four images they produced varied slightly, but they all contained the same basic structure. “Seeing these images for the first time was truly amazing and one of my life’s happiest memories,” recalled Bouman, who maintained a broad smile throughout her testimony. The final image, released to the public on April 10, was a composite of the four images further tuned by algorithms designed to eliminate human preferences. Bouman said she first began working on the EHT as a graduate student studying computer vision at MIT and found the problem shared striking similarities with work she had done on brain imaging based on limited data from an MRI scanner. “Thus, although the project was well outside of my core area, and I had no background in astrophysics let alone black holes, I hoped that I might be able to make a difference.” She also hailed the early-career scientists who had come to the project from various fields and ranged from post doctorates to undergraduates whose work was vital to the project. “However, like black holes, many early-career scientists with significant contributions often go unseen,” she said.
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space;computers;astronomy;black holes
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jp0004263
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
I.M. Pei, a pillar of modern architecture, dies at 102
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NEW YORK - I.M. Pei, the pre-eminent U.S. architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died in New York, his sons’ architecture firm said Thursday. He was 102 years old. From the controversial Louvre Pyramid in Paris to the landmark Bank of China tower in Hong Kong, the Chinese-born Pei was the mastermind behind works seen as embracing modernity tempered by a grounding in history. Pei Partnership Architects confirmed Pei’s death. The New York Times, citing Pei’s son Li Chung, said the architect had died overnight Wednesday into Thursday. “Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something. There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep,” Pei, with his owlish round-rimmed glasses, told The New York Times in a 2008 interview. “I understand that times have changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning,” he said. “A lasting architecture has to have roots.” His work earned the 1983 Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s Nobel. Of his nearly 50 designs in the United States and around the world, more than half won major awards. Born in China in 1917, banker’s son Ieoh Ming Pei came to the U.S. at 17 to study architecture, receiving an undergraduate degree in the field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940. He then enrolled in Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where he received a master’s degree in architecture in 1946. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1954. In one standout undertaking, he deftly inserted into the monumental structures of the capital of his adopted country the modern angles of the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, opened in 1978. The stunning concrete and glass structure features huge mirrored pyramids and a 50-foot (15-meter) waterfall. It was “a composition of angular stone forms … that remains the most visible emblem of modern Washington,” said a New York Times review 30 years after its unveiling. French President Francois Mitterrand was so impressed that he had Pei hired to build a glass pyramid into the courtyard of the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum. The project was deeply controversial in Paris and Pei endured a roasting from critics before the giant glass structure opened in 1989, but his creation is now an icon of the French capital. “I received many angry glances in the streets of Paris,” Pei later said, confessing that “after the Louvre, I thought no project would be too difficult.” Other well-known and characteristic Pei projects — often graceful combinations of geometric planes — include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio; the Miho Museum of Shigo in Koka, Shiga Prefecture; the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and The John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. He brought drama to the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan and Raffles City in Singapore. His Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing, completed in 1982, was intended to incorporate technology and indigenous building principles in a blend that would open the way to a particularly Chinese brand of modern architecture. Despite being a confessed Islamic art novice, Pei was also commissioned to design the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, which opened in 2008 to great fanfare. The desert-toned building, inspired by the 13th-century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo, incorporates geometric patterns and is lit by reflected light entering from above. Pei spent months traveling the Muslim world seeking inspiration. “Islam was one religion I did not know,” he told the Times the year of the opening. “So I studied the life of Muhammad. I went to Egypt and Tunisia.” Pei dedicated energetic efforts to supporting the arts and education, serving on visiting committees at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Harvard and MIT as well as a range of U.S. government panels including the National Council on the Humanities and National Council on the Arts. He dedicated the $100,000 prize money he was awarded as laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize to setting up a scholarship fund for Chinese students to study the craft in the United States, on the condition they return home to design and build. In 1975, Pei was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Three years later he became Chancellor of the Academy, the first architect to hold the position. He was also one of 12 naturalized U.S. citizens then-president Ronald Reagan awarded the Medal of Liberty in 1986. In 1988, Mitterrand inducted Pei as a Chevalier in the Legion d’Honneur, later raising him to the rank of Officier when Phase II of the glass-and-stainless steel Grand Louvre pyramid was completed in 1993. U.S. president George Bush awarded Pei the Medal of Freedom that same year, when he was also elected an Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In addition to his museum oeuvre and contributions to the government and commercial landscape, Pei also worked on moderate and low-income housing. “His concern has always been the surroundings in which his buildings rise,” wrote the Pritzker jury that bestowed to him in 1983 architecture’s most prestigious prize. “His versatility and skill in the use of materials approach the level of poetry,” the committee wrote. “His tact and patience have enabled him to draw together peoples of disparate interests and disciplines to create a harmonious environment.”
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architecture;obituary;museums;i.m . pei
|
jp0004264
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Nancy Pelosi says Trump needs Congress OK for any military action on Iran
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WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned the Trump administration against taking military action in Iran without authorization from Congress, as the U.S. weighs how to respond to rising tensions in the Middle East. “The responsibility in the Constitution is for Congress to declare war,” Pelosi said Thursday. “So I hope that the president’s advisers recognize that they have no authorization to go forward in any way.” Pelosi said that the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force — or AUMF — enacted by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would not cover actions taken against Iran. She said that, like President Donald Trump, she opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and she welcomed reports this week that the president had “no appetite” for war, a characterization offered by Republican Sen. Mitt Romney. “I like what I hear from the president that he has ‘no appetite’ for this,” she said. “Even though some of his supporters are rattling sabers.” Trump suggested Thursday he wasn’t looking for a military confrontation even as his advisers warn Iran against any provocation. Tensions have been rising with the Islamic Republic over U.S. allegations that Tehran may be preparing an attack on U.S. military forces in the region or on commercial shipping. “I hope not,” Trump told reporters on Thursday after he was asked about going to war with Iran while greeting Swiss President Ueli Maurer for a meeting at the White House. Congressional leaders and Intelligence Committee chairmen from both chambers were briefed Thursday by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and the National Security Agency’s Paul Nakasone, according to a congressional aide. Leaving the closed-door meeting, Pelosi said there will be a briefing for all House members next week. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky and one of the president’s allies on domestic issues, said he worries that the recent moves by the administration risk dragging the U.S. into a war with Iran. “There are people who do want a war for regime change and they don’t mind putting all the people so close together that there might be a skirmish that leads to war,” Paul said. “I think that would be a terrible tragedy.” Paul is a co-sponsor of legislation introduced by Democratic Sen.Tom Udall that would “limit the use of funds for kinetic military operations in or against Iran.” He is the only Republican sponsor of that bill. Other Republicans said they were comfortable giving the White House more leeway to respond to perceived threats. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Trump was trying to head off a debate about the use of military force altogether by deterring hostile actions from Iran and Iranian-backed combatants in the Middle East. He said he believes that the administration will act in a “thoughtful” way. “There’s no action that’s being taken,” McCarthy said. “What has transpired today is the administration is trying to make sure there is not. It’s sending a very clear message to Iran.” Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said U.S. forces have the right to protect themselves if attacked and that questions about congressional authorization would not be relevant in this situation. “If Iran attacks us, they’re going to get hit hard,” Rubio said. “If they don’t attack us, there’ll be no war. It’s up to them.” Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said recent Iranian action in the Persian Gulf is “cause for concern.” Thornberry, who has been briefed by Central Command officials and intelligence staff over the last two weeks, said sending a signal to Iranians not to attack Americans “seems like the prudent thing to do.” He said he’s not concerned that the Trump’s administration’s response could be politically motivated. Sen. Richard Durbin, a member of Democratic leadership, said he voted against the Iraq war because he wasn’t convinced of the intelligence, and he fears the U.S. could be heading toward a repeat. He also warned that miscalculation when tensions are high could lead to fatalities, followed by calls for retribution. The Illinois Democrat said Trump has surrounded himself with advisers “who believe that getting tough on a military basis with Iran is in our best interest. I do not.”
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conflict;u.s .;congress;iran;mitt romney;nancy pelosi;donald trump;marco rubio
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jp0004265
|
[
"world",
"crime-legal-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
French anesthetist charged with killing nine patients in resuscitation scam
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STRASBOURG, FRANCE - An anesthetist in the French eastern city of Besancon is suspected of poisoning patients during surgery to trigger heart failures and then heroically bring them back from the brink of death. On nine occasions, prosecutors allege he failed and people died. Investigating magistrates have found evidence linking Dr. Frederic Pechier to 24 out of 66 suspicious incidents that happened during surgical proceedings at the clinic where he practiced, Besancon prosecutor Etienne Manteaux told reporters on Thursday. “Mr. Pechier appears as the common denominator for these unfortunate and serious events that seem related to an acute conflict with other anesthetists or surgeons at the Saint-Vincent clinic,” Manteaux said. He added that Pechier was suspected of injecting lethal doses of potassium chloride or anesthetics in perfusion bags during benign surgeries. The 47-year-old physician has denied any wrongdoing but the prosecution has asked that he be kept under arrest ahead of trial, where he will face a life sentence. “The charges rest on a beam of concordant elements,” Manteaux said, acknowledging that the case rests on circumstantial evidence since the doctor was not caught in the act. Pechier was “omnipresent” in handling the resuscitation of patients after suspicious heart failures and the doctor’s colleagues found he was suspiciously fast in diagnosing anesthetic overdoses, the prosecutor added. He said Pechier was the only physician present during all the incidents where traces of poison were found or when overdoses were diagnosed. The incidents were more numerous during periods of “intense conflict” between Pechier and his colleagues, Manteaux said. Pechier has admitted criminal acts were committed at the clinic but said he was not responsible for them, according to the prosecutor. “Doctor Pechier rejects all the charges brought against him,” Pechier’s lawyer, Randall Schwerdorffer, told reporters. “We challenge anybody to show us any evidence.”
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france;murder;doctor;frederic pechier
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jp0004266
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
New Trump immigration plan would overhaul green card system, target 'top talent' instead of kin
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WASHINGTON - Setting aside some of his hard-line rhetoric on illegal immigration, President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wanted to recruit “top talent” to America as he unveiled his latest efforts to reform residency laws after years of setbacks and stalemates. “We discriminate against genius,” Trump said of current policies, which he contended excessively favor family based immigration. “We discriminate against brilliance. We won’t anymore once we get this passed.” The latest effort, spearheaded by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, focuses on beefing up border security and rethinking the nation’s green card system to favor people with high-level skills, degrees and job offers instead of relatives of those already in the country. The proposed shift to a more merit-based system prioritizing high-skilled workers would mark a dramatic departure from the nation’s largely family-based approach, which officials said gives roughly 66 percent of green cards to those with family ties and 12 percent based on skills. The president’s plan, unveiled in a Rose Garden ceremony, has yet to be embraced by his own party — let alone Democrats — and faces dubious prospects in a divided Congress. The show of magnanimity comes as Trump seeks to put a softer facade on the signature campaign issue from his first campaign as he eyes his 2020 re-election. “Our plan is pro-American, pro-immigrant and pro-worker,” Trump said, adding that it contrasts with what he called Democrats’ support of “chaos.” Efforts to overhaul the immigration system have gone nowhere for three decades amid deep partisan divisions. Prospects for an agreement seem especially bleak as the 2020 elections near, though the plan could give Trump and the GOP a proposal to rally behind, even as Democrats signaled their opposition. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump’s emphasis on merit-based immigration is “condescending” because families have merit, too. The plan does not address what to do about the millions of immigrants already living in the country illegally, including hundreds of thousands of young “Dreamers” brought to the U.S. as children — a top priority for Democrats. Nor does it reduce overall rates of immigration, as many conservative Republicans would like to see. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Dreamer immigrants were not included in Trump’s new plan because past proposals involving them have failed. In briefings Wednesday, administration officials said the plan would create a points-based visa system, similar to those used by Canada and other countries. Under the new plan, the U.S. would award the same number of green cards as it now does. But far more would go to exceptional students, professionals and people with high-level and vocational degrees. Factors such as age, English-language ability and employment offers would also be considered. The diversity visa lottery, which offers green cards to citizens of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S., would be eliminated. As part of the plan, officials want to shore up ports of entry to ensure all vehicles and people are screened and to create a self-sustaining fund, paid for with increased fees, to modernize ports of entry. The plan also calls for building a border wall in targeted locations and continues a push for an overhaul to the U.S. asylum system, with the goal of processing fewer applications and removing people who don’t qualify faster. While the officials insisted their effort was not a “political” plan, they nonetheless framed it as one they hoped Republicans would unite behind, making clear to voters what the party is “for.” “I don’t think it’s designed to get Democratic support as much as it is to unify the Republican Party around border security, a negotiating position,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham a close ally of the White House. The plan drew immediate criticism from Democrats as well as immigration activists, who remain deeply skeptical of Trump after past negotiation failures. Democrats and some Republicans tried crafting a compromise with Trump last year that would have helped young Dreamer immigrants and added money for border security. But those talks collapsed over White House demands to curb legal immigration and a dramatic Senate showdown in which lawmakers rejected three rival proposals that aligned with the “four pillars” immigration plan Trump unveiled that year. Lisa Koop, director of legal services at the National Immigrant Justice Center, also criticized the various planks of the proposal, including its failure to address those brought to the U.S. illegally as children who are currently protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, which Trump has tried to end. “A plan that forces families apart, limits access to asylum and other humanitarian relief, and doesn’t contemplate a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and other undocumented community members is clearly a political stunt intended to posture rather than problem-solve,” she said.
|
u.s .;congress;republicans;lindsey graham;immigrants;democrats;donald trump;green cards;jared kushner;daca
|
jp0004267
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Boris Johnson slim, trimmed and ready to fight for power
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LONDON - For a man who has made his name as a comical shambles, cracking jokes on talk-shows and scruffing up his famous blond mop, Boris Johnson is taking a deadly serious approach to his work. At 54, the former foreign secretary has lost weight, trimmed his hair and hired a campaign manager to win the support of his peers and plot his path to Number 10 Downing Street. On Thursday, Johnson announced he will stand as a candidate to succeed Theresa May when she formally quits as leader of the Conservatives and U.K. prime minister. According to bookmakers, party members, and those who have watched his career closely, Johnson stands a very good chance of winning. “It is a rough rule of thumb that the more trouble the Conservative Party is in, the more likely its members are to turn to Boris Johnson,” said Paul Goodman, editor of the ConservativeHome website. And the Tories are in existential peril. For decades, they have thought of themselves as the natural party of government. Now the Conservatives are disastrously divided by Brexit. ‘Change the atmosphere’ Nigel Farage, the leader of the newly formed Brexit Party, is stealing euroskeptic votes away from them, and polls suggest he could even win this month’s European Parliament elections. That will send a wave of panic through the Tory party at the damage Farage could do to their hopes of retaining power nationally. The Tories will feel they need a savior to replace May, someone who can defeat both Farage and Labour’s socialist leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who proved himself a capable campaigner in the 2017 election. According to a ConservativeHome survey of 1,100 Tory supporters last month, Johnson is the preferred candidate for 32 percent of party members, with his next nearest rival, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, on 15 percent. If the Tories think they need “someone who can change the atmosphere” rather than a managerial figure, they’re more likely to opt for Johnson, according to his biographer, Andrew Gimson. Like President Donald Trump, Johnson’s populist appeal could make the difference in a hard-fought general election campaign. Rocky record Johnson is a proven winner who has defeated the Labour Party twice in naturally left-wing London to become the mayor. According to Gimson, this will be a reassuring prospect for Conservative politicians worried that the party’s disarray over the so-called British exit could see them lose their seats in Parliament at the next election. Goodman said Johnson’s appeal will be based on his “star quality,” name recognition and “strong qualifications” as a Brexit campaigner. But nothing is certain. The next leadership election is likely to be the most contested in history, with more than 20 potential candidates currently jostling for a run. That makes it highly unpredictable. A Johnson leadership would also carry risks for the Tories. Since fronting the Brexit campaign three years ago, he has been a hate figure for those dejected pro-Europeans who voted to remain in the bloc. The campaign was hugely contentious and the country remains bitterly divided. That suggests almost half of voters could have a reason not to support him. Johnson has also been prone to making major public gaffes — his life-long role as an entertainer with a joke always at the ready landed him in hot water as foreign secretary. When he tried to run for the leadership in 2016, Michael Gove, who was coordinating his campaign, quit and stood as a rival because he just didn’t believe Johnson was capable of running the country. If Johnson were to become prime minister, it would be a dramatic political turn-around. A year ago, he was fighting in vain inside May’s divided cabinet to deliver the kind of quick, clean Brexit that he believed would be a faithful reflection of the public’s 2016 vote to quit the European Union. After leading the Vote Leave campaign, Johnson knew he would get the blame if Brexit went wrong and felt responsible for seeing the project through. But he failed. In July 2018, Johnson resigned as foreign secretary, one of the most prestigious positions in government, and a job that he loved. For months afterwards, Johnson cut a dejected and somewhat lonely figure in Westminster. He split from his wife amid reports of a string of affairs, and struggled to make a major impact in Parliament with his interventions in the Brexit debates. Johnson and his team decided to take a consciously low profile, shunning media interviews and preferring instead to concentrate on setting out policy positions in columns for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. He ranged far beyond Brexit, proposing ideas on issues such as health and crime, as part of a careful plan to re-set his public image for a run at the leadership. One of Johnson’s weaknesses in the past has been a failure to win enough support in Parliament. Unless he can convince Tory MPs to put his name on the ballot paper that then goes to the party’s wider grass-roots membership, he has no chance of becoming leader. And this time, Johnson’s not taking chances, according to one person familiar with his plans. Johnson has hired James Wharton, a former Tory MP and minister as his campaign coordinator, to help woo supporters in the House of Commons and professionalize his office. Johnson also remains close friends with Lynton Crosby, the Conservative election strategist who helped him win those two mayoral elections and delivered an unexpected majority victory for David Cameron as prime minister in 2015. Although Crosby has no formal role with Johnson, the pair speak daily and are likely to join forces when the campaign gets under way. Johnson has been touring the country, entertaining local party gatherings with speeches over dinners, and meeting voters. One MP arrived in Johnson’s office recently for a face-to-face meeting. But the Tory was disheartened to see a wall chart divided into 15-minute slots, each containing the name of one of his colleagues who would be meeting the candidate later. For Johnson’s team, who are more used to handling gaffes and mishaps, being criticized for being too organized is a something they are happy to take.
|
united kingdom;boris johnson;brexit;tories
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jp0004268
|
[
"world",
"politics-diplomacy-world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Poland's ruling Law and Justice party could suffer in EU elections due to pedophilia scandal
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WARSAW - A Polish documentary on clergy pedophilia that has shocked the devout country could deal a blow to the chances of the ruling conservatives in this month’s European Parliament elections, given the party’s close ties to the Catholic Church, analysts said Thursday. With Poland’s two main political forces — the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party and the European Coalition, a group of opposition parties led by the liberal Civic Platform (PO) — currently polling neck and neck, the film could effectively swing the outcome of the ballot, observers said. “This whole affair may tilt the balance in favor of the opposition” in the May 26 EU election, political analyst Stanislaw Mocek said. He says the PiS, in power since 2015, could pay dearly for its close ties to the Catholic Church, “a symbiosis that has suited both sides,” at least until now. Posted on YouTube last Saturday, the “Tell No One” film by brothers Tomasz and Marek Sekielski has been viewed more than 17 million times. The two-hour documentary includes hidden camera footage of victims who are now adults confronting elderly priests about the abuse they suffered decades earlier. Local media have also been busy publishing witness accounts, commentary and new revelations of child sex abuse by the clergy. Bishops have come under fire for not responding effectively to cases of abuse, and there have been demands for an independent commission of inquiry to shed light on the issue. Mocek believes that a shift of 1 or 2 percent of votes away from the PiS because of the pedophilia scandal could prove decisive. Warsaw-based Catholic theologian Stanislaw Obirek said that both the PiS and the episcopate were “in panic mode.” He believes next month’s visit by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a Maltese-based Vatican expert on pedophilia among the priesthood, may result in a series of resignations by Polish bishops. “Now Archbishop Scicluna is coming and his visit will result in important changes. These won’t be cosmetic changes. Many bishops will leave,” the former Jesuit said. Scicluna spent 10 years as a Vatican prosecutor investigating cases of pedophilia among the priesthood, making a name for himself with his determination. Arturo Sosa, the leader of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order the Society of Jesus, said in Warsaw on Wednesday that the root of the church’s problems — both in Poland and abroad — lies in the inordinate power the clergy wields over believers and to a lack of transparency within the institution. The ruling conservatives appear not to be wasting any time in seeking damage control, having announced plans to raise the prison terms for pedophilia to a maximum 30 years and the age of consent from 15 to 16. The EU member’s parliament has already examined the bill, which could become law in the next few days as the PiS commands an absolute majority. But government spokeswoman Joanna Kopcinska rejected as “absurd” suggestions that the bill has anything to do with the EU electoral campaign. She said the penal code changes have been in the works for more than 10 months. Still, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin acknowledged that the public debate over pedophilia “may have certain electoral consequences.” Influential and controversial priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, the founder of a media empire, denounced what he called a “smear campaign” inspired by “hatred” of the church. He said that if the purpose of the fight against pedophilia is really the pursuit of good, then “we would also be citing the percentage of people guilty of these crimes in other social groups and showing that the percentage among priests is low.” Nevertheless, Obirek believes that the church is “on the verge of fundamental change.”
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religion;children;poland;eu;elections;sex crimes
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jp0004269
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Trudeau calls Chinese arrests of two Canadians 'unacceptable'
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PARIS - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday called the arrest of two Canadians in China “unacceptable” and vowed to stand up to Beijing over the detentions. “We will consistently and always stand up for Canadians, particularly these Canadians who have been arbitrarily detained,” he told a news conference in Paris after China said it had formally arrested the pair on national security grounds. “What we are always focused on is doing things that will help Canadians (who are) being detained. That will not change,” Trudeau said, when asked if he planned to talk to President Xi Jinping over the issue. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig is “suspected of collecting state secrets and intelligence” while businessman Michael Spavor is suspected of “stealing and illegally offering state secrets” abroad, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Thursday. “The Chinese government is not following the same kind of rules that the large majority of democracies follow,” Trudeau told reporters at the Canadian embassy after holding talks with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. “We will continue to defend these Canadians and we will continue to say clearly to China that its actions are unacceptable,” he added. Though no link has been officially made, the detention of Spavor and Kovrig is thought to be in retaliation for Canada’s Dec. 1 detention on a U.S. extradition request of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei who is accused of violating Iran sanctions.
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china;canada;huawei;meng wanzhou;michael kovrig;michael spavor
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jp0004270
|
[
"world"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Iran envoy in Tokyo accuses U.S. of 'unacceptable' escalation in tensions
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Iran accused the United States Thursday of an “unacceptable” escalation of tensions and said Tehran was showing “maximum restraint” despite Washington’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal with world powers. Tensions were already high after President Donald Trump walked away a year ago from the accord, which eased international sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. But tensions have ratcheted up, with the U.S. deploying an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf over alleged threats from Iran. “The escalation by the United States is unacceptable,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in Tokyo, where he is holding talks with Japanese officials. “We exercise maximum restraint … in spite of the fact that the United States withdrew from JCPOA last May,” Zarif said earlier, referring to the agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He added that Tehran remains “committed” to the deal, and said continuing assessments showed Iran was in compliance with the multilateral agreement. Later, Zarif told reporters there was “no possibility” of negotiations with the United States to reduce spiraling tensions, describing U.S. pressure as an “act of suicide. Zarif’s comments came after the U.S. on Wednesday ordered non-emergency staff evacuated from its Baghdad embassy due to an alleged “imminent” threat from Iranian-linked Iraqi militias. Two major pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq rejected suggestions the embassy personnel were at risk. Nasr al-Shomari, a military commander for the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba, told AFP the claim was “a pretext” by Washington to create “an uproar” in Iraq. But the move added to growing fears that the long-time rivals could be on course for conflict despite both sides stressing they have no desire for war. Trump, however, predicted Iran would “soon” want to negotiate. “I’m sure that Iran will want to talk soon,” the president tweeted. He also blasted media reports of White House turmoil over Iran, saying “there is no infighting whatsoever. Different opinions are expressed and I make a final and decisive decision.” Zarif late Thursday dismissed Trump’s prediction of talks, telling reporters: “I don’t know why President Trump is confident.” Opponents of Trump say hardliners led by national security adviser John Bolton, who has long advocated toppling the Iranian government, are pushing the country into war. According to Iranian state media, Zarif is set to visit China on Friday for discussions on “regional and international issues,” including the 2015 nuclear deal with global powers. Despite international skepticism, the U.S. government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. Senior State Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat came from Iraqi militia “commanded and controlled” by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “It is directly linked to Iran, multiple threat streams directly linked to Iran,” said one official. “This is an imminent threat to our personnel,” said a second official. Washington says it has received intelligence on possible attacks by Iranian or Iranian-backed forces, possibly targeting U.S. bases in Iraq or Syria. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday insisted the showdown with the United States was a mere test of resolve. “This face-off is not military because there is not going to be any war. Neither we nor them (the U.S.) seek war,” he said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed that sentiment, saying in Sochi, Russia: “We fundamentally do not seek a war with Iran.” World powers have rushed to urge calm and U.S. allies continued to show skepticism over Washington’s alarm bells. But U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he had recently met with Pompeo and shared “the same assessment of the heightened threat posed by Iran..” “As always we work closely with the U.S.,” he tweeted. Britain’s defense ministry meanwhile said Wednesday that they have “long been clear about our concerns over Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the region” — while still not confirming any new imminent danger. Some observers speculate Tehran is seeking to retaliate over Washington’s decision in April to put Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on a terrorism blacklist — a move designed to stymie their activities across the Middle East. But since the first U.S. warning on May 5, the only incident has been a still-mysterious “attack” Monday on tankers anchored off Fujairah, an Emirati port located at the strategically crucial entrance to the Gulf. One or more vessels incurred light hull damage, but what caused the damage and who was behind it remain unknown.
|
u.s .;iran;iran nuclear deal;javad zarif;donald trump;mike pompeo;john bolton
|
jp0004271
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"science-health-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Preseasoned omega lambs and fitbit cows: New Zealand responds to alternative protein threat
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WINDWHISTLE, NEW ZEALAND - At Dave Harper’s family farm in New Zealand’s scenic Canterbury region, a painstakingly bred flock of lambs is grazing not on grass, but on a field of herbs selected to unlock healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the animals’ meat. Known as Te Mana lambs, they are part of an effort by the island nation to future-proof its agricultural sector from the threat of meat and dairy substitutes based on synthetic proteins or plant-based alternatives. Aimed at occupying a similar niche as premium wagyu beef, each Te Mana lamb has a unique number and has been tracked, weighed and scanned since birth. “We’ve got to tell our story better, and we can’t do that unless we collect the information. … Everything’s got to be right,” said Harper, whose farm hosts the lambs for their final few weeks grazing on chicory herbs after being brought down from the mountainous high country. The lambs have received millions of dollars in government funding in a joint venture with the meat company Alliance Group. Both want to cut the country’s dependence on shipping bulk commodities and move up the value chain into luxury products with burnished ethical, environmental and health credentials. New Zealand relies on agricultural farming and processing for 8 percent of its GDP — among the highest in the OECD — so it has a lot to lose as synthetic food gathers momentum. With an ideal climate, plenty of arable land and a long farming history, New Zealand is the world’s top dairy exporter and ranks second and seventh for sheep-meat and beef exports. “I see this as both an opportunity and threat to New Zealand, depending on how we react to this emerging reality,” New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Animal welfare, labor standards, environmental management and food safety systems must be the best in the world.” Disruptive threat The global market for meat substitutes is predicted to reach $6.4 billion by 2023, according to research firm Markets and Markets — still a tiny fraction of the multitrillion-dollar traditional meat market but growing quickly. Asia, New Zealand’s top agricultural export market, is the fastest-growing region. High-profile investors are pouring in. Vegan burger maker Beyond Meat Inc., which counts Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actor Leonardo DiCaprio among its backers, saw shares surge after its initial public stock offering, reflecting ravenous investor demand. Impossible Foods, which makes a meatless plant-based burger and is backed by celebrities such as Serena Williams and Katy Perry, this week announced it had raised $300 million ahead of a possible initial public offering. Dairy is also at risk, particularly in the ingredient business, which relies on products such as milk powder and dairy-protein casein in everything from cakes and cookies to salad dressing and chewing gum. San Francisco-based Perfect Day plans to roll out dairy-like ingredients based on yeast cultures within the next two years. Ripple Foods is selling a milk substitute, derived from yellow peas, throughout the United States. New Zealand’s Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, has taken note. It made a modest investment — it has not disclosed the exact value — in U.S.-based Motif, a startup using fermentation technology to create ingredients that mimic milk and egg proteins. “We’re trying … to position ourselves so if this was to take off and become a huge demand, that we’re well placed to try and tap into it,” said Judith Swales, head of Fonterra’s consumer and food-service business. “We can’t say that we don’t see an increasing rise in veganism and vegetarianism.” After safety scares in China and criticism from environmentalists at home, Fonterra has also introduced a “trusted goodness” seal to its products, which it says reflects increased efforts to improve traceability and ensure that its grass-fed status and animal welfare meet independent standards. Changes coming Still, many animal and environmental advocates say damage from industrial agriculture is unavoidable. Complaints include the removal of male “bobby” calves from their mothers, methane emissions from animals, and chemical and agricultural runoff polluting New Zealand’s once-pristine rivers and lakes. The government has introduced new requirements for the agriculture sector to slash methane emissions by 10 percent in the next decade, drawing a vocal backlash from farmers who say they have already improved practices significantly. The industry is banking on its clean, green image to capture a niche global pool of consumers willing to pay a premium for ethically produced real meat and dairy. “There’s going to be people who don’t always want to have the synthetic stuff and having the organic, outdoor pasture fed stuff is definitely going to have a huge part of that market,” said entrepreneur Craig Piggott. His agricultural tech startup, Halter, has won backing from Silicon Valley venture capitalists, some of whom also invest in synthetic proteins. North Island-based Halter is in the trial phases of a device, worn around a cow’s neck, that allows farmers to monitor cattle health from an iPad, much like a human fitness tracker. The device can help to share information with consumers. It also uses noises and vibrations to direct livestock away from waterways without the need for farmhands, dogs or fences. Other agricultural projects, from milk powder with immune-enhancing probiotic properties to farm management and product tracing software, are attracting government research and funding through the Ministry of Primary Industries. The partly state-funded Primary Growth Partnership plans to spend 726 million New Zealand dollars ($478 million) on innovative projects in agriculture and horticulture. Te Mana lambs received NZ$12.5 million from the fund for the decade they took to develop with the help of a full-time geneticist and a handful of farmers working to develop a new niche for one of New Zealand’s most famous foods. “There are some big changes coming,” said Harper, 57, one of the farmers. “We’re going to see more changes in the next 10 or 15 years than we’ve ever seen before.”
|
food;agriculture;animals;new zealand;meat
|
jp0004273
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Australian 'larrikin' ex-Prime Minister Bob Hawke dies at 89
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SYDNEY - Bob Hawke, a transformative and charismatic left-wing lawmaker with a “larrikin’ streak who served as Australian prime minister from 1983 to 1991, died on Thursday aged 89, his family said. “Today we lost Bob Hawke, a great Australian — many would say the greatest Australian of the postwar era,” his wife and former biographer, Blanche d’Alpuget, said in a statement. While others may have struggled to dismiss a reputation for boisterous, if well-meaning, behavior, silver-haired Hawke said it helped him win favor with working-class voters. Prime Minster Scott Morrison hailed Hawke’s ability to speak to all Australians. “Bob Hawke was a great Australian who led and served our country with passion, courage, and an intellectual horsepower that made our country stronger,” he said on social media. Hawke’s death comes ahead of a Saturday general election, with his opposition Labor party narrowly ahead in the polls. “The Australian people loved Bob Hawke because they knew Bob loved them, this was true to the very end,” Labor party leader Bill Shorten said in a statement. Hawke earned his reputation as a “larrikin,” or loveable rogue, in part due to his world record for drinking a “yard,” or 1.4 liters, of beer in 11 seconds while at Oxford University. Robert James Lee Hawke, a former trade union leader, was first elected to Parliament in 1980 and was named leader of the center-left Labor Party less than a month before a snap general election in 1983. Voters embraced Hawke and Labor won an unlikely landslide against a conservative government led by Malcolm Fraser, who had been in power for nearly a decade. Hawke became Australia’s 23rd prime minister. “I regard Bob Hawke as the best Labor prime minister this country has ever had,” former conservative leader John Howard, who served as Fraser’s treasurer, said this year. Inheriting an economy languishing in recession and with double-digit unemployment and inflation, Hawke embraced economic deregulation that belied his connections with Australia’s largest trade unions. Hawke won support from the political left to float the Australian dollar, remove controls on foreign exchange and interest rates and lower tariffs on imports within months of his inauguration. The reforms triggered a wave of economic growth, allowing Hawke to introduce universal health care, strengthen social security for poor families and enact stronger environmental legislation. Within months of Hawke becoming prime minister, Australia won sailing’s America’s Cup in 1983, ending 132 years of U.S. dominance over the oldest trophy in world sport. Hawke led the celebrations, famously sticking up of anyone who might over-do the revelry, declaring on television: “Any boss that sacks a worker for not turning up is a bum.” Australia also made its mark on the international stage under Hawke, who shifted diplomatic priorities away from Britain, fostering closer ties with the United States, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. He also spearheaded international efforts to impose economic sanctions on South Africa over apartheid. Hawke was riding high in opinion polls by the mid-1980s and won re-election in 1987 despite an economic downturn. He won a fourth election in 1990 to become Australia’s longest-serving Labor prime minister, but his popularity began to wane amid a recession. Paul Keating, Hawke’s treasurer and the architect of Labor’s economic policies, pressured him to step aside as his position weakened. However, with no sign that Hawke would retire, Keating challenged him for the leadership in 1991. Hawke saw off the first challenge but eventually lost to Keating a few months later in a party-room coup. He quit politics three months later. Hawke divorced his wife of nearly 40 years, Hazel Masterson, after leaving politics and public life and married his biographer, Blanche d’Alpuget. He appeared as a media commentator and was in demand as a public speaker.
|
australia;labor;obituary;bob hawke
|
jp0004274
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
China changes university entrance exam rules to favor mixed families in troubled Xinjiang
|
BEIJING - China’s fractious far-west region of Xinjiang has changed its university entrance exam rules to give children from mixed families a leg up on other students, in what experts say are the latest efforts to erase a mostly Muslim ethnic culture. Following a flare-up in violence in 2014, Chinese authorities have rolled out draconian security measures across Xinjiang in recent years, from banning long beards and Islamic veils to placing an estimated 1 million mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in internment camps. Chinese officials describe the facilities as voluntary “vocational education centers” where Turkic-speaking people are taught Mandarin and job skills in a bid to steer them away from religious extremism. But rights groups and former inmates see the measures as part of a campaign to forcefully assimilate Uighurs and other minorities into the majority ethnic Han society, diluting their cultures and religious beliefs. Observers say the change in the university enrolment system is another step in that direction, particularly in a region where Uighurs made up almost half of the 23-million-strong population, according to 2015 statistics. In an online notice posted last week, the Xinjiang government published new rules for giving bonus points to disadvantaged groups in the nationwide college entrance exams — a key deciding factor for attending university in China. In a reversal of last year’s policy, the regional government doubled the number of bonus points allocated to interethnic students — defined as those with one Han parent — to 20, while more than halving the amount for students whose parents are both ethnic minorities to 15. The new exam policy is “part of this effort to ‘sinocize’ any kind of non-Han forms of thoughts and behavior,” said James Leibold, a professor at La Trobe University. The government believes that “interethnic marriage is a key vehicle for promoting national integration and assimilating the Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the Chinese nation,” Leibold, who studies ethnic relations and policy in China, said. Timothy Grose, a China ethnic policy expert at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, said the “new incentives for intermarriage expose the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) systematic approach to weakening Turkic-Muslim identities.” “Perhaps officials are re-introducing the ‘carrot’ when in the past few years they have only been lashing the ‘stick,’ ” said Grose, whose research focuses on Uighurs. The change in exam policy is not the first time Chinese authorities have offered incentives for interethnic mixing. In 2014, the Qiemo County government in Xinjiang reportedly announced it would give mixed couples — one Han, one minority — annual cash payments of 10,000 yuan ($1,450) for the first five years of their marriage. “Chinese policymakers and sociologists have long viewed high rates or high instances of interethnic marriage as a kind of proxy symbol for social cohesion and national integration,” explained Leibold. On top of initiatives spearheaded by the government, videos promoting Uighur-Han marriages have also emerged on social media over the past year, though it is unclear whether they are directly linked to official policies. In October, a video published by “Grandma Li,” a culture and lifestyle social media account run by a Xinjiang-based woman, encouraged more people to move to the region to “look for love.” “Even though their ethnicity is different and their beliefs are different, it seems like it (interethnic marriage) is happening more and more now,” said Li. “Besides, the government is very much encouraging it — there are even rewards,” she added. But it is unlikely that the latest government-backed incentive will change perceptions of Uighurs and Han across ethnic lines, experts say. Though statistics on interethnic marriage in China are scarce, national census data from 2010 shows that both Han and Uighur populations tend to marry within their ethnic group, with only 0.2 percent of Uighurs married to Han people. “Officials have encouraged interethnic marriage for decades, but with little success,” said Grose. “I don’t see how this change to test scores will persuade minorities in droves to seek out Han partners.” Online, Chinese social media users have voiced skepticism toward top-down policies rewarding interethnic marriages, with some complaining that they are unfair to Han people. “There’s a great deal of mutual suspicion and distrust between the two groups but that doesn’t stop the party-state from trying to push the agenda,” said Leibold.
|
china;religion;education;universities;ethnicity;discrimination;uighurs;xinjiang
|
jp0004275
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"social-issues-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Taiwan legislature poised to vote on Asia's first gay marriage bill
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TAIPEI - Taiwan will decide whether to pass Asia’s first gay marriage law on Friday as conservative lawmakers launch a last-ditch attempt to scupper the bill despite a court ruling ordering same-sex marital equality. Protesters on both sides of the debate will gather outside Taipei’s parliament for what looks set to be a mammoth legislative debate over an issue that has bitterly divided the island. Parliament is up against a ticking clock. Taiwan’s top court has ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry violates the constitution. Judges gave the government two years to make necessary changes by May 24 or see marriage equality enacted automatically. With that deadline fast approaching, three bills have been tabled for Friday — which also happens to be the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The most progressive is the government’s bill, the only one to use the word “marriage” and offer limited adoption rights. It is backed — begrudgingly — by gay rights groups who see it as the closest thing to full equality with heterosexual couples, despite its limitations. Opponents have tabled two other versions, which avoid the word marriage, offering something closer to same-sex unions with no adoption rights. Conservative and religious groups have been buoyed by a series of referendum wins in November, in which voters comprehensively rejected defining marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman. President Tsai Ing-wen has said the government’s bill respects both the court judgment and the referendum. “I hope everybody can be considerate and tolerate different opinions to show Taiwan is a mature civil society that is capable of handling a divisive issue,” she said on Tuesday. Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds the majority in parliament, occupying 68 out of 113 seats. But there is no guarantee her own lawmakers will vote for the more progressive bill, especially as many fear being punished by conservative voters at the ballot box in January. One of the rival bills was proposed by a DPP lawmaker. Taiwan’s LGBT community has been left in limbo the last two years, with many couples planning weddings ahead of the May 24th deadline but unsure of what marriage equality will look like. “We will have a clear answer this week about how this country will treat gay couples in the future,” said Jennifer Lu, a spokeswoman for Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan. “The cabinet’s bill is already a discounted version but it covers the most for now. The other bills are not only unconstitutional but discriminatory.” Opponents warn that “forcefully” passing a gay marriage law will intensify tensions. “The cabinet’s bill ignores the referendum results and that is unacceptable,” said Lai Shyh-bao of the opposition Kuomintang party, who proposed one of the bills backed by conservatives.
|
taiwan;lgbt;same-sex marriage;tsai ing-wen
|
jp0004276
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"social-issues-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
With health insurance and time off, empowered sex workers in Thailand battle stigma
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CHIANG MAI, THAILAND - A group of women sit around a table making dream catchers with colorful bits of yarn, chatting about their families, work and the thick smog enveloping the city of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Just another workplace scene — except the women are all sex workers who meet their clients at the Can Do Bar, which they own as a collective, benefiting from health insurance, fixed hours and time off, which all are typically denied to sex workers. The bar was set up in 2006 by the Empower Foundation, a nonprofit founded in Bangkok’s Patpong red-light district for sex workers who are still stigmatized despite widespread tolerance of Thailand’s thriving sex industry. Thousands of Thai and migrant sex workers have learned from Empower to negotiate with bar and massage parlor owners for better conditions, and to lobby the government to decriminalize their work to improve their incomes, safety and wellbeing. “People say we should stop doing what we do, and sew or bake cookies instead — but why are only those jobs considered appropriate?” said Mai Chanta, a 30-something native of Chiang Mai who has been a sex worker for about eight years. “This is what we choose to do, and we feel a sense of pride and satisfaction that we are just like other workers,” said Mai, dressed in a calf-length skirt and a T-shirt that reads “United Sex Workers Nations.” Millions of women across the world choose sex work to make an income. Yet only a few countries — including Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Senegal and Peru — recognize it as legal, leaving prostitutes elsewhere vulnerable to abuse. In Thailand — where stigma against sex work is deep-rooted, as it is across much of Asia — prostitution is illegal and punishable by a fine of 1,000 baht ($32); customers who pay for sex with underage workers can be jailed for up to six years. There are 123,530 sex workers in Thailand, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report. Advocacy groups put the figure at more than twice that number, including tens of thousands of migrants from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand’s modern sex industry is believed to have been established with the setting up of Japanese military bases during World War II. It expanded quickly during the Vietnam War, when U.S. troops came to Bangkok for their recreation breaks. Over the years, the country has come to be known for sex tourism, with large numbers of male visitors frequenting bars, massage parlors and karaoke lounges that multiplied as tourist numbers soared. Although prostitution has been illegal since 1960, the law is almost invariably ignored; the lucrative business provides payoffs to untold numbers of officials and policemen. But sex workers in Thailand have struggled to expand a movement to demand their human, civil and labor rights in the same way others did, from Canada to Australia, in the 1970s. Since a military government took charge in 2014, Thailand’s ubiquitous brothels have been hit by a spate of police raids as tourism authorities pledged to transform the country into a luxury destination for moneyed tourists. Increased global efforts to combat trafficking often provide a pretext to crack down on sex workers, human rights groups say. “Raid and rescue” operations by police and charities often use laws related to migrant workers and trafficking to fine, detain, prosecute and deport sex workers, said Liz Hilton at Empower Foundation. “The authorities justify the raids, saying there is trafficking, but most sex workers in Thailand are in it because it pays more than many other jobs that are accessible to them,” she said. “These women have families to support; legalizing sex work would mean they can work with dignity, and without judgment or fear,” Hilton said. The majority of sex workers are women, who can earn between two and 10 times the daily minimum wage of 325 baht ($10.25) in Bangkok, according to the Empower Foundation. A government official said that the raids are meant to check trafficking of migrants and underage prostitution and that authorities have provided sex workers with health care and vocational training. “We have discussed legalizing prostitution, but it is not an option, as we do not want to be seen as encouraging it,” said Pornsom Paopramot, inspector-general at the Social Development Ministry. “We want to send out the message that sex tourism is not something that we want to be known for. Legalizing prostitution will not back that message,” she said. Legalizing prostitution could reduce the stigma that sex workers are “deviant and immoral,” improve their work conditions and help combat trafficking, said Borislav Gerasimov, an expert with the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. Thailand is a source, transit and destination country for trafficking, with an estimated 610,000 people living in conditions of modern slavery, according to the Global Slavery Index 2018 by charity Walk Free Foundation. The U.S. State Department recognized Thailand’s “significant efforts” to eliminate trafficking with a new task force, and more prosecutions and convictions, by upgrading it to Tier 2 in its latest Trafficking in Persons report. But while human trafficking is prevalent in industries such as fishing, the government’s pursuit of sex workers is keeping it from better protecting them, said Anna Olsen at the International Labour Organization in Bangkok. “Trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a serious issue, but it is distinct from sex work,” she said. “The conflation of the two fails to recognize that working in the sex industry is a practical decision for many.” The general election in March saw several LGBT+ candidates promising to decriminalize sex work. The women at Can Do Bar are hopeful, said Ping Pong, a founder member of Empower Foundation. “When we started, we were told, ‘You are sex workers — you can’t get social security, you can’t get time off.’ But we did,” she said. “We are not going to sit around waiting for someone else to do things for us. There is a new government now, and we are ready to knock on the new labor minister’s door,” she said.
|
rights;sex;women;thailand;discrimination;prostitution
|
jp0004277
|
[
"asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
U.S. top envoy Mike Pompeo airs concerns on extraditions with Hong Kong democracy leader
|
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday voiced concern over Hong Kong’s plans to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland as he met with the city’s pre-eminent pro-democracy leader. The top U.S. diplomat discussed the controversial extradition bill during talks in Washington with a delegation headed by Martin Lee, a founder of Hong Kong’s opposition Democratic Party. Pompeo “expressed concern about the Hong Kong government’s proposed amendments to the Fugitive Ordinance law, which threaten Hong Kong’s rule of law,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement after the meeting. “He also expressed support for Hong Kong’s long-standing protections of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic values, which are guaranteed under the Basic Law,” she said. She was referring to the law that came into effect when Britain handed control of its colony in 1997 to China, which promised a separate political system in the international financial hub that includes greater freedoms. The extradition plan recently led to scuffles inside Hong Kong’s legislature, with critics saying it would mark a significant blow to the city’s semi-autonomous status and make it less attractive to foreign investors. Hong Kong’s government is pushing the bill that would allow case-by-case extraditions to any jurisdictions with which it does not already have an agreed treaty — including mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. Historically Hong Kong has balked at mainland extraditions because of the opacity of China’s criminal justice system and its liberal use of the death penalty. Lee has frequently taken his message overseas. In 2014, China voiced anger after then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met Lee and reiterated America’s “long-standing support for democracy in Hong Kong.” In an opinion piece this week in The Washington Post, Lee warned that the extradition law could make Americans and other foreigners “potential hostages to extradition claims driven by the political agenda of Beijing.” “The time for the world to act to protect Hong Kong’s free society and legal system is now — not when Hong Kong people and others are taken to be jailed in China,” he wrote. A recent report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an advisory body set up by the U.S. Congress, warned that the extradition bill posed “serious” security risks to the estimated 85,000 U.S. citizens in Hong Kong.
|
china;u.s .;hong kong;rights;mike pompeo;martin lee
|
jp0004278
|
[
"asia-pacific",
"crime-legal-asia-pacific"
] |
2019/05/17
|
China formally arrests Canadian ex-envoy and businessman in case seen as payback for Huawei bust
|
BEIJING - China said Thursday it has formally arrested two Canadians who have been detained for months on national security grounds, in a case that has inflamed tensions between Ottawa and Beijing. Ottawa denounced the move and demanded the pair’s prompt release. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig is “suspected of collecting state secrets and intelligence,” while businessman Michael Spavor is suspected of “stealing and illegally offering state secrets” abroad, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing. Lu said the two were arrested “recently,” but did not provide a date, and added that he had no information about where they were being held. At a news conference in Paris, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the arrests “unacceptable” and vowed to “stand up” for Kovrig and Spavor, saying they have been “arbitrarily detained.” Canada’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, said it “strongly condemns” the arrests, and reiterated its demand “that China immediately release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor.” Though no link has been officially made, the detention of the two is thought to be in retaliation for Canada’s Dec. 1 detention on a U.S. extradition request of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive with Chinese telecom giant Huawei who is accused of violating Iran sanctions. The men were first accused of activities that “endanger China’s security” — a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage. Days after Meng’s extradition was announced, China said it suspected Kovrig, who works for the International Crisis Group think tank, of spying and stealing state secrets, and alleged that Spavor — who organized trips to North Korea—- had provided him with intelligence. Spying charges could expose them to tough prison sentences. No details of the men’s detention or health conditions were provided due to Canadian privacy laws, but officials said they would press for further access to both detainees. Foreign ministry spokesman Lu said “Chinese judicial authorities are handling the cases according to law” and that Spavor and Kovrig’s “legitimate rights and interests are fully guaranteed. A group of Canadian parliamentarians had earlier complained to Chinese officials that the two have been denied access to lawyers, and remain in “completely unacceptable” detention conditions. Meng is allowed to live in her Vancouver, British Columbia, mansion, although her mobility is limited. She made her latest court appearance last week as she fights extradition to the United States — a process that could take months or even years. She has been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device and hand over her passports after being released on bail in mid-December on a 10 million Canadian dollar ($7.4 million) bond. She recently wrote in open letter to supporters that “despite restrictions on my permitted range of movement, the color and scope of my heart have never been so rich and broad.” Two other Canadians convicted of drug trafficking, meanwhile, have been sentenced to death. Canada has called the death penalties for Fen Wei and Robert Lloyd Schellenberg “cruel and inhumane” and asked for clemency on their behalf. Beijing also recently blocked Canadian shipments of canola and pork worth billions of dollars. Ottawa has rallied the support of a dozen countries, including Britain, France, Germany and the U.S., as well as the EU, NATO and the G7, in its diplomatic feud with China. Washington meanwhile stepped up its battle against Huawei on Wednesday, effectively barring the company from the US market and restricting U.S. sales to the firm. The United States has also urged allies to shun Huawei’s 5G technology, warning that it could serve the interests of Chinese intelligence services. Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has said a 5G decision would be announced in the coming months.
|
china;u.s .;canada;huawei;meng wanzhou;michael kovrig;michael spavor
|
jp0004279
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan to ask municipalities to dispose of industrial plastic waste as trash piles up due to China ban
|
The Environment Ministry plans to ask municipalities to accept and dispose of industrial plastic waste as an emergency step, as the amount of such waste has been increasing since China banned imports, sources have said. The ministry is set to make the request to municipal governments by the end of this month, the sources said Thursday. Under the nation’s waste management system, municipalities collect and dispose of household plastic waste while recycling businesses authorized by prefectures process industrial plastic waste, which is better suited for recycling because the origins of such materials are clear and are abundant in quantity. Municipalities that accept the request will pass on the costs for incineration to companies generating industrial plastic by revising related ordinances, the sources said, adding that winning consent from local residents is also a condition. Japan exported some 1.5 million tons of plastic waste as recycle material in 2016 and 1.4 million tons in 2017, according to trade statistics from the Finance Ministry. After China banned imports of plastic waste at the end of 2017, Japan has seen such materials build up. Before the introduction of the ban, China was a major importer of the country’s plastic waste. On May 10, signatories to the so-called Basel convention, a pact that includes Japan and is aimed at reducing trade in toxic waste, adopted a revision to the pact to add dirty plastic waste to the list of items subject to restriction. “Pollution from plastic waste, acknowledged as a major environmental problem of global concern, has reached epidemic proportions with an estimated 100 million tonnes of plastic now found in the oceans, 80-90 percent of which comes from land-based sources,” Rolph Payet, executive secretary at U.N. Environment for the Basel, Rotterdam & Stockholm Conventions, said in a statement. With the revised pact taking effect in January 2021, plastic waste exports to countries other than China will also become difficult. Of some 9 million tons of annual plastic waste in Japan, about 1 million tons is collected from households as recyclable material. Dirty plastic waste is disposed of as combustible garbage. Industrial plastic waste, including from factories, offices and retail shops, totals about 7 million tons, which is recycled, incinerated, used for landfill or exported to other countries. According to the Environment Ministry, some municipalities are now believed to have extra capacity in their garbage incinerators due to falling populations and residents’ growing awareness of recycling.
|
china;recycling;waste;environment;plastic;plastic waste
|
jp0004280
|
[
"national"
] |
2019/05/17
|
As Okinawa marks 47 years since reversion to Japan, protesters call for reduced U.S. base burden
|
WASHINGTON/NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - Protesters marched in Okinawa on Friday calling for a reduction in the burden faced by the prefecture that hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. Okinawa this week marked the 47th anniversary of its reversion to Japan from U.S. control amid ongoing controversy over the plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture despite calls by local residents to move the base outside Okinawa. The annual three-day Peace March was split into two routes. Some 900 people gathered in front of the gate of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Schwab in the Henoko area of Nago, where Futenma is being relocated to, while another group started their march from the prefectural capital of Naha, organizers said. “The construction is underway despite the result of the referendum. Do we really have democracy or local autonomy in this country?” former Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine told participants in front of the U.S. base, referring to the February poll in which over 70 percent opposed the landfill work off Henoko for the base relocation. The two groups of protesters will join together Sunday and hold a rally in Ginowan, home to the Futenma base. Okinawa was occupied by the United States after the end of World War II in 1945 and returned to Japan on May 15, 1972. On Wednesday, Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsugawa said during his visit to Washington that the United States should present a target year for the planned return of the land occupied by the current Futenma base. Matsugawa made the request in talks with U.S. officials, including Ted Saeger, acting director of the State Department’s Japanese affairs office. The two sides agreed on the necessity to return the land. The U.S. side re-emphasized its view that the relocation of the air station to Henoko is the only option. As for the target year, the U.S. officials apologized for not being able to present a clear deadline. The schedule will be presented as soon as possible, they added. Matsugawa visited the United States for the first time since he was elected Ginowan mayor in September last year with support from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.
|
okinawa;u.s. bases;futenma;ginowan;nago;henoko;naha;u.s.-japan relations
|
jp0004281
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Breast cancer drug Verzenio could have serious side effects on lungs, Japan's health ministry warns
|
The health ministry on Friday warned that the breast cancer drug Verzenio is now suspected of adversely affecting the lungs after 14 recipients in Japan developed a serious lung disease and three died. The drug is suspected of causing the side effects in at least four of the 14 cases, including one fatality, the ministry said. Verzenio, developed by Eli Lilly and Co., received Japanese clearance in September last year and debuted in November. The number of patients in Japan who have used the oral drug since its release is estimated at around 2,000, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. Verzenio is designed to block certain molecules involved in promoting the growth of cancer cells.
|
drug;cancer;side effects;verzenio;eli lilly and co .
|
jp0004282
|
[
"national",
"science-health"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Extreme low-carb diet may speed aging and dull cognition, Japanese team's study on mice finds
|
Continuing an extreme low-carbohydrate diet stringently for a long time may accelerate aging and lead to a shorter life span, according to a recent study by a group of Japanese scientists. While pointing out that a low-carb diet is effective in reducing visceral fat and preventing blood sugar spikes, Tsuyoshi Tsuzuki, associate professor in agricultural science at Tohoku University, stressed that it “should be supervised by experts as part of medical treatment.” In the research project, Tsuzuki and colleagues divided laboratory mice with life expectancies of about a year into three groups — one fed with a balanced diet, one with a fatty diet and one with a low-carb diet with increased protein. The mice on the low-carb diet, in which the rodents got only 20 percent of total calories from carbohydrates, was seen as equivalent to a human skipping staples in three daily meals. They found that the low-carb diet group died an average of eight to nine weeks ahead of the group on a balanced diet. The low-carb group also died earlier than the fatty diet group. In addition, the low-carb group’s cognitive ability declined to about half that of the group on a balanced diet. The researchers also observed that bad bacteria increased while good ones decreased in the bowels of mice on the low-carb diet, suggesting that the diet had an impact on the aging of the mice. The findings were expected to be presented during a three-day general meeting of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science that started Friday in the city of Shizuoka.
|
food;tohoku university;diets
|
jp0004283
|
[
"national",
"politics-diplomacy"
] |
2019/05/17
|
Japan's opposition parties urge lawmaker Hodaka Maruyama to resign for war remark about Russia-held isles
|
A half dozen opposition parties on Friday filed a joint motion urging a Diet lawmaker to resign for alluding to the possibility that war with Russia was the only way to regain control of the disputed islands off Hokkaido. The motion in the House of Representatives was backed by six parties, increasing pressure on Hodaka Maruyama, who was ousted from Nippon Ishin no Kai on Tuesday, to quit after drawing a barrage of criticism for the remark. Maruyama is refusing to leave and even if the Lower House passes the motion, it will not be legally binding. He has “tarnished the authority and the integrity of the Diet as a whole,” the motion stated. The parties also asked the ruling bloc, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, to support the motion. Maruyama uttered the remark during a recent visit to one of the four islands with a group of former residents from Japan. The group was making the visit under a visa-free exchange program between Japan and Russia. According to people who traveled with him, Maruyama, who was drunk, asked Koyata Otsuka, the 89-year-old head of the group, “Do you think there is any alternative to war (to recover the islands)?” Otsuka dismissed the idea. The remarks came amid continued negotiations with Russia to resolve the long-standing territorial issue, which has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty. The islands were seized by the former Soviet Union following Japan’s surrender in August 1945. Russia has argued the seizure was a legitimate outcome of the war. Abe, who has made the return of the islands one of his top priorities, is seeking a breakthrough in talks with President Vladimir Putin.
|
nippon ishin no kai;russia;japan-russia relations;disputed isles;hodaka maruyama
|
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