Stern words from Iran: U.S. cannot 'expect to stay safe'

Abstract: TEHRAN - Iran’s foreign minister warned the U.S. on Monday that it “cannot expect to stay safe” after launching what he described as an economic war against Tehran, taking a hard-line stance amid a visit by Germany’s top diplomat seeking to defuse tensions. A stern-faced Mohammad Javad Zarif offered a series of threats over the ongoing tensions gripping the Persian Gulf. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trump’s decision over a year ago to withdraw America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Trump also reinstated tough sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil sector. “Mr. Trump himself has announced that the U.S. has launched an economic war against Iran,” Zarif said. “The only solution for reducing tensions in this region is stopping that economic war.” Zarif also warned: “Whoever starts a war with us will not be the one who finishes it.” Zarif’s ramped-up rhetoric marked a sharp departure for the U.S.-educated diplomat and signals that Iran is taking a harder line toward the West. His public threats, which came during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, were striking because Zarif was the one who helped secure the nuclear deal, alongside the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani. However, he does not make the decision on whether to go to war. That is left to the supreme leader. For his part, Maas insisted his country and other European nations want to find a way to salvage the deal, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. But he acknowledged there were limits. “We won’t be able to do miracles, but we are trying as best as we can to do prevent its failure,” Maas said. However, Europe has yet to be able to offer Iran a way to get around the newly imposed U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, a July 7 deadline — imposed by Iran — looms for Europe to find a way to save the unraveling deal. Otherwise, Iran has warned it will resume enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels. Zarif’s comments came after Maas spoke about Israel, an archenemy of Iran’s government. “Israel’s right to exist is part of Germany’s founding principle and is completely nonnegotiable,” Maas said. “It is a result of our history and it’s irrevocable and doesn’t just change because I am currently in Tehran.” Zarif then grew visibly angry, offering a list of Mideast problems ranging from al-Qaida to the bombing of Yemeni civilians he blamed on the U.S. and its allies, namely Saudi Arabia. “If one seeks to talk about instability in this region, those are the other parties who should be held responsible,” Zarif said. Zarif’s sharp tone likely comes from Iran’s growing frustration with Europe, as well as the ever-tightening American sanctions targeting the country. Iran’s national currency, the rial, is currently trading at nearly 130,000 to $1. It had been 32,000 to the dollar at the time of the 2015 deal. That has wiped away people’s earnings, as well as driven up prices on nearly every good in the country. European nations had pledged to create a mechanism called INSTEX, which would allow Iran to continue to trade for humanitarian goods despite American sanctions. However, that program has yet to really take off, something Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman noted before Zarif and Maas spoke to reporters. “We haven’t put much hope in INSTEX,” spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, according to Iranian state television. “If INSTEX was going to help us, it would have done so already.” Maas later met Rouhani as well. “We expect Europe to stand up to the United States’ economic terrorism against the Iranian nation, living up to its commitments under the deal,” Rouhani told him, according to a statement. Trump, in withdrawing from the deal, pointed that the accord had not limited Iran’s ballistic missile program, or addressed what American officials describe as Tehran’s malign influence across the wider Mideast. Back when the deal was struck in 2015, it was described it as a building block toward further negotiations with Iran, whose Islamic government has had a tense relationship with America since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and subsequent hostage crisis. Some members of Trump’s administration, particularly National Security Adviser John Bolton, previously supported the overthrow of Iran’s government. Trump, however, has stressed that he wants to talk with Iran’s clerical rulers. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will arrive in Tehran on Wednesday as an interlocutor for Trump. Japan had once purchased Iranian oil, but it has now stopped over American sanctions. However, Mideast oil remains crucial to Japan and recent threats from Iran to close off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth through which a third of all oil traded by sea passes, has raised concerns. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Ali Asghar Zarean, deputy head of Iran’s nuclear department, said Tehran had increased the number of its centrifuges to 1,044 at the Fordo underground facility. That’s the maximum allowed under the deal. Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said Monday that Iran had already increased its uranium enrichment activities. Iran previously announced it would quadruple its production of low-enrichment uranium. “I am worried about increasing tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue,” Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency said. “As I have constantly emphasized, the nuclear-related commitments entered into by Iran under the (deal) represent a significant gain for nuclear verification — I therefore hope that ways can be found to reduce current tensions through dialogue.”

iran
mohammad javad zarif
donald trump
sanctions
hassan rouhani
shinzo abe
u.s .
nuclear weapons
iran nuclear deal


Race for British PM kicks off as contenders vie to beat front-runner Boris Johnson

Abstract: LONDON - The contest to replace Theresa May as Britain’s next leader heated up on Monday, with candidates lining up to define themselves against the “bluff and bluster” of front-runner Boris Johnson. Eleven Conservative MPs are vying to succeed May, who quit as the party’s leader on Friday over her failure to take Britain out of the European Union on time. She remains prime minister until her replacement is chosen, likely in late July, and whoever it is will automatically enter Downing Street. The race is dominated by Britain’s looming EU exit on Oct. 31, with leading Brexiteer Johnson, the former foreign secretary, among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the divorce terms or leave without a deal. The bombastic former London mayor has been keeping a low public profile but is campaigning hard behind the scenes, and his rivals tacitly acknowledged he is the one to beat. Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who is battling a scandal over his admission that he took cocaine, jeered at Johnson for shunning the limelight. “We need someone who has been tested in the heat of battle.. not someone who will hide in their bunker,” said Gove, who also criticized Johnson directly for his newly announced proposal of cutting taxes for the rich. Gove, whose decision to run for the prime ministership three years ago scuppered Johnson’s chances then, attacked his party colleague’s hard-line Brexit policy saying it could lead to the opposition Labour Party winning power. At his own campaign launch, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also lambasted the gaffe-prone Johnson, presenting himself as a “serious leader” for “serious times. Hunt opposed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum but said that the Conservatives — under pressure from populist euroskeptic Nigel Farage’s new party — must deliver on the result or face “annihilation” in the next election. He received a boost with the endorsement of euroskeptic Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt, although he is likely to anger some in the ruling party by refusing to rule out another Brexit delay. Former Brexit minister Dominic Raab meanwhile warned that Britain’s EU exit would not happen with “bluff and bluster. “I’m the conviction Brexiteer with the plan, the discipline and the focus to lead us out by the end of October,” he said, while also attacking Johnson’s plans for a tax cut for the rich. May, who took office after the referendum, was forced to quit after failing repeatedly to get her EU divorce deal through parliament and delaying Brexit twice in the process. Brussels says it will not renegotiate the terms, which cover Britain’s financial settlement, the rights of EU citizens and the Northern Irish border. But many of the leadership candidates insist they will try. Johnson has won praise from U.S. President Donald Trump for threatening to walk away with no deal at all. But he drew a rebuke from Paris on Sunday for saying Britain may withhold the multi-billion-euro divorce payment which May has agreed, its liabilities from four decades of EU membership. “Not honoring payment obligations is a breach of international commitment equivalent to a default on its sovereign debt,” a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told AFP. Asked about “no deal,” Hunt said: “I would be prepared to without a deal if there was a straight choice between no deal and no Brexit, but I’d do so with a heavy heart.” He claimed at the weekend that he had received encouraging signals for renegotiating the Brexit deal from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In response, a German government spokeswoman referenced a previous remark by Merkel that the deal cannot be reopened, although a declaration on future ties could be. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Interior Minister Sajid Javid and the Conservative Party’s former leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom are also in the running among several others. The 313 Conservative MPs will begin voting on Thursday. They will hold a series of secret ballots to whittle down the field to a final pair, who will be put to around 160,000 party members from next week to choose Britain’s next prime minister.

boris johnson
theresa may
eu
brexit
michael gove
jeremy hunt
nigel farage
elections
u.k .


France remembers 642 victims of World War II massacre at hands of Nazis

Abstract: ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, FRANCE - France remembered 642 people killed in the small village of Oradour-sur-Glane 75 years ago Monday, the biggest massacre of civilians by Nazi troops during Germany’s World War II occupation of France. Genevieve Darrieussecq, a junior armed forces minister, presided over ceremonies at the site near Limoges in central France. A Mass, wreath-laying ceremonies and a march through the village were organized to remember the tragedy on June 10, 1944. Though the massacre occurred four days after the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy, the killings were believed to have been ordered in retaliation for the kidnapping of a German soldier by the French Resistance. Troops from the fanatical SS “Das Reich” division were responsible for the killings, herding hundreds of civilians into barns and a church and setting the town on fire. A new village has been built but the old town’s ruins have been left untouched as a testimony to Nazi horrors. Michael Roth, Germany’s deputy foreign minister for European affairs, said the massacre represents “unimaginable inhumanity and cruelty.” “We bow our heads to the victims and their descendants in shame and the deepest sadness,” he said in a statement from German Foreign Ministry. “The crimes that the Germans inflicted upon their neighbors during the Second World War were, and remain an inextricable part of our history.” Roth added that in that context today, “we are all the more grateful for the outstretched hand and the readiness for reconciliation extended to us Germans. The German-French friendship is for us a gift and a mission.” “Our united, democratic and peaceful Europe is the answer to the experiences of war, fascism, the Holocaust and the barbarity that emanated from German soil,” Roth said. “Today’s commemoration binds us to defend the European peace project resolutely against nationalism and populism.”

france nazis germany d-day history wwii murder


Central American migrants pursue U.S. dream despite Mexican crackdown

Abstract: SAN MARCOS, GUATEMALA - A near-death experience in the Arizona desert a year ago won’t deter Francisco Perez from another attempt to migrate to the U.S., nor will an increased police presence in southern Mexico. The 23-year-old Guatemalan teacher and auto mechanic hopes to set out again soon to repay the $7,000 he owes from his first trip, when he and two other young men got lost for a week in the desert before being rescued by U.S. Border Patrol officers. On the seventh day, facing severe dehydration, the group resorted to drinking their own urine. “Each of us urinated in a bottle and then strained it with the corner of our pants,” said Perez, rubbing his hands together as he recalled the day he thought would be his last. Perez spent two days in a U.S. hospital before being returned to Guatemala. During his short stay in Arizona, though, he caught a glimpse of houses with manicured lawns, orderly roads and fancy stores. Those images are like a siren’s song, calling him to what he believes will be a better life. Before setting out for the U.S., he earned $100 a month as a teacher and had a girlfriend. Now she is with somebody else and he is helping out in his father’s auto repair shop in his hometown of San Marcos, just a few miles from the border with Mexico. “In the end I lost everything,” Perez said. Mexico has promised to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to its southern border on Monday to deter Central Americans from trekking toward the American dream. About 1 percent of Guatemala’s population of some 16 million people have left the country this year, part of a wave of Central Americans fleeing poverty, violence and drought. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 132,887 migrants in May, the highest monthly figure in more than a decade. Many Central American migrants in recent months have been requesting asylum. The United States has returned more than 10,000 asylum seekers to Mexico since January under a program that requires migrants to wait in that country while their cases wind through U.S. courts. Thousands of Central Americans have also applied for asylum to start new lives in Mexico. On Friday, Mexican officials vowed to step up migration enforcement to avoid U.S. tariffs on all Mexican imports. Increased enforcement could mean more inspections of buses, raids on hotels and arrests to disrupt people-smuggling networks. Last week, Mexico arrested two migration activists and froze the accounts of more than two dozen people alleged to have organized caravans. “We are really in front of a humanitarian tragedy,” Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Barcena told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. Most Central American migrants come from rural areas, Barcena noted, suggesting that Mexico and the U.S. should work together to address the root causes of migration rather than just enforcement. Not far from San Marcos, in the mountain hamlet of La Union Los Mendoza, about one in three people has migrated, according to community leader Genaro Mendez. The rural town of 600 families has dirt roads that turn to mud during the rainy season. Most of its residents subsist on beans, corn and other food that they can grow, and most homes lack running water. Mendez himself spent 18 years working in the U.S. as an electrician. He decided to remain in La Union Los Mendoza after he was deported for a second time, in 2016. Now, young men from this indigenous Mam community come to the 43-year-old Mendez for advice on how to make it up north. “The laws are a little hard” in the U.S., he tells them. “They don’t receive you well.” And the journey itself is fraught with perils. “It’s not ‘Grab your backpack and go,’ ” Mendez warns. Two Honduran migrants said Sunday that they were robbed by Mexican officials of the little cash they had while on a bridge between Guatemala and Mexico. The migrants jumped into the Suchiate River to flee from the officials, who they said confiscated their identification documents, beat them and asked them for bribes to pass into Mexico. “There’s tremendous corruption here,” said one of the men, Jose Romero, fighting back tears. “It’s sad to see all the Central American countries, instead of being united and helping us, they take the little that we have.” Romero said his hometown of San Pedro Sula has become too violent and that work there is scarce. He said he would take asylum from Mexico or any other country willing to offer him refuge. “We’re honest, clean people, determined to work,” Romero said. Back in Perez’s hometown of San Marcos, there are restaurants, schools, stores and a picturesque central plaza rimmed by misty mountains. But the money he can earn there, he said, would be barely enough to get by. Grinding poverty sends many in Guatemala in search of higher incomes in the U.S. Perez’s own father lived in the U.S. for nine years before being deported. “I’m not going to lie, when I left the desert I left with fear,” Perez said. “I said, ‘I’m not coming back here.’ ” But a year later, he’s trying to make financial arrangements to set out again. Buses roll out of San Marcos every day from stations lined with backpacks for sale to those making the journey north. Since Perez hopes to secure a job in the U.S. that allows him to send money back to his aging parents, he tunes out warnings of an increased police presence in Mexico. “I wouldn’t rule out going back,” he said.

guatemala
mexico
u.s .
immigration
refugees
u.s.-mexico border


Syria Kurds alarmed as fire ravages wheat fields near oil installations

Abstract: AL QAHTANIYAH, SYRIA - A Kurdish official in northeast Syria called for help from the U.S.-backed coalition Monday as fires ravaged through vital wheat fields in the latest of such blazes nationwide. Syria’s Kurds have led the fight against the Islamic State group in the north and east of the country, backed by a U.S.-led military coalition. As the eight-year civil war winds down, they are seeking to retain a degree of autonomy from the Damascus regime in a large cereal and oil-rich region their control in the northeast of the country. “Fires today engulfed hundreds of hectares of wheat in Tirbespi and the fires are still raging,” the head of the Kurdish agriculture authority, Salman Bardo, said, referring to the town named Al-Qahtaniya in Arabic. “It’s a huge danger for the region because the fire is close to oil wells and stations,” he warned. An AFP correspondent saw black smoke billow over golden fields scorched black, as men tried to put out flames with shovels just meters (yards) away from oil installations. One man in a bulldozer was desperately trying to plow the earth to stop the fire from spreading. “We ask the international coalition to intervene to extinguish the fires using special fire planes” we don’t have, Bardo said. Abderrizq al-Mahmud, a 29-year-old wheat grower, said his family’s land had been destroyed. “Forty-five hectares have gone up in flames, and I only have eight hectares left” after the fire roared in on Sunday, he said. After years of drought and then civil war, Syria is expecting a bumper crop of wheat this year — a large part of it in the northeast. Fires have erupted in various parts of Syria in recent weeks, with all sides blaming each other for starting them. In the Kurdish-run breadbasket province of Hasakeh, of which Al-Qahtaniya is part, IS has claimed several arson attacks on wheat fields. But farmers have also blamed revenge attacks, low-quality fuel causing sparks, and even carelessness. Both the Damascus government and the Kurdish authorities are competing to buy up the wheat produced this year in northeast Syria. Analysts say wheat will be key to ensuring affordable bread and keeping the peace in various parts of Syria in the coming period. The civil war has killed more than 370,000 people, made millions homeless, and devastated the country’s economy since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

syria
wheat
oil
islamic state
conflict
u.s .
terrorism
ethnicity
syrian civil war


Iran has accelerated enrichment of uranium, IAEA says

Abstract: TEHRAN/VIENNA - Iran has followed through on a threat to accelerate its production of enriched uranium, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Monday, departing from his usual guarded language to say he was worried about increasing tension. The assessment comes at a time of sharply increased U.S.-Iranian confrontation in recent weeks, a year after Washington abandoned an agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international financial sanctions. Washington tightened sanctions from the start of May, ordering all countries and companies to halt all imports of Iranian oil or be banished from the global financial system. It has also dispatched extra troops to the region to counter what it describes as Iranian threats. Iran has responded with a threat to increase its enrichment of uranium, saying it is up to Europeans who still support the nuclear deal to save it by finding ways to ensure Tehran gets the economic benefits it was promised. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, whose agency is responsible for monitoring Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal, said Iran was now producing more enriched uranium than before, but it was not clear when it might reach stockpile limits set in the pact. “Yes, (the) production rate is increasing,” he told a news conference when asked if enriched uranium production had accelerated since the agency’s last quarterly report, which found Iran compliant with the nuclear deal as of May 20. He declined to quantify the increase. Iran said last month it was still abiding by the deal but would quadruple its production of enriched uranium — a move that could take it out of compliance if stockpiles rise too far. It demanded European countries do more to shield it from sanctions. On Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas became the most senior Western official to visit Iran since the new war of words erupted last month between Washington and Tehran. “The situation in the region here is highly explosive and extremely serious,” Maas told a news conference alongside Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “A dangerous escalation of existing tensions can also lead to a military escalation.” In his meeting with Maas, President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States for the soaring tension and called on the European signatories of the deal to “resist the economic war on Iran imposed by America. “This war … will never be beneficial for any country and the Iranian people will resist these pressures and bullying behaviors,” Iran’s state TV quoted Rouhani as saying. Zarif said Iran will cooperate with the EU to save the deal. “Reducing tension is only possible through stopping the economic war by America,” he said. “Those who wage such wars cannot expect to remain safe.” IAEA chief Amano said he was worried about increasing tensions over the nuclear issue. He added he hoped “that ways can be found to reduce the current tensions through dialogue. It is essential that Iran fully implements its nuclear-related commitments” under the deal. Washington’s European allies opposed its decision last year to abandon the nuclear deal, reached in 2015 between Iran and the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China. They have promised to help Iran find other ways to trade, though with no success so far. All major European companies that had announced plans to invest in Iran have since called them off for fear of U.S. punishment. Iran says the Europeans have not done enough to provide it with alternative ways to trade. “We have not seen any serious measures taken by the Europeans in the past year despite their fairly good political stance,” Rouhani said. Maas said there were limits to how much help the European countries can provide. “We want to fulfil our obligations,” Maas said during his joint news conference with Zarif. “We cannot work miracles, but we will try to avert a failure” of the nuclear deal. France, Britain and Germany have set up a special-purpose vehicle called Instex, designed to allow payments to Iran that would legally bypass sanctions. It has yet to be launched. It is a new instrument and not straightforward to put into effect, Maas told reporters, adding, “But all the formal requirements are in place now, and so I’m assuming we’ll be ready to use it in the foreseeable future.” Washington has denounced the European plans. Diplomats say the system is unlikely to have much impact on commercial business with Iran but could be used for humanitarian transactions that are permitted under U.S. sanctions. Washington says the nuclear deal should be expanded to cover other issues including Iran’s missile program and its role in wars in the region. European countries argue that while they share those concerns, it would be harder to address them without the nuclear deal in place. Iran has ruled out any negotiation over its ballistic missile program and its activities in the Middle East, where Tehran has been involved in proxy wars with Saudi Arabia for decades.

iran
iaea
sanctions
yukiya amano
u.s .
nuclear weapons
iran nuclear deal


Chopper crashes onto fog-shrouded roof of New York City skyscraper, killing pilot

Abstract: NEW YORK - A helicopter crashed onto the fog-shrouded roof of a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, killing at least one person and unnerving a city still scarred by memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, airplane attacks on the World Trade Center. The crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on a rainy, gray day atop the 750-foot (229m) AXA Equitable Center at 787 Seventh Avenue, a few blocks north of Times Square. Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the area, shutting down traffic and evacuating offices in one of the city’s busiest areas. The person killed is “presumed” to be the pilot, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. No injuries, either to people in the building or on the ground, have been reported. “The helicopter is pretty obliterated at this point. It was obviously a very hard hit,” de Blasio said during the briefing. He said the cause was unknown but that there was no indication the crash was an “act of terrorism.” It was not clear if limited visibility due to the weather was a contributing factor. Nicolas Estevez was standing across the street from the building when a 12-inch (30 cm) piece of metal that appeared to be from the helicopter landed on the pavement just feet away. The crash, which sent people streaming out of the building within seconds, reminded him of Sept. 11, Estevez said. “I saw the explosion and the smoke coming out,” he said. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft was an Agusta A109E, a twin-engine, lightweight helicopter. The pilot was the only person aboard, and FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight, according to the agency. The chopper took off from a heliport on Manhattan’s east side at 1:32 p.m. and crashed on the building 11 minutes later, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished by responding firefighters, officials said. The site is about half a mile from Trump Tower, where U.S. President Donald Trump maintains an apartment. The area has been under a temporary flight restriction since his election in November 2016. The pilot would have required permission from air control at La Guardia Airport in New York, and investigators are trying to determine if the pilot was in contact with the tower there or at any other airport, de Blasio said. Nathan Hutton, who works in information technology for the French bank BNP Paribas on the 29th floor, said the building shook when the helicopter slammed into the roof. “It felt like you were just standing there, and someone takes their hand and just shoves you,” he said. “You felt it through the whole building.” Trump called New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, to offer assistance if needed, the governor’s office said. “Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene,” Trump said on Twitter after being briefed on the crash. “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.” Cuomo told reporters shortly after the incident that there was no indication of terrorism, while acknowledging that it likely stirred memories of Sept. 11 for many city residents. “If you’re a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD from 9/11,” he said. The AXA Equitable Center was built in 1985 and includes more than 50 floors. In addition to BNP Paribas, the building houses offices for a number of other corporate tenants, including law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Sidley Austin and investment manager New Mountain Capital. Le Bernardin, one of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants, is also located in the AXA building. The skyscraper is managed by the Los Angeles-based CommonWealth Partners. Reached by telephone, LeAnn Holsapple, the office manager for CommonWealth, said the company had “no comment at this time.” Manhattan has three heliports in operation. Rooftop helipads were banned in New York City in 1977 after a rotor blade snapped on a helicopter on the top of the former Pan Am building, killing five people. Helicopters are a regular sight in the air around Manhattan, and they have occasionally been involved in crashes. Nearly a month ago, a chopper crashed into the Hudson River in New York City shortly after taking off from Manhattan, injuring two people. A sightseeing helicopter went down in New York City’s East River in March 2018, killing five passengers.


Russian jets kill at least 25, mainly civilians, in northwestern Syria, say rescuers

Abstract: AMMAN - Airstrikes on Monday killed at least 25 people, mostly civilians, in northwestern Syria in the sixth week of a Russian-led military offensive that has so far killed hundreds of civilians, according to residents and civil rescuers. They said warplanes flying at high altitude, which monitors said were Russian Sukhoi jets, dropped bombs on the village of Jabala in southern Idlib province, with rescue teams so far pulling out 13 bodies, including women and children. Russian jets were also behind several raids that hit the town of Khan Sheikhoun, Kfar Batikh and several other villages that left at least another 12 civilians dead, according to another local rescuer. Rescuers say the major aerial campaign that Moscow has thrown its weight behind since it was launched in earnest at the end of April has killed over 1,500 people with more than half of the death toll civilians. Residents and local and international aid agencies that support the rebel-held areas say the sustained campaign that has bombed schools and knocked down medical centers was to smash the spirit of civilians in opposition areas. More than 300,000 people have fled the front lines to the safety of areas near the border with Turkey, U.N. and aid agencies say. The Russian-backed offensive has so far failed to make major inroads into rebel territory in northern Hama and southern Idlib provinces, where mainstream rebels backed by Turkey alongside jihadi fighters are putting up fierce resistance in their last remaining bastion in Syria. Russia and the Syrian army deny allegations of indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas or a campaign to paralyze everyday life in opposition-held areas and say they are fighting al-Qaida-inspired Islamist militants. Moscow blames the rebels for breaking a truce by hitting government-held areas and says Turkey has failed to live up to its obligations under a deal brokered last year that created a buffer zone in the area that obliges it to push out militants. Civilians in rebel-held areas, where many oppose returning to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s one-party rule, look to Turkey which has steadily built up a military presence in the area as a protector against the Russian-led strikes. Northwest Syria — including Idlib province and parts of neighboring provinces — has an estimated 3 million inhabitants, about half of whom had already fled fighting elsewhere, according to the United Nations.

russia
syria
bashar assad
conflict
al-qaida


North Korean leader's slain half brother was a CIA informant, Wall Street Journal reports

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who was killed in Malaysia in 2017, had been an informant for the CIA, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The Journal cited an unnamed “person knowledgeable about the matter” for the report, and said many details of Kim Jong Nam’s relationship with the CIA remained unclear. Reuters could not independently confirm the story. The CIA declined to comment. The Journal quoted the person as saying “There was a nexus” between the CIA and Kim Jong Nam. “Several former U.S. officials said the half brother, who had lived outside of North Korea for many years and had no known power base in Pyongyang, was unlikely to be able to provide details of the secretive country’s inner workings,” the Journal said. The former officials also said Kim Jong Nam had been almost certainly in contact with security services of other countries, particularly China’s, the Journal said. Kim Jong Nam’s role as a CIA informant is mentioned in a new book about Kim Jong Un, “The Great Successor,” by Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield that is due to be published Tuesday. Fifield says Kim Jong Nam usually met his handlers in Singapore and Malaysia, citing a source with knowledge of the intelligence. The book says that security camera footage from Kim Jong Nam’s last trip to Malaysia showed him in a hotel elevator with an Asian-looking man who was reported to be a U.S. intelligence agent. It said Kim’s backpack contained $120,000 in cash, which could have been payment for intelligence-related activities, or earnings from his casino businesses. South Korean and U.S. officials have said the North Korean authorities had ordered the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, who had been critical of his family’s dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the allegation. Two women were charged with poisoning Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017. Malaysia released Doan Thi Huong, who is Vietnamese, in May, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah in March. According to the Journal, the person said Kim Jong Nam had traveled to Malaysia in February 2017 to meet his CIA contact, although that may not have been the sole purpose of the trip. U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore last June, seeming to build personal goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift U.S. sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

north korea
cia
kim jong nam
kim jong un
u.s .
murder
espionage


Former South Korean first lady and women's rights activist Lee Hee-ho dies at 96

Abstract: SEOUL - The widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, known for her women’s rights activism and involvement in her husband’s Sunshine Policy of engagement with the isolated North, has died at the age of 96. Lee Hee-ho, who had been battling liver cancer, died in Seoul on Monday, her aides said. Considered one of the pioneers of women’s rights in South Korea and a lifelong companion of late president Kim, Lee actively supported her husband’s tumultuous and illustrious political career, which included being sentenced to death, abducted and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In a period when many women in the South had limited access to education, Lee studied at the nation’s top institution — Seoul National University — and later in the U.S., before founding a number of women’s rights organizations in Seoul. One of her earliest campaigns was to protest against male politicians who had concubines — a practice that was common in the South in the 1950s, when wives would often be forced to leave their children when their husbands chose to live with their mistresses instead. “Today we are seeing off a great person who dedicated her entire life to women,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in, currently visiting Finland, said in a statement. “She also participated in the pro-democracy movement and played many roles in founding of the Gender Equality Ministry under her husband’s administration.” Lee’s husband is best remembered for his policy of engagement with the nuclear-armed North that led to a historic summit with Kim Jong Un’s late father Kim Jong Il in 2000. The policy was largely abandoned when a conservative administration took power in South Korea in 2008 and cross-border ties soured. Lee made a rare humanitarian trip to the North in 2015, some five years after her husband’s death, but did not get to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit, despite doing so on a previous trip.

south korea
women
rights
lee hee-ho
kim dae-jung
obituary


Hong Kong leader defiant as businesses threaten strike over China extradition bill

Abstract: HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s leader says a highly controversial extradition bill will proceed to the territory’s legislature. Carrie Lam’s comments on Tuesday came after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory over the weekend to protest the legislative proposal that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The protest appeared to be Hong Kong’s largest in more than a decade and reflected growing apprehension about relations with the Communist Party-ruled mainland. Lam said the government had considered concerns from the private sector and altered the bill to improve human rights safeguards. On Wednesday, the proposed law will have its second and third readings in the city’s parliament, which is dominated by Beijing loyalists, making its passing all but assured. A vote is expected this month. Scores of Hong Kong businesses have vowed to shut down as anger builds over the government plans to push through the law. Many are fearful that the proposal will tangle people up in the mainland’s opaque courts and hammer Hong Kong’s reputation as an international business hub. Protest groups have vowed to stage a fresh rally outside parliament that day and have urged people to join or to go on strike. Business owners have taken to social media using a hashtag that translates as “#612strike” to announce solidarity closures, allowing staff to join the protest. A large chunk are mom-and-pop style stores and small businesses that are a key part of the city’s economy, but which often eschew the city’s raucous street politics. By Tuesday morning, more than 100 businesses had declared plans to strike, ranging from coffee shops and restaurants to camera stores, toy shops, nail salons, yoga studios and even an adult entertainment store. “Hong Kong was built by our various generations with hard work,” wrote Meet Yoga studio on its Instagram account. “A Hong Kong without freedom — how about we just wipe it off the map entirely and call it China?” One owner of a floral accessories store added: “I’m a Hong Kong girl who doesn’t know politics and finds pleasure in the small things of life. But even I know politics actually affects all aspects of our lives.” Lawyer Michael Vidler said he would allow his 12 employees to “act in accordance with their conscience” and go on strike. The proposed law would allow extraditions to any jurisdiction with which it does not already have a treaty — including mainland China. Hong Kong’s leaders say it is needed to plug loopholes and to stop the city being a sanctuary for fugitives. They say safeguards are in place to ensure human rights standards are upheld and that political critics of Beijing will not be targeted. But many Hong Kongers have little faith in those assurances after years of political unrest caused by heightened fears a resurgent Beijing is trying to quash the city’s unique freedoms and culture.

hong kong
china
carrie lam
protests
hong kong extradition protests


Thai junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha officially proclaimed prime minister

Abstract: BANGKOK - Thailand’s junta leader was officially proclaimed prime minister on Tuesday after the king endorsed Parliament’s vote for him to serve another term. Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha knelt before a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and performed three elaborate bows during a ceremony at his government office to confirm his appointment. Prayuth has served as prime minister since he led a military coup that toppled an elected government in 2014. The junta will cease power once a new Cabinet is inaugurated. In a brief live televised speech after the ceremony, he pledged to “dedicate myself to public service with honesty and integrity in pursuit of the greater good of the country and the people of Thailand.” The military government had enacted new election laws that gave Prayuth an advantage in a general election held in March. The new laws authorized a 250-member Senate, appointed by the junta, to take part in the parliamentary vote for prime minister along with an elected 500-member House of Representatives. Prayuth did not contest the election but won last week’s joint parliamentary vote, 500-244, against Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. All junta-appointed senators voted for Prayuth to lead the next government, apart from the Senate speaker, who abstained from voting in line with custom. Critics have expressed doubt whether a government led by Prayuth can fare well in a parliamentary framework, with the parliamentary vote indicating that his coalition has only marginal control over the House, which passes laws and approves budgets. Prayuth’s coalition government includes 18 political parties whose leaders were also present for Tuesday’s ceremony. His appointment was made official after a royal order to announce it was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. The Palang Pracharath Party, which campaigned for Prayuth to lead the next government, won the second-most seats during the March election. The party includes many former members of the military government. Election laws that the junta introduced also weaken traditionally large political parties and the number of seats they could attain while giving seats to smaller parties with fewer votes. The measures are seen as being directed at the Pheu Thai Party, which headed the government deposed in 2014. Pheu Thai, under various names changed for legal reasons, has won every national election since it was founded in 1998 by telecoms tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, who is despised by the country’s conservative base, which includes the military. Thaksin himself was overthrown as prime minister in a 2006 military coup. The March election was for 500 seats in the lower house. Of those, 350 seats are set aside for the winner of each constituency, while another 150 so-called party list seats are divided among parties based on a proportion of the overall vote derived from a complicated formula that is part of the new measures. Pheu Thai had won the most number of seats in the election by constituency, but it was the only party to be ineligible for any party list seats.


Hong Kong braces for further political turmoil as government prepares to send extradition bill to legislature

Abstract: HONG KONG - Hong Kong residents braced for further political turmoil as the territory’s government prepared to send the legislature a widely opposed bill that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The legislation has become a lightning rod for concerns about Beijing’s increasing control over the former British colony, which had been promised it would retain its own legal and social institutions for 50 years after its return to Chinese rule in 1997. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the bill will be sent to the legislature on Wednesday for debate. The legislature’s president, Andrew Leung, scheduled a vote for June 20. Police closed off streets surrounding the legislature and government headquarters. Local media reports said thousands of additional officers were being mobilized to keep order amid calls for protesters to begin gathering Tuesday night. Some businesses announced plans to close Wednesday and there were scattered reports of students planning to boycott classes. A protest on Sunday by hundreds of thousands of people, the semiautonomous territory’s largest in more than a decade, reflected growing apprehension about relations with the Communist Party-ruled mainland. Critics believe the legislation would put Hong Kong residents at risk of being entrapped in China’s judicial system, in which opponents of Communist Party rule have been charged with economic crimes or ill-defined national security offenses, and would not be guaranteed free trials. Lam, who canceled her regular question and answer session on Wednesday, said the government has considered concerns from the private sector and altered the bill to improve human rights safeguards. She emphasized that extradition cases would be decided by Hong Kong courts. “Even the chief executive could not overrule the court, to say that because (a country) wants this offender, I will surrender,” Lam said. Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a lawyer and member of Lam’s administration advisory committee, said Sunday’s protest showed a lack of trust in Hong Kong’s administration, partly because Lam was largely picked by Beijing and not elected by popular vote. However, China’s patience with Hong Kong’s demands has its limits, Tong said. “We need to gain the trust and confidence of Beijing so they can allow us the freedom of political reform,” Tong said. “They don’t want to see Hong Kong as a base of subversion. And I’m sorry, we’re doing exactly that.” Opponents of the proposed extradition amendments say the changes would significantly compromise Hong Kong’s legal independence, long viewed as one of the main differences between the territory and mainland China. Hong Kong Bar Association Chair Philip Dykes said a lack of faith in Beijing remains a crucial issue. “The government is asking these people with decades of mistrust suddenly to trust the system and to accept assurances that the (Chinese) mainland will offer that they be honored. And that’s clearly not persuading the people,” Dykes said in an interview. Hong Kong currently limits extraditions to jurisdictions with which it has existing agreements and to others on an individual basis. China has been excluded from those agreements because of concerns over its judicial independence and human rights record. The proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance would expand the scope of criminal suspect transfers to include Taiwan, Macau and mainland China. Lam has said the changes are necessary for Hong Kong to uphold justice and meet its international obligations. Without them, she said Hong Kong risks becoming a “fugitive offenders’ haven.” Supporters have pointed to the case of Chan Tong-kai, a Hong Kong man who admitted to Hong Kong police that he killed his girlfriend during a trip to Taiwan. Because Hong Kong and Taiwan don’t have an extradition agreement, he has not been sent to Taiwan to face charges there, though he has been jailed in Hong Kong on money laundering charges. Under its “one country, two systems” setup, Hong Kong was guaranteed the right to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years. As a result, residents enjoy far greater freedoms than people on the mainland, such as the freedom to protest or publicly criticize the government. Nevertheless, the Communist Party exerts influence on the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong voters cannot directly elect their chief executive. Lam was elected in 2017 by a committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites and is widely seen as the Communist Party’s favored candidate. The Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament, includes a sizable camp of pro-Beijing lawmakers. Beijing has made substantial efforts in recent years to integrate Hong Kong with the mainland. Last October, China opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, connecting Hong Kong and Macau to the city of Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province. The government has named the three combined locales the “Greater Bay Area,” which it aims to turn into a center for technological innovation and advanced manufacturing. Those in Hong Kong who anger China’s central government have come under greater pressure since Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The detention of several Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015 intensified worries about the erosion of Hong Kong’s rule of law. The booksellers vanished before resurfacing in police custody in mainland China. Among them, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai is currently being investigated on charges of leaking state secrets after he sold gossipy books about Chinese leaders. In April, nine leaders of a 2014 pro-democracy protest movement known as the “Umbrella Revolution” were convicted on public nuisance and other charges. In May, Germany confirmed it had granted asylum to two people from Hong Kong who, according to media reports, were activists fleeing tightening restrictions at home. It was the first known case in recent years of a Western government accepting political refugees from Hong Kong.

hong kong
extradition
china
protests
hong kong extradition protests


Human rights group locates hundreds of North Korean public execution sites

Abstract: SEOUL - A human rights group said Tuesday it has identified hundreds of spots where witnesses claim North Korea carried out public executions and extrajudicial state killings as part of an arbitrary and aggressive use of the death penalty that is meant to intimidate its citizens. The Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group said its research was based on interviews with 610 North Korean defectors who helped locate the sites with satellite imagery. The group didn’t reveal the exact locations of the 323 sites because it’s worried that North Korea will tamper with them, but said 267 of them were located in two northeastern provinces near the border with China, the area where most of the defectors who participated in the study came from. North Korea’s public executions tend to happen near rivers, in fields and on hills, and also at marketplaces and school grounds — places where residents and family members of those sentenced are often forced to attend the killings, the report said. The group also said it documented 25 sites where the dead were allegedly disposed of by the state and also found official locations that may have documents or other evidence related to the killings. The Associated Press could not independently verify the report, and the group acknowledged that its findings weren’t definite because it doesn’t have direct access to North Korea and cannot visit the sites defectors told it about. Heeseok Shim, one of the report’s authors, also said interviews with defectors suggest that public executions in North Korea are becoming less frequent, although it’s unclear whether that’s because more people are being executed in secret. The Transitional Justice Working Group is a nongovernment organization founded by human rights advocates and researchers from South Korea and four other countries. The group said the new report was made possible by funding from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, which is funded by the U.S. Congress. North Korea didn’t immediately respond to the report, but the nation bristles at outside criticism of its human rights record and claims negative assessments are part of U.S.-led pressure campaigns meant to tarnish the image of its leadership and destroy the country’s political system. In a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in May, North Korea said it “consistently maintains the principle of ensuring scientific accuracy, objectivity and impartiality, as well as protecting human rights in dealing with criminal cases.” A 2014 United Nations report on North Korea’s human rights conditions, however, said state authorities carry out executions, “with or without trial, publicly or secretly,” in response to political and other crimes that are often not among the most serious offenses. While public executions were more common in the 1990s, North Korea continues to carry them out for the purpose of instilling fear in the general population, the report said. The new report said its findings show arbitrary executions and extrajudicial killings under state custody have continued under the rule of young leader Kim Jong Un despite international criticism over how North Korea supposedly applies the death penalty without due judicial process. Almost all of the state killings documented in the report were public executions by firing squad. Public executions are almost always preceded by brief “trials” on the spot where charges are announced and sentences are issued without legal counsel for the accused, the report said. Bodies of people killed by state agents are not typically returned to the family and are often dumped in mountainous areas, buried in the ground without markers, or thrown into a gorge or ravine, it said. The rights group said the information it gathered will be crucial if a political transition in North Korea allows for the identification of victims, the return of remains to families and investigations into human rights abuses committed by the government. The group released an earlier report in 2017 based on a smaller number of interviews. It said the new report is better sourced.

rights
north korea
death penalty
defectors
china
south korea
kim jong un


U.S. voices 'grave concern' over proposed Hong Kong extradition law as city braces for showdown

Abstract: HONG KONG - The U.S. expressed “grave concern” over Hong Kong legislation that would for the first time allow extraditions to mainland China, raising pressure on Beijing as the city braced for a potentially historic showdown over the proposal. The bill “could undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and negatively impact the territory’s long-standing protections of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic values,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters Monday in Washington. Opponents of the legislation Sunday staged one of the largest protests since the former British colony’s return to China: Organizers said more than 1 million participants showed up, while police put the figure at 240,000. Tensions are only heating up, with activists calling for strikes and vowing to surround the city’s Legislative Council on Wednesday, when lawmakers debate scores of proposed amendments. Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, defended the bill in a 45-minute news briefing Monday, saying it is necessary to prevent the city from becoming a “haven” for fugitives and vowing to press ahead with its passage. China endorsed her government’s efforts later in the day. “The two sides seem to be on a collision course, so it is hard to see a satisfying conclusion,” said Jeffrey Wasserstrom, professor and China historian at the University of California, Irvine. “Whether or not the new law is enacted, the people of Hong Kong have made an important statement.” Protests reawaken The mass march signals a reawakening of a protest movement that fractured after the government successfully resisted the democracy demands of student-led demonstrators who occupied city streets for 79 days in 2014. Since then, the Chinese government and its handpicked local leadership have faced little resistance to their efforts to rein in dissent, including barring more radical activists from seeking elected office, prosecuting protest leaders and banning a pro-independence political party. But now the extradition bill could potentially affect any of the city’s 7.5 million residents, including employees of the almost 1,400 multinational companies with regional headquarters there. The legislation would allow Hong Kong to enter one-time extradition agreements with jurisdictions where it lacks formal agreements — including mainland China — which often hands down lengthy prison terms to non-violent criminals such as activists and drug offenders. The extradition bill has been criticized by Western governments and international business organizations as a threat to the “one country, two systems” framework credited with maintaining Hong Kong’s status as a global financial center. It is one of several moves under President Xi Jinping that have raised concern about Hong Kong’s autonomous structure, which guarantees free speech, capitalist markets and British common law. Opponents are hoping for a repeat of 2003, when a demonstration of about half a million people led the city to scrap a controversial national security proposal and contributed to the eventual resignation of then-Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Nine years later, mass gatherings led by high school students pressured the government to reconsider a proposal mandating a history curriculum lauding the ruling Communist Party. Unlikely retreat Retreat seems less likely after Xi paid little price for ignoring the democratic demands of as many as 200,000 protesters during the 2014 Occupy movement. Several top Chinese officials have also publicly backed the extradition legislation, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday that Beijing “will continue to firmly support” the proposal, while warning against foreign interference. The local government has said the law is needed to bring fugitives to justice and was spurred by the case of a Hong Kong man who could not be extradited to Taiwan for the murder of his 19-year-old girlfriend. Lam is working to pass the measure through the city’s Beijing-loyalist-legislature by the end of the current legislative session next month. “It’s almost certain that the law will be passed, and Hong Kong will be paying a big price,” said Willy Lam, adjunct professor at the Center for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. On Monday, Carrie Lam praised the protesters for expressing the views in a largely peaceful manner, but said there was “very little merit to be gained by delaying the bill.” She said two previous amendments — excluding several categories of financial crimes and lengthening the maximum prison term of offenses eligible — had adequately protected human rights. “The society has been closely and intensely discussing the amendment bill for four months,” she said. “It should be returned to the Legislative Council, which should carry out its constitutional duty. This means after vetting the bill, legislators can amend or approve the bill or whatever. Our stand is still our stand today.” ‘Scrapped all together’ The chief executive said she had received no order from Beijing to pursue the legislation. “It’s not initiated by the central government. I have not received any instruction or mandate from Beijing,” she said. Many residents aren’t buying it, though. The bigger problem, they say, is the slow, but steady transformation of Hong Kong into just another Chinese city. And for many, now is the time to take a stand. Although the procession was largely peaceful, scuffles later broke out between demonstrators and police, who used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters. The organizer of Sunday’s protest, the Civil Human Rights Front, said it plans to hold another rally outside the legislature when hearings resume Wednesday. “We don’t need any more written or verbal safeguards,” opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo said Monday. “We want the bill to be scrapped altogether.”

hong kong
china
protests
extradition bill
hong kong extradition protests


Chinese aircraft carrier sails between Okinawan islands

Abstract: The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that China’s sole operating aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, had passed through the Miyako Strait between the island of Miyako and Okinawa’s main island as it ventured into the Pacific that morning. The Liaoning, which did not enter Japanese waters while traversing the 150-nautical-mile-wide strait, was accompanied by an apparent carrier task force group made up of five other vessels, including two guided-missile destroyers and two frigates, the ministry said in a statement. It also said a combat support ship had joined the task force, the first time such a vessel had been sighted making the voyage. The vessels were expected to hold drills in the Pacific, exercises that were likely to be intended to check military activities in the waters by the U.S., Japan and nearby Taiwan. The passage of the Chinese carrier through the strait, a key strategic gateway into the Pacific for China, was the third confirmed instance since December 2016. In April last year, the Defense Ministry said that China had for the first time conducted a drill in the Pacific with the Liaoning. While the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet vessel, is currently China’s only active carrier, the country’s first domestically produced carrier, the so-called Type 001A, has been conducting sea trials in recent months, according to Chinese state-run media. Analysts say that carrier will likely enter into service sometime this year. Tokyo and Beijing are embroiled in a dispute over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, known in China as the Diaoyu, in the East China Sea. China has sent vessels to the area around the islands for a record 61-straight days, as of Tuesday. China is in the midst of a military modernization program heavily promoted by President Xi Jinping, who has overseen a shift in focus toward creating a more potent fighting force, including projects such as building a third aircraft carrier, integrating stealth fighters into its air force and fielding an array of advanced missiles that can strike air and sea targets from long distances. This modernization push has also seen ramped-up military exercises by the air force and navy as China seeks to expand its reach further from its shores.

military
senkakus
weapons
disputed islands
china-japan relations


Akita governor blasts Defense Ministry over missile defense system survey errors

Abstract: AKITA - Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake criticized the Defense Ministry on Monday for making errors in the geographical survey that was used to select the prefecture as a candidate for hosting Aegis Ashore missile launchers. A ministry official was also caught snoozing when local residents were briefed Saturday about the numerical mistakes in the elevation angles of mountains, prompting some participants to demand an apology. “It’s truly regrettable,” Satake said during a session of the prefectural assembly, regarding the ministry’s survey. “I’ve found the Defense Ministry’s stance extremely questionable, and we’re back to square one on this issue.” In Tokyo, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters Monday, “We’re very sorry. It was inappropriate as the behavior lacked a sense of alertness in such an extremely important situation.” The briefing was held Saturday and Sunday. A resident who attended Saturday pointed out that one of the ministry officials who was at the event was dozing during the session, which was also attended by Tohoku Defense Bureau chief Shigeki Ito. On Sunday, Ito started the session with an apology, saying, “The official (who was caught snoozing) is deeply reflecting on himself for behaving like that at a very important place and I will also deeply apologize.” The ministry has said the incorrect information was released after the angles of elevation were calculated based on figures measured with a ruler without noticing that the scales of maps used for checking height and distance were different. In the geographical survey released in May, the ministry checked the elevation angles at nine out of 19 candidate locations in Tohoku for possible deployment. But the angles for all of the nine locations came out steeper than they actually are. Areas close to high mountains, which block radio waves emitted by radar, are said to be undesirable for the missile system. The ministry, which intends to deploy two batteries to counter the threat of North Korean missiles, has listed a Ground Self-Defense Force training area straddling Abu and Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture and another exercise area in the Araya district of Akita Prefecture as potential sites for the system.


As its drug firms consider move to Tokyo, does Osaka have a future as a modern city of medicine?

Abstract: OSAKA - The Doshomachi area of the city of Osaka has been the home and birthplace of many pharmaceutical companies since the Edo Period (1603-1868), including some of the leading drugmakers such as Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Long known as a “town of medicine,” Osaka, however, has come to a turning point on whether it can continue to thrive as a “modern medical city.” That is because pharmaceutical companies often need to deal with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, so Osaka-based companies are tempted to move their head offices to Tokyo to help speed up the decision-making process where government is concerned. The globalization of such companies is also an issue. Still, Osaka’s biggest draw for pharmaceutical companies is the easy access to research facilities for the development of new drugs due to the presence of many renowned researchers at universities in the Kansai region. One notable figure working in the area is Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Prize-winning induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cell researcher at Kyoto University. Ono developed nivolumab, an anti-cancer drug marketed as Opdivo, jointly with Tasuku Honjo, a distinguished professor of immunology who is also at Kyoto University and a Nobel laureate. While the patents on Opdivo will expire around 2030, Ono will continue the development of new drugs in Osaka, which an executive said has “sound research environments” and is “attractive in the field of life sciences.” Also headquartered in the city is Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., which entered the field of regenerative medicine in 2013. “Kansai is at the front line for regenerative medicine, as in other areas,” said Masako Rikiishi, a Rohto director. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which completed the acquisition of leading Irish drugmaker Shire PLC earlier this year, has already moved mainline operations to Tokyo while keeping its registered head office in Doshomachi. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. relocated its corporate planning and other core departments to Tokyo in 2013 to reinforce globalized segments of its business, while Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. plans to transfer its management strategy division to Tokyo within a few years to promote its business in the United States. The domestic market for pharmaceutical companies is shrinking due to revisions of government-set drug prices and the emergence of generics. “We’ll go downhill unless we globalize our operations,” a Sumitomo Dainippon official said, reflecting the spreading sense of crisis in the industry. Drugmakers set to continue Osaka-based operations are pinning high hopes on the World Expo to be held in the city in 2025 under the main theme of promoting health care development and longevity. Aiming to reinvigorate Osaka as a “medical city,” the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments plan to build a research center for regenerative medicine in Kita Ward by October 2023. While Kyoto and Kobe place emphasis on basic studies, the new center will serve as a hub for the commercialization of research results, a prefectural government official said. Noting that pharmaceutical companies in Osaka tend to be research-oriented, Tomohisa Ishikawa, head of the Japan Research Institute’s Kansai Economic Research Center, said their study results “will be carried abroad” if their commercialization is delayed.

osaka
medicine
ono
takeda
sumitomo dainippon


Japan aims to reduce greenhouse emissions to zero in second half of 21st century

Abstract: The Cabinet approved a plan Tuesday to reduce greenhouse emissions to zero in the second half of the 21st century as part of its strategy to fight climate change. Renewable energy such as solar and wind will be the mainstay of the nation’s energy mix to achieve the goal, although coal-fired power plants will remain operational — a policy criticized by some energy experts as being insufficient to significantly cut carbon dioxide emissions. Japan plans to present the strategy to the United Nations by late June, when it hosts the Group of 20 summit, as required under the Paris climate agreement. The 2015 accord aims to keep the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Japan and Italy are the only nations among the Group of Seven countries that have yet to present a strategy. “Action against climate change is not a cost to the economy but a growth strategy toward the future,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday. “We will create a virtuous cycle and lead the paradigm shift of the world’s climate policy.” The strategy will also rely on nuclear power generation, even as concerns remain about the safety of such plants after the 2011 Fukushima crisis. It calls for greater use of hydrogen to reduce dependency on nuclear power to the “lowest use possible” and the development of advanced technology to improve power generation efficiency. A draft plan at a panel tasked with compiling the strategy urged the scrapping of all coal-fired plants in the long term. But the idea was dropped after meeting strong opposition from certain panel members from the business sector, drawing criticism from some environmental organizations. Under the long-term energy plan, the government aims to have renewables account for 22 to 24 percent, fossil fuels 56 percent and nuclear power 20 to 22 percent of the country’s electricity generation in 2030.

greenhouse emissions
renewable energy
global warming
coal
environment


Hong Kong activist urges Japan to put pressure on city government to withdraw extradition bill

Abstract: Tokyo should put pressure on the Hong Kong government to withdraw a controversial bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China, given Japan’s strong economic ties with the former British territory and the large number of mutual visits by tourists, a high-profile pro-democracy activist told a news conference in Tokyo. Agnes Chow, a 22-year-old member of Demosisto, a Hong Kong party calling for the democratic self-determination of Hong Kongers, arrived in Tokyo on Monday after participating in Sunday’s massive protest march against the bill in the semi-autonomous region. Chow, a college student with an affinity for Japanese pop culture, served in 2014 as a spokesperson of a student organization that participated in the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. “This time I came (to Japan) to draw attention to the amendments bill,” Chow said in fluent Japanese during the news conference at the Japan National Press Club on Monday. “I want the Japanese government to pay more attention to this dangerous bill and put up guards (against it),” she said. The extradition bill would allow the Hong Kong government to extradite certain criminals to mainland China, although the special administrative city government has claimed political prisoners would not be handed over to Beijing. Chow pointed out that the extradition bill could be applied to foreign residents and visitors to Hong Kong as well, claiming that it would severely compromise freedom in Hong Kong and also damage its status as an international financial center. Unlike other Chinese cities, Hong Kong is allowed to maintain a high level of autonomy under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” policy until at least 2047. But the city’s political autonomy has been considerably compromised in recent years under the growing influence of the mainland’s central government. During a regular news conference on Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the Japanese government is “paying close attention” to the extradition bill, and it hopes the one country, two systems policy will stay in place and that Hong Kong maintains its “free and open social system.” But he didn’t elaborate further. On May 16, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Martin Lee in Washington and expressed concerns about the bill, which the State Department says threatens Hong Kong’s rule of law. The organizer of Sunday’s protest march claimed 1.03 million people joined the demonstration, while the Hong Kong government put its estimated number at 240,000. The population of the city is about 7.48 million.

hong kong
extradition bill
china
protests
umbrella movement
hong kong extradition protests


U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty says he has high hopes for Abe visit to Iran

Abstract: U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s planned visit to Iran, saying U.S. President Donald Trump has great confidence in the Japanese leader and that the U.S. hopes he will have “productive engagements that lead to progress.” The ambassador made the remarks during an exclusive interview with The Japan Times the day before Abe was set to depart for Iran on a three-day trip, amid rising military tensions in the Persian Gulf between Iran and the United States. “Prime Minister Abe has unique diplomatic access to the leadership of Iran,” Hagerty said at the ambassador’s official residence in Tokyo. “We are comfortable with Prime Minister Abe speaking with Iranians. And we are hopeful he will have productive engagements that lead to progress.” Abe will meet separately with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Japanese officials have said Abe’s primary goal is to ease tension and prevent accidental military clashes between the two nations. Earlier the same day, Abe and Trump had a 20-minute telephone conversation regarding the situation with Iran and Abe’s planned visit to Tehran. Asked if Abe is carrying any message from Trump to the Iranian leadership, the ambassador declined to comment, however. “I don’t want to get into the details of those conversations (between Abe and Trump) … I want to leave it to the prime minister to handle it,” he said. “I’ve seen him demonstrate great diplomatic skills during the two years I’ve been here,” Hagerty also said. “He will know how to handle the discussions” with the Iranian leaders, he said. Details on Abe’s planned trip to Tehran — the first visit by a Japanese prime minister in 41 years — have emerged since Abe and Trump met in Tokyo late last month. On May 27 in Tokyo, Trump suggested Japan, which has maintained good relationship with Iran for decades, can facilitate U.S. communications with the country. “I know that the prime minister and Japan have a very good relationship with Iran, so we’ll see what happens,” he said at the outset of a meeting with Abe that day. “The prime minister has already spoken to me about that. And I do believe that Iran would like to talk. And if they’d like to talk, we’d like to talk also,” he said.


Abe and Trump discuss Iran ahead of prime minister's landmark Tehran visit

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke over the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with the pair discussing the situation in Iran a day ahead of Abe’s visit to the Middle Eastern country, the government’s top spokesman said. “The two leaders exchanged views on regional issues, including the situation in Iran,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference. Abe is set to visit Tehran from Wednesday, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so since the Islamic Revolution four decades ago. During the visit, Abe plans to meet separately with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The trip comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. The last Japanese prime minister to visit Iran was Takeo Fukuda in 1978. A Japanese government official declined to give details of the 20-minute phone call, citing the diplomatically sensitive nature of the topic, but Abe is likely to have reiterated his intention of encouraging Iran, with which Japan has traditionally maintained friendly relations, to engage in dialogue. Trump endorsed such efforts during a visit to Japan late last month. Trump’s decision last year to withdraw from a 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran and reinstate economic sanctions has elicited a strong backlash from Tehran, prompting it to suspend some of its commitments under the deal. In May, Iran said it would keep more enriched uranium than allowed under the nuclear accord, and set a 60-day deadline to negotiate new terms. Further escalating tensions, Washington recently dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and bombers to the Persian Gulf, while also deciding to send additional U.S. troops to the region. News of the Abe-Trump conversation came as Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N. atomic watchdog, urged world powers to continue dialogue with Iran to keep it in the 2015 deal aimed at preventing the country from building nuclear weapons, and to help defuse mounting tensions in the region. After his regular update to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors in Vienna on Monday, Amano told reporters that Tehran had increased its uranium enrichment activities as it threatened it would. He said Iran’s low-enriched uranium “production rate is increasing,” but it wasn’t clear yet whether it has exceeded the limitations set in the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “I am worried about increasing tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue,” Amano said. “As I have constantly emphasized, the nuclear-related commitments entered into by Iran under the JCPOA represent a significant gain for nuclear verification. I therefore hope that ways can be found to reduce current tensions through dialogue.” He would not elaborate on what kind of talks were necessary, saying that was a “political matter,” and would not comment on whether he thought the U.S. should return to the JCPOA itself.

iran
shinzo abe
donald trump
hassan rouhani
ali khamenei
u.s .
iran-japan relations


Empress emerita told to take it easy after doctors diagnose heart valve abnormalities

Abstract: Empress Emerita Michiko has been diagnosed with heart valve abnormalities, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday. The 84-year-old former empress, who retired from official duties when Emperor Emeritus Akihito abdicated at the end of April, will have follow-up observations, with doctors calling for the burden on her heart in daily life to be reduced. Abnormalities were found in the atrioventricular valves that normally function to prevent a reverse flow of blood in the heart, the agency said, adding that she will not receive any treatment for the condition for the time being. She and her husband will visit the city of Kyoto for three days starting Tuesday as scheduled, the agency said. It has been found that the valves do not close sufficiently but her symptoms are relatively mild, it said. She has also been diagnosed with having an irregular heartbeat. The empress emerita underwent a heart exam Saturday after a blood test showed earlier this month a higher risk of heart failure. Since the beginning of this year, she has experienced shortness of breath more frequently than before during her morning walks, according to the agency. In 2015, she suffered from chest pains and had a computed tomography scan of her coronary arteries before being diagnosed with myocardial ischemia, a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to some parts of the heart. The agency also said that the empress emerita will undergo cataract surgery on Sunday and on June 23 at a hospital in Tokyo. She has had eyesight problems for several years. Scheduling difficulties before the emperor emeritus’ April 30 abdication had prevented the surgery, according to the agency.

heart
abdication
royalty
emperor akihito
imperial family
empress michiko


Government backpedals on report that said elderly couples will need ¥20 million in savings

Abstract: The government effectively withdrew Tuesday a recent report that casts doubt on the ability of the public pension system to sustain people’s livelihoods in the face of a rapidly aging society, in an apparent bid to assuage voter concerns ahead of a national election. Finance Minister Taro Aso, who is also responsible for the Financial Services Agency, indicated he would not accept the report by an agency panel, saying its premise “has caused extreme worries and misunderstanding and runs counter to the government’s existing policy.” “The public pension plan will never collapse,” said Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister. The move was in response to the ruling parties’ demand for the withdrawal of the report in the run-up to the House of Councilors election slated for next month. The report has sparked controversy and drawn fire from both the ruling and opposition parties since it was unveiled earlier this month. It estimates that a couple who will live to be 95 years old need at least ¥20 million ($184,000) in assets to make up for a shortfall that would be incurred if they were to solely rely on pension benefits to cover living expenses after retirement. According to one government estimate, 1 in 4 Japanese who are currently 60 will live until 95. The paper, therefore, called on the public to take greater charge of planning for their retirement by proactively managing and investing their assets. The 78-year-old finance minister said while the government maintains the pension system is meant to cover “to some extent” the livelihoods of the elderly, though not fully, the report gave an impression that the plan cannot even achieve that goal under current policy. Citing an example of a couple with a man aged 65 or older and a woman 60 or older, the report said they would face a monthly shortfall of ¥50,000 if they depended only on their pensions. If the couple were to live for 20 more years, they would be short by ¥13 million, and if they were to live for 30 more years, they would be short by ¥20 million, according to the paper, which based its figures on the average income and expenditures for elderly households. Earlier in the day, Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters he is “extremely concerned as only the story of a ¥20 million deficit has been highlighted.” “We have to be careful not to upset our party’s candidates before the Upper House election,” Nikai also said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also apologized Monday, saying expressions used in the report were “inaccurate and misleading,” during a meeting of the Audit Committee of the House of Councilors. “The report gave a false impression by saying that an elderly couple household usually suffers a deficit of ¥50,000 monthly,” he said. As lifestyles vary among elderly people, so do their living standards, working practices and asset situations, he added. Kohei Otsuka, acting head of the Democratic Party for the People, said Monday that concerns over the public pension system are increasing. Abe replied that the current design of the pension system is meant to provide relief to current and future generations.


Man had strangled female passenger before driving car off cliff in Aomori Prefecture, police say

Abstract: AKITA - An autopsy has found that a woman, initially believed to have died with a man when a car drove off a cliff in Aomori Prefecture, was strangled to death before the incident, police said Tuesday. The police said they suspect the 39-year-old man, Masatoshi Ikejima, killed 32-year-old Asami Sato before the car fell 40 meters down a cliff in the prefecture on Sunday afternoon. Ikejima, a truck driver from neighboring Akita Prefecture, told several acquaintances that he had killed a woman and wanted to die. Bruises were found on Sato’s neck and she is believed to have been killed sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning after meeting with a friend, according to the police. The police suspect Ikejima strangled Sato, loaded her body into his car and killed himself by driving off the cliff. Sato contacted police about a week earlier after being violently assaulted by Ikejima, telling them she planned to end her relationship with him. Ikejima and Sato were found dead after the car drove off the cliff at a parking lot in the town of Fukaura at 5:25 p.m. The police had been looking for the two after their families filed missing-persons reports. Five minutes before the fatal incident, the police had spotted Ikejima’s car in another parking lot at a roadside facility. But the vehicle suddenly took off north before pulling into the parking lot where it went over the cliff. The police said their patrol car had its red light flashing to indicate it was in pursuit but that its siren was not on and it had maintained a safe distance from the vehicle.


Japan plans new driver's license system for elderly as accidents surge

Abstract: In the wake of a slew of fatal accidents involving elderly drivers, the government plans to create a new driver’s license system that limits senior citizens to cars with safety features such as automatic brakes. The proposal will be included in the government’s growth strategy to be approved by the Cabinet later this month, sources said Monday. The National Police Agency, the land ministry and other related ministries will hold further discussions to work out the details, which will be released by the end of the current fiscal year. The new license system will target drivers aged 75 years or older, who are required to take a cognitive assessment test when they renew their licenses. Alongside the system, the government will discuss ways to popularize safety enhanced vehicles. It will also promote measures to provide senior citizens with sufficient transport options. According to the National Police Agency, there were 460 fatal traffic accidents in Japan last year caused by drivers aged 75 or over. The proportion of such accidents among all fatal accidents increased from 8.7 percent in 2008 to 14.8 percent in 2018. The agency, which commissioned three panels of experts to consider ways to prevent accidents caused by elderly drivers, released a report in April. The report cited a need to consider introducing a driver’s license that limits drivers to certain types of vehicles at specific times and in certain areas. In April, a car driven by Kozo Iizuka, 88, a former government official, hit and killed a 31-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. Six other passersby were injured in the incident. Earlier this month, a car being driven by an 81-year-old man sped through an intersection in the city of Fukuoka, crashing into five other vehicles. The man and his wife died in the accident and 7 other people were injured. In both cases, it is believed that the drivers may have mistaken the throttle for the break pedal. A government survey on the transport habits of those aged 60 or above released earlier this month showed that 1 in 4 people aged 80 or older still drive. The percentage of elderly people who said they drive was higher in rural areas, where public transportation services are limited, indicating cars are indispensable tools for the elderly to go shopping or visit hospitals.

elderly
accidents
police
drivers ' license


Award-winning Japanese author Seiko Tanabe, known for modernized version of 'Tale of Genji,' dies at 91

Abstract: OSAKA - Seiko Tanabe, an award-winning author known for her modernized version of the classic “Tale of Genji” titled “Shin-Genji Monogatari,” died of cholangitis, an inflammation of the bile duct, on June 6 in Kobe, her family said Monday. She was 91. Born in Osaka, the author was famous for depicting the subtleties of interpersonal relationships in a light and humorous manner within her stories. She won the Akutagawa Prize, a prestigious literary award, for her novel “Kanshou Ryokou” (“Sentimental Journey”) in 1964, and was awarded the Order of Culture in 2008. Tanabe earned several prizes for her biography of poet Suifu Kishimoto including the Yomiuri Prize for Literature. She also published numerous guidebooks for Japanese classics throughout her life. The author was awarded a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1995, and named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2000.

seiko tanabe
literature
obituary
books
the tale of genji


Japan to tighten rules over foreign university students after Tokyo school loses track of 1,600 students

Abstract: The education ministry and the immigration agency said Tuesday they will tighten rules around the enrollment of foreign nationals after a Tokyo university lost contact with more than 1,600 students from abroad. The move comes as the country prepares to accept 300,000 foreign students by 2020 under a program that aims to increase awareness about Japan. The ministry and the Immigration Services Agency will disclose the names of universities they find to have breached rules around the enrollment of foreign students and ban them from accepting any more. The decision was prompted by the case of the Tokyo University of Social Welfare, which was investigated by the government for losing touch with a huge number of its foreign students. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said it told the school Monday to stop accepting new foreign students on preliminary courses. “The university bears a huge responsibility for the large number of missing students and illegal aliens,” said education minister Masahiko Shibayama at a news conference. In the three years since the 2016 academic year, the university lost contact with 1,610 foreign students, saw 700 cancel their enrollment and removed 178. A large proportion of the students were enrolled in Japanese-language courses as part of a preliminary program to be completed before they advanced to degree programs. The ministry and the immigration agency inspected the university’s four campuses in Tokyo and other cities five times between March and May and found it had been accepting many students who did not have sufficient language skills or were unable to pay tuition fees. They also discovered the university was short-staffed and failed to provide support to students who had missed classes over a prolonged period. The ministry said it will consider reducing or withdrawing subsidies for the private university, while the agency will reject visa applications from foreign students who seek to enroll there. The Tokyo University of Social Welfare, founded in 2000, had been accepting relatively few foreign students for years but expanded the number to about 1,200 in the 2016 academic year, about 1,900 the following year and over 2,600 in the year ended this March. Yuriko Sato, an associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology who specializes in foreign student policy, called for more public support for foreign students, saying universities have been accepting students without sufficient language skills. She said if poorly performing language schools can be brought up to a better standard and have their subsidies increased to help free students from their busy part-time jobs, Japan can “create an environment in which foreign students can focus on studies without worries.”

education ministry
immigration
foreign students
tokyo university of social welfare


Ministry to boost prevention of certain fruit and saplings from being taken out of country

Abstract: The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry is set to launch full-fledged efforts to prevent “outflows” of domestically developed high-end fruit varieties to other countries. A number of seeds and saplings of Japanese high-end fruit varieties have been taken out of the country without permission and grown abroad against a backdrop of their global popularity. The ministry will consider stricter regulations and a possible law revision, as such outflows of fruit varieties to foreign countries can hinder growth in exports of agricultural and food products. Japan is trying to boost the amount of exports of high-end fruit, with the total annual shipments of such items nearly reaching ¥1 trillion. Shine Muscat, a Japanese-developed high-end grape variety, is being grown in China and South Korea without permission, for sale in Malaysia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, according to the ministry. Shine Muscat grapes that have been grown in China and South Korea “are lower-priced than Japanese-produced ones,” said an official at the agricultural cooperative of Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, which exports the variety. Since 2006, Shine Muscat has been protected in Japan as an intellectual property under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Law. But it has not been registered as a fruit variety abroad as the government did not expect it to be exported, according to the ministry. The ministry found Shine Muscat grapes grown in China and South Korea were being sold in foreign markets two years ago. But it could not stop sales because the registration deadline for variety protection had passed in both countries. In March this year, the ministry put together a panel of experts to discuss measures to prevent any problems similar to the Shine Muscat case from happening again in the future, such as a revision to the plant variety law. The panel will also consider ways to promote the development of new varieties.


Aerosol chemotherapy technique offers hope to cancer sufferers

Abstract: DIJON, FRANCE - “Classic chemotherapy was awful . . . but with this treatment, I feel hope,” said French pensioner Jacques Braud, who is undergoing treatment for stomach cancer with a new form of therapy dispersed by aerosol. Several hours before surgery, Braud was waiting in his room, looking surprisingly relaxed with a book in hand. This is a place he has been before. At the age of 76, Braud was about to face his second bout of chemotherapy after the cancer in his stomach spread to two other organs. But this time, it was different. He was being treated at the Georges-Francois Leclerc Hospital in the eastern city of Dijon, one of seven hospitals in France that are trialing pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC), a technique developed in Germany in 2013. Although is it still being tested, chemotherapy by aerosol has shown promising results against certain cancers, in a treatment with fewer side effects that offers hope to some of the weakest patients. Unlike traditional chemotherapy, the drugs are not injected into the bloodstream. Instead, the patient is put under general anesthetic and the treatment is introduced by laparoscopy, by which a small incision is made in the abdominal wall and the chemotherapy is introduced into the peritoneal cavity by an aerosol spray. It is a minimally invasive procedure without the harmful side effects normally associated with the circulation of the treatment within the blood, said David Orry, who heads the hospital’s oncological surgery department. “So you avoid the loss of appetite, the damage to peripheral nerves or to the red and white blood cells,” which often require the treatment be stopped. “Chemo is horrendous, it destroys you,” said Braud, running his fingers through his short white hair, which had barely grown back two months after his first bout of treatment. “My fingers and toes are paralyzed, I don’t feel anything,” he said, admitting it had forced him to give up hiking, his passion. But with the PIPAC therapy, he has not experienced any such side effects. For now, he is receiving treatment every two to three weeks, alternating between traditional chemo and PIPAC therapy, whose use is still being studied. As he lay in a deep sleep on the operating table, the surgeons bent over him to make two small 5-cm (2-inch) incisions in his abdomen before inserting trocars through the two layers of the peritoneum, the membrane that wraps around the internal organs. They then injected air to artificially create a cavity, which is a prerequisite for delivering PIPAC therapy — and which is why it is, for now, exclusively used for gynecological or digestive cancers. “You see, Mr. Braud has several metastases on his peritoneal wall,” Orry explained, pointing to a screen showing images from the laparoscopy. “This membrane only has a few vessels. So it is very difficult to treat with chemotherapy that passes through the blood — which is a further advantage of PIPAC.” Once the two trocars were in place, the chemotherapy was released into the inflated cavity and left there while the surgical staff left to avoid exposure. After 30 minutes, the product was extracted through a miniature pump and the incisions were closed. After six small sutures, the operation was over. It took just two hours. By the evening, Braud was back in his room and eating dinner, although he needed to stay another two nights in the hospital due to the risks linked to a general anesthetic. For the moment, PIPAC therapy is only offered to patients undergoing palliative treatment, as its efficacity has yet to be demonstrated in a large scientific study. But the initial response to this complementary treatment has been “very promising” and raised hopes, said oncologist Francois Ghiringhelli, who has been working on the development of PIPAC in Dijon since 2017. And the price of the treatment is reasonable, with the injector device costing around €25,000 ($28,000), and each operation using disposable materials worth some €2,000. This year, the regional center for the fight against cancer in the western city of Nantes will begin a multicenter study on PIPAC therapy in which Dijon will also take part. Preliminary results are due within five years. “Tomorrow, we could use this technique on patients who are less seriously ill and get very good curative results, even preventative results,” said Orry, who is clearly enthusiastic about the wider prospects of PIPAC therapy. Such a system could also be expanded to deliver other molecular treatments, which are potentially more effective but too dangerous to pass through the blood. Or it could even be developed for other types of cancer that affect the bladder or the lungs, which also have similar membranes to the peritoneum. Even though Braud has only been given two years left to live, he has embraced his new treatment with gusto. “With PIPAC, I have hope,” he said.

cancer france surgeries medicine disease