Norway tugs begin towing stricken liner after hundreds of passengers are airlifted to safety

Abstract: OSLO - A cruise liner that ran into trouble in rough seas off Norway was being towed to port on Sunday after hundreds of passengers had been helicoptered to safety. The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting mid-afternoon Saturday in perilous waters about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) off More og Romsdal, prompting the captain to send out a distress call. Rather than run the risk of leaving people on board, local officials launched an airlift in very difficult conditions. “We would rather have the passengers on land rather than on board the ship,” police chief Tor Andre Franck said. By Sunday, the crew had managed to restart three of its four engines and two tugs arrived. Authorities said 460 of the 1,373 people on board had been taken off by five helicopters before the airlift was halted to allow the towing to start. Police said 17 people had been taken to hospital. One person in their 90s and two 70-year-olds suffered serious fractures. “The evacuation has been put on pause for now,” a spokesman for southern Norway’s rescue center said. “The captain will weigh up the situation” before deciding if the airlift resumes, he added. The vessel was heading for the port of Molde, which was about 60 kilometers (45 miles) away. It is about 500 kilometers northwest of Oslo, officials said. Dramatic footage of the passengers’ ordeal showed furniture and plants sliding round the lurching vessel as parts of the ceiling came down. Dozens of passengers wearing life jackets were seated, waiting to get off the vessel. “I have never seen anything so frightening,” said Janet Jacob, who was rescued. “I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board,” she told the NRK television channel. “The helicopter trip was terrifying. The winds were like a tornado,” she added. “We were sitting down for breakfast when things started to shake. . . . It was just chaos,” said another passenger, American John Curry, as quoted in Norwegian by media. Passenger Rodney Horgen said he had been reminded of the Titanic. “The best word, I guess, is surreal,” he said. “Sea water 6-7 feet (about two meters) high just came rushing in, hit the tables, chairs, broken glass and 20-30 people just . . . went right in front of me. “I was standing, my wife was sitting in front of me and all of a sudden, she was gone. And I thought this was the end” But it all ended well for Ryan Flynn. “Here’s my 83-year-old dad being airlifted from the #vikingsky,” he said. “We are all off the ship safely!” The Viking Sky sent out a distress signal due to “engine problems in bad weather,” the rescue center tweeted earlier. The ship was sailing south from Tromso to Stavanger when engine trouble struck in an area that has claimed many vessels. “It is dangerous to encounter engine problems in these waters, which hide numerous reefs,” said Tor Andre Franck, the head of police operations. A reception center was set up in a gym on shore to accommodate the evacuees, many of whom are elderly and from the U.S. and Britain. “For the moment everything appears to be going well,” said Einar Knutsen, a spokesman at the center. The area where the ship got into problems, known as Hustadvika, is notoriously difficult to navigate. The shallow, 10 nautical mile section of coastline is dotted with small islands and reefs. “Hustadvika is one of the most notorious maritime areas that we have,” Odd Roar Lange, a journalist specializing in tourism, told NRK. In their time, the Vikings hesitated to venture into the Hustadvika, preferring instead to transport their boats by land from one fjord to another. Operated by the Norwegian firm Viking Ocean Cruises, the Viking Sky was launched in 2017 with a capacity of 930 passengers plus crew. In addition to U.S. and British nationals, there were also passengers from 14 other countries on board, Fjeld said.


During Europe visit, China's Xi Jinping seeks France's participation in 'Belt and Road' project

Abstract: PARIS/ROME/MILAN - As he prepares to begin a three-day trip to France, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he is hoping to get France’s cooperation “in the framework of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative.” In a letter published in the Le Figaro newspaper, Xi called for more trade and investment between the two countries. He listed nuclear energy, aeronautics, space and agriculture as industries with potential for deeper ties. “French investors are welcome to share the opportunities of development in China,” Xi wrote. “I equally hope that Chinese companies can better succeed in France.” Italy on Saturday became the first Group of Seven country to sign a “Belt and Road” memorandum, agreeing to cooperate in the Chinese-led initiative to build trade-promoting infrastructure across the planet. France, for its part, doesn’t plan to sign any such memorandum but it is seeking Chinese investment. President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said the European Union needs to approach relations with China together and not as individual countries. Xi is set to arrive in France on Sunday following an official visit to Italy. He’ll dine with Macron near Nice, in the south of France, before holding more formal bilateral talks in Paris on Monday where they are expected to sign a series of investment contracts. The two leaders will be joined Tuesday morning by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. French officials said Merkel and Juncker were invited to bring a “European” element to the visit. “Europe has woken up about China,” Macron said when he arrived to attend a summit in Brussels on Thursday. “Since the beginning of my mandate, I’ve called for a defense of European sovereignty.” Italy’s signing of the accord has sparked worries in the U.S. and European Union over the Asian power’s push for economic domination. The memorandum of understanding between the two sides was formally approved at the Renaissance-era Villa Madama in Rome on Saturday. Chinese and Italian companies signed 10 agreements potentially worth as much as €20 billion ($23 billion), Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said. “Today is a day in which Made in Italy, Italy, Italian companies win,” Di Maio told reporters after the signings. The memorandum of understanding that he helped formulate as economic development minister is designed to produce even closer business ties in years to come. Xi and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte sat in front of Chinese, Italian and European Union flags for the ceremony in a frescoed hall. Italy and China must “set up more efficacious relations and improve relations which are already very good,” Conte told Xi earlier at the start of a bilateral meeting, according to a live TV feed of opening remarks. The business accords involve firms including energy giant Eni, gas pipeline operator Snam SpA, engineering company Ansaldo Energia SpA, and bank Intesa Sanpaolo. They also include an agreement between the ports of Trieste and Genova and the China Communications Construction Co. Government representatives and officials from the two countries signed 19 other accords ranging from countering tax evasion to encouraging startups and boosting citrus fruit exports from Italy to China. Xi’s visit comes at a time when Washington is losing its fight to persuade allies to lock Huawei Technologies Co. out of planned 5G telecommunications networks. The U.S. is concerned the Italians’ willingness to go along with the Chinese infrastructure project is another sign of its allies softening on Beijing, a U.S. official said.

china
xi jinping
france
belt and road
italy
emmanuel macron
eu
germany


Jair Bolsonaro says Brazil owes world nothing on environment

Abstract: SANTIAGO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday said his country “does not owe the world anything” when it comes to the environment. The far-right leader, who is critical of the Paris climate change accord, was speaking in Chile following Friday’s launch of the Forum for the Progress of South America (PROSUR), a conservative-minded group of South American leaders. He said he had thanked his counterpart President Sebastian Pinera for agreeing to host in December 2019 the 25th U.N. Conference on Climate Change (COP25), originally planned in Brazil. Brazil has declined to host the event, citing impossible objectives. “We can’t do a deal in which some off the goals are unattainable,” he said. “Brazil does not owe the world anything when it comes to environmental protection.” Seven right-wing South American presidents — including Bolsonaro and Colombia’s Ivan Duque — gathered in Santiago to launch the new regional PROSUR. Pinera and Duque were behind the idea of creating a new bloc to replace UNASUR, a largely defunct organization created in 2008 by late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and his leftist Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

jair bolsonaro
brazil
environment
climate change


As violence escalates, attack by ethnic militia on central Mali villages leaves 115 dead

Abstract: ABIDJAN, COTE D'IVOIRE - An attack by members of an ethnic militia on three villages in central Mali claimed 115 lives, the latest clash in an increasingly violent conflict that is fueled by Islamist extremism. Another 46 were injured in the attack on ethnic Fulani villages on Saturday morning near Bankass in the Mopti region, Boubacar Diallo, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said by phone. It came a week after militants linked to al-Qaida killed 23 Malian soldiers in an assault on an army base in the village of Dioura, also in the Mopti region. “It’s a massacre, they attacked the village killing over 100 people and injuring dozens,” said Bara Sankare, a Fulani leader in Mopti. The village of Ogossagou, the main focus of the attack, was burned down and its chief killed, said Bankass Mayor Moulaye Guindo. Those responsible for the latest attack are believed to be Dozo, or local hunters, said Diallo. Government ministers were scheduled to visit Bankass on Sunday. Communal conflict in Mali and other West African nations is being stoked by a toxic combination of climate change, population growth and state neglect and exploited by Islamist insurgencies, which have drawn the intervention of French and United Nations troops. While attacks between farmers and herders, who are predominantly Fulani, date back generations, the scale of recent violence is unprecedented, and is spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso. Mali has been engulfed in conflict since a loose alliance of ethnic Tuareg separatists and Islamist fighters with ties to Algeria and Libya seized large swaths of the north in 2012. A French military intervention succeeded in pushing back the insurgents a year later, but al-Qaida-linked militants are now encroaching on the more densely populated central region and increasing tension between local communities. A delegation of the United Nation’s Security Council arrived in Mali on Friday for talks with authorities about progress on a peace process.


Helicopters sent to rescue over 1,000 passengers, crew from stricken cruise ship off west Norwegian coast

Abstract: HELSINKI - Rescue workers off Norway’s western coast on Saturday rushed to evacuate 1,300 passengers and crew from a disabled cruise ship by helicopter, winching them one-by-one to safety as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side and high winds battered the operation. The Viking Sky issued a mayday call as bad weather hit and engine problems caused it to start drifting toward the rocky shore, the Norwegian newspaper VG reported. Police in the western county of Moere og Romsdal said the crew, fearing the ship would run aground, managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay, between the Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim, so the evacuations could take place. Rescue teams with five helicopters and boats were sent to evacuate the cruise ship under extremely difficult circumstances, including gusts up to 38 knots (43 mph) and waves over 8 meters (26 feet). The area is known for its rough, frigid waters. The majority of the cruise ship passengers were reportedly British and American tourists. About 180 have been evacuated so far, according to rescue officials. Per Fjeld of the Joint Rescue Center Southern Norway said there is no danger to the remaining passengers and the airlift can accommodate all of them. He said the rescue will speed up when there is better light and the weather improves. Video and photos from people on the ship showed it heaving, with chairs and other furniture dangerously rolling from side to side. Passengers were suited up in orange life vests but the waves broke some ship windows and cold water flowed over the feet of some passengers. “I was afraid. I’ve never experienced anything so scary,” Janet Jacob, among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. She said her helicopter ride to safety came amid strong winds “like a tornado,” prompting her to pray “for the safety of all aboard.” American passenger John Curry told NRK that he was having lunch as the cruise ship started to shake. “It was just chaos. The helicopter ride from the ship to shore I would rather not think about. It wasn’t nice,” Curry told the broadcaster. NRK said one 90-year-old-man and his 70-year-old spouse on the ship were severely injured but did not say how that happened. Later, reports emerged that a cargo ship with nine crew members was in trouble nearby, and the local Norwegian rescue service diverted two of the five helicopters working on the cruise ship to that rescue. Fjeld said rescuers were prioritizing the nine crew members aboard the Hagland Captain cargo ship, but later said they had all been rescued after jumping into the ocean and the helicopters had returned to help the Viking Sky. It was later reported that three of the Viking Sky’s four engines had been restarted and that there was a possibility of the ship moving under its own power, but an official from the rescue center would not say whether there was any intention of sailing to shore. Norwegian authorities said late Saturday that the evacuation of the Viking Sky would proceed through the night and into Sunday. The Viking Sky was on a 12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, according to the cruisemapper.com website. The ship was visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before its scheduled arrival Tuesday in the British port of Tilbury, on the River Thames. The Viking Sky, a vessel with gross tonnage of 47,800, was delivered in 2017 to operator Viking Ocean Cruises.


Polls open in first Thai general election since 2014 coup

Abstract: BANGKOK - Thais filled schoolyards, temples and government offices to vote Sunday in the first election since a 2014 coup, with a high turnout expected among a public who received a cryptic last-minute warning from the Thai king to support “good” leaders to prevent “chaos.” All television stations repeated the rare statement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn moments before polls opened across the politically turbulent country. Sunday’s election pits a royalist junta and its allies against the election-winning machine of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and an unpredictable wave of millions of first-time voters. The kingdom remains bitterly divided despite the ruling junta’s pledge to rescue it from a decade-long treadmill of political instability, protests and coups. Politicians across the spectrum fear a stalemate has been booked-in by new election rules, written by the junta, which limit the chances of any single party emerging with a comfortable parliamentary majority. Voters determined to be the first to cast their ballots after years of democratic denial arrived at polling stations across the capital early Sunday. “People want to vote,” said businesswoman Apiyada Svarachorn at a Bangkok polling station, adding the public remains “split into two sides.” “We don’t have the right to decide for ourselves for five years now,” said Wasa Anupamnt a 28-year-old doctor. “I’m very excited about this election.” An unscheduled palace statement — which dropped late Saturday and was repeated minutes before the polls opened — added further intrigue to an election that has repeatedly threatened to tip into chaos before a single vote was cast. The statement reiterated comments by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to “support good people to govern the society and control the bad people” to prevent them from “creating chaos.” Vajiralongkorn, urged the public to “remember and be aware” of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016. While there were no further clues as to who those “good people” might be, the phrase — “ khon dee ” in Thai — is habitually attached to royalist, establishment politicians. The chief of the army — an institution which has carried out 12 coups in under 90 years and trails its partnership with the monarchy — called the palace statement a “good thing.” Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the palace is nominally above the political fray, but the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law. The king’s intervention before the election is his second in less than two months. Another royal command torpedoed the candidacy of his elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin, a divisive ex-premier toppled by a 2006 coup. The king called the move to bring his sister into politics “highly inappropriate,” as the monarchy is ostensibly above the political fray. The party was later dissolved by a court. Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008, but he looms large over Sunday’s election. His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on huge loyalty from rural and urban poor. On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honor at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin’s daughter — with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral. The junta-party, which is proposing army chief turned premier Prayuth Chan-ocha for civilian prime minister after the polls, is under intense pressure to avoid humiliation on Sunday in what is effectively a referendum on its popularity. Prayuth toppled the civilian government of Thaksin’s younger sister Yingluck in 2014, the twelfth coup in under a century. The army and its allies in the Bangkok elite loathe the Shinawatras, accusing the clan of poisoning Thai politics and society with money, nepotism and graft. The Shinawatras say they have simply recognized the economic and democratic aspirations of the majority of Thais. This time the ruling junta has written new election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties — specifically the Shinawatras’ main election vehicle Pheu Thai — can win. Pheu Thai is expected to again sweep up the north and northeastern heartlands as it seeks to head an anti-junta coalition. A 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have maneuvered Prayuth and the junta party — Phalang Pracharat — into pole position. With senate votes in hand, the party needs just 126 lower house seats to secure a parliamentary majority. It can cross that line comfortably with alliances with smaller parties. Pheu Thai, however, needs 376 lower house seats to command an overall majority — near impossible without complex tie-ups across pro-democracy factions. “A deadlock is very likely,” said political scientist Napisa Waitoolkiat of Naresuan University. Seven million millennials are eligible to vote for the first time — many enamoured by telegenic billionaire Thanathorn Joonruangrit, a political newcomer whose anti-junta position and strong social media messaging has won his Future Forward fans.

elections
maha vajiralongkorn
thaksin shinawatra
thailand
prayuth chan-ocha


Polls close in Thailand's first general election since 2014 coup

Abstract: BANGKOK - After polls closed in Thailand’s first general election since a 2014 coup, Thais began the nail-biting wait late Sunday to see whether the ruling junta will return to power as a civilian government, or if pro-democracy parties can triumph against the odds. The Election Commission estimated 80 percent of voters had turned out at schoolyards, temples and government offices across the nation, their enthusiasm fired by years of denied democracy. Sunday’s crunch vote was foreshadowed by a cryptic last-minute warning from King Maha Vajiralongkorn to support “good” leaders to prevent “chaos.” Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the palace is nominally above politics. But the institution retains unassailable powers and is insulated from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law. The election pits a royalist junta and allies against the election-winning machine of billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and an unpredictable wave of millions of first-time voters. The kingdom remains bitterly divided despite the junta’s pledge to rescue it from a decade-long treadmill of protests and coups. Politicians across the spectrum fear a stalemate under election rules, written by the junta, which limit the chances of any single party emerging with a comfortable parliamentary majority. There are 51 million eligible voters and more than 7 million first-timers aged 18-25. Preliminary results were expected within a few hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m. local time. “I want to see Thailand become more democratic and inequality eased from society,” said insurance company employee Pattrapong Waschiyapong at a Bangkok polling station. Fears of the potential for foul play ricocheted across social media in a reflection of the lingering mistrust between rival political camps, in a country which last held a general election in 2011. “Thai people come to vote because they want change,” said Somkid, 64, giving only one name, as she waited outside the headquarters of the Pheu Thai party. “If there is any vote rigging there will be protests.” The day was framed by the palace statement, which added further intrigue to an election that has repeatedly threatened to tip into chaos before a single ballot was cast. It reiterated comments by late King Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to “support good people to govern the society and control the bad people” to prevent them “creating chaos.” The king urged the public to “remember and be aware” of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016. While there were no further clues as to who those “good people” might be, the phrase — “khon dee” in Thai — is habitually attached to royalist, establishment politicians. Another royal command in February torpedoed the candidacy of the king’s elder sister, Princess Ubolratana, for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin, a divisive leader toppled by a 2006 coup. Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008, but he loomed large over Sunday’s election. His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on loyalty from rural and urban poor. On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honor at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin’s daughter — with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral. In Bangkok Sudarat Keyuraphan, the prime ministerial candidate for the largest Thaksin-linked party Pheu Thai, said she had witnessed “euphoria” at the ballot box. The junta party, which is proposing army-chief-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha for civilian leader after the polls, is under intense pressure to avoid humiliation in what is effectively a referendum on its popularity. Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin’s younger sister, Yingluck, in 2014. The army and its allies in the Bangkok elite loathe the Shinawatras, accusing the clan of toxifying Thai politics and society with money, nepotism and graft. The Shinawatras say they have simply recognized the economic and democratic aspirations of Thailand’s majority. This time the junta has written new election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties — specifically Pheu Thai — can win. Pheu Thai is expected to again sweep the north and northeastern heartlands as it seeks to head an anti-junta coalition. But a 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have maneuvered the junta party — Phalang Pracharat — into pole position. With senate votes in hand, it needs just 126 Lower House seats to secure a parliamentary majority. It can cross that line comfortably in alliance with smaller parties. Pheu Thai, however, needs 376 Lower House seats to command an overall majority — near impossible without complex tie-ups across prodemocracy factions. “A deadlock is very likely,” political scientist Napisa Waitoolkiat of Naresuan University said. Many younger voters tired of the old political lines have pledged to support telegenic 40-year-old billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The political newcomer’s Future Forward party has won fans with strong social media messaging and its strident anti-junta stance. Others including Thailand’s oldest party the Democrats could play a key role.

thailand
election
maha vajiralongkorn
politics
thaksin shinawatra
chan-ocha


U.S. official denounces 'choreographed' visits for European diplomats to China's Xinjiang region

Abstract: BEIJING - “Highly choreographed” tours to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese government are misleading and propagate false narratives about the troubled region, a U.S. official said, after China announced plans to invite European envoys to visit. China has been stepping up a push to counter growing criticism in the West and among rights groups about a controversial de-radicalization program in heavily Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia. Critics say China is operating internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim peoples who live in Xinjiang, though the government calls them vocational training centers and says it has a genuine need to prevent extremist thinking and violence. China’s Foreign Ministry said late last week it will invite Beijing-based European diplomats to visit soon. Diplomatic sources said the so-far informal invitation had been extended specifically to ambassadors and is planned for this week. A U.S. government official, when asked if Terry Branstad, the U.S. ambassador to China, had been invited to visit Xinjiang, said there were no meetings or visits to announce. “Highly choreographed and chaperoned government-led tours in Xinjiang have propagated false narratives and obfuscated the realities of China’s ongoing human rights abuses in the region,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A visit this month would be the first by a large group of Western diplomats to the region since international concern about Xinjiang’s security clampdown began intensifying last year. Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in recent years. Several groups of diplomats from other countries have already been brought to Xinjiang on tightly scripted trips since late December to visit the facilities. There have been two visits by groups including European diplomats to Xinjiang this year. One was a small group of EU diplomats, and the other by a group of diplomats from a broader mix of countries, including missions from Greece, Hungary and North African and Southeast Asian states. A Reuters journalist visited on a government-organized trip in January. The U.S. official described what was happening in Xinjiang as “a highly repressive campaign,” and said claims that the facilities were “humane job-training centers” or “boarding schools” were not credible. “We will continue to call on China to end these counterproductive policies, free all those who have been arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of its Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate.” China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has rejected all foreign criticism of its policies in Xinjiang, and says it invites foreigners to visit to help them better understand the region. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department said China’s treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang marks the worst human rights abuses “since the 1930s.” The issue of Xinjiang adds another irritant to already strained ties between Washington and Beijing, who are trying to end a bitter trade war and have several other areas of disagreement, including the disputed South China Sea and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Late last year, more than a dozen ambassadors from Western countries, including France, Britain, Germany and the EU’s top envoy in Beijing, wrote to the government to seek a meeting with Xinjiang’s top official, Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, to discuss their concerns about the rights situation. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including Chen. Two diplomatic sources said Saturday that government officials have said a meeting with Chen was not being offered to the European ambassadors, and that the trip is not to discuss human rights but to talk about China-Europe cooperation on President Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road” project. It remains unclear whether the envoys will accept the invitation, though the two sources said it is unlikely. Officials at the European Union’s embassy in Beijing have declined to comment on the invitation. Xi is currently in Europe on a state visit to Italy, Monaco and France, and Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to visit Brussels next month for a China-EU summit. EU leaders said Friday the bloc must recognize that China is as much a competitor as a partner.


Over 10,000 Philippine bikers stage protest against newly introduced license plate regulation

Abstract: MANILA - More than 10,000 motorcycle riders staged a motorcade Sunday in the main highways of Manila to protest at new regulations forcing them to display bigger license plates, saying the measure will not solve the crime problem. Cases of murders, robberies and other crimes perpetrated by people on motorbikes have been rampant in the Philippines, as more and more people turn to using motorbikes because the roads are so congested. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the measure into law this month, requiring all licensed motorbikes to display bigger front and rear plates to make them more visible to the authorities and any witnesses to crimes. At present, registration plates are displayed only on the back. Under the law, the font style of plates should be readable from a distance of 15 meters. For quick and easy identification, the plates need to be color coded for each of the country’s 17 regions. “This is not a solution for crime because a criminal will not use his own motorcycle. This is why the riding community should fight the double plate bill,” protester Joseph De Los Reyes said.

license
manila
motorbike
rodrigo duterte


WAW/W20 talks close with a call for men to be more involved in women's issues

Abstract: Changing people’s mindsets and involving men in dealing more with women’s issues are key to empowering women, participants at this year’s joint World Assembly for Women and Women 20 summit agreed on Sunday as their two-day meeting in Tokyo came to a close. “I am sure there was a little something that each of us can take away” from the summit, said Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in her closing remarks at the meeting, which brought lawmakers, diplomats and business executives together to discuss a wide range of issues on empowering women. “I urge you to share your experiences with those around you and translate that into concrete action,” she said. Although the summit covered a broad range of topics, including the digital gender gap, sexual violence, and women in the workplace, a theme that was raised repeatedly was the need to involve men in women’s issues. “I personally got the impression that only one in ten people in the audience were men during a panel discussion I attended earlier,” said Yasutoshi Nishimura, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and deputy chief Cabinet secretary. “It’s great that women have such a strong presence here, but it’s essential for men to understand and get involved in these issues … for women to be empowered,” he added. Corporate executives at a panel discussion on how companies can better foster gender equality in the workplace also stressed the importance of engaging men in women’s issues. “We very quickly noticed the fact that (women’s issues) has to be shared with and embraced by men … because men are part of the solution not the problem,” said Stacey Kennedy, president of the South and South East Asia Region of Philip Morris International, when speaking of her experiences of being part of a commission to improve gender equality in the workplace. “I found very little, if at all, bad intent” on behalf of the men, and the reaction among men was “mostly shock and surprise,” she explained, stressing the importance of revealing unconscious biases. Philip Morris International became the first global multinational firm earlier this month to receive official certification for paying its employees, regardless of gender, equally for their work across the globe by the Equal-Salary Foundation, an independent Swiss-based third-party organization that accredits companies for equal pay. The World Women for Assembly plans to release written suggestions at a later date on how to achieve better gender equality based on the discussions held at the two-day gathering. The W20 submitted a communique to Prime Minister Abe on Saturday for further discussion at the Group of 20 summit, to be held in Osaka in June.

waw
w20
women
world assembly for women
akie abe


Small Japanese firms fear foreign laborers will abandon them when new visas kick in

Abstract: As Japan braces for a fresh influx of foreign workers from the new visa system starting next month, small and midsize firms fear the system will end up helping only major firms in large cities, since those who qualify for the two new “specified skills” visas will be free to switch companies in the same sector. Although the immigration law was revised to cope with the nation’s severe labor shortage, small companies feel they will continue to struggle to secure competent workers because they have to compete with big-name companies offering higher pay. Foreign trainees who meet certain criteria also will be able to switch to one of the new visas without extra testing, so companies are additionally concerned they might suddenly decide to go and work for a bigger company. At an auto parts maker in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, six of the roughly 30 employees are trainees from China, Vietnam and Indonesia operating machinery to produce screws and check finished products. “They work hard and are quick to learn their jobs,” said Kosuke Okada, 42, the president of the company. “They are a vital workforce amid the labor shortage.” The company, which has been struggling to find Japanese workers, started hiring Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese descent in the 1990s. But many of them chose to switch to larger companies to get higher pay and better benefits. After learning about the technical intern program, Okada started accepting foreign trainees about 10 years ago. Because they are basically not permitted to change employers during their stay, he depended on the program as a way to secure enough staff. But since they will be allowed to upgrade their visas starting in April, Okada fears some of the newly hired ones might move to larger companies, just like the Japanese-Brazilians and Japanese-Peruvians did in the past. The firm has taken measures to improve working conditions, such as offering raises depending on experience and installing air conditioners in its factory. But nothing seems to work, Okada said. “At the end of the day, we don’t have the resources to take on big companies,” he said. The new visa system offers two residence statuses — one for those with skills in 14 labor-hungry sectors, including nursing care and agriculture, and one for those with higher skills in two specific sectors — construction and shipbuilding. Changing jobs is permitted in the same sector. In mid-November, when the bill to revise the immigration law was under deliberation in the Diet, Human Resource Support Corporative Association Tokai, an intermediary body in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, that acts as a broker and support center for foreign trainees, held a seminar for companies in nearby Anjo. Attending were officials of organizations that dispatch technical interns from Vietnam and Indonesia to Japan. It has become increasingly difficult to recruit people for training in Japan, they emphasized. An official from Human Resource Support, which sends trainees to about 100 firms in the Chubu region, said competition for labor has become international. “To secure human resources, companies now have to compete not only against rivals within Japan but also overseas. Small companies, which have already been at a disadvantage, should change their mindset and offer better conditions,” the official said. According to Human Resource Support, corporate reputations spread quickly via social media. Competition is likely to intensify and there are concerns that more workers will converge on metropolitan areas. Since the central government has yet to take effective measures to cope with these concerns, the only advice for small and midsize firms in the region right now is “to make efforts to be chosen by foreign people,” the official said.

foreign workers
aichi
china
vietnam
indonesia
small businesses


Base-laden Okinawa vies to become tourism magnet

Abstract: NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - Just a couple minutes from the Okinawa Prefectural Government building and the busy shopping street Kokusai-dori, Sora Shokudo offers jerk chicken on the menu — a Caribbean cuisine that goes well with rum — which is now also produced in Okinawa and attracting interest from domestic and overseas tourists. “Okinawa grows sugarcane and so it’s natural that we’d produce different varieties of rum,” says owner and Okinawan rum expert Masahiro Aoyama, where about 10 different varieties of locally made rum are offered. The bitter struggle between the prefecture and the central government over the unpopular plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from crowded Ginowan to Henoko, a coastal district in Nago further north on the main island, has dominated political commentary and media coverage for the past two decades. But in recent years, the prefecture has been getting a huge amount of central government funding to develop its tourism and transportation infrastructure in order to become a major tourism hub in Asia. In a 2013 deal with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima gave Tokyo the green light on the Futenma relocation plan in exchange for promises of at least ¥300 billion a year in central government subsidies for local infrastructure projects. Though public anger over Nakaima’s approval led to his ouster, Abe has kept his word on the funding. Last year, the central government provided Okinawa with just over ¥300 billion in subsidies. Okinawa has three major infrastructure projects that are the subject of local and national political focus. One of them is set to be completed next year, while negotiations continue over who will fund the other two. Okinawa’s total development budget request for fiscal 2019, which begins on April 1, is ¥319 billion. Of this, about ¥227 billion includes funding for a project Okinawa has long sought — a second runway at Naha Airport that is slated to open in 2020. “We will proceed with the construction of the second runway at Naha Airport with an aim to start the service in March next year. By expanding the arrival and departure capacity of the airport significantly, we will strengthen its functions as an airport hub connecting Japan and the rest of Asia,” Abe said in his January policy speech. The new 2,700-meter runway means Naha Airport will be able to handle up to 188,000 takeoffs and landings annually, up from 166,000 in fiscal 2017. But there are concerns about how much flights, and thus Okinawa’s tourism industry, can grow even with a new runway. A recent editorial in the Ryukyu Shimpo, a local newspaper, noted that U.S. flight patterns and air space restrictions at adjacent Kadena Air Base could restrict use of the second runway. In addition, Naha Airport is jointly used by the Self-Defense Forces. So if more SDF aircraft are scrambled, that could mean additional runway delays for civilian flights. Still, with completion of the second runaway in sight, Okinawa officials, including Gov. Denny Tamaki, who was elected last year to oppose the Futenma relocation plan but is a proponent of public infrastructure development, are turning their attention to the two other projects on Okinawa’s wish list. These include a public railway system that would connect Naha, the prefectural capital in the south, to Nago, about 70 km north. In 2014, a few months after Abe and Nakaima reached their deal on Henoko, a series of proposals for the railway were made public. Last year, a route that would connect eight cities and towns, including Ginowan, emerged as the local favorite. If built, the travel time between Naha and Nago, now a two-hour trip by bus, would be shortened to an hour. Construction would take around 15 years and cost an estimated ¥610 billion. Given the lack of rail transportation between the more prosperous Naha area and the less-developed north, residents on the main island are in favor of the plan even if there are questions about the price tag. “At present, the central government is conducting various surveys on the proposed route, and we’re consulting with officials of the eight cities where the rail system would pass through. While there is a lot of support locally, there is also concern about who would pay,” said Yutaka Miyagi, a prefectural official involved with the project. The third major infrastructure project Okinawa eventually hopes to get is a large venue for attracting international conferences, conventions and trade exhibitions — something that would include adjacent luxury hotels and shopping centers. Plans are underway to build such a facility on the eastern side of the island. “There’s no detailed plan of action yet. But we believe that Okinawa has several advantages. It’s the only place in Japan where you have the necessary urban environment for business exchanges in a resort island atmosphere with a tropic climate,” said Yoshifumi Kishimoto, a local tourism official. Not mentioned in the plans is the prospect of a casino. While there have been suggestions among some local leaders in the past that the prefecture might benefit from a casino resort, Tamaki has said it is not necessary. Most of the members of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly have also opposed or expressed skepticism about casino gambling. But building the Naha-Nago rail line and a major conference center are deemed critical needs by Tokyo and Okinawa if the prefecture is to meet its goals of reeling in 12 million visitors a year by 2021 and turning itself into a regional hub for business and tourism. Last year, visitors to the prefecture topped 9.8 million. That included over 2.9 million from abroad, the largest number being from Taiwan (889,000), mainland China (632,000) and South Korea (555,000), with another 583,000 from other countries. While Okinawa Prefecture moves forward with attempts to complete major infrastructure plans and draw more tourists, local businesses, like Sora Shokudo, continue to innovate and expand, paying attention to increased demand from domestic and foreign travelers, especially for products like rum that are universally known but have a uniquely local flavor, which perhaps sums up Okinawa itself.

okinawa
infrastructure
relocation
airports
u.s. military


Official campaigning for Osaka mayoral election starts

Abstract: OSAKA - Official campaigning for the Osaka mayoral election began Sunday, with Osaka Prefecture’s former governor, Ichiro Matsui, facing off against a ruling Liberal Democratic Party-backed challenger opposed to the controversial idea of restructuring the city into a metropolis. The city of Osaka this month joined a number of local governments scheduled to hold gubernatorial, mayoral and assembly elections on April 7 after Osaka Gov. Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura both resigned in a bid to swap their positions. Matsui’s successor will also be picked on April 7. Matsui, 55, and Yoshimura, 43, want to use the elections to push their political party’s goal of reshaping the city into a metropolitan government similar to that of Tokyo, which is intended to streamline the prefectural and city administrations. The idea to form the “Osaka metropolis” — originally a pet proposal of former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto — was put to a city referendum in May 2015, only to be rejected by voters. Matsui and Yoshimura were elected as governor and mayor respectively in November the same year, vowing to try again. “We should not go back to a time when the overlapping operations of the prefecture and city were criticized,” Matsui said in a stump speech as the campaigning kicked off. “We will make Osaka a city that grows and where people are protected by the social security system.” Akira Yanagimoto, a 45-year-old former assembly member of the city of Osaka who also filed his candidacy, called for the need to maintain the current city structure, saying, “It’s a great chance to bring an end to the Osaka metropolis concept.” The gubernatorial race will be fought between Yoshimura and Tadakazu Konishi, a 64-year-old former Osaka deputy governor supported by the LDP. Campaigning for mayoral polls in five other major cities across Japan, including Hiroshima, also began Sunday.

osaka
mayoral election
ichiro matsui
hirofumi yoshimura
akira yanagimoto


Tsunami-hit railway in northeast Japan resumes regular services

Abstract: MORIOKA - A railway line stretching more than 160 kilometers along Iwate Prefecture’s Pacific Coast resumed regular services Sunday for the first time since sustaining heavy damage caused by the 2011 tsunami and massive earthquake that devastated the Tohoku region. The service between Miyako and Kamaishi stations in the prefecture officially reopened Saturday with a single train journey. The operator, Sanriku Railway Co., took control of the section of track from East Japan Railway Co., completing the opening of the entire 163-kilometer-long Rias Line. Two sections of the coastal-rail line had previously resumed operations. At Unosumai Station in the city of Kamaishi on Sunday, local students welcomed train cars adorned with the design they helped create, featuring English and French words of appreciation for the support they received from overseas during the reconstruction efforts. “It looks better than I expected. I hope more people will smile and cheer up our town when they see this train in operation,” said Mana Kawasaki, a 14-year-old from Kamaishi-Higashi Junior High School, as she viewed the brightly-colored train. In the 2011 disaster, the Unosumai Station building was completely destroyed. Unosumai will become the closest station to the stadium serving as one of the venues for the Rugby World Cup that starts this September. The Rias Line, which links Kuji and Sakari stations further to the north and south in the prefecture, is the longest railroad in Japan operated by a public-private venture. Among Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures — all significantly damaged by the March 11, 2011 disasters — the only train service that remains suspended is between JR Namie and Tomioka stations in Fukushima, a result of the nuclear crisis that occurred there.

tsunami
tohoku
trains
sanriku raiway co. rias line


Japan plans to develop home-made long-range anti-ship missile to counter threat

Abstract: The Defense Ministry plans to develop a domestically made long-range anti-ship missile, apparently in response to advanced, longer-range air-defense missiles now in service with the Chinese Navy, according to sources. Under the plan, the new missile will be an improved model of the ASM-3 supersonic air-to-ship cruise missile, whose development was completed in fiscal 2017. The aim is to deploy a standoff missile capable of attacking targets from outside the ranges of an opponent’s air-defense capabilities. The ministry hopes to include related development expenditures in its budget request for fiscal 2020, the sources said Saturday. Some critics consider the development of such standoff missiles problematic in terms of Japan’s exclusively defense-oriented policy, claiming that it may lead to the country’s acquisition of weapons that give the Self-Defense Forces the ability to attack enemy bases. But Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya has said, “We need to have long-range systems in order to respond to circumstances while ensuring the safety of Self-Defense Forces members.” The government included a policy to introduce long-range weapons in a new medium-term defense program adopted at a Cabinet meeting late last year. The ASM-3, which flies at a speed of around Mach 3, was planned to be mounted on the Air Self-Defense Force’s F-2 fighter jets. But it has yet to be deployed because its range — about 200 kilometers (125 miles) — is too short. The ministry aims to extend the range of the new missile to 400 kilometers or longer. Among foreign-made long-range anti-ship and anti-surface missiles, the ministry has already decided to introduce the Norwegian-made JSM, with a range of about 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) and which will be mounted on new F-35 stealth fighters. Additionally, the U.S.-made JASSM and LRA, each having a range of some 900 kilometers (about 550 miles), will be mounted on F-15 fighters. However, one drawback of these missiles is that they cannot fly faster than Mach 3. The ministry is considering mounting the new missile on the successor model to the F-2 fighter jet, which is set to be retired from around 2035.


Fugu grow faster and without deadly toxin at hotelier's hot spring farms in Tohoku

Abstract: MORIOKA, IWATE PREF. - A hotel operator in the Tohoku region is one of a small number of companies that have launched businesses in depopulated rural areas to raise torafugu, a high-quality variety of the poisonous puffer fish prized as a delicacy in Japan, using tanks filled with hot spring water. Torafugu raised in this manner, however, are free of the toxins that often require the fish to be prepared by licensed chefs, and also grow much faster than those farmed at sea, according to hotel chain Akita Kyoei Kanko in Akita Prefecture. The company started offering full-course meals based on the tiger puffer fish, including thin slices of sashimi, the most popular serving method, to guests in December. After purchasing a hotel in Iwate Prefecture in September 2017 that had closed more than a decade ago in the town of Shizukuishi, the company set up 10 tanks that can hold about 10,000 liters of water. The company then began farming the fish in February 2018, starting with 4,000 juvenile puffers. It said water from the local onsen (hot springs) is rich in minerals and suitable for cultivating this kind of fish. The onsen water helps the tiger puffers grow even in winter and lets the chain ship them in about a year, or roughly six months earlier than their sea-farmed counterparts. It opened the farm with the support of Yumesozo, a company based in landlocked Tochigi Prefecture. Yumesozo invented the technique of cultivating puffer fish in onsen water to help revitalize depopulated towns and villages. Fugu is one of Japan’s top delicacies and usually contains a deadly neurotoxin in its liver and other organs. But the fish farmed by the company at its facility in Shizukuishi are nontoxic because they are not raised on seaweed and shellfish, which are thought to be the origins of the poison. “Our tiger puffers are as delicious as wild ones,” Ritsu Iwamoto, managing director of the hotel chain, said. “We want to develop it as a new local specialty and contribute to reinvigorating northeastern areas in Japan.” Japan has hot springs in all 47 prefectures, with the total standing at more than 27,000 as of fiscal 2016, according to the Environment Ministry. With franchise contracts with Yumesozo, more than 10 other companies have started using onsen water to farm torafugu at sites including a former elementary school in Miyazaki Prefecture, in Kyushu.


Japan wants more foreign nationals to join regional revitalization programs amid graying population

Abstract: The internal affairs ministry will encourage foreign nationals living in Japan to join regional revitalization programs outside greater Tokyo and other big metropolises, sources said. In fiscal 2019, the ministry will expand the scope of its financial assistance to municipalities to make it easier for non-Japanese, including those who have worked as assistant language teachers (ALTs), to participate in the programs, according to the sources. Under the project, launched in fiscal 2009, young people are encouraged to move out of the greater Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas and live in the countryside where they are expected to engage in regional revitalization activities such as farming, the development of local specialty goods or working in the forestry and fishery industries, for one to three years. Host municipalities receive up to ¥4 million per worker in special tax grants. The ministry hopes to facilitate the participation in such regional revitalization efforts by foreign nationals who have worked as ALTs, international relations coordinators at municipalities and other staff under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, or JET. At present, the special tax grants are provided only when participants move out of the three big-city areas to be enrolled in revitalization programs in other places. The ministry plans to ease the rule to newly cover young people who move from one location to another outside the three metropolitan areas, the sources said. The ministry expects that the programs will interest many former JET participants who are already used to life in Japan. They must join a regional program within a year after they leave the JET program. According to the ministry, participants in regional revitalization efforts across Japan numbered 5,359 in fiscal 2018, a record high. The number of municipalities accepting such participants also hit a record high of 1,061. The ministry aims to raise the number of participants to 8,000 by fiscal 2024.

regional revitalization
jet programme
foreign residents


Japan to use Osprey aircraft for overseas rescue operations: sources

Abstract: The government plans to introduce a special operations variant of the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft for Self-Defense Forces to conduct dangerous and covert missions abroad, such as the rescuing of Japanese citizens, according to sources. The Ground Self-Defense Force has a special anti-terror unit to carry out such operations. But the unit is still not fully capable and lacks specialized aircraft. Under the government plan, the CV-22 Osprey, the special operations variant of the MV-22, will be deployed along with refurbished models of the GSDF’s UH-60 helicopter, the government sources said Saturday. The CV-22 is widely seen as more capable of nighttime flying and its terrain-following radar enables it to fly at low altitudes, they said. The remodeled UH-60 is regarded as better armored and can be carried by the Air Self-Defense Force’s C-2 transport airplanes. The controversial security legislation that came effect in 2016 expanded the scope under which the SDF can conduct overseas military operations. Japan has been seeking to enhance its capability to rescue Japanese citizens overseas since the 2013 hostage crisis in Algeria in which 10 Japanese were killed. The GSDF is also eyeing the use of special aircraft in the event that Japan’s remote islands are occupied by foreign forces, according to the sources. At U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, 24 MV-22s have been deployed since 2012. The Defense Ministry is considering introducing CV-22s among the 17 Ospreys it plans to deploy at Saga airport on the island of Kyushu, according to the sources. The ministry was supposed to deploy the aircraft over four years from fiscal 2018, but it has postponed delivery of the first batch of five planes from the United States. That is because the government has struggled to win local consent due to concerns over the Osprey’s safety record. The new security laws loosened the constraints of Japan’s postwar pacifist Constitution on military matters. They have allowed for SDF participation in foreign peacekeeping operations at the request of international organizations not under United Nations control. Rescue operations in other countries might not only put SDF members’ lives at risk but also create situations in which they are forced to return fire at armed groups. The Constitution bans the use of force abroad.


Bank of Japan's tankan likely to show slump in manufacturing sentiment, projections say

Abstract: The Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan survey for March is likely to show a slump in business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers, according to the latest projections by 12 private think tanks. Their average forecast points to a fall to plus 13 in the headline diffusion index for large manufacturers’ business confidence, down from plus 19 in the December 2018 survey and the lowest figure since March 2017. All the 12 think tanks foresee a fall in the manufacturing sentiment DI. The dismal forecast mainly reflects the adverse implications of U.S.-China trade friction for Japan’s exports and production. The results of the March survey are due to be released on April 1. The DI for large manufacturers’ business outlook over the next three months is estimated at plus 12. Eight of the 12 institutes project a further deterioration in sentiment. “Business sentiment is believed to have sharply worsened in sectors including production machinery, which is badly affected by slowing demand from China,” an official of the NLI Research Institute said. Meanwhile, the DI for large nonmanufacturers’ present sentiment is projected to sag to plus 22 from plus 24, weighed down by labor shortages but partly supported by solid consumption. Capital expenditures at large manufacturers and nonmanufacturers in fiscal 2019, starting on April 1, are seen decreasing 0.2 percent from the previous year.

tankan
boj
japanese economy
ban of japan


30% of Japanese companies keen to increase hiring of new grads in 2020: poll

Abstract: A recent poll has found that more than 30 percent of Japanese companies surveyed plan to hire more new graduates in spring 2020 than they did this year. Including those aiming to secure about the same number as this spring, more than 80 percent of all respondents are seen as being keen to hire in 2020. The Jiji Press survey was conducted on 100 major companies from late February to mid-March. Of them, 75 outlined their recruitment plans. According to the survey, 39 companies have no plans to change the number of new recruits from the previous year, 24 intend to hire more and 12 expect reductions. Construction and logistics companies are especially eager to increase hiring, while some securities firms plan to decrease their number of new recruits. General contractor Taisei Corp., which cut recruitment for years after the bubble economy collapsed in the early 1990s, plans to employ 316 newcomers in spring 2020, up some 20 percent from this year. Fast Retailing Co., which runs the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, will hire 650 to strengthen operations at home and abroad. Meanwhile, rehabilitating Toshiba Corp. will reduce its number by 36 percent to 350. Amid increasing uncertainties over the course of the global economy, Nomura Holdings Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. plan to hire fewer graduates. The survey also found that 10 companies failed to secure the planned number of new recruits for 2019, twice the previous year’s result. Expecting difficulties securing the planned number of newcomers in spring 2020, Mazda Motor Corp. will increase the number of recruiters amid intensifying competition for talent. The hiring guidelines by Keidanren, the nation’s largest business lobby, are to be abolished with the spring 2020 hiring wave. New guidelines, led by the government, are under consideration.

japanese companies
employment
jobs
job hunting


Tepco unit to tie up with JXTG on hydrogen production for fuel-cell vehicles

Abstract: Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s thermal power generation unit will team up with a subsidiary of JXTG Holdings Inc. to start producing hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles in 2020. Tepco Fuel & Power Inc. said Friday that it and JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. have agreed to build a facility to produce hydrogen on the premises of the Tepco subsidiary’s power plant in Tokyo because a private-public effort is underway to spread the use of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels. The new facility will be capable of supplying hydrogen to about 290 fuel cell cars a day. The government is promoting the use of hydrogen in an effort to showcase the clean technology during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and bus firms plan to operate over 100 fuel cell buses during the games. The latest hydrogen deal will involve Tepco Fuel & Power’s operations, which are set to be transferred to Jera Co., an energy joint venture it set up with Chubu Electric Power Co., in April. Fuel cell vehicles are powered by electricity generated by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen and do not emit carbon dioxide. Unlike systems based on directly supplied electricity, a fuel cell can store hydrogen until needed without losing its charge. But spreading the use of hydrogen remains a challenge due to the high costs and lack of infrastructure, especially fuel stations. Following the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011, there has been growing public interest in renewable energy in resource-scarce Japan. Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, Japan is aiming for a 26 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2013 levels. In the private sector, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have already developed hydrogen-powered FCVs.

tepco
hydrogen
fuel cells
renewables
environment
automobiles


Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner cooperating with U.S. House probe, source says

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is cooperating with a wide-ranging probe by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee into Trump and possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power, a person knowledgeable about the matter said on Friday. Just hours earlier, a lawyer for Trump adviser Roger Stone said in a letter seen by Reuters that Stone was not cooperating with the same committee and cited his right to avoid self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The contrasting responses to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler’s probe targeting 81 individuals and groups came on the same day the Justice Department announced the completion of a report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Trump and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. As a cloud of legal risk darkened over Trump, he was spending the weekend at his private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Kushner submitted documents to Nadler’s panel on Thursday in response to a wave of document requests sent by the committee on March 4, the knowledgeable person said. Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell, who received the committee’s document request, was not immediately available for comment. Democrats in the House of Representatives have launched numerous inquiries into Trump, his presidency, his family and his business interests. The Mueller investigation has been focused on the election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow in its effort to sway U.S. voters in Trump’s favor. Although Mueller’s report is finished, its contents were not yet known late on Friday. Details were expected soon. Russia has denied U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 campaign. Trump has denied any collusion and dismissed Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt.” Among the Judiciary Committee’s aims are determining if Trump obstructed justice by ousting perceived enemies at the Justice Department and abused his power by possibly offering pardons or tampering with witnesses. It was not clear how much material Kushner provided to the committee. But investigators sought documents from him on more than two dozen topics. Those topics ranged from a June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to any Trump transition team contacts with Russia. Stone’s lawyer Grant Smith said in the letter to Nadler that Stone faces federal criminal charges and that it “is not in Mr. Stone’s best interest” to participate in any other proceedings. Stone was arrested in January and charged with lying to Congress about the 2016 Trump campaign’s efforts to use stolen emails to undercut Clinton. Stone declared himself innocent hours after a team of FBI agents raided his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Smith called Nadler’s demand for documents a “fishing expedition request.” Stone, who is under a gag order from the judge hearing his criminal case, had no comment.

jared kushner
donald trump
congress
russia probe


Robert Mueller: The invisible prosecutor who shook the White House

Abstract: WASHINGTON - As a prosecutor, Robert Mueller took on violent Hells Angels, mob bosses and foreign spies. At the end of his career, he was tasked with hunting the biggest quarry of all: the president of the United States. For two years, Mueller has been digging for the truth behind the most explosive political investigation in American history: Did Donald Trump or his campaign conspire with the Russian government? And has the president been beholden to the Kremlin since his victory? Named director of the FBI just days before the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks, Robert Swan Mueller III knows well the pressure of being thrust suddenly into the center of a firestorm. But nothing compared to being appointed special counsel in May 2017 to investigate a president who, according to the suspicions, may have been compromised by Russians whose meddling helped him win the election. Since then, the enigmatic and stately Mueller, 74, has been a dark cloud over Trump’s presidency, and the billionaire commander-in-chief has fought back vociferously, with denials, threats, and character assassination. In a town where leaks are currency and a bully pulpit is power, Mueller has remained silent and invisible, communicating through sporadic indictments that have repeatedly signaled evidence of possible wrongdoing reaching into the Trump administration’s inner circles. Mueller submitted his report on Friday — 674 days after his appointment — U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr announced. There was no immediate indication of whether Trump or members of his family or former campaign advisors were implicated in collusion or obstruction but Barr indicated that he may be able to summarize its “principal” conclusions in the coming days. The announcement capped two years during which Mueller’s team of seasoned counterintelligence agents, financial forensics specialists and organized crime prosecutors worked with uncommon speed for such a sprawling investigation to open and close cases. They indicted 34 individuals, including six former Trump aides, five of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Most of the rest — that’s more than two dozen Russians Mueller charged with conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 election — are unlikely ever to face trial. Mueller’s team has been aggressive and focused, reflecting his reputation as a gruff taskmaster who demands speed and precision. This discipline has been especially important in countering Trump’s repeated accusation — more than 180 times on Twitter alone — that the operation was a politicized “witch hunt.” Mueller, the president said on Twitter in December, “is a much different man than people think.” “His out of control band of Angry Democrats, don’t want the truth, they only want lies,” Trump huffed. Despite the White House attacks, few in Washington thought there was anyone better than Mueller for the special counsel job. The onetime U.S. Marine served both Republican and Democratic presidents and was a patrician of the Washington bureaucratic establishment, deeply trusted to do the right thing no matter who that would upset or disappoint. “I think Bob Mueller is an American hero,” said Ty Cobb, who served as a top White House lawyer tasked with protecting the president during the first year of the Trump administration. But the man who had the fate of the presidency in his hands stayed silent and invisible, keeping politicians of both parties on edge, lawyers studying the constitution and journalists swarming. In two years he was seen in public only a handful of times — at a restaurant, in a Washington Apple Store getting tech help with his wife and once, portentously crossing paths with Trump’s son Don Jr. in Washington’s National Airport. He spoke only via the details of court filings in each case, thousands of pages that offered a steady flow of puzzle pieces of what had the potential to become a big, coherent picture — or not. It clearly made the White House and Republicans in Congress nervous. Mueller enjoys a certain mystique, depicted in fan memes as a “Star Wars” Jedi or a character from “Game of Thrones.” In sketches on “Saturday Night Live,” he was played by Robert DeNiro as an all-knowing, omnipresent threat. “I’ve got my eyes on you,” he signaled menacingly to Alec Baldwin’s nervous Trump in one sketch. For a Washington transfixed by a man they never saw, DeNiro’s Mueller became, for many, the real thing.

robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe


Change to 737 Max controls may have imperiled planes, experts say

Abstract: NEW YORK/SEATTLE - Much like tapping the brake pedal in a car to disengage cruise control, a sharp tug on the controls of older models of Boeing Co.’s 737 used to shut off an automatic trim system that keeps the plane flying level, giving the pilot control. But Boeing disabled the “yoke jerk” function when it brought out the 737 Max, the latest version of its top-selling jet — and many pilots were unaware of the change, aviation experts said. The difference may help explain why pilots struggled to keep their aircraft climbing after takeoff on two fatal 737 Max flights less than five months apart that left a total of 346 people dead. Pilots of a Lion Air flight that crashed in October desperately scoured the pages of a handbook for answers as the plane repeatedly lurched downward in the first minutes of flight, it was reported. An Ethiopian Airlines flight that went down on March 10 showed “clear similarities” to the Lion Air accident, aviation authorities said after seeing data retrieved from the plane’s black box. A pair of switches on the center console between the pilots will turn off the automatic trim and a mechanism, new on the 737 Max, known as the Maneuver Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, that is suspected of playing a role in both disasters. Training material ‘not clear’ But pilots would have needed to know that MCAS existed, that it had unusual power to force the plane down and that “a hard pull on the yoke” would no longer turn off the automatic trim that uses MCAS, John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at MIT, said during an interview. “That wasn’t clear to the pilots flying the airplane,” Hansman said. “The training material was not clear on that.” Boeing declined to comment. In the aftermath of the Lion Air crash, Boeing pointed to long-established procedures that pilots could have used to handle a malfunction of the anti-stall system, regardless of whether the pilots knew MCAS existed. That checklist tells pilots to switch off the two stabilizer trim cutout switches on the central console, and then to adjust the aircraft’s stabilizers manually using trim wheels. An American Airlines flight manual mentions MCAS only in a table of acronyms, according to an October 2018 edition of the 1,400-page book seen by Reuters. Pilots have raised questions about why more detail on MCAS was not included. The American Airlines manual’s two-page description of trim controls describes a “trim circuit,” but not how MCAS could be triggered by a faulty sensor reading, which is also suspected in the two crashes. Preventing dangerous stall The MCAS system was designed to counteract the effect on the plane’s handling caused by new larger 737 Max engines, which had to be placed farther forward and higher on the wings because the 50-year-old 737 design sits relatively low to the ground. That move gave the Max a tendency to nose up into a stall, a dangerous position in which a plane loses lift as too little air flows across its wings. MCAS, essentially a few lines of computer code in the flight control system, relies on data from two small, blade-shaped sensors near the nose of the aircraft that measure the angle of air flow. Faults in the sensors are not uncommon, and MCAS relies on only one sensor at a time during flight. In the Lion Air crash, investigators found a faulty reading led the plane’s computer to believe it was stalled and to push the nose down. Boeing later issued a bulletin reminding pilots how to respond to such a faulty reading. An optional warning light could have alerted pilots to the faulty sensor. Training under scrutiny Investigators unraveling the Lion Air crash are looking at maintenance records and whether the pilots had enough training to handle the emergency, among other factors. The 737 Max can fly without MCAS, so the feature was not considered “flight-critical” even though it has extraordinary power to steer the plane, said an industry expert with knowledge of the system who spoke on condition of anonymity. MCAS controls the large horizontal wing on the plane’s tail known as the stabilizer, while the pilot controls smaller flaps or “elevators” on the stabilizer. Over several minutes, the stabilizer can shift position enough that the elevator controls can no longer counteract the downward direction of the plane, the source said. “They gave more control power to the automation than to the pilot,” the source said of the MCAS design. The Lion Air pilots flew for about five minutes by using the elevator to counteract the stabilizer every 15 or 20 seconds, said Hansman, based on readings from the flight data recorder. After that, the pilot tried pulling back hard on the controls. “That’s what suggests that the crew didn’t understand the system. They thought they were shutting MCAS off and didn’t,” Hansman said. “Whereas any time during the entire sequence, they could have reached to the middle console and just shut it off.”


Mueller's Russia report could still damn Trump, experts say

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia meddling investigation Friday without recommending any new charges, but U.S. President Donald Trump, who faced obstruction and collusion allegations, could still be implicated in serious, even impeachable wrongdoing. Experts say the confidential report Mueller has submitted to Attorney General William Barr might still have evidence of wrongdoing that for Mueller didn’t rise to criminal level but could still lead to an impeachment investigation by Congress. However, no one else has seen the report yet, so the focus is on what comes next in the process in the coming days and weeks. Under his mandate, Mueller was to provide to Barr “a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions.” Barr is obliged to summarize the report for the House and Senate judiciary committees. Barr said Friday he will likely be able to deliver its “principal conclusions” for the committees this weekend. But Barr, a past critic of Mueller whom Trump named to lead the Justice Department only in February, can divulge or withhold as much information as he wants in his own report. The special counsel regulations “give Barr lots of discretion about what to disclose to Congress and the public,” said Andrew Coan, a University of Arizona law professor who has written about special prosecutors and presidents. Coan said Barr could release an abbreviated report that puts Trump in a good light rather than a very damaging one. “The selective release of exculpatory material is a possibility worth watching for.” Barr also said he will study how much of Mueller’s report he can release to the public. With public pressure immense, Barr said he is “committed to as much transparency as possible.” David Rivkin, a conservative attorney who has followed the investigation closely, says he thinks there won’t be much that Barr needs to hold back. “My sense is it’s going to be a nothing-burger. It will be fairly anticlimactic,” he said. “Mueller is a cautious person, he’s not going to make recommendations about impeachment.” Parts or all of Barr’s summary can be expected to leak within hours of its arrival on Capitol Hill. But Congress has already moved beyond that to demand more. The Democratic chairs of six committees in the House insisted Friday that the full Mueller report be released to the public. “We also expect the underlying evidence uncovered during the course of the Special Counsel’s investigation will be turned over to the relevant committees of Congress upon request,” they said. The value of that could be huge — or a dud. The report could be “much ado about nothing,” wrote Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist known for her knowledge of the case. One the other hand, it might be “a very damning report that doesn’t amount to criminal behavior” — something that Democrats in Congress could act upon even if Mueller did not. If Barr refuses to give more, it could spark a pitched battle between Congress and the White House. “It is likely to be weeks, and possibly months, before this issue is fully resolved, with much legal and political wrangling in the meantime,” said Coan. Whatever they get from Barr, Congress — or at least the Democrats who control the House — will continue to investigate Trump and his circle. Their reason: Through criminal cases against 34 individuals, including six former Trump aides, Mueller sketched out a picture of scores of willing contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians and a readiness to exchange “dirt” on Trump’s election rival, Hillary Clinton. And Trump’s behavior throughout the investigation has, many lawyers said, met most definitions of obstruction, even if Mueller didn’t see a provable case. If there is more to that picture, Democrats want it out in public, and may believe that further investigation is required beyond the parameters that Mueller set for himself. Both Mueller and Barr can be expected to be summoned to testify, both behind closed doors where they can discuss intelligence matters, and in public.

robert mueller
donald trump
william barr
russia probe


U.S.-backed forces in Syria declare Islamic State defeated and 'caliphate' eliminated

Abstract: BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - The Islamic State group has been defeated at its final shred of territory of Baghouz in Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Saturday, announcing the end of its self-declared “caliphate” that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria. The SDF declared the “total elimination of (the) so-called caliphate,” Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, wrote on Twitter. “Baghouz has been liberated. The military victory against Daesh has been accomplished,” he wrote. The SDF has been battling to capture Baghouz at the Iraqi border for weeks. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. “We renew our pledge to continue the war and to pursue their remnants until their complete elimination,” he wrote. Though the defeat of IS at Baghouz ends the group’s grip over the jihadi quasi-state straddling Syria and Iraq that it declared in 2014, it remains a threat. Some of its fighters still hold out in Syria’s remote central desert and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging sudden shootings or kidnappings and awaiting a chance to rise again. The United States believes the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. He stood at the pulpit of the great medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims. Further afield, jihadis in Afghanistan, Nigeria and elsewhere have shown no sign of recanting their allegiance to IS, and intelligence services say its devotees in the West might plot new attacks. The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja’afari, said on Friday IS was not yet finished in Syria, adding that it was the Damascus government backed by Russia and Iran that was genuinely battling it, not the United States. Still, the fall of Baghouz is a big milestone in a fight against the jihadi group waged by numerous local and global forces — some of them sworn enemies — over more than four years. It also marks a big moment in Syria’s eight-year war, wiping out the territory of one of the main contestants, with the rest split between President Bashar Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF. Assad and his Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, and Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group, by force. The continued presence of U.S. troops in northeast Syria might avert this. IS originated as an al-Qaida faction in Iraq, but it took advantage of Syria’s civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadi organization. In 2014, it suddenly grabbed Iraq’s Mosul, one of the region’s great historic cities, as well as Syria’s Raqqa, and swathes of land each side of the border. It declared an end to modern countries and called on supporters to leave their homes and join the jihadi utopia it claimed to be erecting, trumpeting its currency, flag, passports and military parades. Oil production, extortion and antiquities smuggling financed its agenda, which included the slaughter of some minorities, public slave auctions of captured women, grotesque punishments for minor crimes and the choreographed killing of hostages. Those excesses brought an array of forces against it, forcing it from Mosul and Raqqa in a year of heavy defeats in 2017 and driving it, eventually, down the Euphrates to Baghouz. Over the past two months some 60,000 people poured out of that dwindling enclave, fleeing SDF bombardment and a shortage of food so severe that some said they were reduced to cooking grass. A mass grave the SDF discovered there last month showed there were other dangers in the enclave, though it has released no details on the identities of the victims or how they died. Civilians made up more than half the people leaving Baghouz, the SDF said, including IS victims such as women from the Iraqi Yazidi sect whom the jihadis had sexually enslaved. Thousands of the group’s unbending supporters also abandoned the enclave while still vowing their allegiance to a ruined caliphate and showing no remorse for its victims. At displacement camps in northeast Syria where they were sent by the SDF, the hard-liners, including many foreign women who came to Syria and Iraq to marry jihadis, had to be kept away from other, often traumatized, residents. Their fate has befuddled foreign governments, who see them as a security threat and are loath to accede to SDF entreaties to take them back home. As the fighting progressed in recent weeks, the convoys of trucks from Baghouz started to include hundreds, and then thousands, of surrendering jihadi fighters, many hobbling from their wounds. The SDF said it captured hundreds more in recent weeks who tried to slip through its cordon and escape into Iraq or across the Euphrates and into the Syrian desert. At the end, they were besieged in a tiny camp full of rusting vehicles and makeshift shelters, pinned against the Euphrates and overlooked by hills held by the SDF. IS released video from inside that miserable, shell-pounded enclave, showing its last fighters still shooting at the SDF as smoke billowed overhead. It was an attempt to shape the narrative of its defeat, portraying it as a heroic last stand against overwhelming odds and a call to arms for future jihadis. But the footage shown by the SDF in recent weeks was of long lines of abject, surrendering fighters, sitting or squatting in a desolate landscape, their dreams dashed.

syria
islamic state
conflict
u.s .
violence
terrorism


Hundreds of thousands march in London to demand new Brexit referendum

Abstract: LONDON - Hundreds of thousands of people opposed to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union marched through central London on Saturday to demand a new referendum as the deepening Brexit crisis risked sinking Prime Minister Theresa May’s premiership. Marchers set off in central London with banners proclaiming “The best deal is no Brexit” and “We Demand a People’s Vote” in what organizers said could be the biggest anti-Brexit protest yet. After three years of tortuous debate, it is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as May tries to plot a way out of the gravest political crisis in at least a generation. May hinted Friday that she might not bring her twice-defeated EU divorce deal back to Parliament next week, leaving her Brexit strategy in meltdown. The Times and The Daily Telegraph reported that pressure is growing on May to resign. “I would feel differently if this was a well managed process and the government was taking sensible decisions. But it is complete chaos,” Gareth Rae, 59, who traveled from Bristol to attend the demonstration, said. “The country will be divided whatever happens and it is worse to be divided on a lie.” While the country and its politicians are divided over Brexit, most agree it is the most important strategic decision the United Kingdom has faced since World War II. Pro-EU protesters gathered for a “Put it to the People March” at Marble Arch on the edge of Hyde Park around midday, before marching past the prime minister’s office in Downing Street and finish outside Parliament. While there was no official estimate of the numbers, campaign organizers said hundreds of thousands of people were in the crowd as it began to march. Organizers were confident that the size of the crowd would exceed a similar rally held in October, when supporters said about 700,000 people turned up. Phoebe Poole, 18, who was holding a placard saying “Never Gonna give EU up” in reference to a song by 1980s popstar Rick Astley, wasn’t old enough to vote in the 2016 referendum. “We have come here today because we feel like our future has been stolen from us. It is our generation that is going to have to live with the consequences of this disaster,” she said. “It is going to make it harder to get a job. You are already seeing a lot of large companies leaving. I am worried about the future.” Two hundred coaches from around Britain were booked to take people to London for the march. One coach left the Scottish Highlands on Friday evening, and another left from Cornwall, in southwest England, early Saturday morning. A petition to cancel Brexit altogether gained 4 million signatures in just 3 days after May told the public “I am on your side” over Brexit and urged lawmakers to get behind her deal. In the June 23, 2016, referendum, 17.4 million voters, or 52 percent, backed Brexit while 16.1 million, or 48 percent, backed staying in the bloc. But ever since, opponents of Brexit have been exploring ways to hold another referendum. May has repeatedly ruled out holding another Brexit referendum, saying it would deepen divisions and undermine support for democracy. Brexit supporters say a second referendum would trigger a major constitutional crisis. We already put it to the people. And the people roared,” pro-leave group Change Britain said in a tweet. Supporters of Brexit say that while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term Britain would thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed experiment in German-dominated unity that is falling far behind other major powers. Some opinion polls have shown a slight shift in favor of remaining in the European Union, but there has yet to be a decisive change in attitudes. Many voters in Britain say they have become increasingly bored by Brexit and May said Wednesday that they want this stage of the Brexit process to be “over and done with.” But protesters disagreed with May’s claim that she is on the side of the British public, with one placard reading: “You do not speak for us Theresa.”


Now what? Russia probe ends but story far from over

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Now what? Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his Trump-Russia investigation and on Friday delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr. But what the report looks like isn’t clear. Justice Department regulations required only that Mueller give the attorney general a confidential report that explains the decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. It could have been as simple as a bullet point list, but the Justice Department has described it as “comprehensive.” Whatever is in the report, we may not get all the juicy details that were uncovered over the past 22 months — at least not right away. But this story is far from over. Here’s what to expect next: What will Barr do? Barr has to decide what should be released to Congress and the public. In a letter to lawmakers Friday, Barr suggested this could come in stages. He said he could release Mueller’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend. He also said that he would consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to see what other information could be released “consistent with the law.” He said he remains “committed to as much transparency as possible.” But Barr has previously said he takes seriously the “shall be confidential” part of the regulations governing Mueller’s report. He has noted that department protocol says internal memos explaining charging decisions should not be released. Does Trump have access? It is unclear whether Trump will ask to see the full report and under what circumstances he or his attorneys might be able to view it, especially because the document is meant to be confidential for Justice Department leadership. Mueller reports to the Justice Department, not the White House. Barr said at his confirmation hearing that he would not permit White House interference in the investigation. But he also has voiced an expansive view of executive power in which the president functions as the country’s chief law enforcement officer and has wide latitude in giving directives to the FBI and Justice Department. Democrats could seize on any disclosure to the president to argue that the report really isn’t confidential and should be immediately provided to them as well. What will democrats do? Democrats are demanding access to the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence in the investigation — and are threatening to issue subpoenas if they don’t get them. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on CNN that Congress needs to know “and so does the country.” But Trump, as the leader of the executive branch, could direct the Justice Department to defy the subpoena, setting the stage for a court fight that could go to the Supreme Court. What won’t happen now? More indictments. A Justice Department official says Mueller is not recommending any further indictments in the Russia investigation.

russia
russia probe
robert mueller
vladimir putin
espionage
scandals
donald trump
2016 u.s. presidential election


May pushes lawmakers for Brexit deal with new timetable

Abstract: LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May tried to persuade MPs to back the EU divorce deal, seeking to build bridges after lashing out at lawmakers for their indecision on Brexit. May wrote to all MPs on Friday to spell out the possible paths forward after European Union leaders granted a short delay to Britain’s departure date at this week’s EU summit. However, the prime minister said she would not hold a third vote on the divorce deal next week if sufficient numbers do not switch sides in the coming days. The premier faces daunting odds to persuade British lawmakers to support the plan — something they have already overwhelmingly rejected twice — by a new April 12 deadline agreed with the EU. If May succeeds, Britain — which was staring at a cliff-edge deadline of March 29 for leaving the EU — will depart on May 22 under the terms of the withdrawal agreement struck with Brussels last year. But if MPs cannot back the deal, then Britain can ask for another extension by April 12 or face a no-deal Brexit. A further extension would require Britain to take part in European Parliament elections in May, despite having voted to leave the bloc three years ago. In her letter, May said she would only bring the divorce agreement before the House of Commons again if it looked like there was sufficient support to pass the deal. She spelled out the four options ahead, the first to being to revoke Britain’s notice to leave the EU, “but that would betray the result of the referendum,” the second to leave with no deal on April 12 — which a majority of MPs have said they do not support, in a vote earlier this month. “If it appears that there is sufficient support and the speaker permits it, we can bring the deal back next week and if it is approved we can leave on May 22,” she wrote. But she said if there was not sufficient support or the house rejected it, Britain could ask for another extension and take part in the European Parliament elections, adding: “I strongly believe that … would be wrong.” Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Friday at the close of the EU summit, EU Council President Donald Tusk said: “Until April 12, anything is possible.” Brexit protesters were set to march in London on Saturday demanding a second referendum. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would join. “The EU’s decision to postpone things until at least April 12 has opened a window, and those of us who oppose Brexit must seize the chance it offers,” Sturgeon said, according to the Press Association. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc’s leaders would need another summit with May to discuss how to proceed if MPs reject the agreement again. That prospect increased on Friday after Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s government in parliament, accused the prime minister of “failure” at the EU summit. “The government has been far too willing to capitulate,” Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s leader in the British Parliament, said in a statement, adding that “nothing has changed as far as the withdrawal agreement is concerned.” May faces an immediate hurdle in the form of John Bercow, the speaker of Parliament’s lower House of Commons. He has said the agreement being voted on has to be on different terms from the ones MPs have already rejected. There was also heightened speculation that May is increasingly open to a series of so-called “indicative votes” that could reveal the level of parliamentary support for other options. Parliament has been deadlocked for months over Brexit, with lawmakers unable to decide how to implement the 2016 referendum vote to leave, reflecting bitter divisions in the kingdom as a whole. In her letter, May rowed back from Wednesday night, when she made a statement lambasting MPs for failing to make their minds up on how they wanted to proceed on Brexit. “I expressed my frustration with our failure to take a decision, but I know that many of you are frustrated too. You have a difficult job to do and it was not my intention to make it any more difficult,” she said. The pound rose on news of the Brexit delay but is likely to remain volatile amid uncertainty over what path Britain will now take. Stocks in London ended the day 2.0 percent lower. As uncertainty continues to reign, more than 3.7 million people have signed an online petition calling on the government to cancel Brexit.