'Star Trek'-style translators closer to reality at CES gadget show

Abstract: LAS VEGAS - Once confined to the realms of science fiction, translation devices that whisper discreetly into your ear during a conversation are finally coming of age thanks to leaps in AI and cloud computing. An array of companies at the Consumer Electronics Show are promoting increasingly sophisticated devices that allow people speaking different languages to converse with the help of handheld devices or wireless earpieces. Waverly Lab’s Pilot headphones translate 15 languages and are priced from $180 and $250. If each person in a conversation is wearing a Pilot, they can speak directly to one another using their own language. During a brief demonstration in Las Vegas, words from an AFP journalist speaking French were interpreted for the ears of English-speaking Andrew Ochoa, boss of Waverly Labs. The company was founded in 2014 in New York. In the demonstration, the interpreting work was routed by Ochoa’s smartphone to the cloud, where an application can also create a written transcription of a conversation. Computer power in online data centers translate what is said, and send the appropriate translations to the listeners taking part in the conversations, Ochoa explained. As a result, there could be lag of a few seconds to allow for interpretation. Universal translators have long been a fixture of science fiction, from shows like “Star Trek” to the babel fish that sits inside the ear canal and feeds off brainwave energy in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” But they have only recently become viable in the real world, thanks to the increasing power and speed of mobile devices, machine learning and wireless connections. “We apply some features of AI, such as machine learning and neural networks, to translation models,” Ochoa said. “Those technologies have matured enough to make this possible.” Software-based neural networks can be trained to understand phrases even if words are new to them, eliminating the need to feed entire dictionaries into systems. Some 35,000 pairs of Pilot headphones have sold in less than a year, with customers including businesses such as hotels with keen need to engage customers speaking various languages, according to Ochoa. China-based TimeKettle was at CES with WT2 earbuds that worked in a way similar to Pilot. A Pocketalk device being shown off here by Japanese firm Sourcenext took smartphones out of the translation equation and hoped to be a hit during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. “We realized that, thinking about the 2020 Olympics, many Japanese only speak Japanese,” said Sourcenext spokesman Richard Gallagher. Pocketalk, which appeared reminiscent of an early-generation mobile phone, could translate 74 languages and was priced at $299, according to Gallagher. “Thanks to machine learning, it progressively understands you better — your pronunciation. It can adapt to the user.” Gallagher noted strong sales, with particularly heavy interest from retail, taxi, hotel or restaurant operations. Chinese company iFlytex, a heavyweight in AI and voice recognition in Asia, presented a Translator 2.0 at the show capable of translating between Chinese and 30 other languages. The latest Translator model was priced about $400. Netherlands-based Travis laid claim to the first pocket-sized translation device infused with AI, and boasted having already sold 120,000 devices. Internet giant Google meanwhile offers free translation software that ties up with its Pixel earbuds launched two years ago. Earlier this week at CES, Google announced it was building translation capabilities into an array of new products through its virtual assistant software.


Japanese firms pick Vietnam as Asia's top investment spot, with India a distant second

Abstract: Japanese firms operating in Asia see Vietnam as the most attractive investment destination in the region, thanks to the country’s high economic growth as well as its strengthening position as a production hub and its large consumer market, an NNA survey shows. Of 630 respondents across East Asia, Southeast Asia, India and Australia, 35.7 percent chose Vietnam as the most promising economy for investment — far above the 17.8 percent who selected second-ranked India. Once firms establish themselves in Vietnam, they can consider expanding their operations in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, said an official in the nonmanufacturing sector in Vietnam. India’s high growth potential is also attracting Japanese investors, according to the survey conducted from Nov. 26 to Dec. 9 last year. Respondents said the Indian economy has overcome drag from the abolition of high-value bank notes and the introduction of a goods and services tax. A respondent at a manufacturer cited the growth potential of India, citing “an increase in the population and income as well as a rise in demand for new products prompted by environmental regulations.” Some respondents based in other countries agreed. India’s income inequality remains, but an official at a Japanese manufacturer in China praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his economic policies and infrastructure development, which have boosted gross economic product growth. In the latest survey China was the third most popular investment spot, picked by 7.9 percent of respondents, but down from 12.6 percent in NNA’s 2017 poll due largely to growing uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade standoff. Thailand came fourth with 7.3 percent. Those who chose it pointed to the nation’s economic recovery, led by the automobile sector. Thailand has “a desirable environment for starting a new business model,” an official in the nonmanufacturing sector said. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, remained fifth, backed by 6.7 percent. Myanmar ranked sixth at 6.5 percent, down from 8.7 percent from a year earlier, affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis in Rakhine State.


Trump campaign firm Cambridge Analytica pleads guilty in Facebook data grab

Abstract: LONDON - A U.K. consultancy working on Donald Trump’s U.S. election campaign pleaded guilty and was fined by a London court Wednesday over its refusal to release personal data it secretly hoovered off Facebook. The social media giant has admitted that Cambridge Analytica — a political advisory that ran Trump’s digital outreach — used an app to collect the private details of 87 million users without their knowledge. It then strategically targeted them with political ads and produced detailed polls that allegedly helped Trump score an upset victory over Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton, which spawned a web of investigations. Cambridge Analytica pleaded guilty on Wednesday of failing to comply with a U.K. media regulator’s order to release the information it had on a U.S. professor who demanded to know what the company knew about him — and how. It was fined £15,000 ($19,100) and required to pay around £6,000 in court costs. Wednesday’s hearing in a tiny courtroom in the residential outskirts of London was a test case that provided a glimpse into a scandal that has rocked Facebook’s reputation and provided more work for U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller. An attorney representing the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) media regulator told the court that Cambridge Analytica managed to gather what amounted to 81 billion printed pages of data about Facebook users. Investigations by The Guardian and The New York Times published a year ago prompted the ICO to seize Cambridge Analytica’s computers and servers as part of their own probe in March 2017. The firm has since gone into administration. But Wednesday’s hearing showed that Cambridge Analytica is still putting up a fight. An ICO attorney said the London-based company had initially informed the U.S. professor who made the request for his personal data, David Carroll: “You have no right to make (a data access request) — any more than a member of the Taliban sitting in a cave in the remotest corner of Afghanistan. One of its executives later told the ICO that he did “not expect to be further harassed with this sort of correspondence. The company’s guilty plea was also carefully crafted. Cambridge Analytica admitted to a “failure to comply with (an ICO) enforcement notice. But the plea notes that “this prosecution does not relate to nor suggest misuse of data or any potential action relating thereto.” Professor Carroll told AFP that he felt only partially vindicated by the verdict. “It’s another step in the way. We are not done yet,” he said in a telephone interview from New York. “The quest is complete when I get all my data.” Presiding judge Kenneth Grant agreed to look into the specifics of Carroll’s data request — but not the wider issue of Cambridge Analytica releasing all the information it had. Carroll said the biggest revelation from Wednesday’s hearing was that the ICO had obtained the passwords to Cambridge Analytica’s servers that the company had initially tried not to disclose. He said this could lead to the eventual release of the data as well as a more thorough review of digital privacy rules in both Britain and the United States. “I think the story is not over,” the U.S. professor said.

cambridge analytica
facebook
donald trump
robert mueller
russia probe


With strong China focus, VW spearheads $300 billion global drive to make all cars electric

Abstract: DETROIT/FRANKFURT/BEIJING - Global automakers are planning a $300 billion surge in spending on electric vehicle technology over the next five to 10 years, with nearly half of the money targeted at China, accelerating the industry’s transition away from fossil fuels and shifting power to Asian suppliers of batteries and EV technology. The unprecedented level of spending — much of it by Germany’s Volkswagen AG — is driven in large measure by government policies adopted to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and will extend technological advances that have improved battery cost, range and charging time to make electric vehicles more appealing to consumers, according to an exclusive analysis of public data released by those companies. China for decades played catch-up to German, Japanese and American automakers, which dominated internal combustion vehicle technology. Now, China is positioned to lead EV development, industry executives say. “The future of Volkswagen will be decided in the Chinese market,” said Herbert Diess, chief executive of VW, which has decades-old joint ventures with two of China’s largest automakers, SAIC Motor and FAW Car. Speaking earlier this week to a small group of reporters in Beijing, Diess said China “will become one of the automotive powerhouses in the world.” “What we find (in China) is really the right environment to develop the next generation of cars and we find the right skills, which we only partially have in Europe or other places,” he said. Diess added, “We have very clear policies established here in China. Policymakers and regulators are requiring” a shift to electric vehicles. As China and other countries place more restrictions on conventional gasoline and diesel engines, auto companies have accelerated the shift to electrification. A year ago global automakers said they planned to spend $90 billion on EV development. The $300 billion that automakers have earmarked to put electric vehicles into mass production in China, Europe and North America is greater than the economies of Egypt or Chile. Almost one-third of the industry’s EV spending total, about $91 billion, is being committed by the Volkswagen Group. The organization is aggressively trying to distance itself from the Dieselgate scandal, which has cost it billions in penalties and legal settlements. VW’s sweeping electrification plan envisions capacity on three continents to build up to 15 million electric vehicles by 2025, including 50 pure electric and 30 hybrid electric models. Eventually, VW plans to offer electric versions of all 300 models in its 12-brand global portfolio, which includes Audi and Porsche. VW’s staggering EV budget dwarfs that of its closest competitor, Germany’s Daimler AG, which has committed $42 billion. In comparison, General Motors Co. — the No. 1 U.S. automaker — has said it plans to spend a combined $8 billion on electric and self-driving vehicles. Roughly 45 percent of the global industry’s planned EV investment and procurement spending, more than $135 billion, will occur in China, which is heavily promoting the production and sale of electric vehicles through a system of government-mandated quotas, credits and incentives. As a result, EV spending by major Chinese automakers from SAIC to Great Wall Motor could be matched or even exceeded by multinational joint-venture partners such as VW, Daimler and GM, as they dramatically expand their EV portfolios in China and ramp up battery purchases from Chinese suppliers. Reuters analyzed investment and procurement budgets made public over the past two years by 29 of the world’s top automakers, based primarily in the United States, China, Japan, Korea, India, Germany and France. The figures do not reflect planned investments and purchases that have not yet been made public. Actual spending by vehicle manufacturers on research and development, engineering, production tooling and procurement likely will be much higher. The analysis also does not include related spending by automotive suppliers, technology companies and large corporations in other industries, from energy and aerospace to electronics and telecommunications. “There has been a rush” to invest in electric vehicles and batteries, said Alexandre Marian, AlixPartners managing director and co-author of a 2018 study that forecast total EV spending of $255 billion through 2023 by global automakers and suppliers. Marian said the industry has increased spending budgets for electric vehicles and batteries, while seeking more alliances and partnerships to help spread the higher investment costs. Alliances, such as those between VW and its Chinese partners, will be among the greatest spurs to innovation, especially in the global rollout of electric vehicles. CEO Diess said VW is “evolving from the model, where we have been developing and bringing European technology into this market, to a new phase where we will co-develop part of the automotive technology in China for the rest of the world. I think this is a significant step change.”

china
electric vehicles
ev
volkswagen
carmakers


Tokyo stocks turn lower on firmer yen

Abstract: Stocks suffered a pullback on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, as the yen firmed reflecting fresh indications of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on additional rate increases. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost 263.26 points, or 1.29 percent, to end at 20,163.80, after rising 223.02 points Wednesday. The Topix index of all first-section issues, a 16.68-point winner the previous day, finished down 13.10 points, or 0.85 percent, at 1,522.01. Both indices fell for the first time in four days. Senior Fed officials suggested Wednesday that the U.S. central bank will cautiously consider raising interest rates further, prompting the yen to strengthen against the dollar, brokers said. Minutes of the Fed’s December policy-setting meeting, released the same day, also indicated its stance of not making haste on further rate hikes. “The market took a breather” after the Nikkei gained a total of more than 850 points in the three days to Wednesday, an official at a Japanese brokerage firm said. But the energy from the “technical rebound” that followed an earlier sell-off has run out, the official added. Global financial markets’ attention had focused on U.S.-China trade talks, which lasted for three days until Wednesday after being extended by one day. Specifics of the meeting have not been released yet. While denying the view that investor disappointment was behind Thursday’s plunge, the official said that hopes for progress in the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies remain alive. Ryuta Otsuka, strategist at the investment information department of Toyo Securities Co., said Tokyo investors sold shares in anticipation of a possible Wall Street drop later Thursday in the wake of failed talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic Party leaders on an envisioned U.S.-Mexico border wall, the issue that has led to a partial government shutdown. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,426 to 639 on the TSE’s first section, while 63 issues were unchanged. Volume edged up to 1.308 billion shares from Wednesday’s 1.307 billion shares. Ryohin Keikaku plunged 10.39 percent after the “Muji” brand products retailer announced on Wednesday a downward revision to its consolidated earnings projections for the year to next month. Don Quijote Holdings Co. sagged 3.39 percent as the discount store operator’s same-store sales in December, released on Thursday, dropped for the first time in two years and four months. Other major losers included clothing retailer Fast Retailing Co. and game-maker Nintendo Co. Meanwhile, semiconductor-related names attracted buying after U.S. peers fared well Wednesday. Among them, Tokyo Electron advanced 2.61 percent and Advantest Corp. climbed 2.29 percent. Also higher were automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. and mobile phone carrier KDDI Corp. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key March contract on the Nikkei average slumped 310 points to 20,110.


Time for a reality check on trade as Asia stock rally fades

Abstract: HONG KONG - Sure, the trade war between the U.S. and China seems to be easing. But, with few details available after three days of midlevel talks, other than the promise of more talks, equity investors are taking a pause. Chinese officials described the negotiations as “extensive, in-depth and detailed.” The U.S. noted a commitment from the Chinese to buy more agricultural goods, energy and manufactured products, while pushing for a way to make sure China delivers on its promises. For the stock bulls out there, it was good while it lasted. The biggest five-day advance in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index since early November came to a halt Thursday as equity markets across the region traded mixed. As investors assessed the latest developments, the Topix index fell 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea and others moved less than 0.4 percent. “The trade optimism built over the last four trading days is facing a ‘reality check’ and Asian markets are giving up gains on disappointing trade statements,” said Margaret Yang, strategist at CMC Markets Singapore Pte. “Rising gold and yen suggest sentiment is turning to the cautious mode again, until more details of the trade talks are released to show concrete progression.” With attention now shifting to the March 1 deadline set to reach an accord, investors are settling in for what may be months of uncertainty as the two sides inch their way toward a resolution. Here’s a look at how they are evaluating the situation: Encouraging sign The fact that talks have picked up a lot of speed over the past few days is an encouraging sign, said Adrian Zuercher, Asia Pacific chief investment officer at UBS Group AG’s wealth unit in Hong Kong. The extended cease-fire to March should help turn around some of the macro indicators that have gone negative, he added. “We’ll probably look over the next couple of weeks to increase a bit more cyclicality of the portfolio,” he said. “There’s definitely a lot of value around.” Superficial deal? Ross Cameron at Northcape Capital has held the view since last year that a short-term deal with China would be superficial and leave unresolved many underlying issues, such as intellectual property theft, cybercrime and currency manipulation — they are too large to be addressed in a single agreement. “It is prudent to avoid Chinese companies reliant on U.S. technology,” said the head of the Japan office. “The trade war has also temporarily distracted markets from a very serious slowdown in the Chinese economy.” Chance of March deal: 10% For Chi Lo, senior economist for greater China at BNP Paribas Asset Management, there’s only a 10 percent chance for the best-case scenario of the two sides reaching an agreement by March to settle all major issues and roll back tariffs. The most likely result will be talks extending beyond March with no further tariff escalation, he said. “We should see intense negotiations focusing on the list of 140-odd demands that the Treasury presented to China in the summer,” with some low-hanging fruit in market-access issues and China imports of U.S. products, he said. Sensible conclusion Recent moves by China, such as the resumption of U.S. soy purchases, indicate the country is showing a lot of goodwill, said Khiem Do, co-head of Asian multiasset strategy at Barings LLC. “There is a willingness to come to a sensible conclusion,” Do said. “No one will open champagne, but at least there is goodwill from both sides, and that is very important for investors and flows.” Actively investing For Tetsuo Seshimo, a portfolio manager at Saison Asset Management who usually invests with a five-year view, volatile times like these are good opportunities to pick up stocks. “We’re actively investing in equities,” he said. “The market is conscious of a lot of different risks, which means equities have become that much cheaper.” A long way to go Market watchers, it’s probably worth buckling up for the long ride. That’s the message from Shane Oliver, Sydney-based head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. He added that “it’s going to take a lot of work to resolve these issues.” “There will be periods like today where it looks like there wasn’t a lot of progress, there will be other periods where it looks like there is progress, so this issue will continue to wax and wane towards that deadline,” he said.

trade
stocks
tariffs
u.s.-china relations


Dollar sharply lower around ¥107.90 after Tokyo stock drop

Abstract: The dollar was sharply lower around ¥107.90 in late Tokyo trading on Thursday, weighed down by a drop in Japanese stock prices. At 5 p.m. the dollar stood at ¥107.92-92, down from ¥108.89-90 at the same time on Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1540-1540, up from $1.1468-1468, and at ¥124.57-57, down from ¥124.88-89. In overseas trading Wednesday, the dollar plunged to levels around ¥108 after senior officials at the Federal Reserve signaled the U.S. central bank’s stance of cautiously considering additional interest rate hikes. After trading around ¥108.10-20 in early Tokyo trading Thursday, the dollar dropped to around ¥107.90 in the midmorning in line with a decline in the Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It moved around the level for the rest of the morning. The dollar-yen pair became dormant in the afternoon. A wait-and-see mood grew in late trading ahead of a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell later on Thursday, traders said. If Powell suggests a cautious stance on additional rate hikes, the dollar could be pressured further, a foreign-exchange broker said. Meanwhile, an official at a bank-affiliated securities firm said, “The dollar’s downside was supported in the upper ¥107 zone,” noting that the U.S. currency attracted bargain buying in that range.

currencies
exchange rates
foreign exchange
forex
fx


China says trade talks with U.S. have set foundation to resolve concerns, without giving details

Abstract: SHANGHAI/BEIJING - Trade talks between China and the United States this week were extensive and helped establish a foundation for the resolution of each others’ concerns, China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday, but gave no details on the issues at stake. The three-day talks in Beijing that wrapped up on Wednesday were the first face-to-face negotiations since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Buenos Aires in December and agreed on a 90-day truce in a trade war that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods. The two sides “held extensive, deep and thorough exchanges on trade and structural issues of common concern, which promoted mutual understanding and established a foundation for the resolution of each others’ concerns,” the Chinese commerce ministry said in a brief statement. The U.S. team in Beijing was led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, and included under secretaries from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy and Treasury, as well as senior officials from the White House. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen headed the vice ministerial level talks for China, though Vice Premier Liu He, a top economic adviser to Xi, made an appearance at a meeting on Monday. Companies in both countries are feeling the pain from the effects of the trade dispute. Apple Inc rattled global markets last week when it cut its sales outlook, blaming weak demand in China, while Chinese exporters reported a thinning pipeline of orders from the United States. Washington has presented Beijing with a long list of demands that would rewrite the terms of trade between the world’s two largest economies. They include changes to China’s policies on intellectual property protection, technology transfers, industrial subsidies and other nontariff barriers to trade. Nearly halfway into the 90-day truce, there have been few concrete details on progress made so far. The meetings in Beijing were not at a ministerial level, so were not expected to produce a deal to end the trade war. On Wednesday, the U.S. Trade Representative’s offices said in a statement officials from the two sides discussed “ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations.” “The talks also focused on China’s pledge to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, manufactured, and other products and services from the United States,” the USTR said. At stake are scheduled U.S. tariff increase on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Trump has said he would increase those duties to 25 percent from 10 percent currently if no deal is reached by March 2, and has threatened to tax all imports from China if Beijing fails to cede to U.S. demands. U.S. officials have long complained that China has failed to live up to trade promises, often citing Beijing’s pledges to resume imports of American beef that took more than a decade to implement. No schedule for further face-to-face negotiations was released after the talks, and USTR said the American delegation was returning to Washington to report on the meetings and “to receive guidance on the next steps.” Both sides agreed to continue to maintain close contact, the Chinese commerce ministry said. Since the Trump-Xi meeting in Argentina, Beijing resumed purchases of U.S. soybeans. Buying had slumped after China imposed a 25 percent import duty on U.S. shipments of oilseed on July 6 in response to U.S. tariffs. China has also cut tariffs on imports of cars from the United States, dialled back on an industrial development plan known as “Made in China 2025,” and told its state refiners to buy more U.S. oil. Earlier this week, China approved five genetically modified (GM) crops for import, the first in about 18 months in a move that could boost its overseas grains purchases and ease pressure from the United States to open its markets to more farm goods. Big spending on commodities and goods would send a positive signal on China’s intent to work with the United States, but would do nothing to resolve the U.S. demands that require difficult structural change from China. Beijing has said it will not give up ground on issues that it perceives as core. One of the biggest challenges to any deal would be to ensure that China enforces whatever is agreed to stop technology transfers, intellectual property theft and hacking of U.S. computer networks. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said officials broached those topics and discussed the need for any agreement to include “complete implementation subject to ongoing verification and effective enforcement.” The U.S. China Business Council, a group representing American companies doing business in China, applauded the “substantive discussions” over the past three days, but urged the two governments to make tangible progress on achieving equal treatment of foreign companies in China and changes to policies aimed at technology transfer. The group also urged the removal of U.S. tariffs when China delivers on its promises.


Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing blames warm winter for surprise profit decline

Abstract: Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. reported an unexpected decline in quarterly profit on Thursday, blaming warm weather for hurting winter clothing sales even as its Chinese business shrugged off concerns of a decelerating economy. Uniqlo has become Asia’s biggest clothing retailer, helped in part by the popularity of its basic items such as ultralight down coats and Heattech thermal underwear. However, stores in Japan struggled to sell such items in October and November due to unseasonably warm weather, the company said. Overall operating profit fell 8 percent to ¥104.7 billion ($970.16 million) in September to November. That compared with a ¥118 billion average of four analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv Eikon. Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo business in Japan performed particularly badly, with operating profit down 30 percent from the same period a year earlier. Analysts have recently been concerned that Uniqlo faces two major risks: saturation in Japan, still its main market, and possible slowdown in China, where the company currently logs an increasing proportion of growth. The results showed the latter, at least, was not yet happening. “Greater China reported higher revenue and profit despite the mild winter weather. Operating profit in mainland China continued to be strong, with double-digit growth,” the firm said. The firm opened a net 78 stores in China in the last fiscal year, expanding to 633 locations there, while it closed a net four stores in Japan, ending the year with 827 stores. But analysts have been concerned about how long growth momentum in China will last. Economic growth in China is widely expected to slow, due in part to the impact of a trade war with the United States. On Tuesday, state television CCTV reported that the government plans to introduce policies to boost domestic spending. Fast Retailing kept its operating profit forecast for the full year through August unchanged at ¥270 billion.


Hubble Space Telescope's main camera shuts down; NASA working on a fix

Abstract: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - The Hubble Space Telescope’s premier camera has shut down because of a hardware problem. NASA said the camera stopped working Tuesday. Hubble’s three other science instruments are still working fine, with celestial observations continuing. This third incarnation of the wide-field camera was installed by spacewalking astronauts in 2009. The camera has backup electronics that could be called into action, if necessary, according to NASA. The camera has captured stunning images of stars, galaxies stretching far back in time and assisted in deep sky surveys. It has also studied objects in our own solar system, discovering some of the tiny moons around Pluto, as well as a 14th moon around Neptune. It takes pictures in both visible and ultraviolet light, as well as near infrared. Orbiting 350 miles (560 kilometers) above Earth, Hubble was launched in 1990 and visited by space shuttle astronauts, for repairs and upgrades, five times. Last fall, Hubble stopped working altogether for three weeks because of a pointing problem. This is the first time the camera has acted up like this, said Cheryl Gundy, a spokeswoman with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which handle science operations for the telescope. “NASA is trying to pull together the team to try to diagnose the issue,” Gundy said Wednesday. “We would like to have Hubble back up and working as quickly as possible, and NASA is making that happen,” even with the partial government shutdown, she added.

hubble space telescope
space
nasa
u.s .
astronomy


Gem traces in teeth hailed as proof that women were involved in creating medieval texts

Abstract: LONDON - The discovery of traces of semiprecious gems in the teeth of a 1,000-year-old female skeleton proved women were more widely involved in creating medieval manuscripts than previously thought, a group of international historians said on Wednesday. A study by German-based Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and Britain’s University of York found traces of lapis lazuli — which was used as a blue pigment in painting — in the dental plaque of a woman buried between A.D. 1000 and 1200. The skeleton was unearthed in a cemetery associated with a women’s monastery in Dalheim in western Germany. The researchers said this challenged long-held beliefs that women had played little role in the European Middle Ages in producing literary and written texts, which came largely from religious institutions. Researcher Christina Warinner from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History said this finding from the 11th century was unprecedented in showing more women were literate, educated and encouraged to read at that time. “I am excited that our study shows that the use of archaeology might have the tools to recover some of the lost information (about women in the past),” Warinner said. “We have this view there was only a handful of extraordinary women in the past that seemed to be different from everyone else but I think that more were involved than we give credit for.” The team studying the skeleton concluded that the woman, who was 45 to 60 years old, must have been a painter who frequently licked the end of the brush while painting. Warinner said the woman was thought to be part of a group of about 14 women living at the monastery who were likely to have been wealthy, upper-class and educated. “Here we have direct evidence of a woman, not just painting, but painting with a very rare and expensive pigment,” she said. “This woman’s story could have remained hidden forever without the use of these techniques. It makes me wonder how many other artists we might find in medieval cemeteries — if we only look.”

women history painting germany archaeology europe art books


Extremely short and incredibly strong: 'Repeating' radio-wave bursts from deep space baffle scientists

Abstract: PARIS - Astronomers have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy, according to two studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Where the powerful waves come from and what forces produced them are unknown. The so-called repeating fast radio bursts were identified during the trial run last summer of a built-for-purpose telescope running at only a fraction of its capacity. Known by its acronym CHIME, the world’s most powerful radio telescope — spread across an area as big as a soccer pitch — is poised to detect many more of the enigmatic pulses now that it is fully operational. “At the end of the year, we may have found 1,000 bursts,” said Deborah Good, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia and one of 50 scientists from five institutions involved in the research. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) flash only for a micro-instant but can emit as much energy as the sun does in 10,000 years. Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate. More than 60 bursts have been catalogued since 2007, but only one other — observed in 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico — was a repeater. “FRBs, it seems, are likely generated in dense, turbulent regions of host galaxies,” said Shriharsh Tendulkar, a corresponding author for both studies and an astronomer at McGill University. Cosmic convulsions created by the turbulent gas clouds that give rise to stars, or stellar explosions such as supernovas, are both possible incubators. But consecutive radio bursts are a special case. “The fact that the bursts are repeated rules out any cataclysmic models in which the source is destroyed while generating the burst,” Tendulkar added. “An FRB emitted from a merger of two neutron stars, or a neutron star and a black hole, for example, cannot repeat.” It is not yet clear whether the breeding grounds of repeating bursts are different from those that produce only a single radio pulse. Significantly, the 2012 and 2018 “repeaters” have strikingly similar properties. CHIME — the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment — also spotted a dozen single burst radio waves, but with an unusual profile. Most FRBs spotted so far have wavelengths of a few centimeters, but these had intervals of nearly a meter, opening up a whole new line of inquiry for astronomers. Could these enigmatic radio pulses point to intelligence elsewhere in the universe? Might they be messages in a bottle? “It is extremely, extremely unlikely,” Tendulkar said. “As a scientist I can’t rule it out 100 percent. But intelligent life is not on the minds of any astronomer as a source of these FRBs.” Constructed in British Columbia, CHIME is composed of four, 100-meter-long half-pipe cylinders of metal mesh which reconstruct images of the sky by processing the radio signals recorded by more than a thousand antennas. “This signal processing system is the largest of any telescope on Earth,” the researchers said in a communique. The other institutions with leading roles are the University of Toronto, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Perimeter Institute.


Lawyer Rudy Giuliani says Trump won't answer any more questions from Robert Mueller probe

Abstract: NEW YORK - Donald Trump’s legal team told special counsel Robert Mueller that the U.S. president will not answer any more questions in the probe of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Wednesday. Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller in late November. In an interview with Reuters, Giuliani said Mueller raised the possibility of follow-up questions but that the president’s outside legal team told the special counsel before Christmas that Trump would not respond. Trump’s lawyers and Mueller’s team have had no contact since then, Giuliani said. “As far as we’re concerned, everything is over,” Giuliani told Reuters. “We weren’t convinced they had any questions they don’t know the answer to.” Giuliani said the ball was now in the special counsel’s court. “They could try to subpoena him if they want,” he said. “But they know we could fight that like hell.” Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined comment. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to try to tip it toward Trump by undermining Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump has denied any collusion with Moscow and Russia has said it did not meddle in the election. It is not clear when the special counsel will wrap up his probe. Mueller has been investigating Russian interference in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign since he was appointed in May 2017. The term of the Washington, D.C., grand jury Mueller is using was recently extended. The president’s lawyer said it was time for the special counsel to issue his report. “Put up or shut up,” Giuliani said. “We challenge you to do it.” Mueller is expected to send a confidential report on his findings to the Justice Department at the conclusion of his work. The report could ultimately be made public.

rudy giuliani
robert mueller
donald trump
hillary clinton
russia probe


'El Chapo' jurors see intimate texts caught by drug lord's spyware

Abstract: NEW YORK - Prosecutors in the U.S. trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Wednesday shared with jurors text messages they said the accused Mexican drug lord sent to his wife and apparent mistress in which he discussed narrowly escaping from a raid and joked about arming his 18-month-old daughter with an assault rifle. The messages from early 2012 were read by FBI special agent Steven Marston, on his second day testifying in Brooklyn federal court. Marston explained U.S. authorities were able to obtain them by searching records collected by a spy software Guzman himself had ordered installed on phones used by his wife, Emma Coronel, and by another woman, Agustina Cabanillas. Guzman was extradited to the United States in 2017 to face charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin and other drugs into the country as leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. The texts appeared to show Guzman and Coronel discussing the hazards of cartel life. In one message, Coronel said she was being watched by law enforcement, Guzman advised her to “live a normal life.” In another, Coronel assured her husband she had a gun. After a raid on a house in the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos that captured several of his associates, Guzman told Coronel he escaped through a window with a few scratches, according to the texts. Coronel watched the testimony impassively, though she appeared to become uncomfortable when Marston began reading romantic texts purportedly between Cabanillas and her husband in which she called him “love.” The texts appear to show Cabanillas acted as a go-between in the drug business, helping to set up deals between Guzman and various other people, including one who used the name “War Princess” and another who went by a series of emoticons. Some of the messages appear to show heartfelt affection from Guzman amid the talk of guns and drugs, particularly for his twin daughters, Emmely “Mali” and Maria Joaquina “Kiki” Coronel, then about one and a half years old. “Our Kiki is fearless,” he told Coronel, according to the texts. “I’m going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me.”

spyware
fbi
mexico
drug cartel
joaquin el chapo guzman


Canada unveils tougher rules for drone operators after U.K. airport incidents

Abstract: MONTREAL, QUEBEC - Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Wednesday unveiled tougher new regulations for drone operators, including a minimum age, required certification and a prohibition on flying under the influence. His announcement comes after reports of drones near Britain’s Gatwick airport caused major travel disruptions over the Christmas holidays, and again on Tuesday at Heathrow. Garneau said the government was working with security agencies and others “to examine what kinds of countermeasures would be applicable” in the event of drones threatening commercial airliners in Canada. “Obviously, for security reasons, I can’t go into details on that, but this is something we are looking at extremely seriously because it represents potentially a dangerous situation,” he told a news conference in Montreal. The first recorded collision between a drone and a jetliner in Canada occurred in October 2017 when a Skyjet passenger aircraft was struck before safely landing at the Quebec City airport. The minister previously commented that a drone-airplane collision was “the kind of nightmare scenario that keeps me up at night.” The new rules will come into effect on June 1, and apply to all drones weighing between 250 grams and 25 kg (0.5 to 11 pounds), whether they are used for fun, work or research. Pilots must pass an online exam to become drone-certified, and be at least 14 years old or supervised by a licensed adult to operate one. Drones must also be registered and marked with the registration number. Operators would be prohibited from flying drones within 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of airports, as well as near forest fires, outdoor concerts or parades, and must stay under 400 feet (122 meters). Operators must also be sober, with no consumption of alcohol or drugs in the 12 hours prior to flying. “Remember, when you take control of an aircraft you accept the responsibilities of a pilot. You are a pilot when you fly a drone,” Garneau said.

canada
drones
marc garneau
gatwick
heathrow
security
aircraft accidents


Trump's pick for top lawyer will let Robert Mueller finish Russia probe, says GOP's Lindsey Graham

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, has said he will allow special counsel Robert Mueller to finish the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday. Graham told reporters Barr assured him the investigation would continue. “I can assure you he has a very high opinion of Mr. Mueller and he is committed to letting Mr. Mueller finish his job,” Graham said. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold confirmation hearings on Jan. 15 and 16 for Barr, who has come under fire from Democrats for his criticism of the special counsel’s Russia probe. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last month that a memo Barr wrote criticizing Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in U.S. elections should disqualify him from serving as attorney general. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the Russian election meddling probe, is preparing to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in coming weeks as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department is set to take over, a department official said on Wednesday.

robert mueller
russia probe
lindsey graham
donald trump
william barr


Trump blames California wildfires on forest mismanagement and threatens to cut FEMA funds

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency money to help California cope with wildfires if the state doesn’t improve its forest management practices. Trump tweeted Wednesday that California gets billions of dollars for fires that could have been prevented with better management. The state’s former top firefighter Ken Pimlott disagrees, saying last month that California leads the nation in clearing away dead trees and thinning areas to remove fuel for fires. Trump tweeted that “unless they get their act together … I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!” November’s fire in the Northern California town of Paradise was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, killing at least 85 people and destroying nearly 14,000 homes.


Trump makes ex-coal lobbyist's position as chief of U.S. environment agency permanent

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler to run the agency permanently, the White House said, placing a former energy lobbyist at the helm of the nation’s top environmental regulator. The widely anticipated nomination provides Trump another avid supporter of his deregulatory and pro-fossil fuels agenda, but without the constant criticism over alleged mismanagement that plagued Wheeler’s predecessor, Scott Pruitt. The decision pleased Republican lawmakers and industry groups eager for less onerous federal environmental oversight, but drew criticism from environmental groups critical of the EPA’s direction under Trump. “The only thing Wheeler is going to protect at the EPA is the profits of polluters,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Wheeler took the reins at the Environmental Protection Agency on an interim basis in July after Pruitt resigned amid a slew of controversies that included his high spending on first-class travel, round-the-clock security, and office equipment. Wheeler, 54, has overseen a number of deregulatory efforts since Pruitt’s departure, including proposals weakening Obama-era rules limiting carbon and mercury emissions from power plants, and an initiative to lift a summertime ban on higher ethanol blends of gasoline that was enacted to curb smog. In November, Trump announced during a Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House that he had made up his mind to make Wheeler permanent, saying he had been doing a “fantastic job.” The U.S. Senate, led by Trump’s fellow Republicans, is expected to approve Wheeler’s nomination. “Acting Administrator Wheeler has done an outstanding job leading EPA and is well qualified to run the agency on a permanent basis. I will work with committee members to get him confirmed,” said Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican who chairs the Senate’s environment committee. Wheeler worked at the EPA in the 1990s and later in the Senate under Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a skeptic of mainstream climate science, before moving to the private sector as a lobbyist and consultant. He has said he is “not at all ashamed” of his lobbying for Murray Energy Corp., the nation’s leading underground coal mining company, the focus of criticism by environmentalists. Wheeler had also lobbied for utility Xcel Energy Inc. and consulted for biofuels industry group Growth Energy, agricultural merchant and biofuels producer Archer Daniels Midland Co. and International Paper Co. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, said she has been pleased by Wheeler’s work so far on the nation’s biofuels policy, a critical program for producers of ethanol, and wanted him to help protect demand for the corn-based fuel. “A commitment to renewable fuel is very important,” she told Reuters in an interview. Wheeler has said the EPA under his leadership would follow the same course as under Pruitt, prioritizing cleaning up industrial Superfund sites — areas contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup — and financing investments in water infrastructure.

coal
donald trump
epa
andrew wheeler
scott pruitt
pollution
biofuels
gop


Trump storms out of negotiations with Democrats on border wall funds

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump stormed out of negotiations Wednesday on funding a U.S.-Mexico border wall when Democratic opponents said they would not agree to the project. “A total waste of time,” Trump tweeted about his White House meeting with top Democratic congressional leaders. “I said bye-bye, nothing else works!” Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, told journalists: “The president just got up and walked out.” The two sides agreed that the meeting ended abruptly soon after starting, but not on who was to blame. According to supporters of Trump at the meeting, the president began by asking Democratic leaders whether they would agree to fund his wall project in exchange for him ending a painful shutdown of swaths of government, which he has instigated in retaliation for the standoff. The Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, “raised her hand and said no, not at all,” said Kevin McCarthy, the senior Republican in the House. “We heard once again that Democratic leaders are unwilling to even negotiate,” Vice President Mike Pence said. But Schumer said Trump was the one who was intransigent. The president “sort of slammed the table” and left, Schumer said. “Again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn’t get his way.” Trump wants $5.7 billion to fund a wall he says is needed to keep out dangerous illegal immigrants, drug dealers and people smugglers from Mexico. Democrats say the wall would have little impact on real border problems and that Trump’s tough approach has instead created a humanitarian crisis among vulnerable, unthreatening migrants. Trump’s main lever to exert pressure on Congress has been to refuse signing spending bills that cover large areas of government. As a result, some 800,000 federal employees and many more contractors have now been without pay for almost three weeks. Democrats insist they will not lift their opposition to the wall project and believe Americans will tire of the shutdown chaos and blame Trump. But Trump indicated Wednesday on a visit to Republican allies in Congress that he will continue to play hardball. “Whatever it takes,” he told journalists, when asked how long the shutdown could continue. Earlier at the White House, Trump told journalists that if he cannot get his way, he could declare a national emergency — a measure that allows him to bypass Congress and take the wall funds he needs from the military. “I think we might work a deal, and if we don’t, we might go that route,” he said, insisting he has the “absolute right” to declare an emergency, despite warnings in Congress that this could be seen as serious presidential overreach. Trump’s triumphant 2016 campaign relied heavily on his “build the wall” slogan and since then, he has pushed the idea that the United States is being overwhelmed by dangerous migrants who enter the country illegally. But with Democrats winning control of the House in November midterm elections, Trump’s wall push has come up against a wall of its own. This week, an increasingly frustrated president is trying to seize the initiative. On Thursday, he will fly down to the southern border that he described in a prime-time television speech Tuesday as an open door to murderers and other criminals. “How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?” Trump said. “For those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask to imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken,” he said in the nine-minute speech. Trump claimed Wednesday that his address had been a success. But Schumer scoffed: “I don’t think he persuaded a soul with his talk last night. It was same old same old — mistruths, divisiveness. Didn’t have the effect he had hoped.” Washington is now waiting for either side to make a move — and to see whether Trump will dare invoke emergency powers. “Neither side feel they can cave and not pay a terrible political price,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said on Fox News. “Unfortunately, two things caught in the middle are securing our borders, and the men and women in federal government,” he added.

democrats
donald trump
chuck schumer
nancy pelosi
immigrants


Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi is surprise winner of Congo's presidential election

Abstract: KINSHASA - Congo’s electoral commission on Thursday declared opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi the surprise winner of last month’s presidential election, a result that sets the stage for the country’s first democratic transfer of power. The outcome of the disorganized and contentious Dec. 30 poll is being contested by another opposition leader, Martin Fayulu. Vote tallies by Congo’s Catholic Church showed Fayulu as victor, according to two diplomats briefed on the findings. Tshisekedi won with 38.57 percent of the more than 18 million ballots cast, Corneille Nangaa, the president of the election commission, known as CENI, told a news conference at about 3 a.m., which appeared timed to avoid any immediate reaction in the streets. “Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo is declared the provisionally elected president of Democratic Republic of Congo,” Nangaa said, to a mixture of cheers and gasps inside CENI headquarters. In the Kinshasa neighborhood of Limete where Tshisekedi lives, thousands of people danced in the streets in celebration and cars slowed down and honked their horns. Some chanted that Congo had “turned the page” on the Kabila era, which began in 1997 when Joseph Kabila’s father, Laurent, led a rebellion that overthrew longtime leader Mobutu Sese Seko. Joseph took over in 2001 when Laurent was assassinated. Fayulu dismissed the official results as “a true electoral coup.” “The results have nothing to do with the truth of the ballot box,” he said in an interview with Radio France Internationale, and called on observers of the Dec. 30 vote to publish the real results. If Tshisekedi’s victory is confirmed in the next 10 days by the constitutional court, he will become the first leader to take power at the ballot box since Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who was toppled in a coup less than three months after independence in 1960 and killed four months later. Opposition fears that authorities would rig the vote in favor of Kabila’s hand-picked candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, did not materialize as Shadary finished a distant third to Tshisekedi and Fayulu, with about 4.4 million votes. However, the result, which observers said was marred by a spate of irregularities, is certain to fuel further suspicion among Fayulu’s supporters that Tshisekedi, shown by the last opinion polls before the election to be running well behind Fayulu, struck a power-sharing pact with Kabila. Fayulu was backed by two prominent foes of Kabila, both of whom were barred from standing in the election. Kabila referred to one of them, ex-provincial Gov. Moise Katumbi, as “Judas” in a recent interview with local media. Tshisekedi’s camp has acknowledged contacts since the vote with Kabila’s representatives but said they were aimed at ensuring a peaceful transition and denied there had been any kind of deal. Losing candidates can contest Tshisekedi’s victory before Congo’s constitutional court, which has 10 days to hear and rule on any challenges. Any widespread perception the election has been stolen could set off a destabilizing cycle of unrest, particularly in the volatile eastern borderlands where Fayulu enjoyed some of his strongest support. The Catholic Church’s bishops conference said last week that it knew the identity of the winner and demanded that CENI publish accurate results. The Church did not say who it thought the winner was, but briefed diplomats on its conclusions. Authorities canceled voting on election day for more than 1 million people, saying the vote could not go ahead because of an Ebola outbreak and militia violence. Observers said many polling stations opened late and closed early, and in some places voting machines malfunctioned. Tshisekedi is the son of the legendary Etienne Tshisekedi, who led the opposition to three successive presidents over 35 years. Felix’s profile rose after his father died in 2017, soon after negotiating the terms of a transition period when Kabila refused to step down at the official end of his mandate the previous year. His father founded the country’s oldest and largest opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress and went on to spend decades as the country’s main opposition leader but died in February last year — with Tshisekedi junior taking over. Known to his friends as “Fatshi,” the portly 55-year-old is set to replace President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the volatile, poverty-stricken nation with an iron fist since 2001. A father of five, Tshisekedi goes to the same Pentecostal church as Fayulu in Kinshasa, the capital. Although Tshisekedi does not enjoy the same degree of popularity as his father, he has risen steadily through the party ranks. “Etienne was stubborn and proud,” said one keen observer of the country’s opposition. “Felix is more diplomatic, more conciliatory, more ready to listen to others.” In 2008 he became national secretary for external relations and was elected to the national assembly in 2011 as representative for Mbuji-Mayi, the country’s third city. However, he never took up his seat as he did not formally recognize his father’s 2011 election defeat to Kabila. A month after his father’s death, Tshisekedi was elected party chief. Although he holds a Belgian diploma in marketing and communication, his opponents point out that he has never held high office or had managerial experience. And some detractors have even suggested his diploma is not valid. After announcing his bid to run for the presidency, Tshisekedi promised a return to the rule of law, to fight the “gangrene” of corruption and to bring peace to the east of the country.

felix tshisekedi
congo
elections
martin fayulu


Venezuela defense minister asked Maduro to resign over alleged sham re-election: Washington Post

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Venezuela’s defense minister told socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down last month, and said he would offer his own resignation if he did not, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous U.S. intelligence official. Both Maduro and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez are still in office. Maduro is set to be sworn in for a second six-year term on Thursday, though several countries in the region have warned him not to take office, calling his May 2018 re-election vote a sham. Discontent within the military’s ranks has grown as Venezuela’s economic collapse has deepened, prompting millions to migrate. Security forces tortured dozens of military personnel accused of subversion last year, according to human rights groups, and detentions for desertion have increased. A U.S. government source told Reuters the government believes reports that Padrino threatened to resign if Maduro did not depart are credible. “Nobody (in the U.S. government) would be surprised if (Padrino) stepped back,” the source added. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

venezuela
washington post
nicolas maduro
vladimir padrino lopez
elections


Drivers running on empty say Mexico must fix fuel shortage blamed on massive theft

Abstract: MEXICO CITY - Hugo Ramirez Sanchez walked an hour to find an open fuel station in the Cuauhtemoc neighborhood of Mexico City, after his car ran out of gasoline. Jorge Mendoza had a stressful 50-minute drive from his home on an almost empty tank. Across central Mexico, drivers are running on empty or lining up for hours at service stations, as the government’s efforts to rein in fuel theft compound a nationwide gasoline shortage. More than one-fourth of Mexico City’s 400 gasoline stations are facing problems, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said in a Twitter video, while assuring viewers that supply would normalize Wednesday. The states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato and Queretaro are among the worst affected. “The government is saying it’s not a shortage, but this is a shortage,” said Mendoza, gesturing at the two lines of cars snaking down the street from the Pemex-branded fuel station. “Now I am going to be late for my clients and maybe they won’t call me back.” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has sought to curb rampant gasoline theft, which costs state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos about $3.5 billion a year. But his strategy has caused major distribution delays at a time of high seasonal demand. To stop the theft, the government has shut and increased surveillance of pipelines, relying on slower-moving — and more expensive — tanker trucks to transport fuel across the country. It’s also deployed the army to Pemex fuel terminals and refineries, which are already operating at about a third of their capacity due to prolonged maintenance cycles and under-investment. The country also lacks fuel storage infrastructure. The distribution issues have exacerbated bottlenecks at Mexico’s ports, where a record number of fuel tankers have been waiting to unload their cargoes following weather-related ports closures over the past several months. Tanker ships transporting at least 8.3 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel waited to unload outside of the ports of Pajaritos, Tuxpan and Tampico late Tuesday, with some there since Dec. 23, shipping reports obtained by Bloomberg show. Demurrage, or fees for detaining vessels beyond the scheduled time, typically costs about $22,000 to $24,000 per day. The fight against illegal pipeline taps by fuel thieves known as “huachicoleros” will take some time, and gasoline supply will begin to normalize bit by bit, Lopez Obrador said in an interview with El Financiero Bloomberg TV late Tuesday. “We have enough gasoline, there’s no problem, it’s a matter of distribution,” he said. Many Mexicans, however, are running out of patience. “Why didn’t the president consult citizens about this plan like he’s done with everything else?” said Mendoza, shaking his head. “This is not panic purchasing. If I don’t fill up my car right now, I’m screwed.”

mexico
gasoline
pemex
andres manuel lopez obrador


Jihadis are making ground in the Syrian rebel bastion of Idlib, monitor says

Abstract: BEIRUT - Islamic jihadis inched forward in Syria’s last major opposition bastion Wednesday as a deal with rival rebels saw them expand their control to three-quarters of the stronghold, a monitor said. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is led by jihadis of Syria’s former al-Qaida affiliate, has been gaining ground against rival rebels in the Idlib region in recent days. The opposition bastion near the Turkish border includes a large part of the province of Idlib, as well as parts of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo and Hama. HTS on Wednesday gained control of an area on the Idlib-Hama provincial border under a deal with rival rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “HTS on Wednesday took control of Sahl al-Ghab and Jabal Shahshabo under a deal with” rival rebels, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said, referring to the agricultural plain and adjacent highlands. After Wednesday’s accord, the jihadist-led alliance now controls around 75 percent of the Idlib region, the head of the Britain-based monitor said. A rival alliance of rebels called the National Liberation Front (NLF) controls around 20 percent, he said. Other jihadis are present in the remaining 5 percent of the region. The rebel bastion of Idlib has since September been protected from a massive regime offensive by a deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. But that deal has not been completely implemented, and analysts say HTS is now seeking to gain ground to present itself as the undisputed leader in the area. Last week, HTS seized dozens of villages from another NLF component in the Aleppo countryside, in the northeast of the enclave. Fighting between HTS and Nureddine al-Zinki there and in other parts of the stronghold left more than 137 dead in eight days. Syria’s war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression on anti-government demonstrations.


More than 30,000 flee Boko Haram violence in northern Nigeria: U.N.

Abstract: LAGOS - Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northeast Nigeria after an increase in violence in the Boko Haram conflict, the United Nations said on Wednesday. “More than 30,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have arrived in Maiduguri, mainly from Baga, in recent weeks,” said the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon. Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, has been repeatedly hit in the nine-year conflict, which has killed more than 27,000, left 1.8 million people homeless and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram overran two military bases in and around the fishing town on late December. Kallon said fighting on Dec. 26 triggered a “massive displacement” of civilians, with men, women and children flocking to already overcrowded camps in Monguno and Maiduguri. Monguno is a garrison town 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Baga while the Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, is 200 km away on the same road. Both are considered key prizes for the jihadists, who have increased their attacks on military bases and soldiers since July last year. A second attack on Monguno on Dec. 28 forced IDPs to Maiduguri. Some 20,000 arrived at one camp, Teachers Village, stretching its capacity beyond the limit. Kallon said it was unclear how many remained in Monguno but “tens of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, notably shelter, food, water and sanitation. “The impact of the recent fighting on innocent civilians is devastating and has created a humanitarian tragedy,” he added. Local and international aid agencies have been providing life-saving assistance to IDPs in the remote region for several years. But since November, some 260 aid workers have had to withdraw from three local government areas in northern Borno near Lake Chad where ISWAP are known to operate. Kallon said “hundreds of thousands of people” had been affected and the withdrawal was the largest since the international response was increased in 2016. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in December 2015 that Boko Haram were “technically defeated” after a sustained counterinsurgency. But on Wednesday he acknowledged setbacks in the fight-back, including “battle fatigue” among soldiers from a wave of guerrilla style hit-and-run tactics and suicide bombings. Buhari was elected in 2015 on a promise to end the conflict and security has again become an election issue as he seeks a second term of office at polls next month.

boko haram
nigeria
islamic state
muhammadu buhari
terrorism
u.n .


Crashed French Air Force fighter found in mountains but crew's fate still unknown

Abstract: STRASBOURG, FRANCE - Search and rescue teams Wednesday found the wreckage of a French Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter that crashed in a mountainous region of eastern France, but the fate of its two-man crew was unknown. Radar contact with the fighter, on a low-altitude training flight, was lost late Wednesday morning as it flew over the Jura region, near the Swiss border, officials said. Search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the area, the Air Force said in a statement. The local Est Republicain newspaper reported that a parachute was found amid the debris near Mignovillard, at an elevation of about 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). The plane was unarmed. The last deadly crash involving a 2000 Mirage fighter occurred in France in 2011.

france
mirage 2000
alps
aircraft accidents


Beijing announces deployment of 'carrier killer' missile after U.S. warship sails near South China Sea islets

Abstract: Beijing has announced that its so-called carrier killer anti-ship missile has been deployed to the country’s northwest, just a day after the U.S. Navy sailed a warship past disputed islands in the South China Sea. China’s DF-26 ballistic missile, which reportedly has a range of 3,000-4,000 km, was mobilized to the country’s northwest plateau and desert areas, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported Tuesday, quoting national broadcaster CCTV. While the actual deployment date was not mentioned, the timing of the reports’ release coincided with a U.S. “freedom of navigation” operation (FONOP) near Chinese-held islands in the South China Sea’s Paracel chain on Monday. In the FONOP, which Washington conducts globally to challenge maritime claims it considers excessive, the U.S. Navy sent the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS McCampbell guided-missile destroyer near the islands — a move China blasted as a “provocation.” The Global Times report alluded to the U.S. operation, quoting an unidentified expert as noting that the deployment “is a good reminder that China is capable of safeguarding its territory.” “Even when launched from deeper inland areas of China, the DF-26 has a range far-reaching enough to cover the South China Sea,” the expert added. Beijing has constructed a series of military outposts throughout the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where the U.S., Chinese, Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies also operate. The newspaper called the DF-26 a “new generation of intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of targeting medium and large ships at sea.” According to the Pentagon’s 2018 report on Chinese military power, the road-mobile missile, first fielded in 2016, “is capable of conducting conventional and nuclear precision strikes against ground targets and conventional strikes against naval targets in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans and the South China Sea.” China’s Defense Ministry announced that the missile had been officially deployed last April, and CCTV said Tuesday that weapons “are now capable of mobile operations across the country.” Experts say a mobile missile launch from deep inside China’s interior would be more difficult to intercept than a launch from an area closer to the shore. This is because in the initial launch phase, the missile is relatively slow and easy to detect, making it a ripe target for enemy anti-missile strikes. After the launch enters its later stages, the missile’s speed is so fast that the chances of interception dwindle significantly. This missile’s deployment has also stoked concern in Japan, home to a number of key U.S. military bases. According to a June 2017 report published by the Center for a New American Security think tank, while the United States’ main focus on the DF-26 has been aircraft carriers, the missile also bolsters China’s ability to target and destroy U.S. bases in the region — a capability experts say remains an underappreciated challenge. “The greatest military threat to U.S. vital interests in Asia may be one that has received somewhat less attention: the growing capability of China’s missile forces to threaten U.S. bases in the region,” the report said. In it, the two authors, Thomas Shugart and Javier Gonzalez, simulated a preemptive Chinese attack on U.S. bases in Japan. They found the results would be devastating, including “almost every major fixed headquarters and logistical facility being struck” and “almost every U.S. ship in port in Japan struck pierside by ballistic missiles.” The simulation also found that most of the military runways would be cratered in the attack, effectively clipping the wings of the U.S. Air Force in Japan.

south china sea
china
disputed islands
military
weapons
u.s .


India's ruling party establishes quota for poor upper-caste people in government jobs ahead of national elections

Abstract: NEW DELHI - India’s Parliament has approved a bill to establish a 10 percent quota of government jobs for poor upper-caste people left out of existing quotes for low-ranking castes. The Congress party and other opposition parties supported the legislation Wednesday but criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for bringing it months before the national elections, suggesting the move was intended to garner votes. The Modi government unexpectedly moved the bill in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday and got it approved. The upper house adopted it on Wednesday. It now needs the approval of India’s president — a formality — to become law. Discrimination under the caste system was outlawed soon after India’s independence from Britain in 1947, but the system’s influence remains strong. Until now, 49.5 percent of government jobs were allocated to lower castes.

india
government jobs
elections
narendra modi
lower caste


Kim vows to achieve 'results' at summit with Trump, while Xi hopes U.S. and North Korea will 'meet halfway'

Abstract: BEIJING/SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged during his two-day visit to Beijing to achieve “results” that would be welcomed by the international community after his potential next summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, China’s state-run media said Thursday. In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, Kim also repeated that North Korea will stick to its goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, according to the reports. The two leaders agreed that Beijing and Pyongyang will work together to resolve issues related to the divided peninsula, with Xi expressing clear support for North Korea’s efforts to hold summit meetings with Washington, Xinhua News Agency said. Kim, whose visit, which ended Wednesday, came at a time of stalemate in denuclearization negotiations with Washington, explained to Xi the “challenges and concerns” that have arisen in the process of those talks, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said. For his part, Xi told Kim he hopes North Korea and the United States can meet each other halfway, Xinhua said. The remark hinted at the depth of the differences that remain between Pyongyang and Washington. “The political settlement of the peninsula issue faces a rare historic opportunity,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. Beijing supports U.S.-North Korean summits and the use of dialogue to resolve concerns, he was quoted as saying. “China hopes that North Korea and the United States will meet each other halfway.” China is North Korea’s major economic and political ally, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Pyongyang. Kim’s two-day trip reasserted China’s role in the process, and was seen by some as a strategy session ahead of a second summit between the North Korean leader and his U.S. counterpart. At their first meeting in Singapore in June, Kim and Trump signed a vaguely worded document with Kim pledging to work towards the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” But progress has since stalled with Pyongyang and Washington — which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea — disagreeing over what that means. North Korea wants relief from the multiple sets of sanctions imposed on it over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, while the U.S. wants the measures to remain in place until Pyongyang gives up its arms — something it has made no public promise to do. China also wants the sanctions relaxed and Xi “spoke highly of the positive measures taken by the DPRK side,” Xinhua said, using the initials of the North’s official name. North Korea has carried out six nuclear blasts and launched missiles capable of reaching the whole of the United States, but has performed no such tests for more than a year, and blew up the entrances to a nuclear testing ground it said it no longer needed. Pyongyang has rejected demands for what it calls its “unilateral” disarmament as “gangster-like.” China is the North’s sole major ally and key trade partner but relations had deteriorated over Pyongyang’s nuclear activities, before warming up last year, with Kim meeting Xi three times. Kim noted the “difficulties and concern” in talks with the U.S., according to Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency, which said the Chinese leader had issued a ringing endorsement of the North’s position. Xi said that “the principled issues suggested by the DPRK side are deserved requirements and its reasonable points of concern should be resolved properly,” it said. Each of the previous Kim-Xi meetings have come shortly before or after the North Korean summits with either Trump or South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Trump said Sunday the U.S. and North Korea were negotiating the location of their next summit, a meeting Moon said Thursday was “imminent.” Pyongyang needed to take “bold, practical measures for denuclearization” to ensure sanctions are lifted, he told reporters, but added that “corresponding measures” were also needed from the U.S., such as agreeing to a “peace regime” and formally declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Moon acknowledged the Singapore agreement was “somewhat vague,” and there was “skepticism” over Kim’s denuclearization pledge. But Kim had assured him and other leaders that his view of denuclearization was “no different in any way from what the international community demands,” Moon said, and Pyongyang would not link it to the presence of U.S. forces in the South or nearby. Nonetheless a commentary carried by KCNA last month stressed that when Pyongyang refers to “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” it includes the North, the South, and “surrounding areas from where the Korean peninsula is targeted.” Kim Han-kwon, an analyst at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy warned that preliminary talks between Pyongyang and Washington would be crucial. “If what the North puts on the table after its summit with China fails to meet Washington’s expectations, there will be conflict and fresh doubts about whether a second summit should take place,” he said. Washington and Beijing have competing strategic interests in northeast Asia, and Xinhua said Xi had re-asserted China’s importance in the diplomatic process. Beijing stands ready to “play a positive and constructive role in maintaining peace and stability and realizing denuclearization on the peninsula and lasting peace and stability in the region,” it cited him as saying. Xi greeted Kim at Beijing’s ornate Great Hall of the People on Tuesday — believed to be the North Korean leader’s birthday — before hosting a welcome banquet for Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju. Kim visited a pharmaceutical plant that makes traditional Chinese medicine on Wednesday and met Xi again for lunch before heading home. The visit coincided with trade talks between Chinese and U.S. officials. Analysts say China could use the North Korean issue as a bargaining chip in the negotiations, but Beijing’s foreign ministry rejected any link between Kim’s trip and the talks. Xi said, according to Xinhua, that China “supports the DPRK and the United States holding summits and achieving results.”

north korea
kim jong un
donald trump
xi jinping
south korea
nuclear weapons
moon jae-in
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


Delhi cows and elderly to moo-ve in together and 'take care of each other'

Abstract: NEW DELHI - Delhi plans to create a special home for both elderly people and some of the city’s thousands of cows, in a new animal welfare blitz also aimed at reducing numbers of monkeys and stray dogs. The local development minister, Gopal Rai, said as he unveiled the program on Wednesday that “cows and senior citizens will co-exist, taking care of each other” in the planned pilot facility in southwest Delhi. “When a cow dries up, people leave her and she ends up in a gaushala (cow shelter). Similarly, humans too are abandoned and sent to old age homes, even by rich families,” local media quoted Rai as saying. Other steps include “birth control” measures for the Indian capital’s ubiquitous, mischievous and occasionally dangerous monkeys, the sterilization of stray dogs and electronic chips for cows and pets. In addition, people unable to look after their cows — a common sight on Delhi’s roads, impeding traffic and eating rubbish — will be able to house the animals in special hostels for a small fee. Ever since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party stormed to power in 2014, cows — sacred for Hindus — have won a near-VIP status. Rumors of cows being taken for slaughter have sparked murderous reprisals and religious riots. Every month, some 600 cattle are rounded up in Delhi and relocated to five shelters. A 2012 livestock census found there were more than 5 million stray cows across India and more than 12,000 in Delhi.


Hiroshima firefighter wins annual Lucky Man race at Hyogo shrine

Abstract: KOBE - A 22-year-old firefighter raced past the competition early Thursday to earn the title of “Lucky Man” in the annual run held at a major Shinto shrine in Hyogo Prefecture. As soon as the gates of Nishinomiya Shrine swung open at 6 a.m., Yuki Yamamoto from Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, dashed ahead of the pack to the main hall some 230 meters away, beating the 107 other lottery-selected competitors in the first group to race. Altogether, some 5,000 people took part in the traditional event. “I’m very happy,” declared Yamamoto, who said the win made him look back with regret on an high school pole-vault championship that he missed due to injuries. With his hometown having been affected by the torrential rain last summer that caused massive floods and mudslides, Yamamoto said he hopes the win “can brighten people up, even just a little bit.” The shrine in Nishinomiya, dedicated to the Ebisu god of business prosperity, has been holding the race for centuries and anoints the first three runners to arrive at the main hall as the “Lucky Men” of the year. Yuki Itami, a 30-year-old local comedian, was second, and 23-year-old Katsuya Tamaki, from Kakogawa, also in Hyogo, placed third. For the first time, a woman was included on the team of gatekeepers who are responsible for holding the gates shut until the start of the race. Miyuki Abe, 36, from Iwate Prefecture, assumed the role along with several other men. Abe has twice won the title of “Lucky Woman” in a separate footrace held as part of a tsunami evacuation drill in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture. “I want to bring home the power of ‘Lucky Man’ to the Tohoku region,” Abe said.

lucky man
hyogo
nishinomiya shrine
yuki yamamoto


Municipalities in quake-hit Kumamoto vie to host one of eight planned 'One Piece' statues

Abstract: KUMAMOTO - The Kumamoto Prefectural Government plans to set up more statues related to “One Piece,” a hugely popular manga series, to cheer up local residents in the prefecture, which was hit by powerful earthquakes in 2016 and another one just last week. The venues for the statues of eight main characters will be decided by the prefectural government and the publisher, and municipalities are vying for the opportunity to host them. “One Piece,” created by cartoonist Eiichiro Oda, is an adventure story about Monkey D. Luffy, the boy protagonist of the series who aims to become the king of pirates, and his eight friends. The party is dubbed the “Mugiwara no Ichimi” (“Straw Hat Pirates”) because of Luffy’s signature hat. “One Piece” has been published in Weekly Shonen Jump, a manga magazine mainly read by boys, since 1997, with the number of episodes having topped 900 last year. The manga is read in more than 40 nations and regions. Over 440 million “One Piece” comic books have been printed. Oda, born in the city of Kumamoto, received an honor from the prefectural government for supporting local communities after the quakes by providing “One Piece” illustrations and donating a total of ¥800 million. In November, some 1,500 fans flocked to an unveiling ceremony for a statue of Luffy set up by the prefectural government at its premises in the capital. In response to the latest plan, which will involve the construction of statues of the eight Luffy friends, 31 municipalities, or nearly 70 percent of all cities, towns and villages in the prefecture, have bid to host them. The aspiring hosts need to demonstrate how a statue would help them with post-disaster reconstruction. The prefecture hopes to have the host municipalities picked by around April, when Kumamoto will mark the third anniversary of the quakes, including two temblors measuring up to the maximum of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale. The quake on Jan. 3 left two people injured and damaged 62 buildings and houses. No deaths or serious injuries were reported. While municipalities that were most severely damaged by the 2016 quakes are seen as likely to be successful in their bids, others are also pushing hard to be granted a statue. The city of Kamiamakusa aims to host a statue at a park with a ship-shaped observatory. “The park, offering a panoramic view of the ocean, would be a good location for (a statue of) Sanji,” who serves as the cook for the Mugiwara party, Mayor Takaomi Horie said. The town of Minamioguni has proposed Senomoto Kogen, a foggy highland area, for a statue of Brook, stressing that the place is suited for the skeletal musician who made his first appearance from a fog. The April 2016 quakes have left deep scars on the prefecture. In the city of Aso, railways and national highways have yet to be fully restored. “Students still have to use substitute bus services early in the morning when they go to school, and the number of tourists has dropped,” said Mihoko Shin, a city official in charge of tourism. “We want something to give people a boost,” she said, emphasizing the city’s hope to host a “One Piece” statue.

kumamoto
one piece
earthquake
eiichiro oda


Footage of snow monkey 'acrobats' in Japan's far north goes viral

Abstract: AOMORI - Twitter video footage of monkeys walking across electric wires in snow-covered Aomori Prefecture has gone viral. 実家に猿の大群現れたって 母からLINEきたけど こんなん笑ってまうわw pic.twitter.com/kWOESzac1n — ヨコヤマ (@baritone_666) January 6, 2019 The clip, played nearly 900,000 times, shows the snow monkeys walking on the wires in a line as if they were performing as circus acrobats. The scene was filmed by the mother of the person who uploaded the footage. The Twitter user said the reaction to the footage was just astonishing.

monkeys
aomori
twitter
electric wires
animals


Can she stay? Tokyo seeks talks with China to allow panda cub Xiang Xiang to remain in Japan

Abstract: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government hopes to negotiate with China to allow Xiang Xiang, a popular female giant panda cub at Ueno Zoo, to stay in Japan longer than 24 months, Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday. “We’ll hold talks based on our accord” before handing over Xiang Xiang to China, she said. Any cub born to a giant panda on loan from China must be given to the country 24 months after birth. Koike said the metropolitan government understands Tokyoites’ desire to have Xiang Xiang stay in Japan for an extended period of time. Xiang Xiang was born to Shin Shin, a female, and Ri Ri at the zoo on June 12, 2017. The pair arrived in Japan in February 2011 from China.

tokyo
china
panda
xiang xiang
ueno zoo
animals


A whole lotta love: Japanese lesbian couple plan wedding photos in 26 countries

Abstract: LONDON - A Japanese lesbian couple plan to stage wedding photos in every country around the world where same-sex marriage is legal, in a push to increase understanding of LGBT communities at home, they said on Wednesday. Students Misato Kawasaki, 21, and Mayu Otaki, 22, hope to give other LGBT people confidence in their identity and raise awareness of issues such as the lack of equal marriage rights in Japan. “Through this project, I want to cheer up a lot of people (and say) that there is nothing to be ashamed of just because you are a sexual minority,” Otaki said. “It is important to speak out, but unless many people take an interest then I do not think society will change.” Japan’s laws on LGBT issues are relatively liberal compared with many other countries in Asia. In the nation gay sex has been legal since 1880, having only been criminalized before that for fairly short periods, although being openly gay remains largely taboo. While same-sex marriage is not legal, in some areas gay couples can get a certificate that allows them similar rights to married couples. Kawasaki had struggled with her feelings for women,, she wrote on a fundraising page for the project, initially believing it was the “natural course” to be attracted to boys. “Even now, it is hard to come out as a lesbian to friends who don’t know our project. That is because I am scared to find out what the other person thinks,” she said. “However, once I started coming out it got better because I no longer had to lie to myself or my friends.” The couple, who are both students at Utsunomiya University in Tochigi Prefecture, decided to travel to all 25 countries with marriage equality worldwide in a bid to increase awareness over the lack of equal marriage rights. At the end of 2018, 25 nations recognized same-sex marriage, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) data, up from 24 a year ago. Their “26 times wedding” project will take them to countries including Argentina, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Iceland, and they will also visit Taiwan for a 26th “ceremony.” The island nation is the scene of a heated debate over marriage equality after the constitutional court ruled in 2017 that gay couples must be given equal rights to wed within two years. However, more than two-thirds of voters said in a referendum in November that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, leading to fears that proposals for equal marriage rights may be watered down. At each stop on their trip Kawasaki and Otaki will stage mock wedding photos, which will be posted on social media, and will carry out interviews with local LGBT campaigners and experts. The couple only has about 1,000 followers on Instagram so far but has been the subject of numerous press stories. “At the moment, LGBTQ+ people are not familiar to the Japanese. So we would like different people to look at the wedding photos we take and put on Instagram, and then think about the issue,” said Kawasaki.

weddings
lgbt
misato kawasaki
mayu otaki


South Korean President Moon Jae-in accuses Japan of politicizing wartime labor issue

Abstract: SEOUL - South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday accused Japan of politicizing recent court decisions over wartime labor involving Japanese firms, calling it an unwise move. Moon also told reporters in Seoul that the South Korean government must respect judicial decisions as a matter of the separation of powers among the three branches of government. Recent South Korean Supreme Court decisions ordering Japanese firms to compensate South Koreans forced into labor during the war have rattled ties between the nations. “The Korean government has been saying this issue needs to be solved … with wisdom from both countries so that future ties would not be hurt,” Moon said at a news conference at the presidential office. “The politicization of this issue by Japanese politicians and political leaders, however, is not a wise stance to take,” he said. Japan urged South Korea on Wednesday to launch talks as Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. faced the imminent seizure of its assets after refusing to comply with a top court order in October to pay compensation to four South Koreans. The plaintiffs were recognized as having been forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The request to launch intergovernmental talks on the top court’s ruling and ensuing developments is based on a bilateral accord to settle property claims that was signed alongside the 1965 Japan-South Korea treaty that established diplomatic ties. Japan says the issue of compensation was settled “completely and finally” under the agreement. Tokyo also says Seoul has yet to take concrete steps despite its request to address the situation. On Thursday, Moon said that while Japan could “complain” about the court’s ruling, it should also know that “there’s nothing it can do about it,” given the separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. “I think the Japanese government should take a more humble stance,” the president also said. As to the steps South Korea is considering to address the situation, Moon indicated that it might take time to come up with a decision, given that authorities are investigating an allegation that the judiciary delayed ruling on wartime labor cases under the previous administration led by President Park Geun-hye. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the government will consider the Japanese request for talks but did not say how it intends to respond. It said South Korea intends to come up with measures that will help victims of forced labor recover from their damaging experiences while taking into consideration future-oriented ties with Japan. In Tokyo on Thursday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government has not received any response from South Korea regarding its request to start consultations over the issue. “We are aware that Japan-South Korea relations are in an extremely severe situation, and Japan will continue to request South Korea take appropriate measures on various matters,” the top government spokesman said at a news briefing.

south korea
moon jae-in
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations