U.S. wants to build more tents at border to detain migrant families

Abstract: HOUSTON - The Trump administration wants to open two new tent facilities to temporarily detain up to 1,000 parents and children near the southern border, as advocates sharply criticize the conditions inside the tents already used to hold migrants. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice to potential contractors that it wants to house 500 people in each camp in El Paso, Texas, and in the South Texas city of Donna, which has a border crossing with Mexico. Each facility would consist of one large tent that could be divided into sections by gender and between families and children traveling alone, according to the notice. Detainees would sleep on mats. There would also be laundry facilities, showers, and an “additional fenced-in area” for “outside exercise/recreation.” The notice says the facilities could open in the next two weeks and operate through year end, with a cost that could reach $37 million. CBP did not respond to several requests for comment. But the agency has said its resources are strained by the sharp rise in the numbers of parents and children crossing the border and requesting asylum. It made 53,000 apprehensions in March of parents and children traveling together, most of whom say they are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. Many ultimately request asylum under U.S. and international law. The Border Patrol has started directly releasing parents and children instead of referring them to immigration authorities for potential long-term detention, but families still sometimes wait several days to be processed by the agency and released. The Border Patrol processing center in McAllen is routinely over capacity. Kevin McAleenan, the new acting homeland security secretary, was scheduled to visit McAllen Tuesday and Wednesday. In El Paso, hundreds of people are detained in tents set up at the center of a parking lot next to a patrol station. People detained there have complained of prolonged exposure to cold. The Border Patrol limits them to one warm layer of clothing, confiscates coats, and issues a Mylar blanket to each detainee, citing health and safety concerns. U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan, a California Democrat, visited the tents earlier this month. She said she had seen a mother with her 4-month-old child who had been there for five or more days, in conditions she said were “unhealthy.” Border Patrol officials have declined to allow the media inside the tents in El Paso. Land near the bridge in Donna was used last year as a camp by active-duty soldiers when they were ordered to South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. The Border Patrol also established a tent facility at Donna to hold migrants in December 2016, in the last weeks of the administration of former President Barack Obama, in response to a previous surge of migrants from Central America. Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said she had been allowed to visit the tent facility in 2016. She said that facility had been “open and clean,” but noted she visited before it began detaining people. “Detention is never a good idea for any family,” Pimentel said. “I believe families are victims of a lot of abuse, and we just add to that abuse by the way we respond to handle and process them.”

migrants
mexico
immigration
u.s .
rights
donald trump


Organized crime trumps terrorism, migration as top threat to security: Europol

Abstract: THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - Increasingly violent organized crime groups pose the biggest threat to European security, outstripping terrorism and migration, top police from across the continent said Tuesday. Italian Mafia groups, Albanians and Eastern Europeans, and “outlaw” motorcycle gangs were the biggest players, officials told a conference led by Italy’s anti-Mafia agency and the EU police agency Europol. But Asian, African and South American groups were also muscling in on Europe’s €110 billion a year organized crime business, with many increasingly working with each other, the meeting in The Hague heard. “Currently organized crime constitutes the highest risk for EU internal security, Jari Liukku, head of Europol’s European Serious and Organized Crime Center, told a press conference. Officials said that organized crime had been “in the shadow” in recent years when Europe faced a wave of terrorist attacks and a huge migration crisis, but that it now had to be tackled by cross-border cooperation. “To prevent organized crime we have to act internationally, because the organised crime groups are already doing it,” added Liukku. Giuseppe Governale, head of Italy’s Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate, said the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta and Neapolitan Camorra were still the biggest, but added that the problem was more widespread. “This is a European problem,” he said. European authorities had to crack down on money laundering in particular as a way of starving organized crime groups of their lifeblood, Governale told the news conference. “Mass money-laundering has a great impact on society, whole sectors are destabilized and it can jeopardize the national economy and security,” he added. One hallmark of the new organized crime groups was an increasing level of violence, officials told the conference. Sweden in particular had seen an unprecedented surge of violence akin to a “low intensity form of warfare,” senior Swedish police official Jale Poljarevius said. Fatal shootings had risen from around 15 a year in 2011 to over 40 in 2018, while in the first three months of 2019 there had been 12 gun deaths in 67 shootouts — as well as one dead in 47 grenade explosions. “Sweden has never before seen these kinds of numbers,” Poljarevius said. In December EU authorities announced the arrest of around 90 suspected ‘Ndrangheta mobsters in six countries in Europe and South America.

terrorism
security
europe
europol
mafia
motorcycle gangs
calabrian 'ndrangheta


U.K. becomes first country in world to roll out age-verification for online porn

Abstract: LONDON - Britain said Wednesday it will become the first country in the world to introduce age-verification to access online pornography. The new law, which comes into force on July 15, will require commercial providers of internet pornography to check on users’ ages to ensure that they are 18 or over. “Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online,” Minister for Digital Margot James said in a statement, hailing the mandatory scheme “a world-first.” Websites that fail to implement the verification technology could have payment services withdrawn or be blocked for British users, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is the latest move by British authorities to crack down on the spread of online abuses and crimes. The government announced earlier this month proposals to make social media bosses personally liable for harmful content and shut down offending platforms. The latest step to bring in age-verification for pornography follows public consultation and parliamentary debate on the issue last year. Research conducted as part of that outreach found that 88 percent of parents with children aged 7 to 17 supported new controls, DCMS said. The department insisted the range of checks to be carried out by providers would be “rigorous” and go beyond users simply entering their date of birth or ticking a box. They could include using traditional identity documents online, such as credit cards and passports, as well as digital IDs or cards bought in stores “where the verification is face-to-face.” The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will be responsible for ensuring compliance. The government said it had “listened carefully” to privacy concerns and was clear the arrangements should only be concerned with verifying age — not identity. The BBFC will therefore also create — in cooperation with industry — a voluntary certification scheme to assess the data security standards of the providers. Internet Matters, a nonprofit organization concerned with online child safety, welcomed the government tackling the issue but also sounded a cautionary note. “We must recognise that digital solutions aren’t the only answer,” said its CEO Carolyn Bunting. “There is no substitute to having regular and honest conversations with your child about what they’re getting up to online.”


Congo's president wants Ebola contained within three months

Abstract: BENI, CONGO - Congo’s president on Tuesday said he wants to see a deadly Ebola virus outbreak contained in less than three months even as some health experts say it could take twice as long. President Felix Tshisekedi spoke as he visited eastern Congo, where this outbreak has become the second-deadliest in history. Congo’s health ministry says more than 1,200 cases have been confirmed, including more than 800 deaths. Tshisekedi’s visit came a few days after the World Health Organization decided that the outbreak is not yet a global health emergency. The outbreak is occurring in a volatile area near the border with Rwanda and Uganda where rebel groups and bouts of community resistance have complicated efforts to contain the hemorrhagic fever. As of this week more than 100,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine, a bright spot amid the challenges. Congo’s president vowed more protection for health workers and called on the local population to cooperate with them. This is the first time this region has faced an Ebola outbreak, and many in the population are wary of both outsiders and the government after years of deadly rebel attacks. If the Ebola outbreak continues “people will be scared to visit the region,” Tshieskedi said. Since taking office early this year he has vowed to combat the region’s rebel groups. One woman who was leaving the Ebola treatment center on Tuesday after recovering from the disease described her mixed feelings once she learned she had the virus. “I thought I would die and I hid, but a few days later I came and got myself admitted,” 29-year-old Kavugho Rachel said. “And here I am, in good health.” She appealed to others in the region to seek help at the centers, too.

congo
ebola
felix tshisekedi
who
conflict
epidemic


Seals, caviar, oil, warming: Caspian Sea faces severe pollution threat

Abstract: BAKU - Seals waddling along the waterfront were once a common sight in Baku Bay, the Caspian Sea home of Azerbaijan’s capital. Not anymore. Of the more than 1 million seals that inhabited the shores and islands of the Caspian a century ago fewer than 10 percent remain, and the species has been declared endangered. Azer Garayev, the head of the Azerbaijan Society for the Protection of Animals, says the seals have for decades been suffering from over-hunting and the effects of industrial pollution. In 2003, his group found 750 seal carcasses in just one month. “It was not normal,” but no one looked into the issue, the 57-year-old activist said. “The seal is a sign of all the major environmental problems (in the Caspian).” Bordered by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, the Caspian is the world’s largest inland body of water, about the size of Japan. As well as the seals and other endemic species including Caspian turtles and the famed beluga sturgeon, the sea boasts vast energy reserves, estimated at 50 billion barrels of oil and 300,000 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Pollution from the extraction of that oil and gas, along with declining water levels due to climate change, pose a threat to many species and put the future of the sea itself at risk. The U.N. Environment Program has warned that the Caspian “suffers from an enormous burden of pollution from oil extraction and refining, offshore oil fields, radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants and huge volumes of untreated sewage and industrial waste introduced mainly by the Volga River. A few kilometers from downtown Baku, fishermen along the seashore watch small drops of oil appearing on the surface of the sea and spreading in varicolored strains. “Some fish seem to prefer polluted water, so they tend to congregate here,” said 26-year-old Rashad. “The water is dirty,” he said, displaying a plastic bag that was caught on his fish hook. Besides fishermen like Rashad, the entire caviar industry is in danger as a result of the pollution. The Caspian Sea used to be home to one of the world’s largest population of sturgeons, but it has declined by more than 90 percent over the last three generations, the World Wildlife Fund said in 2016. “I remember when caviar cost 10 (Azerbaijani) manats (per kilogram, 2.2 pounds),” or about $6, said environmentalist Garayev. “Today, it costs more than 1,500 manats ($960, €850) and there is almost none left. We have practically no viable population of sturgeon today.” Aligaidar Mammedov, a former hydro-geologist and fisherman turned environmental activist, said that oil exploration methods either kill or chase away the sturgeon. “They set off seismic explosions in the sea,” he said, adding: “The seabed is destroyed as a result, and sturgeons are seabed fish.” Mammedov also warned of the potential for oil spills, which would be far more polluting in the inland sea than they are in the ocean. Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company, SOCAR, says it is doing its part and has cleared most of the vast areas near Baku that used to be covered with oil sludge. “The environmental challenges came mainly during the Soviet era, when the country didn’t take enough care of the environment and the technology was not as sophisticated,” SOCAR spokesman Ibrahim Ahmadov said. But even if pollution from the oil industry were mitigated, the Caspian could still be inching toward a catastrophe, since global warming is causing it to lose water. A recent study by Azerbaijan’s Academy of Sciences estimated that the sea level is dropping by more than 6 cm (2.3 inches) per year. “Climate change along the Caspian Sea basin causes very rapid evaporation,” said Elnur Safarov, an Azerbaijani marine scientist and one of the study’s authors. “The five countries bordering the Caspian, their economies, their lives, depend on it completely — fishing, the oil industry, agriculture, communications,” he said. “When the sea level changes … the social and economic situation of the entire coastline changes.” In 2018, Caspian Sea countries signed an agreement defining the status of the sea, which had lacked an international legal framework since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The agreement mainly regulates military use, oil and gas extraction and caviar production, and activists have so far been disappointed that it has not touched on environmental issues. They worry that the Caspian may share the fate of Central Asia’s Aral Sea, which has all but vanished in one of the world’s greatest environmental catastrophes. “It would be so stupid to lose it (the Caspian) like the Aral Sea,” Garayev said. “I don’t want to think about it. It would be a crime.”

seals
caviar
oil
caspian sea
pollution
environment
russia
volga
global warming
u.n .


Russian support for Stalin surges to record high, poll shows

Abstract: MOSCOW - Respect among Russians for Josef Stalin has surged to the highest level of President Vladimir Putin’s era, with 70 percent saying his rule had been good for the country, according to a poll tracking attitudes toward the Soviet dictator. A record 51 percent viewed Stalin positively in March, up from 40 percent a year earlier, the survey published Tuesday by the Moscow-based Levada Center showed. The proportion regarding him with admiration, respect or sympathy was the highest since it began the survey in April 2001, Levada said on its website. “Nostalgia over the collapse of the Soviet Union is at a peak this year. In addition, Stalin is seen as a figure who ensured social justice,” something Russians are increasingly seeking amid discontent with falling living standards and a government reform of pensions, said Karina Pipia, an analyst at Levada. Even so, the people who admired Stalin “don’t really want to go back to those times,” she said. Russians were more willing to defend the mass killings and political persecutions that accompanied Stalin’s 31-year rule until his death in 1953, according to the survey. Some 46 percent agreed that repressions were “definitely” or “in some way” justified by the results achieved under Stalin, up from 36 percent in 2017 and the highest level since the question was first posed in 2008. Another 45 percent said progress under Stalin didn’t justify the repressions. The rise in Stalin’s standing follows Kremlin efforts to play down his tyranny in school history books and recast him as a modernizer who transformed the Soviet Union into a superpower through rapid industrialization and victory in World War II. It comes amid deepening disenchantment among Russians with Putin, the longest-serving Kremlin ruler since Stalin, following the unpopular increase in the pension age last year. There’s also growing hardship after five straight years of declining consumer incomes. The March 21-27 survey of 1,600 people had a margin of error no greater than 3.4 percent. An increase of 12 percentage points in the proportion expressing respect for Stalin explained the jump in his ratings this year, while there’s been a gradual decline in the number of Russians with indifferent or negative attitudes toward him, according to Levada. An “irrational romanticization of the Soviet past and of the figure of Stalin” was expressed not only by older people in the poll but also by those aged under 25 who didn’t live in the communist era, Pipia said.


Canada man charged with four murders over 'targeted' shootings

Abstract: TORONTO - A retired city engineer was charged Tuesday with the murders of four people in what police have called a ‘targeted’ shooting spree in the western Canadian city of Penticton. John Brittain, 68, is facing three counts of premeditated murder and one of second-degree murder after turning himself in to authorities on Monday after police were alerted to two of the killings. Investigators then discovered the bodies of two more victims during a search of the suburbs of Penticton, British Columbia, which has a population of around 30,000. The suspect made a brief court appearance on Tuesday. “Our preliminary investigation has determined that the accused and each of the victims were known to each other,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Ted De Jager told a press conference. “The question of motive remains under investigation,” he said. “At this time, our investigation is continuing across multiple crime scenes.” On Monday, De Jager called the shootings a “targeted incident.” Renate Winter, whose 71-year-old husband, Rudi, was one of those killed, told local media she believed his murder was likely linked to a neighborhood dispute. The couple had a “frosty” relationship with the shooter’s estranged wife, who lived next door, she told The Vancouver Sun. Authorities have withheld the identities of the second male victim and the two female victims, all in their 60s and 70s. Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki said he knew very little about Brittain other than that prior to his retirement in 2016, he had been very involved in community matters and “did his job well.”

canada
john brittain
guns
mass shootings
pinticton


U.S. expands indefinite detention for asylum-seekers

Abstract: NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. attorney general on Tuesday struck down a decision that had allowed some asylum-seekers to ask for bond in front of an immigration judge, an action that expands indefinite detention for some migrants who must wait months or years for their cases to be heard. The first immigration court ruling from U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly appointed attorney general, William Barr, is in keeping with the administration’s moves to clamp down on the asylum process as tens of thousands of mostly Central Americans cross into the United States asking for refuge. U.S. immigration courts are overseen by the Justice Department, and the attorney general can rule in cases to set legal precedent. This year the administration implemented a policy to return some asylum-seekers to Mexico while their cases work their way through backlogged courts, a policy that has been challenged with a lawsuit. Several top officials at the Department of Homeland Security were forced out this month amid Trump’s frustration with the influx of migrants seeking refuge at the southern border. Barr’s decision applies to migrants who crossed illegally into the United States. Typically, those migrants are placed in “expedited removal” proceedings — a faster form of deportation reserved for people who illegally entered the country within the last two weeks and are detained within 100 miles (160 km) of a land border. Migrants who present themselves at ports of entry and ask for asylum are not eligible for bond. Before Barr’s ruling, those who crossed the border illegally and asked for asylum were eligible for bond once they proved to asylum officers that they had a credible fear of persecution. “I conclude that such aliens remain ineligible for bond, whether they are arriving at the border or are apprehended in the United States,” Barr wrote. Barr said such people can be held in immigration detention until their cases conclude, or if the Department of Homeland Security decides to release them by granting them “parole.” DHS has the discretion to parole people who are not eligible for bond and frequently does so due to insufficient detention space or other humanitarian reasons. Barr said he was delaying the effective date by 90 days “so that DHS may conduct the necessary operational planning for additional detention and parole decisions.” The decision’s full impact is not yet clear because it will in large part depend on the department’s ability to expand detention, said Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas. “The number of asylum-seekers who will remain in potentially indefinite detention pending disposition of their cases will be almost entirely a question of DHS’s detention capacity, and not whether the individual circumstances of individual cases warrant release or detention,” Vladeck said. In a brief in the case, the department had argued that eliminating bond hearings would have “an immediate and significant impact on … detention operations.” In early March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency responsible for detaining and deporting immigrants in the country illegally, said the average daily population of immigrants in detention topped 46,000 for the 2019 fiscal year, the highest level since the agency was created in 2003. Last year, Reuters reported that ICE had made more restrictive a tool that officers had been using since 2013 when deciding whether an immigrant should be detained or released on bond. The decision will have no impact on unaccompanied migrant children, who are exempt from expedited removal. Most families are also paroled because of a lack of facilities to hold parents and children together. The American Civil Liberties Union said it intended to sue the Trump administration over the decision, and immigrant advocates decried the decision. Barr’s decision came after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions decided to review the case in October. Sessions resigned in November, leaving the case to Barr to decide.

immigration
migrants
donald trump
william barr
rights


Army action feared as Sudan protesters toughen demand for civilian rule

Abstract: KHARTOUM - Sudanese protesters Tuesday hardened their demand that the military men in power quickly step down and make way for civilian rule, refusing to budge from their sit-in outside army headquarters. The country’s new military ruler, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in another apparent concession to the protesters’ demands, meanwhile fired the prosecutor general, Omer Ahmed Mohamed. “Freedom, peace, justice,” read banners carried by hundreds of University of Khartoum professors and academic staff who marched to the protest site, demanding the transitional military council resign. The pro-democracy demonstrators fear the army is seeking to hijack the street revolution that last Thursday ended the three-decade reign of president Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled by top commanders. The often festive mood of the protesters has grown more tense amid fears the army will try to clear out the demonstrators with force. Witnesses said several army vehicles had surrounded the area and that troops were seen removing the barricades which demonstrators had put up as a security measure. Several vehicles carrying paramilitary forces deployed on a bridge that connects the protest site with north Khartoum, a witness said. One protester, Ahmed Najdih, predicted “the army will try to make another attempt to disperse the protesters because it is under huge pressure. “But we are not going anywhere. We will not lose our patience. We know what happened in Egypt and we don’t want that to happen to us.” In neighboring Egypt, the so-called Arab Spring revolution of 2011 toppled veteran President Hosni Mubarak and replaced him with elected Islamist Mohammed Morsi, only for him to be overthrown in 2013 by then army chief, now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Protest leaders have gradually toughened their approach toward the military council, as policy announcements from its uniformed officers have multiplied. Amid widespread anger at the number of faces from the old regime, the protesters secured the replacement of its first chairman, a longtime Bashir loyalist, after just 24 hours last week. But the honeymoon of his successor, Gen. Burhan, lasted just days. As weekend talks on the transition failed to make headway, protest leaders who initially demanded a “swift” handover to civilian rule, began demanding first an “immediate” handover then the military council’s dissolution. The protesters have highlighted their sacrifices in murals painted outside army headquarters of some of the more than 60 of their comrades killed in clashes with the security forces. The military council has pledged that individuals implicated in killing protesters would be held to account and that demonstrators detained under a state of emergency imposed by the president during his final weeks in power would be freed. It has held briefings with Western diplomats and sent an envoy to the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa before it met on Sudan on Monday. But the 55-member African Union stood by its longstanding opposition to all military coups, giving the military council just 15 days to hand over to civilian rule or face suspension from the body. The foreign ministry said the military council was “committed to having a complete civilian government” and urged foreign governments to back it in order to achieve “the Sudanese goal of democratic transition.” The council said Sudan would continue to provide ground troops to a Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen. Sudan has taken heavy losses in the unpopular war but grew heavily dependent in the last years of Bashir’s rule on credit from the oil-rich Gulf Arab states to prop up the collapsing economy. In a bid to woo Western opinion, the military council has also backtracked on its position towards longstanding warrants for Bashir’s arrest issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Having initially refused to deliver Bashir or any other Sudanese abroad for prosecution, a member of the council said Monday that the decision would be up to a civilian government. Protest leaders say Bashir must face justice, along with officials from his feared National Intelligence and Security Service whose chief Salih Ghosh resigned on Saturday.

sudan
khartoum
omar al-bashir
african union
coups


Macron calls for France to rebuild fire-ravaged Notre Dame within five years

Abstract: PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild Notre Dame “even more beautifully” within five years, as all of France’s cathedrals prepared to ring their bells on Wednesday to mark 48 hours since the colossal fire began. The blaze on Monday gutted the great Paris landmark, destroying the roof, causing the steeple to collapse and leaving France reeling with shock. Macron announced the fast timescale for restoration — a process some experts said would take decades — in an address to the nation where he hailed how the disaster had shown the capacity of France to mobilize and unite. Pledges worth around €700 million ($790 million) have already been made from French billionaires and businesses to restore the Gothic masterpiece. An unknown number of artifacts and paintings have been lost and the main organ, which had close to 8,000 pipes, has also suffered damage. But the cathedral’s walls, bell towers and the most famous circular stained-glass windows at France’s most visited tourist attraction remain intact. Macron’s defiant comments indicated he wants the reconstruction of the cathedral to be completed by the time Paris hosts the Olympic Games in 2024. “We will rebuild the cathedral even more beautifully and I want it to be finished within five years,” Macron said from the Elysee Palace. “And we can do it.” Macron said that the dramatic fire had brought out the best in a country riven with divisions and since November shaken by sometimes violent protests against his rule. “Our history never stops and that we will always have trials to overcome,” he added. The bells of all cathedrals in France were set to sound at 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, 48 hours after the fire started. Images from inside the cathedral showed its immense walls standing proud, with statues still in place and a gleaming golden cross above the altar. However the floor was covered in charred rubble from the fallen roof and water while parts of the vaulting at the top of the cathedral had collapsed. Junior interior minister Laurent Nunez told reporters at the scene that work to secure the structure would continue into Thursday, allowing firefighters access to remove remaining artifacts and artworks. He said the building had been saved within a critical time window of 15-30 minutes by a team of 400 firefighters who worked flat out through the night. Though “some weaknesses” in the 850-year-old structure had been identified, overall it is “holding up OK,” he added. Renovation work on the spire, where workers were replacing its lead covering, is widely suspected to have caused the inferno. Investigators interviewed witnesses and began speaking with employees of five different construction companies that were working on the monument, said public prosecutor Remy Heitz. “Nothing indicates this was a deliberate act,” Heitz told reporters, adding that 50 investigators had been assigned to what he expected to be a “long and complex” case. A public appeal for funds drew immediate support from French billionaires and other private donors as well as from countries including Germany, Italy and Russia which offered expertise. French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his LVMH luxury conglomerate, rival high-end designer goods group Kering, Total oil company and cosmetics giant L’Oreal each pledged 100 million euros or more. Support came from outside France as well, with Apple chief Tim Cook announcing the tech giant would give an unspecified amount. But experts had warned a full restoration will take many years. “I’d say decades,” said Eric Fischer, head of the foundation in charge of restoring the 1,000-year-old Strasbourg cathedral. Thousands of Parisians and tourists watched in horror Monday as flames engulfed the building and rescuers tried to save as much as they could of the cathedral’s treasures. Many more came Tuesday to the banks of the river Seine to gaze at where the roof and steeple once stood. A firefighter suffered injuries during the blaze, which at one point threatened to bring down one of the two monumental towers on the western facade of the cathedral that is visited by 13 million tourists each year. The Holy Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, was saved by firefighters, as was a sacred tunic worn by 13th-century French king Louis IX. Rescuers formed a human chain at the site of the disaster to evacuate as many artifacts as possible, which were then stocked temporarily at the Paris town hall.

france
fire
notre dame
paris
emmanuel macron


Workers quizzed on Notre Dame inferno as spire repair is suspected as source of fire

Abstract: PARIS - French investigators probing the devastating blaze at Notre-Dame Cathedral Tuesday questioned workers who were renovating the monument while hundreds of millions of euros were pledged to restore the historic masterpiece. As firefighters put out the last smoldering embers, a host of French billionaires and companies stepped forward with offers of cash worth around €700 million ($790 million) to remake the global landmark. Most of the roof has been destroyed, its steeple has collapsed and an unknown number of artifacts and paintings have been lost. The main organ, which had close to 8,000 pipes, has also suffered damage. But the cathedral’s walls, bell towers and the most famous circular stained-glass windows at France’s most visited tourist attraction remain intact, leading the vicar general, Philippe Marsset, to call it “more than miraculous. “We’re all just dumbfounded. It’s more than miraculous, it’s heroic,” Marsset said, who paid tribute to the more than 400 firefighters who toiled through the night. Junior interior minister Laurent Nunez told reporters at the scene that work to secure the structure would continue into Thursday, allowing firefighters access to remove remaining artifacts and artworks. Though “some weaknesses” in the 850-year-old structure had been identified, overall it is “holding up OK,” he added. The Paris fire service said that the last remnants of the blaze were extinguished Tuesday, 15 hours after the fire broke out. Renovation work on the steeple, where workers were replacing its lead covering, is widely suspected to have caused the inferno after the blaze broke out in an area under scaffolding. Investigators interviewed witnesses overnight and began speaking with employees of five different construction companies that were working on the monument, said public prosecutor Remy Heitz. “Nothing indicates this was a deliberate act,” Heitz told reporters, adding that 50 investigators had been assigned to what he expected to be a “long and complex” case. The architect in charge of the renovation project slated to last until 2022 said no workers were on the site when flames first appeared shortly before 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday. French President Emmanuel Macron struck a defiant tone late Monday as he visited the scene with his wife, Brigitte, telling reporters: “We will rebuild Notre-Dame because it is what the French expect.” He described the cathedral as the “epicenter of our life. A public appeal for funds drew immediate support from French billionaires and other private donors as well as from countries including Germany, Italy and Russia which offered expertise. French billionaire Bernard Arnault and his LVMH luxury conglomerate, rival high-end designer goods group Kering, Total oil company and cosmetics giant L’Oreal each pledged €100 million or more. Support came from outside France as well, with Apple chief Tim Cook announcing the tech giant would give an unspecified amount to help restore a “precious heritage for future generations.” Specialized craftsmen and rare materials are expected to be needed to restore Notre-Dame, which is seen as an emblem of France and, more broadly, a symbol of Western civilization that has survived revolutions and war. “We have everything to be able to rebuild it in exactly the same way,” Culture Minister Franck Riester told France Inter, adding that the government was looking at ways to encourage donations. But experts warned a full restoration will take many years. “I’d say decades,” said Eric Fischer, head of the foundation in charge of restoring the 1,000-year-old Strasbourg cathedral. Thousands of Parisians and tourists watched in horror Monday as flames engulfed the building and rescuers tried to save as much as they could of the cathedral’s treasures. Many more came Tuesday to the banks of the river Seine to gaze at where the roof and steeple once stood. A firefighter suffered injuries during the blaze, which at one point threatened to bring down one of the two monumental towers on the western facade of the cathedral that is visited by 13 million tourists each year. The Holy Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, was saved by firefighters, as was a sacred tunic worn by 13th-century French King Louis IX. Rescuers formed a human chain at the site of the disaster to evacuate as many artifacts as possible, which were then stocked temporarily at the Paris town hall. Smoke damaged paintings will be sent to the Louvre museum, a world center for restoration. Shock at the extent of the damage was palpable in France and stirred reactions from governments worldwide. In a rare statement, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II said she was “deeply saddened,” while Pope Francis hoped that Notre-Dame “may once again become, thanks to reconstruction work and the mobilization of all, a jewel in the heart of the city.” The cathedral has been a backdrop to the twists and turns of French history since construction began in mid-12th century — and has featured in countless books and movies. Bells at cathedrals across France were to ring out on Wednesday at 6:50 p.m. (1650 GMT) in tribute.

notre dame
fire
paris
france
construction
donations


Donors pledge €700 million to rebuild gutted Notre Dame

Abstract: PARIS - Pledges from French billionaires, businesses and the public sector to help rebuild Notre Dame cathedral reached some €700 million ($790 million) on Tuesday amid an outpouring of public support for one of Europe’s most iconic monuments. President Emmanuel Macron has vowed the medieval monument will be restored after its spire and roof collapsed Monday night in a spectacular blaze thought to be linked to extensive renovation work. French luxury group Kering, whose brands include Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, kicked off the campaign late Monday with a promise of €100 million ($113 million). It was followed Tuesday by a €200 million pledge from Kering’s rival luxury conglomerate, LVMH, and the family of its founder, Bernard Arnault, France’s richest person. The L’Oreal cosmetics group and its founding Bettencourt family offered €200 million, while French oil giant Total said it would contribute €100 million. Several other business executives and blue-chip French firms also said they would contribute, some announcing pledges of five, €10 or €20 million. Air France said it would offer free flights to experts brought in to help with Notre Dame’s renovation, while glass giant Saint-Gobain promised its expertise in restoring the stained-glass windows that exploded in the fire. Support came from outside France as well, with Apple chief Tim Cook announcing the tech giant would give an unspecified amount to help restore a “precious heritage for future generations.” Some gripes emerged on social media over the huge fiscal deductions companies in both France and the U.S. would be eligible for, with commentators saying taxpayers would be footing much of the final bill. But pledges were also pouring in from anonymous donors to groups including the privately run French Heritage Foundation, which said it had secured more than €13 million in pledges. On a more modest scale, a fund set up on the Leetchi fundraising platform had reached nearly €29,000 by Tuesday afternoon. France 2 television said it will broadcast a special classical music concert Wednesday night as part of the fundraising effort. The French Council of the Muslim Faith also called on French Muslims to help save “an architectural masterpiece that is the honor of our country. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city would unlock €50 million, while the government of the greater Paris region promised €10 million. And French insurer Groupama said it would supply the estimated 1,300 huge oak beams needed to re-create the intricate roof support. The German and Italian governments have also offered to help in the reconstruction, while Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to send “the best Russian specialists with rich experience in the restoration of national heritage monuments.” In total, around €700 million has been pledged for the painstaking renovation work that is likely to take years, if not decades, though experts breathed sighs of relief that the damage was not even worse. The steeple of the Gothic edifice had been undergoing an €11 million ($12.4 million) overhaul financed by the French state to repair damage inflicted by time, pollution and the weather. The cathedral has long relied on individual donations for repairs, and a few years ago created a U.S.-registered charity enabling American voters to deduct gifts from their taxes. The New York-based French Heritage Society said it had also set up a fund for tax-deductible donations for Notre Dame in the wake of the fire.

notre dame
emmanuel macron
france
fires
vladimir putin
u.s .


Foxconn's Terry Gou says he will follow order of sea goddess to run for Taiwan presidency

Abstract: TAIPEI/HONG KONG - Foxconn founder Terry Gou has claimed divine endorsement for his bid to become Taiwan’s president: support of the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. The billionaire told reporters after visiting a New Taipei City temple Wednesday that the goddess had encouraged him to “come forward” to support peace across the Taiwan Strait. He made the remarks a day after saying that he was considering a run with the opposition Kuomintang to challenge President Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party advocates a more decisive break from the mainland, in next year’s general election. Tsai is also facing a challenge for the DPP nomination by her former Prime Minister William Lai Ching-te, a vocal advocate of asserting the island’s formal independence. The 68-year-old Gou has amassed a personal fortune of about $4.4 billion building consumer electronics on which other companies can slap their brand, including Apple and Sony. The Foxconn Technology Group — the main assembler of iPhones — was among the first Taiwanese companies to build factories in China to tap lower wages and land costs. Foxconn also acquired control of Japan’s Sharp Corp. in 2016 to try to boost its advanced screen technology. Gou is Taiwan’s third-richest person and the 442nd in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His resources could help him stand out among a field of potential challengers who include former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu and former legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng. Han Kuo-yu and Ko Wen-je, the outspoken mayors of Kaohsiung and Taipei, also haven’t ruled out a run. The Kuomintang controlled Taiwan for all but 11 years since World War II and is expected to choose a candidate in the coming weeks. China cut off official communication with Taiwan after Tsai’s DPP ousted the Kuomintang from the presidency and parliamentary majority in 2016, citing her refusal to accept that both sides belong to “one China.” The two have been governed separately since Chiang Kai-shek moved his Kuomintang government to Taipei during the Chinese civil war. Gou’s entry into Taiwan’s presidential race illustrates the dilemma facing Tsai as she prepares for an uphill re-election bid. On one side, Tsai must contend with a resurgent Kuomintang advocating closer ties with China and eager to regain power after three years in the opposition. On the other, she is battling the nomination fight within the DPP, where her pro-independence base is pushing for a cleaner break from the mainland. A challenge by Gou represents a broader problem for Tsai. A series of tough policy fights and an isolation campaign by China have pushed public support for her re-election into the teens in some public opinion surveys and have encouraged several would-be contenders from among the more China-friendly “pan-blue” camp. Gou’s resources could pose a formidable challenge to Tsai. But first, she must survive a primary challenge from Lai, a self-described “independence worker” who has pledged a firmer push-back against China. That has forced Tsai to shore up her base, cracking down on mainland investments, visitors and other potential sources of political influence. “Tsai is caught in between,” said Chang Ling-chen, an emeritus political science professor at the National Taiwan University. “She is not only having to fight for party support in the primary, but will also face a contest from the pan-blue group.” One possible solution for Tsai would be to convince Lai to join as her vice presidential running mate. But polls show him running more competitively against possible Kuomintang candidates than Tsai. The DPP has delayed its primary until at least late May to allow more time for negotiations. In the meantime, Tsai’s government has raised the top fine for illegal mainland investments to 25 million new Taiwan dollars ($800,000) from NT$600,000 previously and removed a communications regulator accused of failing to clamp down on false reports benefiting China. Earlier this month, Taiwan deported a mainland academic, Li Yi, after he tried to deliver a speech on unification while on a visit to the island. She has also held a series of events with China hawks in the U.S. in which she sounded the alarm about Communist Party “coercion” and urged greater military support from Washington. The race comes against the backdrop of increased pressure from Beijing, with President Xi Jinping suggesting earlier this year that mainland China and Taiwan should enter into “in-depth democratic consultations” on unification. “The scrutiny has always been there, as the DPP is wary of China’s influence on Taiwan society and politics,” said Yuan-kang Wang, a professor of political science at Western Michigan University. “The upcoming elections might have created some sense of urgency in curbing Chinese influence.” Although China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the late 1940s, Beijing has said any moves by Taiwan to formalize its status as a sovereign state would be grounds for invasion. Tsai has so far avoided actions that might provoke the Communist Party, frustrating some within her party. The risk for Tsai is moving so far toward her base that she cedes the middle to a Kuomintang challenger. Improving China ties has been a unifying theme among the pan-blue contenders. Han, the former mayor of Kaohsiung, has described China and the island as two partners in an “arranged marriage” who had fallen “madly in love” and said that peace talks were “inevitable” between the democratically run Taiwan and the Communist Party-ruled mainland. Gou’s personal story as the child of mainland emigres who made a fortune in China echoes Taiwan’s own economic dependence on the much larger economy next door. That might appeal to Taiwanese voters. Public opinion polls show they favor continuing the island’s ambiguous status without immediate independence or unification. “Like other Kuomintang candidates, Gou also supports Taiwan’s economic links with China,” said Austin Wang, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Where he differs from other party rivals is that he has business experience.”


Top U.S. envoy for North Korea heads to Moscow as speculation about Kim-Putin summit gains steam

Abstract: The top U.S. envoy for North Korea will travel to Moscow this week for talks on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the State Department said Tuesday — a sign that a meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future could be imminent. Stephen Biegun, who is in charge of working-level negotiations with Pyongyang, was due to visit Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with Russian officials and discuss “efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea,” the State Department said in a statement. The visit comes amid unconfirmed reports that Kim and Putin will hold their first-ever summit in Russian next week. A senior Russian diplomat has confirmed that preparations are underway for the summit, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, citing the country’s vice foreign minister, Cho Hyun. Cho said Monday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Titov, had reiterated the Kremlin’s earlier announcement that Moscow has long been preparing for the first summit between the two leaders. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no final decision had been made on the time and location of a meeting, but said preparations were ongoing. “I can confirm that preparations for the meeting are underway, we have been talking about it for quite a while,” the Tass news agency quoted him as saying. “As soon as there is full clarity on the date and place of the meeting, we will inform you.” Yonhap had reported earlier, citing sources in Moscow, that Kim could visit Russia next week, saying that a Russia-North Korea summit was likely to be held in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. It noted that Putin is expected to attend the “One Belt, One Road” forum in Beijing on April 26 to 27, and that the two leaders’ meeting could take place shortly before that event, possibly on April 24. A separate source said the meeting could take place after the forum. Tass reported in early March that Moscow and Pyongyang are discussing Kim’s trip to Russia through “diplomatic channels,” and that it will be decided “in the near future.” Speculation about the possible Putin-Kim summit comes as North Korea — determined to develop its tattered economy — has grown increasingly frustrated over a lack of progress in its efforts to secure sanctions relief in denuclearization talks with the U.S. By bolstering cooperation with Russia, as well as China, Kim may be seeking to ease the international and unilateral sanctions regime. Senior officials from Moscow and Pyongyang have been seen traveling to their respective capitals in recent weeks, suggesting the two countries may be laying the groundwork for a visit by Kim. Kim Chang Son, a member of the North Korean leader’s inner circle and his chief aide, visited Moscow and Vladivostok from March 19 to 25. He in charge of logistical preparations ahead of Kim’s overseas trips, according to the North Korean Leadership Watch website. Earlier this month, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who is known to be in charge of security issues, visited Pyongyang. The North Korean leader has held multiple summits with three leaders: Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.

north korea
nuclear weapons
kim jong un
russia
vladimir putin
china
donald trump
u.s .
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


Indonesia's Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo on track to win presidency: pollsters

Abstract: JAKARTA - Indonesians have voted in the world’s biggest single-day election, with unofficial tallies putting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ahead with 55 percent with around 38 percent of votes counted. Kompas news channel has Jokowi leading with 55.37 percent in the bitterly fought campaign dominated by promises to boost jobs and the economy against a backdrop of growing religious intolerance and the rising influence of political Islam. At least three other counts by private pollsters showed similar margins. A re-run of the 2014 race, it pit former furniture exporter Jokowi — now the incumbent — against Prabowo Subianto, an army general who served as a special forces commander during the 32 year reign of the dictator Suharto. The campaign, which officially began back in September, saw both candidates vowing to fire up Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as well as heightened nationalism and allegations of voter fraud. As many as 193 million Indonesians were eligible to vote in Wednesday’s elections — the country’s first simultaneous presidential and legislative elections. The contest will not only decide who leads Indonesia but will shape the parliament, and therefore the landscape for reform — as well as the investment climate — over the next five years. Jokowi, as Widodo is popularly called, vowed during the campaign to create 100 million jobs and alleviate poverty in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation. Prabowo promised to revive Indonesia’s manufacturing sector while railing against Indonesia’s current account deficit and the inability of the current administration to spur economic growth much beyond 5 percent. Quick counts by private pollsters are likely to provide the earliest indication of how the candidates fared as officials results are several days away. These numbers are based on snapshots of actual votes from more than 800,000 polling stations across the country — the margin of error depends on the sample size, though the consensus of these polls has proven accurate in the past. After casting his vote at a polling station in Central Jakarta, Jokowi told reporters he was optimistic about winning the election. Prabowo repeated warnings about the possibility of electoral fraud after he voted in Hambalang, near Bogor. “If there is chaos or not, it will not come from us, that I guarantee,” Prabowo said. “But we don’t want to be cheated anymore, the Indonesian people won’t be cheated anymore.” As polling stations closed at 1 p.m. local in times zones across the archipelago, authorities remained on alert amid concerns of potential unrest. In Jakarta, armored vehicles were parked in front of shopping malls, while tens of thousands of security forces had been deployed around the capital. Two years ago, the Prabowo-backed pair of Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno won a divisive gubernatorial election in the capital Jakarta. That race, dominated by mass street protests aimed ousting then-incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese Christian and Jokowi ally later jailed for insulting the Koran, is seen as having boosted Prabowo’s stocks ahead of his 2019 run at the presidency. That also ensured the 2019 race would be set against the backdrop of a growing influence of conservative Islam. To many observers, the unrest seen two years ago prompted Widodo to pick a leading Muslim cleric in Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate. This election is “much more about political identity” compared to the 2014 race, said Aaron Connelly, a Singapore-based research fellow from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Jokowi has sought to co-opt a number of Islamic conservatives,” Connolly said, noting his choice of Amin was designed to “make a number of Muslims who might feel uncomfortable voting for Jokowi feel a little more comfortable voting for him.” “Prabowo is backed by a number of political conservatives,” he said. “He’s seen as the candidate of Islamic conservatives even though he himself is not particularly religious.” Inflation is at a near-decade low and the jobless rate close to its lowest in 20 years. Still, the economy has been growing at about 5 percent and well short of the 7 percent target put forward by Jokowi when he entered office in 2014. Mari Pangestu, Indonesia’s trade minister from 2004 to 2011, said whoever wins will face major challenges to revitalize the economy. “The key is really generating private investment if you want to grow higher than 5 percent,” Pangestu said. Foreign direct investment dropped 8.8 percent in 2018, the first decline since Jokowi came to office in 2014. Still, Indonesia is “fairly resilient” in the face of a global slowdown, Pangestu said. “There could be a cut,” she said on interest rates, which have been left unchanged for several months after six rates hikes since May last year.

indonesia
elections
prabowo subianto
joko widodo


Images may show reprocessing activity at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear site, U.S. researchers say

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Satellite images from last week show movement at North Korea’s main nuclear site that could be associated with the reprocessing of radioactive material into bomb fuel, a U.S. think tank said on Tuesday. Any new reprocessing activity would underscore the failure of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi in late February to make progress toward North Korea’s denuclearization. Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report that satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear site from April 12 showed five specialized railcars near its Uranium Enrichment Facility and Radiochemistry Laboratory. It said their movement could indicate the transfer of radioactive material. “In the past, these specialized railcars appear to have been associated with the movement of radioactive material or reprocessing campaigns.” the report said. “The current activity, along with their configurations, does not rule out their possible involvement in such activity, either before or after a reprocessing campaign.” The U.S. State Department declined comment on intelligence matters, but a source familiar with U.S. government assessments said that while U.S. experts thought the movements could possibly be related to reprocessing, they were doubtful it was significant nuclear activity. Jenny Town, a North Korea expert at the Stimson Center think tank, said that if reprocessing was taking place, it would be a significant given U.S.-North Korean talks in the past year and the failure to reach an agreement on the future of Yongbyon in Hanoi. “Because there wasn’t an agreement with North Korea on Yongbyon, it would be interesting timing if they were to have started something so quickly after Hanoi,” she said. Trump has met Kim twice in the past year to try to persuade him to abandon a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States, but progress so far has been scant. The Hanoi talks collapsed after Trump proposed a “big deal” in which sanctions on North Korea would be lifted if it handed over all its nuclear weapons and fissile material to the United States. He rejected partial denuclearization steps offered by Kim, which included an offer to dismantle Yongbyon. Although Kim has maintained a freeze in missile and nuclear tests since 2017, U.S. officials say North Korea has continued to produce fissile material that can be processed for use in bombs. Last month, a senior North Korean official warned that Kim might rethink the test freeze unless Washington made concessions. Last week, Kim said the Hanoi breakdown raised the risks of reviving tensions, adding that he was only interested in meeting Trump again if the United States came with the right attitude. Kim said he would wait “till the end of this year” for the United States to decide to be more flexible. On Monday, Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brushed aside this demand with Pompeo saying Kim should keep his promise to give up his nuclear weapons before then. Town said any new reprocessing work at Yongbyon would emphasize the importance of the facility in North Korea’s nuclear program. “It would underscore that it is an active facility that does increase North Korea’s fissile material stocks to increase its arsenal.” A study by Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation released ahead of the Hanoi summit said North Korea had continued to produce bomb fuel in 2018 and may have produced enough in the past year to add as many as seven nuclear weapons to its arsenal. Experts have estimated the size of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal at anywhere between 20 and 60 warheads.

uranium enrichment facility and radiochemistry laboratory


Over half of guide dog users say Tokyo's preparations for 2020 Games not yet adequate, survey shows

Abstract: More than half of guide dog users in Japan said Tokyo is not adequately prepared to welcome visitors from overseas who rely on guide dogs when it hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, a survey finds. The largest segment of the respondents, 50.6 percent, chose “not really ready,” while 17.6 percent answered “not ready at all,” according to the survey by The Eye Mate Inc., a guide dog training organization. It showed 14.1 percent said Tokyo is “almost ready, but not fully.” Takao Shioya, who heads the organization, noted that not many guide dog users abroad are expected to come to Tokyo for the games, but that it is important to establish an environment friendly for them in time. Shioya stressed the importance of improving the situation for domestic guide dog users. The survey also revealed persistent discrimination in Japan against visually impaired people accompanied by guide dogs despite a law banning discrimination having taken effect in 2016. For the survey 219 guide dog owners nationwide were contacted in the 10 months through February 2019, and 85 valid responses were obtained. The survey, published on March 27, showed 52.9 percent of the respondents had experienced being treated unfairly due to being accompanied by the dogs, such as being denied entry to restaurants and other facilities. Sixty-three percent had reported likewise in a comparable 2018 survey. Restaurants, including izakaya Japanese-style pubs and cafes, were the most common place to experience being denied access, which was mentioned by 80 percent this year compared with 78.7 percent in last year’s survey. Although the survey did not ask about the reason given for the denial, Shioya said it stemmed from a ” lack of understanding.” “Some restaurants don’t want to accept such customers because they simply don’t know how, or because the dog may cause trouble (with other customers),” he added. Lodging facilities and taxis were next in line, cited by 33.3 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively. Supermarkets and convenience stores were identified by 11.1 percent. Many respondents expressed concerns that guide dog users visiting Tokyo from abroad for the Olympic events would find themselves in the same predicament. For users to come to the capital without anxiety, the respondents expressed in the survey’s free response section wishes for a society where entry would not be refused to people with guide dogs. Other popular requests included “developing toilets” where guide dogs can use and “fostering volunteers who will support the users.” Asked how the respondents would prefer to watch the events, the largest ratio, 62.4 percent, cited “TV,” followed by 17.6 percent who answered “at the venues.” The 2016 law aims to eliminate discrimination on grounds of disability, with the goal of realizing a society where people respect each other’s individuality. It prohibits the central and municipal governments as well as private businesses from discriminating against people because of their disability without giving good reason. Regarding the extent to which this objective has been achieved, a total of 78.8 percent said “more efforts should be made.”

guide dogs
tokyo
surveys
olympics
discrimination
disability
2020 tokyo olympics
2020 tokyo paralympics


Expensive daily products at Osaka Prison prompt human rights concern from lawyers

Abstract: OSAKA - Tissue paper and other daily products sold at Osaka Prison are so expensive that inmates mostly cannot purchase them, a situation amounting to a human rights violation, according to local lawyers. The Osaka Bar Association advised the prison to make improvements in a statement dated March 29 after finding that 800 pieces of tissue were being sold inside the prison for ¥594, some 4.5 times higher than the market price. Similarly, toothbrushes sold for ¥181 each, about 1.7 times more expensive than outside prison, while men’s briefs cost ¥702, a markup of about 1.4 times, according to the bar association. Inmates are generally given daily products by the prison, but they can also make purchases on their own from designated sellers. The price of the products at the prison rose after the Justice Ministry switched the designated seller in 2011 from a foundation operated by former correctional officers to a Tokyo-based firm under a major trading house, it said. “Reward money inmates gain through prison labor is about ¥4,500 a month. Although the quality of the products may have improved, they are too expensive and are a restriction on the freedom to buy necessities,” a lawyer from the bar association said. The bar association issued the advisory after a 63-year-old male inmate at the prison filed in 2016 for a human rights remedy over the matter. The ministry admitted to receiving the advisory but said prices are kept as low as possible and that it currently has no plan to review them. Similar issues have been reported at a juvenile correctional facility in Kawagoe and at Yokohama Prison, according to the bar association.

osaka
osaka prison
prisons
rights
justice ministry


Half of foreign nationals in Tokyo experience discrimination, survey shows

Abstract: Nearly half of foreign nationals living in Tokyo have experienced racial discrimination, according to a survey released Tuesday by a civic group. In the survey conducted by the Anti Racism Information Center , a group organized by scholars, activists and university students, 167 of 340 respondents including students said that they have suffered discriminatory treatment such as being told not to talk in a language other than Japanese. Some working as retail shop cashiers said customers asked for Japanese cashiers, according to the face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted in February and March in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Among them, a Nepalese man working at a drugstore said one customer told him that they did not like to see foreigners working as cashiers and asked to be served by someone else. A Chinese respondent who works at a convenience store said that a colleague told the respondent not to speak Chinese when the respondent was asked for directions by a Chinese-speaking customer. There were also cases where foreign nationals had apartment rental applications rejected. Some said they were denied entry into stores, but none of the respondents took their cases to the public offices that deal with such issues. Ryang Yong-song, a representative of the civic group, told a news conference that foreigners living in Japan tend to “end up letting (their discriminatory experiences) drop.” “The government should conduct a survey to show what kind of discrimination foreigners face,” Ryang said, calling on schools and employers to deal more proactively with discrimination and establish mechanisms to involve public officials in addressing the problems. With the country having introduced two new visas this month to bring in more foreign workers, in hope of addressing the deepening labor crunch, there has been criticism about the government’s ability to offer consultations to foreign residents.

foreigners
discrimination
survey
anti racism information center


Life-size skeletal replica of Japan's largest dinosaur restored

Abstract: SAPPORO - What is believed to be Japan’s largest fossilized dinosaur skeleton has been restored as a life-size replica, researchers and officials from the town of Mukawa, in Hokkaido, where the original discovery was made, said Wednesday. The replica of the 8-meter-long and 4-meter-tall plant-eating Hadrosaurid, dubbed “Mukawaryu,” was created with duplicates of the actual fossils unearthed from a 72 million-year-old geological layer. The replica and the fossils will be displayed at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo for three months from July 13. “A standing Mukawaryu has been resurrected after 72 million years. I hope it will help liven up our town,” Mukawa Mayor Yoshiyuki Takenaka said. The excavation involving Hokkaido University members began in 2013 after local fossil collector Yoshiyuki Horita found a fossilized tail bone in 2003 in the Hobetsu district of Mukawa. More than 1,000 fossil bones were eventually unearthed, making it the largest complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country. Complete skeletons are generally defined as containing more than 50 percent of the bones, but for the Mukawaryu, over 80 percent were unearthed as fossils. The work to create the replica of the duck-billed dinosaur began in July 2017 and was completed last month. The replica, unveiled to the media, has a color close to the actual fossils and is positioned as if the reptile is looking into the far distance. “I hope people will immerse themselves in the fascination of ancient history by imagining Mukawaryu strolling over the vast ground of Hobetsu,” said Horita, 69. Hadrosaurids were common herbivore dinosaurs during the late Cretaceous Period and thrived on the Eurasian and North and South American continents in addition to Antarctica, according to Hokkaido University.

dinosaurs fossils hokkaido hadrosaurid mukawaryu paleontology


Abe to issue apology to victims of forced sterilization under Japan's now-defunct eugenics law

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to issue a statement offering a state apology to those who were subject to forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics law after a redress bill clears the Diet, government sources said Tuesday. His statement and the bill’s expected enactment this month to provide ¥3.2 million ($28,600) in state redress to each victim are unlikely to settle compensation disputes, however, as victims are demanding much larger payments. The compensation bill has been criticized by victims for its wording, which does not clarify government responsibility and only states that “we” apologize for causing victims’ physical and mental suffering. Ruling and opposition party lawmakers who drafted the bill said the “we” refers to former government members and lawmakers who sat in the Diet in 1948 when the Eugenic Protection Law was enacted. The law was effective until 1996. The exact wording of the prime minister’s statement is still being formulated, but expressions similar to those in the compensation bill will likely be used, the sources said. The bill, jointly submitted to the Diet by the ruling and opposition parties, cleared the Lower House last Thursday. The Upper House is likely to approve it by the end of this month. From 1948 to 1996, the Eugenic Protection Law authorized the sterilization of people with an intellectual disability, mental illness or hereditary disorder to prevent the birth of “inferior” offspring. About 25,000 people with disabilities were sterilized under the law including some 16,500 who were operated on without their consent, according to the health ministry and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. In cases where victims do not have direct records of having been sterilized, a health ministry committee of medical experts will determine their eligibility. A series of damages suits have been filed against the government across the country with the highest compensation demanded exceeding ¥35 million. Some observers say they believe the prime minister’s apology will only repeat what is written in the bill and is unlikely to be much more than formality. “Even if the law takes effect and the prime minister offers an apology, the damages suits will continue,” a government source said. “If the government loses the initial trial, whether or not the government decides to appeal to a higher court is a different matter.” In 2001, when the Kumamoto District Court ordered the state to compensate former Hansen’s disease patients for forcing them into decades of isolation, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a political decision not to appeal to a higher court and issued a statement of apology.

sterilization
eugenics
shinzo abe
diet
eugenic protection law
history
rights
discrimination


'Breaking Bad'? Shikoku professor allegedly instructed students to produce MDMA

Abstract: MATSUYAMA, EHIME PREF. - A pharmaceutical science professor at a university in Shikoku was referred to prosecutors Tuesday for allegedly instructing his students to produce the synthetic drug MDMA without a permit, the university said Tuesday, in an echo of hit TV series “Breaking Bad.” Tatsunori Iwamura, 61, a professor at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Matsuyama University in Ehime Prefecture, admitted to the allegation, telling investigators that he did it in order to help his students’ “learning.” He also acknowledged that he knew it was illegal. According to the university, Iwamura instructed an associate professor and two then-students to produce MDMA in class between 2011 and 2013, despite him not being licensed to produce the drug for academic purposes. Then, between 2016 and 2017, Iwamura directed the associate professor and two other people, who were also students at the time, to also produce the drug, which the professor took into his possession. The regional drug enforcement authority sent investigative papers on Iwamura to prosecutors, as well as on the assistant professor and four former students who were involved in the production of MDMA under his instruction. The MDMA they produced has not been found, but a trace of another drug was discovered in his laboratory, according to the sources. MDMA is often a constituent ingredient in the recreational drug commonly known as ecstasy and molly. “We sincerely apologize for causing major concern to students and their parents,” said Tatsuya Mizogami, president of the university. He also said the university will consider taking measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again and that it will take disciplinary action against Iwamura and the assistant professor in accordance with the outcome of the investigation. The investigation started following a tipoff from an outsider. The drug enforcement officers at the health ministry’s regional bureau searched Iwamura’s home and lab, and also questioned the professor from January. Based on the narcotics control law, which Iwamura and the others allegedly violated, a researcher must obtain a license issued by the prefectural government hosting the research lab to make narcotics for academic research. According to the sources, Iwamura had obtained a license from a prefecture other than Ehime, but it had expired. The associate professor thought Iwamura had the license, while the former students did not know that such a license was necessary, according to the university. Iwamura has been conducting research on what are called dangerous drugs in Japan, defined as those containing chemical agents that can cause hallucinations or have a stimulant effect, according to the sources. It was unclear if there were any other similarities between the case of Iwamura and that of Walter White, the fictitious hero of “Breaking Bad.” White, played by Bryan Cranston, was a former chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer who starts manufacturing crystal methamphetamine to pay for his treatment and provide for his family — sometimes with the help of a former pupil.


Senior JAL official arrested in Tokyo child prostitution case

Abstract: A senior manager with Japan Airlines Co. was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of committing an indecent act with a female junior high school student in exchange for money, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Tatsuya Yokozeki, the 57-year-old head of the company’s operation control department, was arrested by police officers in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward for alleged violation of the law against child prostitution and pornography. Yokozeki, a resident of Hachioji, western Tokyo, has denied the allegations, saying that he didn’t know how old she was. On Sept. 15 last year, Yokozeki allegedly paid ¥30,000 to the girl, then a junior high school student, and carried out the indecent act with her at a hotel in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, while knowing that she was under 18, the police said. According to the police, Yokozeki contacted her after reading a Twitter post by her soliciting a compensated dating partner. An officer at the police station started an investigation after finding the post during a cyberspace patrol in October last year. According to JAL, the operation control department manages the airline’s domestic and international flight services.


Small volcanic eruption observed on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture

Abstract: After a small eruption was observed Tuesday evening on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture the weather agency said Wednesday morning no new eruptions had been confirmed, although the volcanic plume could still seen. While there were no immediate reports of injuries from the Tuesday eruption, the local tourism industry is concerned over possible negative impacts. “Time has passed (since the last eruption in October 2016) and tourists were starting to come back to Mount Aso,” said Naomi Goto, 52, who works at an inn in the city of Aso. “I hope (the latest eruption) will not discourage people from visiting the area during the coming Golden Week holidays.” An Aso Municipal Government official in charge of tourism said no tourist facilities or hotels have been closed due to the latest eruption. The Meteorological Agency confirmed that the eruption occurred at 6:28 p.m. Tuesday. The government had raised the alert level from 1 to 2 on Sunday. The volcanic plume rose about 200 meters above the crater, the agency added. The government set up a communication office in the crisis management center at the Prime Minister’s Office to monitor the situation. Mount Aso is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world.


Three years on, officials and residents pay their respects to victims of Kumamoto quakes

Abstract: MASHIKI, KUMAMOTO PREF. - Mashiki officials offered silent prayers on Tuesday for the victims of the powerful earthquakes that hit the town and other areas of Kumamoto Prefecture three years ago. “We’ll place top priority on rebuilding the lives of afflicted people,” Mayor Hironori Nishimura said. “We expect post-disaster reconstruction will take 10 years, but we hope to shorten the period as much as possible.” The municipal government called on employees at 10 municipal facilities to pray silently for the victims at 8:30 a.m. At the makeshift town government building, some 50 workers stood in a line in a corridor of the second floor and offered prayers for one minute. Mashiki was heavily damaged by the 6.5 magnitude foreshock that struck on April 14, 2016, and the 7.3 magnitude main shock two days later. In the town, both temblors measured the highest reading of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale. According to the Mashiki government, the total death toll from the quakes in the town, including from indirect causes, stood at 45 as of Friday, and 3,473 people had been evacuated as of the end of March. On Tuesday, municipal officials of the nearby villages of Minamiaso and Nishihara also offered silent prayers. The death tolls came to 30 in Minamiaso and nine in Nishihara. The April 16, 2016, main shock also registered 7 in Nishihara. Separately, residents of the Tateno district in Minamiaso paid tribute to victims of the disaster. In the district, three people died in the quakes, including Nobuo Katashima, 69, and his wife. The couple’s house was washed away by some 10,000 tons of water from a quake-damaged tank on a hill. Hiroshi Yamauchi, a friend of Katashima’s, visited the location where the house used to lie, and laid flowers and offered a one-minute prayer. An evacuation advisory was in place in the Tateno district for one and a half years after the quakes. With local transportation networks damaged by the disaster, only 30 percent of local residents had returned to the district as of the end of last month. Yamauchi, who now lives in a rental house in the town of Ozu, adjacent to Minamiaso, is planning to return to the district in September after rebuilding his house. “Katashima and I had been friends since we were children. Residents in the district know each other,” Yamauchi said. “I hope to maintain our bonds by, for example, offering information about local events to those who have left the district, so that we can achieve reconstruction,” he added.

kumamoto
earthquakes
2016 kumamoto earthquake


Talks on Imperial succession rules may be delayed until next fall or spring

Abstract: Some government officials are calling for deferring discussions on stable Imperial succession until the events related to Emperor Akihito’s abdication and Crown Prince Naruhito’s enthronement are over in spring 2020, sources said Tuesday. The officials believe it is best to avoid possibly heated discussions before the events end. At a time when the number of males in the Imperial family’s line of succession has been decreasing, Japan needs to consider measures to ensure stable future successions. If the government postpones the discussions, it may face criticism from opposition parties. But because conservatives — the main supporters of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — oppose changing the rules, succession talks are highly likely to be fractious, observers say. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party also hopes to refrain from holding discussions on the matter, which could divide its members, ahead of this summer’s elections for the House of Councilors, sources said. Possible topics of discussion may include whether to let women remain in the Imperial family after marriage and head branches of the family, the sources said. Under the Imperial House Law, a woman who marries outside the family loses her status as an Imperial family member. A resolution attached to the special law to enable the Emperor’s abdication stipulates that the government should start discussions on stable Imperial succession soon after the law takes effect on April 30, when the Emperor will step down, and promptly report the results to the Diet. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said he wants the government to launch the discussions not long after the enthronement, scheduled for May 1. Such discussions inevitably will refer to the ideas of letting an emperor’s daughter or her children to assume the throne. These ideas were proposed in 2005 by a private advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The Imperial House Law spells out that the throne “shall be succeeded to by a male offspring in the male line belonging to the Imperial lineage.” The abdication- and enthronement-related state events conducted under the Constitution will start with the Taiirei Seiden no Gi abdication ceremony on April 30 and end with the Rikkoshi no Rei ceremony on April 19, 2020, proclaiming Prince Akishino, the younger son of the current Emperor, as first in line to the throne. A government source said, “We don’t want discussions on stable Imperial succession to heat up” and the talks “will be kicked off after the Rikkoshi no Rei ceremony.” The speaker of the House of Representatives, Tadamori Oshima, said in a speech on Monday that he wants the government to initiate the talks after related ceremonies end this fall. One government official said it would be difficult for the government to win public acceptance for postponing the discussions for a year. Given this, the government is expected to seek the best timing for such talks while paying close attention to public opinion, observers said.

succession
emperor akihito
abdication
imperial family
women
emperor naruhito


First hotel with sleeping capsules opens in Slovenian capital

Abstract: LJUBLJANA - Tourists who visit Ljubljana can now stay in the Slovenian capital’s first sleeping capsules after the city’s Central Hotel put up 10 capsules in a former telephone switchboard room. “This is a new story in Slovenia,” said Matej Rigelnik, chief executive officer of the hotel. Slovenia, the native country of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, has seen a surge in tourism since it joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone in 2007. The Alpine state’s capital has a picturesque medieval centre that stretches along the Ljubljanica river and a castle on a hill above the centre. Last year the number overnight stays by foreign tourists in Slovenia jumped by 15.4 percent, with most of them coming from Germany, Italy, Austria, Netherlands and Croatia.

ljubljana
central hotel
melania trump
tourism
eu
slovakia
capsule hotel


Boeing records zero new 737 Max orders amid global grounding

Abstract: BANGALORE, INDIA/CHICAGO - Boeing Co.’s orders and deliveries sank in the first quarter, with zero new orders for the 737 Max following a worldwide grounding in March in the wake of two fatal plane crashes. The groundings forced Boeing to freeze deliveries of the Max, which had been its fastest-selling jetliner until a March 10 crash on Ethiopian Airlines that killed all 157 on board, just five months after a similar crash of a Lion Air jet that killed all 189 passengers and crew. Total orders, an indication of future demand, fell to 95 aircraft in the first quarter from 180 a year earlier, suggesting a wait-and-watch approach for airlines as Boeing rides out the worst crisis in its history. Still, Boeing is ahead of its European rival Airbus, which last week said it had won 62 gross orders during the first three months of 2019, but some 120 cancellations left it with a negative net order. Chicago-based Boeing’s first-quarter 737 deliveries tumbled about 33 percent, pushing total aircraft deliveries down 19 percent to 149 from a year earlier. Boeing delivered just 11 Max in March before the suspension. Deliveries are financially important because that is when plane-makers receive the bulk of money from airlines’ purchases. It is still unclear when the Max jets will fly again, with global regulators including that of China saying they would join a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration panel to review the aircraft’s safety. “A fix and removal of the grounding prior to September 2019 could be perceived positively,” Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said, noting that fresh scrutiny of the certification process could potentially filter into Boeing’s 777X program. Boeing’s shares, which have lost about 13 percent since the crash, were down 1.66 percent at $368.32 in afternoon trading. Goldman Sachs said it does not expect Boeing to deliver any Maxs in the second quarter and said it was difficult to expect Max orders at the upcoming Paris Air Show in June. The latest variant of Boeing’s 737 family, which makes up the bulk of its narrow-body production, has been viewed as the likely workhorse for global airlines for decades and central to Boeing’s long-running battle against Airbus. Boeing said last week it would cut monthly 737 Max production by 20 percent starting mid-April, without giving an end date. The company had been ramping up Max deliveries before the grounding, with the planes accounting for nearly half of its deliveries in the last few months. There were more than 300 Max jetliners in operation at the time of the fatal Lion Air crash last October, and about 4,600 more on order.

boeing
737 max
ethiopian airlines
lion air
airbus
u.s .
aircraft accidents
aircraft orders


IMF cuts global growth outlook to lowest since financial crisis

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth to the lowest since the financial crisis amid a bleaker outlook in most major advanced economies and signs that higher tariffs are weighing on trade. The world economy will grow 3.3 percent this year, down from the 3.5 percent the IMF had forecast for 2019 in January, the fund said Tuesday in its latest World Economic Outlook. The 2019 growth rate would be the weakest since 2009, when the world economy shrank. It’s the third time the IMF has downgraded its outlook in six months. The global volume of trade in goods and services will increase 3.4 percent this year, weaker than the 3.8 percent gain in 2018 but reduced from the IMF’s January estimate of 4 percent, the fund’s report showed. Global economic growth will recover in the second half of this year, before plateauing at 3.6 percent from next year, according to the Washington-based fund. A series of encouraging developments have boosted optimism about the world economy in recent weeks, including the decision of the Federal Reserve to put interest rate hikes on hold and encouraging data from China’s manufacturing sector and the U.S. job market. Still, the IMF is warning that risks are skewed to the downside, with a range of threats menacing the global economy, including the possible collapse of negotiations between the U.S. and China to end their trade war, as well as the departure of the U.K. from the European Union without a transition agreement, known as the “no-deal” Brexit scenario. “Amid waning global growth momentum and limited policy space to combat downturns, avoiding policy missteps that could harm economic activity needs to be the main priority,” the IMF said. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is warning that the world economy faces a “delicate moment” as finance ministers and central bankers prepare to gather in the U.S. capital this week for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank. While intense trade talks between the U.S. and China have raised expectations of a lasting truce between the world’s two-largest economies, analysts remain worried about the strength of the global economy a decade after the financial crisis. Lagarde said last week the fund doesn’t anticipate a recession in the near-term. The fund cut its forecast for U.S. growth to 2.3 percent this year, down 0.2 percentage point since the IMF’s last global outlook in January. The downgrade reflects the impact of the partial government shutdown that ended in January, as well as lower-than-expected public spending. The fund upgraded its U.S. forecast next year to 1.9 percent, up 0.1 percentage point, on the Fed’s shift to a more patient stance on interest rates. The IMF slashed its outlook for the euro area to 1.3 percent this year, down 0.3 point from three months ago. Growth is expected to be softer in several major European economies, including Germany, where weak global demand and tougher car-emission standards have hit factory production. Weak domestic demand and high sovereign-debt spreads have dimmed Italy’s outlook, while street protests in France weighed on growth, the fund said. The IMF cut its outlook for U.K. growth to 1.2 percent this year, down 0.3 point from three months ago. The IMF raised its forecast for Chinese growth by 0.1 point to 6.3 percent this year, while lowering its projection for growth in Japan by 0.1 point to 1 percent. The fund cut its outlook for India’s growth this year to 7.3 percent, down from 7.5 percent in January.


Steve Mnuchin denies selling his entertainment firm to Russians but won't reveal buyers

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to tell lawmakers who purchased his entertainment company, but promised it wasn’t a Russian. “I can assure you that it’s not a Russian oligarch or any Russian,” Mnuchin said Tuesday in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met a Russian oligarch.” Mnuchin has faced questions over reports that a company linked to Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik purchased a stake in Mnuchin’s company RatPac-Dune Entertainment in 2017, after he became Treasury chief. Democratic lawmakers have said such a transaction would create a conflict of interest for Mnuchin, because Blavatnik is a business associate of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, the target of U.S. sanctions aimed at President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. The Treasury Department said in a January letter that Mnuchin didn’t sell his stake in RatPac-Dune to Blavatnik or any of his firms, but didn’t identify the buyer. Mnuchin’s stake, which he was required to sell under an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics before he was confirmed as Treasury secretary, was sold to “a third party unconnected to Blavatnik,” Treasury said. Speaking Tuesday, Mnuchin reiterated that statement and said the transaction was “confidential.”

steve mnuchin
len blavatnik
oleg deripaska
vladimir putin
russia
ukraine
u.s. congress
ratpack-dune entertainment


Reheated row: Trump threatens tariffs on EU products over Airbus subsidies

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the EU, vowing to impose tariffs on billions in imports over subsidies to the aviation giant Airbus, suddenly escalating a transatlantic skirmish that is more than a decade old. His Twitter outburst rattled a fragile truce between the EU and the United States. Trump had sparked outrage in Europe last year by imposing steep duties on steel and aluminum and threatening new ones on autos. “The World Trade Organization finds that the European Union subsidies to Airbus has adversely impacted the United States, which will now put Tariffs on $11 Billion of EU products!” Trump tweeted. “The EU has taken advantage of the US on trade for many years. It will soon stop!” Trump’s remarks were likely to raise the temperature for U.S. and EU negotiators, who have been meeting since last year ahead of proposed trade talks to resolve the dispute. The threatened U.S. tariffs are in response to subsidies received by aircraft maker Airbus and target a host of European products, including helicopters, aircraft parts and gouda cheese. However, the immediate consequences of Trump’s remarks were unclear. Hours earlier, on Monday evening, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had said the final amount of any tariffs had yet to be determined and would not be announced until the outcome of a WTO arbitration process — expected later this year. For more than 14 years, Washington and Brussels have accused each other of unfairly subsidizing Boeing and Airbus, respectively, in a tit-for-tat dispute that long predates Trump. The Boeing-Airbus spat is the longest and most complicated dispute dealt with by the WTO, which aims to create a level playing field in global trade. Lighthizer said Monday that the World Trade Organization had repeatedly found European subsidies to Airbus harm the United States. “This case has been in litigation for 14 years and the time has come for action,” Lighthizer said in a statement. “Our ultimate goal is to reach an agreement with the EU to end all WTO-inconsistent subsidies to large civil aircraft. When the EU ends these harmful subsidies, the additional U.S. duties imposed in response can be lifted.” The EU fired back on Tuesday, saying that the amounts claimed by Washington were “greatly exaggerated.” “The figure quoted by USTR is based on U.S. internal estimates that have not been awarded by the WTO,” a commission official said. Both sides agreed that the size of the duties was subject to arbitration at the WTO, the result of which was expected in the summer. And both aviation giants have scored points along the way in the marathon dispute. The WTO ruled in March 2012 that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and called on the United States to end them. But a few months later, the European Union filed a new complaint, alleging Washington was not complying with that order. In a split ruling published in June 2017, the WTO said the United States had mostly brought programs into compliance but agreed that Washington had not taken “appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or … withdraw the subsidy” in one case. Brussels was also reprimanded by the WTO during the Airbus-Boeing row, and the United States asked the WTO to determine the amount it could impose in sanctions against the European Union for failing to remove subsidies. USTR said Monday that once that report is issued, it would announce a finalized product list. Airbus in a statement said the list was “totally unjustified,” while archrival Boeing said that it supports Washington’s “ongoing efforts to level the playing field.” “Boeing has consistently supported U.S. compliance with WTO rulings. It’s now time for the EU to follow that example and end all illegal government support for Airbus,” Boeing said. The revived spat comes at a sensitive time for transatlantic relations. Trump and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in July agreed to launch trade talks and refrain from imposing further tariffs in a bid to cool tensions. “I plead for an amicable agreement,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a news conference in Paris. “When I look at the growth situation worldwide, I cannot believe we can allow a trade conflict, even in the sole area of aeronautics, between the United States and Europe,” he added. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a French official told AFP on Tuesday the American side had struck first but that both sides had landed blows. “We’re coming to the end of the road for this dispute. Both sides have been found at fault, in reality,” the official said. The tariff threat also comes at a critical time for Boeing, caught in a crisis over its 737 Max aircraft, grounded over safety fears following two fatal accidents.

tariffs
eu
airbus
subsidies
donald trump
robert lighthizer
wto
boeing
ustr
trade war


Ex-GOP congressman partnered with KGB agent in Russian bank accused of money-laundering

Abstract: ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - A former North Carolina congressman says he had begun selling shares in a Russian bank before it lost its license. Last week, Russia’s central bank accused Commercial Bank of Ivanovo of breaching anti-money laundering rules by providing incomplete or unreliable transaction information. Central bank records on Friday showed Rep. Charles Taylor owned more than 80 percent of the bank, which the Republican bought with a former KGB agent as his business partner. Taylor issued a statement to WLOS-TV and The Citizen-Times saying he bought the stock years ago but wasn’t a bank officer and knew of no wrongdoing. His statement said he signed a contract to sell his shares; it didn’t say whether the transaction was complete. A man who answered a phone listing for Taylor Tuesday declined to talk.

kgb
russia
money-laundering
commercial bank of ivanovo
charles taylor
republican