China legislature eyes legal changes on technology transfers to placate U.S.

Abstract: BEIJING - In an unusual step, China’s ceremonial legislature is due to endorse a law meant to help end a bruising tariff war with Washington by discouraging officials from pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. The battle with China’s biggest trading partner is overshadowing the National People’s Congress, the country’s highest-profile event of the year. It brings 3,000-plus delegates to the ornate Great Hall of the People in Beijing for two weeks of speeches, meetings with senior leaders and political ritual to endorse the ruling Communist Party’s economic and social welfare plans. A gathering of non-Communist groups held at the same time brightens Beijing’s drab winter, drawing tech billionaires, movie stars and ethnic minorities in distinctive traditional dress. That gives President Xi Jinping’s government a platform for advertising changes aimed at ending the fight with President Donald Trump that has disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment. The technology measure is part of a proposed law on foreign investment that aims to address complaints by Washington, Europe and other trading partners that China’s system is rigged against foreign companies. Trump cited complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology when he slapped punitive tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports in July. Europe, Japan and other trading partners disapprove of the tariff hikes but echo U.S. complaints. China has balked at changing its strategy for nurturing technologies that American officials worry might challenge U.S. industrial dominance. But government leaders face pressure to reach a settlement after economic growth sagged to a three-decade low of 6.6 percent last year. On the domestic front, companies and investors are hoping officials announce details of how Beijing will carry out promises to curb the dominance of state industry and support entrepreneurs who generate much of China’s new jobs and wealth. They are looking for details of a promised cut of up to 1.3 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in value-added and other taxes. The congress opens Tuesday with an annual “work report” on government plans by Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 ruling party leader behind Xi, and China’s top economic official. State media have cited other potential topics, including revising China’s patent law — another source of foreign complaints — and measures to encourage foreign investment in agriculture and technology, and developing free trade zones. Chinese officials deny Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over trade secrets and technology. But they are trying to mollify Trump and other governments by promising better legal protections. “I think the (American and European) complaints have been reflected in the revision of the law,” said Citigroup economist Li-Gang Liu. Under the proposed law, officials would be barred from using “administrative methods to force technology transfers.” The chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Tim Stratford, called the measure a “step forward.” But business groups say they need to see how it will be enforced. It was unclear whether the vaguely worded measure would appease Trump. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it had no comment. Companies have been disappointed in the past after “hearing positive words,” said Stratford, a former deputy U.S. Trade Representative. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said the law’s “vague language” gives regulators too much discretion. The focus on “administrative methods” would leave officials free to use other pressure tactics, it said. The state press has cited other potential topics, including revising China’s patent law — another source of foreign complaints — and measures to encourage foreign investment in agriculture and technology and developing free trade zones.

china
tech
tariffs
xi jinping
donald trump
u.s .
cybersecurity
trade war


Manafort family business defends name as namesake cousin sits in jail

Abstract: PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - What do you do if you share a name with one of the most prominent defendants in the special counsel’s investigation into Russia? Paul Manafort’s daughter decided to change her name. Leaders of New Britain, Connecticut, considered renaming Paul Manafort Drive, a street named after his father. At Manafort Brothers Inc., a family-owned New England construction firm, they are defending the Manafort name and legacy while distancing themselves from their cousin, Trump’s former campaign chairman who was recently blasted by prosecutors for years of lies and lawbreaking. The Manafort name has been a familiar one in New England politics and business for decades, creating a predicament for the family as the 69-year-old former attorney is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. Manafort Brothers is one of New England’s best known construction companies. Its name pops up alongside highways, at hotel construction sites and on heavy equipment used to dig holes or tear down buildings. After 9/11, Manafort Brothers helped remove what was left of the World Trade Center buildings. A recent press release touting Manafort Brothers’ 100th anniversary boasts that the company “is still led by the strong moral and business ethics of the Manafort family,” a line that raises eyebrows among some who have followed the family history. The company says Paul Manafort’s criminal issues have nothing to do with the firm and that business has not been affected by the prosecution. Paul Manafort has never worked at the company and has no ownership in it, according to President Jim Manafort Jr. “I could almost count on one hand how many times somebody has asked me what the relationship is,” he said. Manafort was convicted of tax and bank fraud charges in Virginia, where he’ll be sentenced Thursday. He’s set to be sentenced again March 13 in Washington after pleading guilty to illegally lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian political interests. In a sentencing memo in the Washington case, prosecutors accused Manafort of brazen violations of the law, including witness tampering and perjury even after being indicted. Manafort, 69, asked for leniency but faces decades in prison. Paul’s grandfather, James, founded the construction business as a demolition firm — New Britain House Wrecking Company — after coming to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s. The family says its original name in Italy was Manaforte, which translates to strong hand. Paul Manafort’s father, Paul Sr., later took over the company with three of his brothers. Paul Sr. was a Republican mayor of the old mill town of New Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, then appointed to jobs in state and federal government. Articles from the New Britain Herald and The Hartford Courant between the 1960s and 1980s detail a complicated legacy for Paul Sr., who was linked to numerous scandals, some involving the family business. After his name emerged in the investigation of a job-fixing scheme, he acknowledged to the Courant that he had a colorful political career. “I’m good copy,” Paul Sr. told the paper in 1980, the same year his son founded the Washington lobbying firm Black, Manafort and Stone. Paul Sr. was eventually charged with two counts of perjury, which he denied and which were ultimately dropped. He died in 2013. These days, Manafort Brothers employs 700 people, Jim Manafort said. It is based in Plainville, Connecticut, with offices in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When a fight emerged last year in New Britain over an effort to rename Paul Manafort Drive, eight Manaforts wrote a letter on Manafort Brothers letterhead opposing the change. They called Paul Sr. a family patriarch and said he had helped build the company and its “sterling reputation.” They distanced Paul Jr.’s actions from the legacy of his father, calling them “wholly unrelated.” The Republican mayor, Erin Stewart, ultimately vetoed a resolution by the Common Council to change the street name to Ebenezer D.C. Bassett Way, after the first African-American to graduate from what is now Central Connecticut State University. The company has had some more recent trouble with the law. In 2014, it agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine and implement internal reforms to settle federal criminal and civil investigations into allegations that it lied about using a minority subcontractor on a $40 million highway project in Connecticut. Jim Manafort said the company doesn’t believe it intentionally did anything wrong. “There were some policies that were questionable. In the end, we had to settle it because it didn’t make sense to keep arguing over it,” he said. He highlighted the family’s good works through a foundation that distributes more than $100,000 annually to the community, and said they are proud of the name and their accomplishments. Pat Karwoski, 77, a New Britain native and retired nurse who fought to change the street name, said when she sees the Manafort Brothers name, it embarrasses her. She said it seems to her that some family members have done good philanthropic work, but its assertion that it’s known for morals and ethics is not true. “They may all be good people, but they cannot deny what their history is,” she said. Customers appeared unfazed by the connection. The developers of a hotel in downtown Providence where Manafort Brothers recently worked as a subcontractor said they were happy with their work. “As long as their price came in good and they give you quality,” said developer Joe Paolino, a former Democratic mayor of Providence and ambassador to Malta under President Bill Clinton. “That’s what I care about in business.” Manafort’s daughter, Jessica, wants nothing to do with the family name. A Hollywood director, she changed her name to Jess Bond last year, telling the New York Post she sought the change “to separate myself and my work from a public perception that has nothing to do with the person that I am.” The credits for her most recent project, a romantic thriller called “Rosy,” make no mention of the name Manafort.

paul manafort
manafort brothers
new england
robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe


Autoworker upheaval: Families split, children left behind after GM moves to shutter four plants

Abstract: TOLEDO, OHIO - Hundreds of workers at four General Motors plants slated to close by January are facing a painful choice: Take the company’s offer to work at another factory — possibly hundreds of kilometers away — even if that means leaving behind their families, their homes and everything they’ve built. Or stay and risk losing their high-paying jobs. The automaker says nearly all of its blue-collar U.S. workers with jobs in jeopardy have work waiting for them. Many from the targeted factories in Michigan, Ohio and Maryland already have voluntarily transferred to plants in the Midwest and South, not wanting to take a chance. Others are still agonizing over the decision, unsure whether to sell their homes or hang onto hopes that their plants might reopen. The automaker says the changes announced in November are needed to cut costs and put money into new vehicles. The plant closings still must be negotiated with the union, giving workers a sliver of hope. A chess match Anthony Sarigianopoulos has put in 25 years at GM’s plant in Lordstown, Ohio, where the last Chevrolet Cruze will roll off the assembly line sometime later this month. He has two sons in elementary school and an ex-wife he gets along with, and his parents are just down the street in the Youngstown suburb where he grew up. Sarigianopoulos, who checks and fixes cars at the end of the line, knows he is fortunate to have a shot at a job even if it’s somewhere else — unlike most of the 8,000 white-collar employees GM is laying off and those who are losing jobs at the automaker’s nearby parts suppliers. But he also doesn’t want to move and miss out on ballgames and school concerts, knowing that his boys will be almost out of high school by the time he retires. Volunteering to leave now for another plant would also mean he couldn’t come back if Lordstown reopened. But if he is forced to transfer once the plant closes, the option to return would still be open under his union contract. “That’s part of the chess match,” he said. So Sarigianopoulos, 48, filled a notebook with charts and graphs outlining the pros and cons of transferring. What he has decided for now — unless he’s forced to transfer — is to stay and hope the plant will get a new vehicle to build. A car ride away Andrea Repasky didn’t have much of a choice. Even if it meant saying goodbye to her elderly parents, a niece she loves dearly, her favorite pizza place and her mom’s wedding soup. She had to keep her job because she is a breast cancer survivor and runs the risk of the disease coming back. “I couldn’t afford to let my health benefits run out,” she said. So the 42-year-old team leader at the plant volunteered to leave the Youngstown area for a new job in Indiana, allowing her to stay closer to home instead of being shipped to a plant in Tennessee or Texas. “That was my goal, to be a car ride away if something, God forbid, happened to my family,” she said. Repasky has been working for just over a month at GM’s truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she shares an apartment with a friend who also transferred there. While she desperately misses her family and everything about her hometown, she said her decision was easier because she isn’t married and has no children. Some coworkers moved without their children so that the youngsters could stay behind and finish the school year. “I cry when I think about it,” Repasky said. “How do they explain to their kids that Mommy or Daddy is leaving and they’ll see you on the weekends?” Somber students Tiffany Davis feels the stress of it all both at home and at the lone elementary school in Lordstown where she teaches fifth grade. The students know they will be saying goodbye to some of their classmates in a few months. That includes three out of the 18 in her class. “They aren’t the spunky, lighthearted crew they were at the beginning of the year,” said Davis, 35. She and her husband, who has worked on the GM assembly line 17 years, talk almost every night about what to do next. “It has taken over our lives, but how couldn’t it?” Davis said. “It’s draining, it’s exhausting. No matter what decision we make, we’re worried it will be the wrong thing.” The couple decided not to take a transfer for now. But they are selling their house and moving with their two children into her mother-in-law’s attic so they won’t be paying for two homes if they are forced to go. They also canceled a summer vacation and cut out cable TV and pizza nights on Friday. “We’re uprooting our entire lives right now because we don’t have any answers,” she said. “We know that no matter happens we will have to follow GM.” The right decision Nearly two decades after founding the New Beginnings Outreach Ministries in Youngstown, Ohio, Melvin Trent stood before about 150 members of his church in early February and told them he was leaving. His wife, an engineer with GM, was being sent to its SUV plant in Arlington, Texas. “You could hear people crying throughout the congregation. One person said, ‘It feels like when my mother died,'” he said. “For some, I’ve been the only pastor they’ve known.” His wife already has moved, and he will join her after their son graduates from high school in May. “We’ve never been apart like this,” he said. Trent, 55, who retired after 35 years with the automaker, said it was a “no-brainer” to accept the relocation but not an easy decision. “The first thing I did was go to the church, and I cried like a baby because I was leaving something I birthed and something I loved,” he said. “But it was the right decision for our family.” He added: “I’m leaving not my natural family but my church family.”


In apparent renewed criticism of his Fed chief pick, Trump says dollar is too strong

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said the dollar is too strong and took a swipe at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as someone who “likes raising interest rates.” The dollar was quoted lower against the euro and the yen in early Asia-Pacific trading hours on Monday after Trump’s comments over the weekend. The U.S. economy is doing well despite the actions of the central bank, Trump said during a wide-ranging speech Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. “I want a strong dollar, but I want a dollar that does great for our country, not a dollar that’s so strong that it makes it prohibitive for us to do business with other nations and take their business,” Trump said. He didn’t mention Powell by name, but referenced “a gentleman that likes raising interest rates in the Fed, we have a gentleman that loves quantitative tightening in the Fed, we have a gentleman that likes a very strong dollar in the Fed.” “Essentially there’s no inflation,” Trump said. “Can you imagine if we left interest rates where they were, if we didn’t do quantitative tightening. Taking money out of the market if we didn’t do quantitative talk, and this would lead to a little bit lower dollar,” he said. Trump said the U.S. “is booming like never before,” while other countries are “doing very poorly, and that makes it even harder for us to be successful.” Fed officials kept their target range for the federal funds rate on hold, at 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent, when they met in late January. They’ll gather again in Washington on March 19 and 20, when most economists and investors expect they’ll again leave rates unchanged. Powell last week repeated the Fed’s recent mantra of being “patient” on future rate moves. Trump in late 2018 repeatedly castigated Powell and the central bank for the series of rate increases made from record low levels achieved during the severe recession a decade ago. “The only problem our economy has is the Fed,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 24. A few days before that, Bloomberg reported that Trump had discussed firing Powell, his pick to lead the Fed, out of frustration with the string of rate increases. Since then, though, Trump and Powell discussed the economy over a steak dinner in early February, and Trump’s criticism subsided — especially after the Fed emphasized a more patient approach. The Federal Open Market Committee in January termed inflation pressures “muted,” a key reason to go slow on future rate increases. The Trump-Powell dinner was characterized at the time as casual and productive by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was also present, and monetary policy wasn’t discussed. Mnuchin said another get-together may happen. Saturday’s return to the topic of the Fed by Trump came during a more than two-hour speech in which the president touched on an array of long-standing grievances.

dollar
donald trump
jerome powell
interest rates
yen
u.s. federal reserve
steve mnuchin


Japan inflation barometer points to zero price growth by summer, weighed down by oil and phones

Abstract: The inflation outlook is looking dismal for the Bank of Japan as cheaper oil and falling mobile phone fees threaten to push price growth toward zero by mid-summer. The Bloomberg Inflation Barometer, which draws on eight drivers of prices, points to a sharp slowing in the months ahead as lower oil costs feed their way into electricity bills. Over the past eight years the barometer has shown a 0.84 correlation with consumer prices six months into the future. Mobile phone carriers could complicate the BOJ’s quest to revive inflation as they come under political pressure to lower charges further. Making matters worse, free education measures planned by the government are already projected by the BOJ to shave another 0.3 percentage point from inflation later in the year. Flat-lining of prices would heap pressure on the central bank to take action or justify its decision not to. Any softening in the yen, further wage gains or jump in oil prices could still help the BOJ stick to its view that temporary factors don’t warrant an immediate response. The BOJ is trying to generate 2 percent inflation and has pledged to continue its stimulus program until its goal is achieved. The bank has already slashed its inflation forecasts for the fiscal year starting in April to 0.9 percent from 1.4 percent. But even this forecast looks overly optimistic. While Japan’s three biggest mobile phone carriers say they have already lowered prices by at least 30 percent in the last year, the government has called for reductions of 40 percent, an outcome that could shave 0.9 percentage point off overall price growth.

inflation
oil
bloomberg inflation barometer
boj
telecoms


Nikkei hits three-month high on U.S.-China trade hopes

Abstract: The Nikkei 225 average hit a three-month closing high Monday, driven by hopes for an end to the trade dispute between the United States and China. The key market gauge gained 219.35 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 21,822.04, its best finish since Dec. 5. On Friday, it advanced 217.53 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished 11.87 points, or 0.73 percent, higher at 1,627.59 after adding 8.06 points Friday. Sentiment improved after The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet, probably around March 27, to ink a formal trade agreement. Higher U.S. equities on Friday and the dollar’s advance against the yen also lifted sentiment, brokers said. Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., attributed some of Monday’s gains to a rise of over 100 points in U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures in off-hours trading as well as the strength of Chinese stocks following the report about a potential trade deal between the world’s two largest economies. But Miura said that “investors may be too optimistic” about the course of U.S.-China trade talks, citing the failure to reach an agreement at last week’s summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A brokerage official said a pickup in trading value will be needed for the Nikkei to maintain its strength and test 22,000 this week. The index last traded above the psychologically important threshold on Dec. 4. Trading volume totaled 1.127 billion shares in the first section, down from 1.148 billion Friday. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,481 to 579, while 72 issues were unchanged. China-linked issues attracted purchases following the report on trade talks between Washington and Beijing. Construction machinery company Komatsu gained 3.15 percent, industrial robot producer Fanuc 3.48 percent and Yaskawa Electric 5.08 percent. Beverage producer Ito En added 3.79 percent on improved earnings. Other major winners included Takeda Pharmaceutical and SoftBank Group. Automakers were downbeat. Suzuki fell 3.88 percent, Honda 1.30 percent and Toyota 0.90 percent. Japan Tobacco dropped 1.19 percent, extending its losing streak to a fourth session.

nikkei
topix
tokyo stock exchange
stocks


Dollar firms to around ¥111.90 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar was firmer around ¥111.90 in late Tokyo trading Monday, supported by hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.90-91, up from ¥111.81-81 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1357-1357, down from $1.1371-1371, and at ¥127.09-10, down from ¥127.15-16. The dollar briefly topped ¥112 for the first time in over two months before being pushed back. The currency was “supported by renewed hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks,” an official of a major securities firm said. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet, probably around March 27, to sign a formal trade agreement. The dollar was also aided by a rise in the Nikkei 225 stock average and buying by Japanese importers, traders said. But the dollar was “susceptible to selling on a rally after it reached ¥112 for the first time in months,” an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said. A currency broker said that “dollar-buying to chase higher ground was limited” due to weak U.S. economic data released Friday. Active dollar buying was also held in check before China’s annual National People’s Congress kicked off Tuesday, traders said. “Attention will focus on remarks on U.S.-China trade talks and economic measures,” the securities firm official said.


Head of Japanese furniture chain Otsuka Kagu says she wants to end feud with father and cooperate

Abstract: Otsuka Kagu Ltd. President Kumiko Otsuka said she wants to seek a reconciliation with her father after their feud hurt the furniture retailer’s brand image. “Although our opinions regarding how to manage a listed company differed, I think I share with my father the same value of providing quality furniture that can be loved and used for a long time,” Otsuka said Monday. “I believe one day he will also understand that we do share this.” Her comments at a news conference in Tokyo came as Otsuka Kagu, a well-known furniture store operator, is trying to revive its troubled business by forming alliances with other companies at home and abroad. The family dispute over control of the furniture chain has dragged its sales down. Otsuka, who took the helm in 2015 after winning a proxy fight against her father and company founder, Katsuhisa Otsuka, indicated she is now willing to restore her relationship with him. One of the proposals she mentioned was creating an organization of furniture makers and retailers with his participation. Chen Haibo, president of Tokyo-based cross-border e-commerce operator High-Lines Co. and who attended the news conference with Kumiko Otsuka at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, also called on her to heal her relationship with her father. The e-commerce operator, which does business with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., is one of the new capital partners for the retailer. Otsuka Kagu saw a net loss of ¥3.2 billion for the year through December, mired in the red for the third consecutive year. The retailer said in mid-February it will receive a ¥3.8 billion capital injection from High-Lines and other investors. Kumiko Otsuka said the company will tap into the Chinese market by stepping up cooperation with High-Lines and Beijing Easyhome Yundi Huixin Retail Chain Co. “Otsuka Kagu is now prepared to make the move from being on defense to instead move forward on offense,” she said.


U.S. investigators say they've found second black box from doomed cargo jet

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Searchers combing a shallow Texas bay have recovered the second of two flight recorders from a cargo plane hauling Amazon packages that crashed last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday, two days after finding the first. The NTSB said in a tweet it had recovered the second crash-proof cockpit voice recorder. The Boeing Co. 767-300 dove abruptly and went down on Feb. 23, killing two Atlas Air pilots and a third pilot who was riding in the jump seat. The recording of cockpit sounds could help investigators determine why the plane went down as it was approaching Houston. Both flight data recorders are being transported back to the NTSB’s labs in Washington for evaluation. The Atlas plane was one of 50 aircraft under contract to Amazon.com Inc. to haul packages for the online retailer. Atlas is a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. After what had been a routine descent while preparing to land at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Atlas Flight 3591 abruptly dove thousands of feet into Trinity Bay. There was no emergency radio call by pilots and nothing has emerged to explain whether it was a mechanical failure, actions by pilots or some other problem that led to the plunge. The cockpit recorder would have captured pilot conversations as well as ambient noise from the flight deck. Search teams are continuing to try to find a second device, known as a flight data recorder, that stores data on a plane’s systems, actions by the pilots and a detailed flight path.

ntsb
atlas air
houston
amazon.com
air accidents


Britain-bound migrants scramble atop Calais ferry, sparking police sweep

Abstract: Dozens of migrants hoping to reach Britain scrambled aboard a cross-Channel ferry in northern France, sparking a 12-hour manhunt as police combed the ship to find them, officials said Sunday. Around 100 migrants broke into the dock area of the port of Calais late Saturday, and dozens managed to get onboard the ferry that had just arrived from the English port of Dover. A total of 63 migrants were detained, many of whom had tried to hide aboard the Danish-operated DFDS Calais Seaways, regional authorities said. On Sunday morning, firemen talked down the last group of about a dozen migrants who had climbed high above the deck to a catwalk attached to the ship’s funnel. Prosecutors at nearby Boulogne said these people were still in custody. Twelve people were due to appear in court. Others were released with a warning because they were minors or for lack of evidence. The migrants managed to get aboard the ferry by using a maintenance ladder at high tide, senior regional official Jean-Philippe Vennin told AFP. “Two of the migrants fell into the sea and were quickly rescued by firemen,” he added. Police offloaded vehicles arriving from Britain on the ferry before making a top-to-bottom search of the ship. Those detained were taken to Calais police headquarters, Vennin said. Cross-Channel ferry traffic was delayed overnight with at least two forced to remain at sea before being allowed into port. The Calais Seaways was itself moved overnight so the harbor could resume operations. To reach the port area, “the migrants crossed a pedestrian gangway normally used by employees and I am convinced the place had been cased and that last night’s operation was orchestrated by people smugglers,” harbor master Jean-Marc Puissesseau told reporters after the police search ended. “It’s not normal to have 100 migrants break into a secure area such as a harbor. There must be a failure somewhere,” local Mayor Natacha Bouchart said, before blaming police force cutbacks. “We must reinforce our police forces on the eve of Brexit, which people smugglers exploit in a bid to promote their trafficking,” regional president Xavier Bertrand said on Twitter. Herve Krych, a lawyer for four of the migrants in custody, said his clients were alright overall. “I’m delighted that this ended with so few injuries and human damage given the exceptional and dangerous circumstances that we saw that night. For the moment, it was not clear to what extent it had been organized or just a spontaneous action, he added. Sunday’s incident was unusual by its scale, and this despite introduction of costly security features around the port including barb wire, grill-fencing and additional surveillance cameras. Despite the best efforts of the authorities migrants, many from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, and smugglers have diversified ways of trying to cross the Channel. Many still hide in trucks headed to the ports, but more recently others have attempted to cross the Channel aboard small vessels and lifeboats stolen from local harbors or acquired by traffickers. On Friday, a French court jailed two Iraqis and an Iranian for organizing illegal migrant boat trips to Britain. A 30-year-old Iranian, considered the group leader, received an 18-month sentence, while his two accomplices, aged 39 and 32, were each jailed for a year. Some 500 people attempted to cross the Channel last year — most of them in November and December, compared with just 13 such known attempts in 2017. French interior ministry figures showed that 276 people successfully reached British waters. In December, London dispatched a Royal Navy cutter to help coastguard vessels survey the 21 miles (33 km) of sea that separates France and Britain at its narrowest point.

migrants
calais
france
u.k .
english channel


Eyeing Russia, EU on high alert for cyberthreats to upcoming European Parliament vote

Abstract: PARIS - With campaigning for May’s European Parliament elections shifting into high gear, security officials are preparing for potential attempts by Russia-linked hackers to sway the vote — and potentially deepen divisions in the bloc. “There’s a strong likelihood that people will try to manipulate the debates and falsify the European election results,” the EU’s security commissioner, Julian King, told France’s Alsace newspaper last week. The vote is shaping up as a continental clash between populist and euroskeptic movements on the one hand, and pro-European internationalists on the other. “It is already clear this will be the most consequential parliamentary vote in the EU’s history,” the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote in a recent report. Moscow has long denied allegations of hacking and meddling in foreign elections through social media disinformation campaigns thought to be piloted by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. But suspicions are rife that Russia has much to gain by helping populist and euroskeptic movements, some of which want to end EU sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The biggest threat, officials say, is a three-pronged attack seen in other high-stake votes: the hacking of a political party; targeted leaks of any sensitive data, either raw or manipulated; and surreptitious social media campaigns to keep the information in the headlines. That was the scenario that played out in the U.S. presidential election of 2016, when Russian hackers were suspected of trying to tilt the outcome by hacking the Democratic Party. Russian hands were also seen behind an 11th-hour hacking of Emmanuel Macron’s party ahead of the 2017 French presidential elections, when thousands of files were leaked online. So-called state actors are also thought to have been involved in Britain’s Brexit vote, and in the hacking of Australian political parties last month. “We stand a good chance of being hit with something big” ahead of the May 23-26 election, said a source in the French security services, who requested anonymity to discuss the risks. In January the European Commission urged platforms like Google and Twitter, but also advertising firms, to make more progress on their pledge to fight “fake news” by removing bogus accounts and curbing suspect sites. “Several actions are being taken or already implemented to allow the EU and member states to react quickly, efficiently and in coordination in case of attacks,” according to an internal report by a European security service. “But for now they are mainly declarations of intent that have yet to be tested,” it added. One cyberspying group in particular — known as APT28, Pawn Storm, Fancy Bear or other monikers — is thought to have staged many of the recent attacks targeting European institutions and political groups, including NATO and the German parliament. The common thread in all these attacks “is the exfiltration of information without being detected,” said Loic Guezo of the Japanese IT security firm Trend Micro. “The group suspected in these operations always targets Western institutions involved in elections or political decision-making in Western countries that could have an impact on Russian government policy,” Guezo said. The stolen data is then strategically leaked to discredit their target. “The advantage is that because it’s intercepted information, it gives people the impression that they have access to the ‘truth,’ to raw, unfiltered information,” according to a recent report by the French Foreign and Defense ministries. While that may indeed be the case, often the stolen data is first tweaked or manipulated before being leaked and spread by viral social media campaigns. “Russia has developed an information arsenal, with manipulation strategies that use bots and fake accounts” to propel the disinformation into the mainstream media, said Kevin Limonier, a researcher at the French Geopolitical Institute in Paris. Media outlets and personalities are then charged with amplifying the leaked data or misinformation into the mainstream. Limonier described “an ecosystem revolving around a few structures in Russia, hidden behind shell companies, that lead to Yevgeny Prigozhin,” a businessman with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Such campaigns could be even more disruptive in an increasingly polarized Europe, where bitter divisions have emerged over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants since 2015. A recent French study, for example, found that “yellow vest” anti-government protesters are more prone than other citizens to conspiracy theories, including a belief that establishment elites are organizing mass immigration to replace native populations. Given the risks, French authorities in particular plan to move much more aggressively to keep potential interference efforts from crossing “red lines,” an intelligence agency source said. “But you have to be careful, because the more you publicize this war, the more you risk making the threat seem bigger than it is,” Limonier said.

russia eu europe elections hacking cyberattacks


Fighting fierce as U.S.-backed Syrian forces close in on Islamic State's last stand

Abstract: BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - Columns of black smoke billowed from the last small piece of territory held by Islamic State militants on Sunday as U.S.-backed fighters pounded the area with artillery fire and occasional airstrikes. Commanders of the Kurdish-led fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces said fierce clashes were taking place as they advance toward the last speck of land controlled by the Islamic State group. The militants fought back with snipers, suicide bombs and booby traps. Fires still smoldered from the area and ammunition exploded time and again, a day after an airstrike hit a building, setting off a huge blast. “It must be a main weapons depot,” said Sefqan, an SDF commander using only his nom de guerre. The U.S.-backed forces resumed an offensive to recapture the tiny area in the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria on Friday night, after a two-week pause to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the area. Retaking the sliver of land would be a milestone in the devastating four-year campaign to end Islamic State’s self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate that once straddled vast territory across Syria and Iraq. However, the group continues to be a threat, with sleeper cells in scattered desert pockets along the porous border between the two countries. A few hundred IS militants, many of them believed to be foreign fighters, remain holed up inside Baghouz, with an unknown number of civilians. Machine guns could be heard echoing across the territory. Associated Press journalists in Baghouz saw black smoke from an apparent strike on a barrel of fuel. Gunfire followed another strike on the edge of the camp. Burned vehicles could be seen, abandoned in farmland beyond the village. Through binoculars, IS fighters could be seen walking around. Mustafa Bali, the SDF spokesman, said coalition airstrikes destroyed several car bombs during the past two days of battle in Baghouz. In a tweet, he said three car bombs that were trying to hit SDF positions were destroyed. Overnight, machine gun tracers could be seen in the skies over Baghouz and aircraft circled overhead. “The night for us and the morning for them,” said Abu Ghadab, another commander of the SDF. The militants usually attack during the day as they don’t have night vision goggles while the SDF advances at night, he explained. The U.S.-backed fighters say IS militants are mostly hiding underground, in tunnels. The global fight against the Islamic State group is one conflict in a country that has been at civil war for nearly eight years. Near the northwestern province of Idlib, a Syrian jihadist group linked to al-Qaida killed 21 Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen, in one of the most serious violations of a months-old truce in the area, according to activists and a Syria war monitor. Sunday’s attack by Ansar al-Tawhid fighters was carried out in the village of Massasneh in the north of Hama province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack, saying “terrorist groups” launched a pre-planned attack on armed forces stationed along the main road of Massasneh, killing and wounding a number of soldiers. “Syria confirms the full readiness and integrity of the Syrian army in dealing with these crimes and violations,” the statement added.

syria
islamic state
baghouz
syrian democratic forces
conflict
u.s .
terrorism


U.K. launches global fund to tackle stigma of menstruation and end 'period poverty' by 2050

Abstract: LONDON - Britain launched a global “period poverty” fund and task force on Monday to help all women and girls access sanitary products by 2050 and to tackle the stigma around menstruation. It is estimated that half of all women and girls in poor countries are forced to use rags, cloths, grass and paper during their periods since many can’t afford to buy sanitary products, the U.K. government said. A survey by the children’s charity Plan International found that 10 percent of girls in Britain alone have been unable to afford sanitary products. The government pledged to give £2 million ($2.64 million) to organizations working to end period poverty globally, and has also earmarked £250,000 to create a task force of government departments, charities and private enterprises to tackle the issue. “Empowerment starts when you are young. Girls should be able to focus on their education and their future without being worried about or embarrassed by their periods,” said Penny Mordaunt, minister for women and equalities, in a statement. Menstruation is still taboo in many countries. In Nepal, the centuries-old Hindu practice of “chhaupadi,” where women are banished from their homes during their periods, has led to four deaths since the start of this year. In Britain, about one in four young women aged 11-21 feel embarrassed to talk about their periods, according to girls charity Girl Guiding UK. Coding consortium Unicode, which distributes emojis across mobile devices, said it will include a period emoji — a drop of blood — this month after Plan campaigned for one to help people talk openly about menstruation. “This is a global issue. Without education, women and girls around the world won’t be able to take the steps to reach their true potential,” said Mordaunt, who is also Britain’s international development minister. Globally, about 288 million women are on their period each day, yet one in three don’t have access to a toilet to use during menstruation, according to the charity WaterAid. The United Nations estimates that due to a lack of facilities, one in 10 girls in Africa will miss school during their period and will eventually drop out of school as a result.


In race with Boeing, SpaceX takes giant leap toward resuming crewed U.S. flights to ISS

Abstract: SAN FRANCISCO - The successful voyage of SpaceX’s unmanned Crew Dragon to the International Space Station this weekend put the U.S. one tantalizing step closer to the day when American rockets will again ferry the nation’s astronauts into space. Sometime this summer, both Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Boeing Co. are scheduled to launch crews toward the ISS, ending a long drought in which the U.S. has had to hitch rides in Russia’s Soyuz capsules. NASA awarded them contracts worth as much as a combined $6.8 billion in 2014 to fly U.S. astronauts to the ISS, splitting what’s known as the Commercial Crew program to avoid a monopoly. Saturday’s launch of the crew cabin from Florida and Sunday’s docking at the ISS mark “a major milestone for SpaceX and for the nation,” said Taber MacCullum, chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, in a statement. “This mission puts us a step closer toward re-establishing American access of American astronauts, on American rockets, from American soil to the ISS for the first time since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011.” SpaceX may get there first, in July based on how the test schedules are shaping up, with Boeing following just a few weeks later. In addition to the lucrative launch business, both companies see space tourism as a future source of revenue. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg congratulated Musk in a tweet for reaching the testing milestone. “This is a huge milestone and shows how far NASA and the industry have come together,’ said Lori Garver, a former deputy NASA administrator, via email. “Lots more important milestones ahead, but the team can be very proud of this accomplishment — I know I am!” For SpaceX, the next big test comes later this week. Crew Dragon, which carried some supplies to the ISS along with a sensor-laden mannequin, is slated to undock from the space station at 2:31 a.m. New York time on Friday, then return to Earth and splash down into the Atlantic Ocean with the help of four parachutes. Though dates can shift, the latest schedule from NASA has SpaceX conducting an in-flight abort test in June and then following up in July with Demo-2, a flight that will take NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS. That’s the final hurdle before the system would be certified to enter the official rotation of crew-carrying flights. NASA says that Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner continues to undergo testing in preparation for its Orbital Flight Test, slated for no earlier than April. If all goes well, Boeing would then have a launch-pad abort test no earlier than May and a crewed flight test no earlier than August. Beyond the test flights, Boeing and SpaceX could use their vehicles to offer space rides to tourists and others with the means to pay. SpaceX is interested in flying Crew Dragon passengers other than government astronauts but hasn’t begun prospecting for customers, Musk said Saturday at a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center.

boeing
space
spacex
iss
soyuz
nasa
u.s .
ripley


Underground fire smoldering for seven months at Arkansas dump raises health fears

Abstract: LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS - More than seven months after residents first noticed a fire at an illegal dumping site in northwest Arkansas, it’s still smoldering, sending noxious smoke throughout the town and seeping into homes, with costs to extinguish the fire estimated at tens of millions of dollars. Chris Nelson, 40, lives with his wife and 4-year-old son in a house that’s a little more than 1000 feet (305 meters) from the shuttered dumping site. He said his family has experienced a persistent cough since the blaze started, his wife has been diagnosed with bronchitis and his son has been on multiple rounds of antibiotics. “I’m a veteran and this is probably one of the worst, most stressful situations to live in,” Nelson said. “It’s been hell.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality have been monitoring the air around the site, and most of the readings have come back at “good” or “moderate” levels. But one EPA reading in December came back with an “unhealthy” level, prompting the Arkansas Department of Health to issue a health alert, warning residents to “avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors,” including “running, playing or yardwork.” The fire burning at least 70 feet (21 meters) underground in this community of about 28,500 people some 170 miles (2.74 km) northwest of Little Rock has raised questions about how and why the dump operated without a state license for several years. No one is sure how the underground fire started at the illegal dumping site in the northwest Arkansas community of Bella Vista, though city officials suspect a small brush fire ignited debris below ground. At least two lawsuits have been filed against former and current owners of the 4.75-acre (1.9-hectare) plot of land, as well as the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, which shuttered the dump in 2016 before the owner sold it to a tree trimming and disposal service early last year. The association began leasing the site in January 2004 from the storage company that owned it. The association allowed residents to dispose of brush, wood and other organic materials in it. The state says the site never should have been operating as a dump of any kind. But state inspectors and contractors say it’s clear nonorganic items such as car batteries, wiring, swimming pool liners were dumped there at some point, complicating efforts to put out the blaze and clean up the mess. The original owners and the current owners did not return messages for comment. The Bella Vista Property Owners Association declined to answer questions about legality of the site. After the association closed the dump in 2016, it was capped with soil and vegetation, said Kim Carlson, director of marketing for the association. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said it could not answer questions about why the dump stayed open after an inspector went to the site in 2008 in response to a complaint that cement mixer drums from Bella Vista’s developer had been dumped there. The mixers were removed, according to local news reports. Last July, residents began to notice what they thought was a brush fire and reported the smoke to the state. Inspectors visited the site in early August and the Department of Environmental Quality sent warning letters to the current and former owners. But the state and federal government didn’t start monitoring air quality until November, after frustrated residents began to complain of respiratory problems and fears of decreased property values. Kelly Strain, 56, lives less than 800 feet (244 meters) from the edge of the shuttered dumping site. He said the fire initially produced smoke that smelled like wood burning in a campfire. But within a few months, that changed. “The smell started to be pungent, toxic smelling. Really disgusting,” he said. “If you were outside and the wind was coming this way, you actually had to get back inside.” State officials and contractors in January began preparation for cleanup. Extinguishing the blaze is more complicated than just dumping water on it, said department spokeswoman Donnally Davis. Air pockets and various vents are interspersed between layers of dumped material compacted under dirt and more waste. Even flooding the site could leave small fires burning. Plus runoff could contaminate a nearby lake or seep into the groundwater. The exact cost to put out the fire and get rid of the waste is unknown. Davis said estimates so far have ranged from $15 million to $37 million. State lawmakers are considering a $20 million appropriation to help. State Sen. Jim Hendren, a Republican whose district includes Bella Vista, said he anticipates the bill will “move fairly quickly” through the Legislature. U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, all Republicans, wrote a letter Tuesday to the EPA asking for “any and all options from which the state may receive financial assistance.” Meanwhile, residents are growing weary. “People need help,” Nelson said. “It’s been going on for seven months and it doesn’t look like there’s an end in sight any time soon.”

arkansas
health
republicans
pollution
u.s .


Islamic State teen's Dutch husband says he wants to head home with her and baby

Abstract: LONDON - The Dutch husband of Shamima Begum, a British-born teenager who fled to join Islamic State, wants to live with her in the Netherlands, the BBC reported Sunday after finding him in Syria. Yago Riedijk, who is being held in a Kurdish-run detention center in northeast Syria, married Begum days after she arrived in territory held by IS when he was 23 and she was 15, he told BBC television. Begum, 19, from east London and now in a refugee camp, has said she would like to return to Britain but has been stripped of her British citizenship by the government, which calls her a security threat. Riedijk, who is 27 and says he now rejects IS, having fought for the jihadi group, says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with his wife and their newborn son. Their first two children died. In a first extract from the interview released by the BBC, he was asked if he thought marrying a girl of that age was acceptable. “When my friend came and said there was a girl who was interested in marriage, I wasn’t that interested because of her age, but I accepted the offer anyway,” he replied. “We sat down and she seemed in a good state of mind. It was her own choice, she was the one who asked to look for a partner for her. “Then I was invited and yeah, she was very young and it might have been better for her to wait a bit. But she didn’t, she chose to get married and I chose to marry her.” Riedijk, from Arnhem, told the BBC that he had been imprisoned and tortured after IS suspected him of being a Dutch spy. He surrendered to Syrian fighters. The case of Begum has highlighted a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadis and IS sympathizers home to face prosecution or bar them as the so-called caliphate crumbles.

islamic state
shamima begum
netherlands
bbc
yago riedijk
conflict
terrorism
u.k .


Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou sues Canada for alleged wrongful search in Vancouver

Abstract: OTTAWA/VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - The Huawei Technologies Co. chief financial officer whose detention in Canada has sparked a diplomatic standoff has filed a civil lawsuit against Canadian authorities, alleging she was wrongfully detained and searched. Meng Wanzhou claims that her constitutional rights were breached and is seeking damages for “false imprisonment.” The suit was filed March 1 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against the Canadian Border Services Agency, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and the Canadian government. The notice alleges that the police officer and several border guards detained, searched and interrogated Meng under the guise of a routine customs or immigration case, and used “that opportunity to unlawfully compel her to provide evidence and information.” It alleges they did so without immediately arresting her under the warrant to avoid affording Meng her constitutional rights. Meng’s claim was filed the same day that the Canadian government agreed to begin an extradition process that was sparked by her arrest on Dec. 1 at the request of the U.S., which alleges that Meng lied to banks to trick them into processing transactions for Huawei that potentially violated Iran trade sanctions. China has demanded the release of Meng, who is under house arrest in Vancouver. Canada’s justice department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Meng was arrested on the jet bridge in Vancouver after getting off a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong while on her way to Mexico. The claim alleges the Chinese telecom executive was not informed promptly of the reasons for her detention, or given an opportunity to contact a lawyer. Meng was ordered to surrender all of her electronic devices, including two personal cellphones, an iPad and a personal computer, it alleges. A border officer then “demanded the plaintiff surrender the passwords,” and Meng did so, according to the claim. The officials then “unlawfully opened and viewed the contents of the seized devices in violation of the plaintiff’s right to privacy” and also “performed a thorough, invasive and focused search of all of the plaintiff’s luggage,” the claim alleges. It says that officials interrogated her over two sessions. Meng was formally arrested about three hours after her initial detention, the claim says. The police officer “intentionally delayed the arrest for the purpose of allowing the unlawful” detention in Vancouver, which “culminated in the unlawful detention, search and interrogation of the plaintiff by the CBSA Officers under the false pretense of a routine border check of a foreign traveler,” it alleges. The claim alleges Meng’s rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated. Meng suffered “mental distress, anxiety and loss of liberty,” it says. The claim seeks declarations that her charter rights were infringed, various damages and costs, all unspecified.

huawei
meng wanzhou
canada
courts
police
iran
sanctions
china
tech


After diplomatic spat with Italy, French President Emmanuel Macron calls for reconciliation

Abstract: ROME - French President Emmanuel Macron has launched a call for reconciliation with Italy following a diplomatic spat between the neighbors that saw Paris briefly recall its ambassador. Relations between the two countries have fractured due to repeated clashes between centrist Macron and Italy’s populist coalition government. In February, Paris recalled Ambassador Christian Masset for a week in protest at “unfounded attacks and outlandish claims” by the Italian government. “There has been intemperate talk. There have been various twists and turns and I think we owe it to our people, to our history and to Europe, to get past that,” Macron said Sunday on Italian television. In the spirit of reconciliation, Macron said he will host his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, at Amboise, central France, on May 2 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci “with French and Italian youth.” “We will talk about the future and Europe,” he added. The two presidents intend to go “beyond the misunderstandings that can sometimes arise in political or economic life and which are, for me, secondary,” Macron said, without mentioning Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte or other Italian leaders. With the exception of a question about the planned Lyon-Turin rail link — which he stressed the importance of — Macron did not mention other divisive subjects such as Italian populist leaders’ support of the “yellow vest” protesters in France or the merger between French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique (formerly STX France) and Italy’s Fincantieri. On the other hand, he spoke at length about his love of Italy and his travels. “There are so many French people who love Italy and Italians who love France and the French. But suddenly, we almost forgot that we have to keep on learning to understand each other,” Macron said. “I do not underestimate any of the difficulties of everyday life and the impatience, but I believe that between our countries there is and always has been a lot of heart, that is to say, friendship, love,” he said in a final message before the cameras. In Italy, the interview provoked controversy even before its release as Macron chose to be interviewed by Fabio Fazio, a nemesis of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and nationalists who consider him an archetypal “trendy” journalist. During his interview, the French president also quoted writer Roberto Saviano, one of Salvini’s most virulent critics, and lambasted “the simplification of the message of some nationalists.” “No country, no one in Europe, nor Italy, nor France, will solve its own problems by opposing other European countries and by withdrawing back to the national level,” he insisted. He also felt Europe was like living “on a volcano.” “There are people who think we can continue like sleepwalkers, as if nothing has happened, they will be buried. Me, I’m aware of the tragedy,” he said. “We need some real, complex philosophical thought and to re-inspire our peoples.”


Adviser John Bolton says Trump feels he 'gave nothing away' in North Korea summit

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The White House national security adviser on Sunday described President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a success despite the lack of an agreement providing for the verifiable dismantling of the North’s nuclear sites. John Bolton, in three television interviews, tried to make that case that Trump advanced America’s national security interests by rejecting a bad agreement while working to persuade Kim to take “the big deal that really could make a difference for North Korea.” The U.S. and North Korea have offered contradictory accounts of why last week’s summit in Vietnam broke down, though both pointed to American sanctions as a sticking point. Bolton said that the leaders left on good terms and that Trump made an important point to North Korea and other countries that negotiate with him. “He’s not desperate for a deal, not with North Korea, not with anybody if it’s contrary to American national interests,” Bolton said. Bolton also sought to explain Trump’s comments about taking Kim’s word about Otto Warmbier, the American college student who was held prisoner in North Korea, then sent home in a vegetative state before dying shortly afterward. Trump said he didn’t believe Kim knew about or would have allowed what happened to Warmbier. “He tells me that he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word,” Trump said at a news conference last week. Bolton said Trump’s “got a difficult line to walk to” in negotiating with North Korea. “It doesn’t mean that he accepts it as reality. It means that he accepts that’s what Kim Jong Un said,” Bolton said. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., a close Trump ally, broke with the president. “I think Kim knew what happened, which was wrong,” McCarthy said. Some have been critical for Trump letting Kim stand with him on the world stage given North Korea’s poor human rights record. Kim will be able to portray himself to his people and supporters as the charismatic head of a nuclear-armed power, not an international pariah that starves its citizens so it can build weapons. But Bolton said that Trump’s view is that he “gave nothing away.” Asked whether that was his view, too, Bolton replied: “The president’s view is he gave nothing away. That’s what matters, not my view.” Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, summarized the summit as a “spectacular failure” made all the worse by Trump’s comments on the “murder of an American citizen, Otto Warmbier.” “This is, I think, the result of a president who is not prepared for these kind of negotiations, a staff that is not well-prepared and that is essentially flying by the seat of its pants, and it has real-world consequences,” Schiff said. “Those reactors continue to spin on, producing more material that can threaten us and our allies,” said Schiff, D-Calif. Bolton said Trump has “turned traditional diplomacy on its head, and after all in the case of North Korea, why not? Traditional diplomacy has failed in the last three administrations.” Bolton spoke on “Fox News Sunday,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’s “Face the Nation.” McCarthy was on ABC’s “This Week,” and Schiff was on CBS.

john bolton
north korea
donald trump
kim jong un
otto warmbier
u.s .


Democratic presidential hopefuls mark Selma 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary

Abstract: SELMA, ALABAMA - Several Democratic White House hopefuls are gathering at one of America’s seminal civil rights sites on Sunday to pay homage to that legacy and highlight their own connections to the movement. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who already are in the 2020 race, and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who could soon join them, are scheduled to participate in events surrounding the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. On March 7, 1965, peaceful demonstrators were beaten back by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was a moment that galvanized support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year. This year’s commemoration comes in the early days of a Democratic primary that has focused heavily on issues of race. Several candidates have called out President Donald Trump as a racist while others have voiced support for the idea of reparations for the descendants of enslaved black Americans. The candidates visiting Selma intend to highlight how civil rights have shaped their narratives. Booker, who announced his candidacy at the start of Black History Month, is the keynote speaker at Brown Chapel AME Church for a service before the symbolic bridge crossing later in the day. He has spoken of himself as a direct beneficiary of the civil rights era after his family was denied housing in a white neighborhood. In January, Booker traveled through Georgia with Georgia Rep. John Lewis, an Alabama native and civil rights leader who was nearly killed in Selma 54 years ago. Sanders attended the 1963 March on Washington where Lewis spoke and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. Sanders has highlighted his civil rights and activist background as a young man at the University of Chicago. He is working to reset his relationship with black voters, with whom he struggled to connect in the 2016 Democratic primary that Hillary Clinton won. Clinton also is set to attend commemoration events in Selma. Brown, currently on a “Dignity of Work” tour inspired by King, is returning to Selma for the fifth time. He frequently draws connections between civil rights and worker’s rights. A former secretary of state in Ohio, Brown also has a reputation as a leader on expanding voter participation. The backdrop of Selma provides a spotlight on voting rights. Advocates say the gains achieved as a result of “Bloody Sunday” have been threatened in recent years, particularly by the 2013 Supreme Court decision gutting the landmark Voting Rights Act. Voter suppression emerged as a key issue in the 2018 midterm elections in states such as Georgia and North Carolina, where a Republican congressional candidate was accused of rigging the contest there through absentee ballots. House Democrats signaled they plan to make ballot access a priority in the new Congress, introducing legislation aimed at protecting voting rights in 2020 and beyond.

democrats
selma
alabama
rights
bernie sanders
hillary clinton
u.s .
african-americans
corey booker


Guaido calls for mass protests ahead of his return to Venezuela, but doesn't say how he'll get back in

Abstract: CARACAS - Venezuela’s opposition leader called for mass protests across the country on Monday as he announced his return to the country after a week touring Latin American allies. “I’m announcing my return to the country. I am calling on the Venezuelan people to mobilize all over the country tomorrow at 11:00 am (1500 GMT),” Guaido said on Twitter. Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries as interim president, gave no details of when or how he would return. He asked supporters to pay close attention for messages of where the demonstrations would take place on Monday. “Let’s go Venezuela,” he said. Defying a travel ban by President Nicolas Maduro, Guaido slipped across the border to Colombia last week to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. He has spent the weekend in Ecuador. Guaido stunned the world on Jan. 23, proclaiming himself Venezuela’s acting president after the National Assembly he leads declared Maduro a usurper and illegitimate over his May re-election, which was widely criticized as fraudulent. Guaido wants to oust Maduro and set up a transitional government ahead of new elections. Maduro — who retains the support of Venezuela’s powerful military — enjoys strong support from Russia, which accuses Washington of interventionism, and China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars in loans to Maduro’s regime. The socialist president warned last week that Guaido should “respect the law” and would have to “face justice” if he returns to the country. Guaido said last week he intended to return to Venezuela “despite threats” to arrest him. The U.S. and other allies have expressed concern for his safety.

venezuela
nicolas maduro
mike pence
brazil
jair bolsonaro
u.s .
juan guaido


A right to vacation? NYC idea prompts debate over having paid days off

Abstract: NEW YORK - A debate over whether New York City should require paid vacation in a pioneering move has both sides saying: Give me a break. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants New York to become the first place in the 50 states to make private businesses provide time off with pay. He casts the idea, which is awaiting City Council action, as a next frontier in workers’ rights. His plan resonates with people like Barbara Vasquez, a former Manhattan retail worker who has struggled with health problems that exhausted the sick leave she accrued as a part-timer. The 25-year-old likes working and needed the money, but she quit after a little over a year to nurture her health. “Paid vacations would have helped,” said Vasquez. “I actually think I would have been a much better employee because I wouldn’t have been so burned out.” But some owners of small business in the city say paid vacation would pile on pressures following increases in the minimum wage and a requirement for paid sick leave in recent years. Under the Democratic mayor’s proposal, most businesses would have to give full-time workers at least 10 paid vacation days a year, pro-rated for part-timers, besides sick time. Dawn Casale, the founder of One Girl Cookies, a Brooklyn bakery with three retail shops and about 40 employees, said, “I would love to be able to provide vacation time to my employees … but the reality of it is not whether or not we want to give it — it’s whether we can give it.” They get paid time off after five years, or if they are managers; others can arrange unpaid vacation, she said. Casale says she is not against the mayor’s proposal but feels the city needs to help small businesses make ends meet, perhaps by helping them negotiate health insurance as a group. “You can’t weather every storm,” said Casale, who said she stopped searching for a fourth location because she doesn’t find the city conducive to expanding her business. Many countries require paid vacation, as does the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. But experts on labor law aren’t aware of any similar laws within the 50 American states. Still, about three-quarters of private-sector workers had the benefit as of 2017, the latest federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Federal employees and most state and local government workers also get paid time off. An estimated 500,000 full- and part-time workers in New York City shops, restaurants and other businesses don’t, city officials estimate. “They miss parent-teacher conferences, they miss school plays, they miss weddings, they miss family occasions, they miss funerals,” de Blasio said in January. And “sometimes people just need a break,” the mayor said. “You ever hear the phrase ‘mental health day?'” Proposals for a paid vacation law have been floated in the Democrat-dominated City Council for five years, and Speaker Corey Johnson says he supports the concept. He said he is reviewing the mayor’s plan, which would apply to all businesses with five or more employees, and monitoring a different version that has been introduced in the council. Eleven states and dozens of cities have passed laws on paid sick leave in the last 13 years, though several other states blocked them. Advocates see paid vacation as a logical next step. “We shouldn’t have to argue that people have more than one reason that they need time,” said Ellen Bravo, director of Family Values @ Work, a national network of campaigns for paid sick leave. They have pitched sick days partly as a public-health benefit: Encouraging ailing people to stay home would help curb contagion. De Blasio acknowledged vacation doesn’t have the same impact on the population at large. But he said it is “not a healthy society” when half a million New Yorkers can’t take a personal day without taking a financial hit. Andrew Rigie, who runs the industry group NYC Hospitality Alliance, says that what is not healthy is the business climate for some members of the group. Many restaurants have told the alliance they plan to cut jobs or workers’ hours this year because of minimum wage hikes — they vary by business size and other factors — let alone any potential paid vacation requirement, Rigie said. “We’re concerned that there may not be the types of opportunity that there have been for people” in a field traditionally accessible to immigrants, students and others, he said. The mayor questions the argument that paid vacations will cost jobs overall. He notes that similar arguments were made about the 2014 sick-leave law, but employment grew. The total number of jobs in New York City was up 11.8 percent over the five years that ended in December, compared to 9.4 percent in the nation as a whole. Vasquez, meanwhile, is feeling better and job-hunting with some help from the Retail Action Project, a workers’ advocacy group. She says if she someday got a job with paid days off, she wouldn’t use them lightly. “For me, vacations would be more for my health,” she said.

new york city
bill de blasio
labor laws
u.s .
holidays


Al-Qaida-linked jihadis kill at least 33 Assad regime ranks in Syria despite truce, monitor says

Abstract: BEIRUT - At least 33 pro-regime fighters were killed Sunday in attacks mounted by jihadi groups near Idlib province, in the deadliest day in six months for loyalist forces, a monitor said. Twenty-seven fighters were killed in two attacks by Ansar al-Tawhid jihadis, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “Five jihadists were also killed,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based monitoring group. Ansar al-Tawhid has ties to the larger Hurras al-Deen group, which is also active in the area of northwest Syria. Both are considered semi-official franchises of al-Qaida in Syria. The area of Idlib and small parts of the adjacent provinces of Hama and Aleppo are mostly controlled by the rival Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization. HTS is led by fighters who formerly belonged to al-Qaida’s ex-affiliate in Syria. The attacks by Ansar al-Tawhid were carried out against regime positions in Masasna, a village in Hama province, the Observatory said. A military source quoted by state news agency SANA confirmed soldiers had been killed and wounded in the attacks on their positions near Idlib province. Loyalists forces had killed some assailants, the source added without giving figures. The foreign ministry said Syria “will not allow terrorists and those who are behind them to carry on with their attacks against innocent civilians and the armed forces. In Latakia province, also northwest of the capital, at least six pro-regime fighters were killed in attacks by HTS militants later on Sunday, the Observatory said. According to Abdel Rahman, the latest spate of attacks caused “one of the highest casualty figures among regime ranks since the Putin-Erdogan deal. He was referring to an accord struck in the Russian resort of Sochi by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Under the Sept. 17 truce deal, Turkey would exert its influence over anti-regime groups in the Idlib region to have them pull back fighters and heavy weapons from a demilitarized zone. It was meant to stave off a planned offensive by the regime and its Russian backers that aid groups feared could spark the eight-year-old Syrian conflict’s worst humanitarian crisis to date. The government assault on the last major bastion of rebel forces has been held off but the deal’s provisions have not been implemented. Since the Sochi agreement, HTS has consolidated its grip on Idlib province.

al-qaida
syria
idlib
hama
recep tayyip erdogan
turkey
conflict
russia
bashar assad


Two young California sisters missing since Friday found 'safe and sound' after frantic search

Abstract: EUREKA, CALIFORNIA - Two young sisters missing from their Northern California home since Friday afternoon were found alive Sunday following a massive search that included helicopters and tracking dogs. Leia Carrico, 8, and Caroline Carrico, 5, were found “safe and sound” on Sunday morning by a fire captain and firefighter who had followed the girls’ boot tracks, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said. “This is an absolute miracle,” he said. Though the girls were dehydrated and cold, they were uninjured and “in good spirits,” Honsal said. He said the girls were trained in outdoor survival through their local 4-H club and that authorities believed that helped them. They also were wearing boots and had eaten granola bars at some point while they were missing, he said. “To have a positive outcome like this is just absolutely amazing,” Honsal said. Using helicopters and tracking dogs, dozens of police and rescue personnel combed a vast and rugged rural area in the frantic search for the sisters. The girls had last been seen around 2:30 p.m. Friday outside their home in Benbow, a small community about 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Sacramento. The searchers included National Guard members from Fresno and the U.S. Coast Guard, which provided one of its helicopters on top of a Black Hawk helicopter also being used. Rescuers were hopeful about finding the girls Saturday after they came across prints from the girls’ rubber boots and wrappers from the granola bars, Lt. Mike Fridley said. “The wrappers showed us a direction from where they started to where the wrappers ended up at,” Fridley said. Fridley said he was the one who got to call the girls’ mother and tell them her daughters were alive. “She melted on the phone,” he said. Honsal described the search area as vast, rugged and rural and the conditions as cold and sporadically rainy.


Five years on, Malaysia open to resuming MH370 hunt as firm offers 'no cure, no fee' search

Abstract: KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s transport minister said Sunday that the government is open to new proposals from U.S. technology firm Ocean Infinity or any other companies to resume the hunt for Flight 370, as families of passengers marked the fifth anniversary of the jet’s mysterious disappearance. Ocean Infinity mounted a “no cure, no fee” search for the plane in the southern Indian Ocean in January 2018 that ended in May without any clue on where it could have crashed. But the company’s CEO, Oliver Plunkett, said in a video shown at the public remembrance event at a mall near Kuala Lumpur that the company hopes to resume the hunt with better technology it obtained in the past year. The Ocean Infinity mission came a year after an official search by Malaysia, Australia and China ended in futility. Plunkett said his company has better technology now after successfully locating an Argentinian submarine in November, a year after it went missing. He said the firm is still reviewing all possible data on Flight 370 and thinking about how it can revive its failed mission. “We haven’t given up hope. … We hope we can continue the search in due course,” Plunkett said. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said it’s been frustrating that the two searches failed to produce any clues and that he “welcomes credible leads and also concrete proposals to resume the search.” He told reporters later Sunday that the government is “waiting for specific proposals, in particular from Ocean Infinity.” He brushed off suggestions of offering rewards to find the plane, but said the government is willing to discuss proposals from any companies prepared to resume the search. “There must be a proposal from a specific company … we cannot just be out there without credible leads. That’s the most practical thing to do,” Loke said. The plane vanished with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Confirmed debris that washed ashore in the western Indian Ocean helped narrow the search area where Ocean Infinity focused, but it failed to uncover any evidence. A Malaysian-led independent investigation report released last July showed lapses in the government’s response and raised the possibility of “intervention by a third party.” Investigators, however, said the cause of the disappearance cannot be determined until the wreckage and the plane’s black boxes are found. The report reiterated Malaysia’s assertion that the plane was deliberately diverted and flown for over seven hours after severing communications. But it said there was no evidence of abnormal behavior or stress in the two pilots that could lead them to hijack the plane. All the other passengers were also cleared by police and had no pilot training. Voice 370, a support group for next-of-kin, expressed hope that the new government that won a general election in May last year will do more to encourage search missions and seek new clues. The group’s spokeswoman, Grace Nathan, urged the government to set aside up to $70 million — the amount it agreed to pay Ocean Infinity had it found the plane — to encourage exploration companies to take on “no cure, no fee” missions so that Flight 370’s passengers will not have died in vain. “It is a wound that cannot heal” if there is no closure, Nathan said. Another family member, K.S. Narendran of India, said the burden is on Malaysia’s government to be proactive and not wait for credible evidence to fall on its lap. He said there has been no government effort to find more debris on African beaches and Indian Ocean islands, where scattered pieces of the Boeing 777 have been found. Two of three pieces of debris confirmed to be from the plane were on public display for the first time at the remembrance event, where family members lit candles and sang songs in tribute to their loved ones. Relatives and supporters wore light blue T-shirts that read, “It’s not history, it’s the future. Fly safely,” as they reminded the government that the mystery must be solved to ensure aviation safety.

ocean infinity
malaysia airlines
flight mh370
air accidents


U.S. and South Korea kick off smaller-scale military drills as Trump blasts costs

Abstract: The U.S. and South Korea militaries began a new, smaller-scale joint exercise Monday after the Trump administration canceled large-scale drills just days after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi for their second summit that ended without any deal on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. The Combined Forces Command said in a statement Monday that the two militaries will conduct the new exercise, named “Dong Maeng” in Korean, or “Alliance” in English, and other lower-level drills to replace the Foal Eagle field training. The Alliance drills are to run for nine days — half the duration of the computer-simulated Key Resolve tabletop exercise. The new drill will focus on “strategic, operational, and tactical aspects of general military operations,” the statement said. Trump has repeatedly criticized the joint military drills — which he calls “war games” — as a waste of money, a view he reiterated in a tweet Sunday. “The reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed,” Trump tweeted. “That was my position long before I became President. Also, reducing tensions with North Korea at this time is a good thing!” The decision to halt the large-scale exercises came after Trump’s second summit with Kim last week collapsed. Asked about any potential impact of the change, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s top government spokesman, said he believes Washington’s commitment to the defense of its allies, including Japan, remains unchanged. “We intend to continue to work closely with the United States and South Korea to realize regional peace and stability,” the chief Cabinet secretary told a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. The Pentagon and the Defense Ministry in Seoul formally announced the cancellation of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises over the weekend. The move “reflected our desire to reduce tension and support our diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a final, fully verified manner,” the Pentagon said. South Korea’s Defense Ministry confirmed the decision, saying it was done to pursue “permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.” Ending the military drills meets a long-standing demand of North Korea, which has long viewed the exercises with suspicion, calling them a rehearsal for invasion. In his annual New Year’s speech, Kim called for an end to the joint drills, as well as the deployment of U.S. “strategic assets” such as B-52 bombers, stealth warplanes, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. “Given that North and South committed themselves to advancing along the road of peace and prosperity, we maintain that the joint military exercises with foreign forces, which constitute the source of aggravating the situation on the Korean Peninsula, should no longer be permitted and the introduction of war equipment including strategic assets from outside should completely be suspended,” he said in the address. Asked about the exercises at a news conference following the Hanoi summit, Trump alleged that the drills cost the U.S. “$100 million every time we do it.” However U.S. defense officials have said that another, similar exercise that Trump suspended last year, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, would have cost around $14 million. The U.S. military has a budget of more than $700 billion. “We spent hundreds of millions of dollars on those exercises, and I hated to see it. I thought it was unfair,” he said at the news conference. “And, frankly, I was, sort of, of the opinion that South Korea should help us with that. You know, we’re protecting South Korea. I think they should help us with that.” In comments that were likely to send a shiver down the spines of Japanese officials, Trump also alluded to other countries where U.S. troops are stationed — including Japan, which has parried with Trump over basing costs for American forces. “We don’t get reimbursed — we’re spending a tremendous amount of money on many countries, protecting countries that are very rich that can certainly afford to pay us and then some.” Some critics have lambasted Trump over his views on U.S. alliances, saying he sees them merely as “protection rackets,” while others have lamented the move as “an alarming development.” In an editorial Monday, the South Korean JoongAng Ilbo daily said that “if such pivotal drills are cut back, it will . . . certainly weaken the combat capability of the Combined Forces Command. “That’s like taking a test without studying,” it said. Still, some have called the idea of ending the joint exercises an idea whose time has come as the U.S. comes to grips with the North as a de facto nuclear power. “The president deserves credit for taking a long overdue and politically difficult step,” retired U.S. Army Col. William McKinney, a North Korea expert, wrote after Trump’s announcement at the conclusion of last year’s Singapore summit with Kim that he would scrap some exercises. Instead of the large-scale exercises, McKinney recommended an approach that appeared similar to the newly announced Alliance drills. “Given how much the North Koreans detest exercises that are intended to demonstrate the U.S.-ROK capacity to ‘decapitate’ the North Korean leadership and overthrow the Kim regime, his surprising commitment is the most strategically significant confidence-building measure that could be made,” McKinney wrote last June on the North Korea-monitoring 38 North website, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

south korea
military
donald trump
north korea
kim jong un
u.s .
nuclear weapons
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


China vows 'reasonable' rise in defense spending ahead of budget's release

Abstract: China will maintain “a reasonable and appropriate growth rate” for defense spending this year, a top government spokesman said Monday ahead of the release of the country’s defense budget — a closely watched indicator of Beijing’s strategic intentions. Zhang Yesui, the spokesman for the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber-stamp national legislature, said China’s “limited defense spending,” which he said is aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, “poses no threat to any other country,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported. “China maintains a reasonable and appropriate growth rate in its defense expenditure to meet its demand in safeguarding national security and military reform with Chinese characteristics,” Zhang Yesui, a former ambassador to Washington, said. The legislature is expected to unveil the defense budget Tuesday. Last year, China boosted its defense spending 8.1 percent from 2017 to 1.11 trillion yuan ($165 billion), the largest increase in three years as leader Xi Jinping seeks to turn the country’s military into a “world-class” force. Under Xi, China’s military has undergone a massive modernization push to turn it into one that can protect Beijing’s interests as disputes roil relations with the U.S., its neighbors and old foe Japan. The focus on creating a more potent fighting force has seen Beijing pour cash into projects such as a second aircraft carrier, integrating stealth fighters into its air force and fielding an array of advanced missiles that can strike air and sea targets from long distances. It has also seen the Chinese military increasingly sent further from its shores, sometimes facing off with the U.S., Japan and others near disputed islands in the South and East China seas. Zhang, however, touted Beijing’s “peaceful development,” reiterating the ruling Communist Party’s boiler-plate line that its defense policy “is defensive in nature.” Preparing for a possible backlash when the budget is released Tuesday, Zhang zeroed in on his country’s policies, calling them key to understanding China’s intentions. “Whether a country is a military threat to others or not is not determined by its increase in defense expenditure, but by the diplomatic and national defense policies it adopts,” he said. China has seen its defense budgets grow at a single-digit clip since 2016 after five consecutive years of double digit increases. Those years of double-digit growth have given China the world’s second-largest defense budget after the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will seek $750 billion from Congress for defense spending next year. In December, Japan’s unveiled a record-high draft defense budget for fiscal 2019 that saw expenditures rise to ¥5.26 trillion (approximately $47 billion) from ¥5.19 trillion the previous year. But despite China’s claims, both the Pentagon and U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency have said that Beijing’s “poor accounting transparency” meant the numbers could be significantly lower than its actual expenditures. “The formal defense budget process does not include funding for foreign weapons procurement, some research and development (R&D), and certain personnel benefits,” the DIA wrote in its 2019 China Military Power Report released in January. “Other government ministries distribute defense funds in addition to extrabudgetary funds that supplement personnel living subsidies, equipment maintenance, and other budgetary items.”


China says detained Canadian is suspected of spying

Abstract: BEIJING - China suspects detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig of spying and stealing state secrets, state media reported Monday, turning up the heat in a diplomatic row between Beijing and Ottawa as a top Huawei executive faces possible extradition. Another Canadian in Chinese detention — businessman Michael Spavor — was one of Kovrig’s main sources of intelligence, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing authorities. The pair were detained in December in what observers see as retaliation just days after Canada arrested Chinese telecom giant Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the United States. Chinese authorities had previously said the two Canadian men were under investigation on suspicion of endangering national security. Spying charges could expose them to tough prison sentences. Kovrig, who now works for the International Crisis Group think tank, had often entered China using a nondiplomatic passport and business visas and has been gathering intelligence since 2017, Xinhua said. The new allegations come three days after Canada launched the extradition process against Meng, angering Beijing, which called the action a “severe political incident.” Meng will be in court in Vancouver on Wednesday to schedule a date for her extradition hearing. The United States wants to put her on trial on fraud charges for alleged Iran sanctions-busting and lying to U.S. banks about it. Ottawa has said the two Canadian citizens were “arbitrarily” detained and that interrogations of Kovrig breached the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations — allegations Beijing flatly rejected. A group of Canadian parliamentarians had earlier complained to Chinese authorities that Kovrig and Spavor have been denied access to lawyers, and remain in “completely unacceptable” detention conditions. “China’s approach is no different from the rest of the world in dealing with such cases involving national security cases,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing Monday. China will handle their case in “strict accordance with the law, guarantee the legitimate rights of Kovrig and Spavor,” and arrange for consular visits, a report by a Communist Party organ overseeing state and public security said in a report on a news website it operates. Meanwhile, Meng, 47, has filed suit against Canadian authorities for violating her constitutional rights when she was detained at Vancouver International Airport. Her lawyers charge impropriety in the conditions under which Meng was interrogated for three hours by the customs officers, officially as part of a routine inspection, before being served with her arrest. During those three hours, the customs officers searched her phones and computers as well as her luggage, in violation of her rights, the lawyers said. The U.S. Justice Department accuses Huawei and its chief financial officer of circumventing U.S. sanctions against Iran, but also, via two affiliates, stealing trade secrets from U.S. telecommunications group T-Mobile. The daughter of Huawei’s founder, Meng was released on parole in mid-December in Vancouver, where she owns two residences, on a bond deposit of 10 million Canadian dollars ($6.6 million), wearing an electronic bracelet and handing over her passports. The extradition procedure can take months or even years because of the many appeal possibilities.


Myanmar police seize massive haul of 10 million meth pills, likely bound for Bangladesh

Abstract: YANGON - Myanmar authorities seized more than 10 million meth pills worth $13.3 million over the weekend, police said Monday, another massive haul in a country widely believed to be the world’s largest methamphetamine producer. High-grade crystal meth — or ‘ice’ — is smuggled out of Myanmar via sophisticated networks to lucrative developed markets as far away as Japan, South Korea and Australia. Lower-quality pills, cut with caffeine and known in the region as “yaba” or “crazy medicine,” are pumped out to feed the voracious domestic market as well as large drug-addicted communities in nearby Thailand and Bangladesh. Two different busts took place in the west of the country at the weekend, state-run media said Monday, one in Magway region and one in Maungdaw in Rakhine state. “It’s the biggest drugs seizure this year in the country and the biggest ever in Maungdaw region in Rakhine state,” police Col. Win Ko Ko said. The pills were likely destined for Bangladesh, where they have become an easy source of income for the Rohingya Muslim refugees who have poured across the border since a 2017 military crackdown. Most of the drug production, however, takes place on the other side of Myanmar, in conflict-ridden eastern Shan state. Much of the state lies outside of central control with a complex web of rebel ethnic armed groups and militias wielding power and linking up with trafficking networks. Opium farming is also rife, and Myanmar remains the world’s second largest producer of the drug after Afghanistan. The poppy-covered hills also provide an ideal location for illicit meth labs, with a largely unchecked supply of precursor chemicals flooding-in from China. Accurate production figures are impossible to obtain, but experts say that large seizures have had no effect on drug prices — suggesting they are only a small proportion of the total.


As pool of candidates in rural Japan dwindles, Kochi village to allow councilors to retain side jobs

Abstract: OSAKA - Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs. The measure goes into effect on April 1. Okawa’s six seats are up for re-election in the April 21 nationwide local town and village assembly elections. Japanese law forbids residents from serving as local assembly members while working as private contractors for the municipalities they serve. But the exact definition of a contractor is not clear. Okawa’s new rules will allow contractors to continue to receive income from their businesses if there is little danger that doing so will damage the impartiality of their public duties. Local firms whose public works contracts with the village come to less than 50 percent of the income of their main business are exempt from the rule forbidding them to run for an assembly seat. The mayor will make yearly announcements of the names of firms who meet these requirements, thus allowing their owners to run for seats. Okawa, with a population of 406, made national news in 2017 when its mayor, Kazuhito Wada, warned that the declining population made finding candidates to run for local office ever more difficult. At the time, Wada said it was time to discuss dissolving the town council and introducing direct democracy. Ultimately, it was decided that the council would continue with prefectural assistance. But in a 2017 interview with The Japan Times, Wada said the strict rules governing side jobs by local assembly members needed to be reconsidered. “Many of our residents are engaged in private businesses. But they rely on that income and don’t want to run for office if they have to give it up,” Wada said. Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that just over a fifth, or 21.8 percent, of Japan’s town and village assembly seats in the 2015 local elections went uncontested. As many localities have elderly and declining populations, the problem is expected to get worse in the coming years without fundamental changes to local elections laws, Wada added.

kochi
population
elderly
elections
depopulation
local government