Japanese government adopts revised policy for disaster reconstruction

Abstract: The government adopted Friday a revised basic policy for the reconstruction of areas affected by the March 2011 disasters, which features the establishment of a successor body to the Reconstruction Agency. The existing agency is to be dissolved by the end of March 2021, 10 years after the Tohoku region and other areas were hit by the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent triple core meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant. In the revised policy, adopted at a Cabinet meeting, the government made clear that it will establish the successor institution to complete reconstruction. It also plans to create a ministerial post at the new body. Based on a set of proposals for accelerating reconstruction, to be compiled by the ruling camp this summer at the earliest, the government plans to submit related bills to the Diet next year. “We’re now at a crucial point where we need to set sure courses for final-stage reconstruction and Fukushima’s full-scale reconstruction,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting for discussion on how to promote reconstruction, which was held before the Cabinet meeting. The prime minister instructed relevant officials to work on bringing about the organization that will take over the current functions of the Reconstruction Agency, which is now set up directly under the Cabinet. In the latest review of the basic policy, the government said the successor body needs to play the role of a commander, just like the Reconstruction Agency, to eliminate vertically divided administrative functions. But the government stopped short of working out the details of the new organization, only saying it will consider setting up the successor body based on requests from affected municipalities and how reconstruction measures are making progress. Because the government-declared reconstruction period ends in fiscal 2020, issues expected to remain in fiscal 2021 and onward, as well as ways to tackle them, were indicated in the revised basic policy. Noting that mid- to long-term responses are necessary for the reconstruction of Fukushima, the government stressed that it will continue to spearhead efforts to rebuild affected areas in the prefecture. The government will also continue to support psychological care for affected residents and offer assistance for children’s school attendance in areas outside Fukushima that suffered severe damage in the earthquake and tsunami.

disasters reconstruction tohoku earthquakes tsunami fukushima


For award-winning author, 3/11 drama is one that Fukushima students need to tell and Tokyo needs to see

Abstract: MINAMISOMA, FUKUSHIMA PREF. - Writer Miri Yu is one of many people whose lives have been deeply affected by the March 2011 disaster that hit the Tohoku region. Four years ago, the winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1997, moved to Fukushima Prefecture, home to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s crippled nuclear plant. Last year, Yu revived a theater group she headed before receiving the prize in order to produce plays that illustrate the experiences of disaster victims, and a play she wrote on the topic will be performed in Tokyo on March 15 to 17 featuring drama club students from Fukushima’s Futaba Future High School. The play, “Seibutsuga” (“Still-life Painting”), is the first such work. Yu has opened a bookshop and a theater in Minamisoma’s Odaka district, where she lives, which is located around 20 kilometers from the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The government lifted its evacuation advisory for the district three years ago. The bookshop and theater are designed to be a gathering space for people who have returned home following the lifting of the evacuation order, Yu said. The first performance of “Seibutsuga,” directed by Yu, was held at the theater last September. Initially, Yu had not planned to bring the play to audiences outside Fukushima. But she changed her mind after realizing that “few people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area see the disaster as their own problem, and that tendency has become stronger each year.” She felt there was a special significance to performing the play in Tokyo, she said. “Seibutsuga” was originally a play that Yu wrote when she was 21 about high school students’ adolescence. In the remade version, Yu gathered accounts of the disaster from Futaba Future High School students and incorporated them into the characters. There were students who recalled their houses being swept away by the tsunami and being bullied at their new schools after the disaster. “At the time, the students were in the second to fourth grades at elementary school, and some of them still find it difficult to come to terms with the emotions they experienced,” Yu said. “They need an outlet that can bring out their sadness and suffering, and they can do so through acting, by saying the words out loud,” she said. Early last month, the actors were rehearsing a scene in which students in the play shout the names of the towns they were born and raised in. Given their experiences, their emotional words carried a great deal of weight. One of the actors, Mio Tsurugai, 18, is a third-year student at the school. Her house in the town of Tomioka was demolished after being badly damaged by the disaster, and part of the town remains off-limits due to its proximity to the Fukushima No. 1 plant. When her character discusses her feelings in the play, “it doesn’t feel like they’re lines,” Tsurugai said. She used to think of the disaster as something that is “covered with sadness only,” but said her perspective has shifted since she started to perform in the play. “The disaster was an experience. I’m now able to feel that the experience is something that has made me what I am now,” Tsurugai said. The play has a girls’ version and a boys’ version that will be performed alternately. “Each person’s voice and personal history can’t be lumped together because each is different and special,” Yu said. “That’s what I want to stress in the play.”

fukushima
miri yu
disasters
theater
fukushima no . 1
children
teens
3.11


Japan's Cabinet adopts bills to ban harassment and promote women's advancement

Abstract: The Cabinet approved Friday a series of legal revisions banning any form of workplace harassment and obligating companies to prevent abuses of power or bullying. The package of bills, also aimed at promoting the advancement of working women at smaller firms, will take effect in stages from fiscal 2020 at the earliest if passed by the Diet during the current session. Under the bills, harassment by those taking advantage of their more senior positions at the workplace is specified as a prohibited act. But the legislation does not set punitive measures to be taken against violators. The government will also set guidelines that give specific examples of abuse of power after many companies said it is difficult to distinguish between harassment and coaching by bosses. The new regulation will prohibit disadvantageous treatment of workers who report they are the target of sexual harassment. In addition, firms whose employees sexually harass someone at another company are required to make sufficient efforts to cooperate with that company when it investigates the matter. To promote women’s social advancement, the government will oblige small and midsize companies, which employ 101 to 300 workers, to set numerical goals for promoting women to senior posts. It has already imposed such rules for bigger companies. Large firms will be required to disclose information such as the percentage of female executives on their staff as well as how many female or male workers have taken child care leave. The government will make public the names of companies defying the rule. A survey conducted in 2016 by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on 10,000 workers and 4,587 companies with at least 30 employees showed that about 1 in 3 workers has experienced harassment by bosses over the three years, up from 1 in 4 in the previous poll in 2012. However, about 41 percent of those harassed did not take action, with the majority saying that even if they did, they thought nothing would be done about the problem. Some also refrained from taking action due to fears that it would damage their next job performance evaluation. Although there has been an increasing awareness of power harassment over the past few years, nearly half of the companies, or 47.4 percent, had not taken preventive measures.


Three teachers in Tochigi referred to prosecutors over 8 students killed in avalanche in 2017

Abstract: UTSUNOMIYA - Three high school teachers were referred to prosecutors Friday over an ill-fated mountaineering lesson at a ski resort in Tochigi Prefecture that resulted in eight deaths in an avalanche in March 2017. The three, including Hisao Sugamata, 50, who led a group of students from Otawara High School in Tochigi Prefecture, are suspected of professional negligence after deciding to conduct snow-wading lessons despite the risk of an avalanche following an evening of heavy snowfall. In the avalanche, which occurred near the ski resort in the town of Nasu the following morning, on March 27, 2017, seven students and a teacher died and five other students were injured. The incident was one of Japan’s deadliest avalanche disasters in decades. The prefectural education board suspended the three teachers in March last year for three to five months.


Japan targets more coordination with firms and NGOs to get most out of development aid

Abstract: Japan will join with private companies and nongovernmental organizations to make more efficient and effective use of official development assistance, one of Tokyo’s key diplomatic pillars, according to a white paper released by the Foreign Ministry on Friday. The annual report on development cooperation reflects Tokyo’s review of the ODA it provides to promote economic and social advancements in developing nations. “It will become even more necessary to strengthen coordination among various aid providers,” the ministry said in the white paper. “The ministry will deepen discussion with various parties involved and carry out ODA provision in a more efficient and effective way.” Japan was the world’s largest provider of ODA in 2000, but fell to third place — after the United States and Germany — in 2017, spending around $18.46 billion. The nation’s increasingly poor fiscal situation prompted calls for the review. Japan has already declared an end to its ODA support for China, provided since 1979, which helped that country’s ascent to its status as the world’s second-largest economic power, saying the neighbors are now “equal partners.” The total amount of ODA extended to China over the four-decade period exceeded ¥3.6 trillion ($32 billion), enabling it to improve infrastructure and tackle environmental problems such as air pollution. The latest report, however, stressed the importance of ODA in achieving a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, the initiative advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ensure the smooth movement of people and goods, and the rules-based order. Humanitarian assistance is also a priority area. Tokyo will continue to provide support to the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group who have fled to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown in Myanmar, and to pave the way for their repatriation, the ministry said. Focused on nonmilitary contributions, Japan’s assistance aims to improve human security globally. Its ODA includes grant aid, loans and technical cooperation. As host of the Group of 20 summit in June and an international conference on African development in August, 2019 is a “critical year” to meet U.N. Sustainable Development Goals — a set of targets to be attained by 2030 in areas such as poverty, inequality, climate and peace, the ministry said. “Japan will show the world that it is a strong promoter of SDGs and exercise leadership,” it said. The white paper is compiled every year to outline, with statistics, Japan’s contributions in development assistance.

development aid china indo-pacific rohingya charlity


Japanese business spending rose 5.7% in October-December quarter from 2017

Abstract: Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 5.7 percent in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment increased for the ninth straight quarter, totaling ¥12.05 trillion. Pretax profits at companies covered in the Finance Ministry’s survey fell 7.0 percent to ¥19.48 trillion. Sales climbed 3.7 percent to ¥371.62 trillion. The Cabinet Office is scheduled to release revised gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2018 on March 8, taking into account the latest capital spending figures. Preliminary GDP data showed the world’s third-largest economy grew an annualized real 1.4 percent in the quarter, recovering modestly from a string of natural disasters in the summer.

capital spending
finance ministry
economic indicators
financial results


Huawei units plead not guilty in Seattle court to T-Mobile trade secret theft

Abstract: NEW YORK - Huawei Device Co. Ltd. and Huawei Device USA Inc. pleaded not guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle on fraud, trade secrets conspiracy and other charges, the Justice Department said. The units of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. were arraigned and Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez set trial for March 2, 2020. The two companies were charged in an indictment unsealed in January that they conspired to steal T-Mobile US Inc trade secrets. T-Mobile had accused Huawei of stealing the technology, called “Tappy,” which mimicked human fingers and was used to test smartphones. Huawei has said the two companies settled their disputes in 2017. The charges added to pressure from the U.S. government on Huawei, the world’s biggest telecommunications equipment maker. Washington is trying to prevent American companies from buying Huawei routers and switches and is pressing allies to do the same. A senior U.S. cyber official said on Tuesday that European governments were listening to the U.S. message that Huawei exposes telecommunications networks to security risks. No evidence of spying has been presented publicly even as scrutiny on Huawei has intensified.

huawei
seattle
t-mobile
tappy
smartphones
tech
industrial espionage


Boeing lands huge British Airways order in wake of Airbus ditching A380 line

Abstract: LONDON - British Airways announced a multibillion dollar order for up to 42 Boeing 777 fuel-efficient passenger jets on Thursday, just two weeks after Airbus said it would no longer make its A380 superjumbo. BA-parent IAG said its British carrier would purchase 18 777-9 planes made by the U.S. giant, while an option for a further 24 of the aircraft could bring the total cost to $18.6 billion (€16.3 billion) at list prices, before the usual heavy discounts are factored in. It comes as IAG, which owns several airlines, including Iberia and Aer Lingus, said group net profits last year soared 45 percent to €2.9 billion on higher passenger numbers and lower costs. Separately, U.K. engineering group Rolls-Royce said it dived into a net loss last year as its Trent jet engines were hit by costly repairs — as well as the decision by Boeing’s European rival Airbus to pull the plug on the A380. IAG on Thursday said the 777s would replace BA’s Boeing 747s, which were seen as a competitor to the A380. Rolls posted an annual loss after tax of £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion, €2.8 billion) in 2018 that followed a net profit of nearly £3.4 billion a year earlier, as the group also decided to ax thousands of jobs as part of vast restructuring. The British company also said it no longer wished to be a candidate to make the engine for a new midsize passenger jet proposed by Boeing. “Rolls-Royce has decided to withdraw from the current competition to power Boeing’s proposed middle of the market — or New Midsize Airplane (NMA) — platform,” Rolls said in a statement. “While we believe the platform complements Boeing’s existing product range, we are unable to commit to the proposed timetable to ensure we have a sufficiently mature product which supports Boeing’s ambition for the aircraft and satisfies our own internal requirements for technical maturity at entry into service.” Chicago-based Boeing is looking at building an NMA, or single-aisle commercial jet for long-haul journeys, to fill a gap in the market — but concrete plans have yet to be announced. On Thursday, Rolls said that costs linked to problems with its Trent 1000 engine that powers the Boeing Dreamliner stood at a higher-than-expected £790 million in 2018. The Trent 1000 has seen some parts wear quicker than expected, forcing Rolls to carry out expensive repairs. It added that last year’s earnings were hit by an additional £186 million “following Airbus’ decision to close the A380 production line. On British Airways’ big Boeing order, IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a joint statement: “The new 777-9 is the world’s most fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft and will bring many benefits to British Airways fleet. “It’s the ideal replacement for the 747 and its size and range will be an excellent fit for the airline’s existing network,” Walsh added. Earlier in February, Airbus said it would stop building the A380 superjumbo. The European titan axed production of the double-decker jet on Feb. 14 after failing to win over enough airlines to justify its massive costs. Prior to Airbus’ announcement, Walsh had said that IAG was “very pleased” with the 12 A380s operated by BA and called it an “excellent” aircraft. However, Walsh had criticized the high cost of the A380, pointing to the “great competition” currently existing between aircraft manufacturers. Speaking Thursday of the BA order, Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: “The 777-9, in particular, simply has no competitor in its class when it comes to efficiency and performance. “It is the right-sized airplane for British Airways to efficiently serve long-range routes with heavy passenger demand.” Despite news of IAG’s bumper profits, the airline’s stock slid 0.2 percent lower to finish at 599 pence on London’s FTSE 100 shares index, which closed down 0.46 percent. Boeing’s share price advanced 0.54 percent to $437.81 in early trades in New York. The news comes amid troubled times for smaller airlines, who are more exposed to volatile jet fuel prices, Brexit uncertainty and a global economic slowdown than their larger rivals. “The British Airways parent has produced an outstanding performance, which is particularly impressive given the difficulties being faced elsewhere in the airline industry,” noted Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.


Job-hunting begins for Japan's spring 2020 graduates amid labor crunch

Abstract: Companies started Friday to offer employment seminars for third-year university students due to graduate in spring 2020, marking the opening of the last job-hunting season under the rules set by Japan’s biggest business lobby. The job market continues to be favorable to students as the country deals with a severe labor shortage. Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation) sets guidelines for the corporate hiring of students and March 1 is designated as the day on which companies can begin giving students briefings about job opportunities. But more companies, such as non-Keidanren members, have begun to ignore the guidelines and make moves earlier in recent years with a goal of securing young talent. Keidanren has decided to abolish the guidelines starting with students graduating in 2021. A two-day joint corporate seminar hosted by Recruit Career Co. began at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture on Friday. Some 1,000 companies and around 24,000 students are expected to take part, according to Recruit Career. Although Keidanren asks companies to refrain from conducting interviews until June, a survey by job information provider Mynavi Corp. shows 35.2 percent of companies said they would start job interviews with students this month, up 5.8 points from a year before. The proportion is higher than for any other month. Last year, many companies held such interviews in April. “Companies are increasingly front-loading the employee selection process on the back of labor shortages,” explained Takuya Kurita, head of Mynavi’s research and marketing division. The government will instead oversee the rules, as some colleges are concerned their students wouldn’t be able to focus on studying otherwise.

jobs
universities
keidanren
makuhari messe


New York probing Facebook on gathering of intimate data from apps: source

Abstract: NEW YORK - New York regulators are probing Facebook’s gathering of intimate consumer data such as menstrual cycles and body weight through smartphone applications, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. Facebook, meanwhile, confirmed it had received a letter from New York state’s Department of Financial Services seeking information about the sharing of data. The regulator, best known for cracking down on large banks, demanded that Facebook provide the names of all the companies that have sent the social media company data about users of their applications over the past three years, according to the source. Other requests were sent to application developers for information on their contracts with Facebook. A Wall Street Journal report on Feb. 22 found that intimate data could be shared with Facebook from at least 11 popular apps using a tool designed to help target ads, even if users were not Facebook members. Information collected by apps included personal details regarding body weight, pregnancy status, ovulation and home shopping, according to the Journal. Facebook said it was reviewing the request. “It’s common for developers to share information with a wide range of platforms for advertising and analytics,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “We require the other app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us, and we prohibit app developers from sending us sensitive data. We also take steps to detect and remove data that should not be shared with us.” The New York probe comes amid a broadening debate over online privacy. Interest and industry groups testified this week at hearings on Capitol Hill on options to strengthen protection following a number of high-profile scandals involving Facebook and other tech giants.


January jobless rate edges up as more Japanese women quit jobs to look for better opportunities

Abstract: The unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month to 2.5 percent in January, reflecting a rising number of women quitting their jobs for better positions amid the tightest labor market in decades, government data showed Friday. The jobless rate marked the first rise in two months, though it stayed around its lowest level in 26 years, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The job availability ratio stood at 1.63, staying flat from December, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. The ratio means there were 163 openings for every 100 job seekers. “The unemployment rate for January rose but there is no change in the trend of steadily improving labor conditions,” an internal affairs ministry official told reporters. A total of 750,000 people voluntarily left jobs during the reporting month, up 10,000 from December. The number of those who newly started to seek jobs rose by 60,000 to 440,000, while 390,000 people were laid off, up 20,000. Unemployment among men was steady at 2.5 percent while among women it rose 0.3 percentage point to 2.5 percent. The total number of people without jobs, seasonally unadjusted, grew 70,000 in January from a year earlier to 1.66 million for the first rise since April 2010. But the internal affairs ministry attributed the increase to a sharp drop in job-seekers in the previous year due to heavy snow and a cold snap, and maintained that the improvement in the labor market remains unchanged. The uptick in the jobless rate shows that companies are actively hiring and more workers are moving to seek better labor conditions, economists said. “It does not mean that the labor market is getting worse,” said Takuji Aida, chief economist at Societe Generale Securities. “If the job-seekers go on and land jobs smoothly, the number of employed will increase and the unemployment rate will fall gradually.” The percentage of the working-age population between 15 and 64 years old with jobs was 76.8 percent, rising 0.9 point from the previous year. The share of men with jobs in that age bracket was 83.7 percent, while that of women was 69.7 percent. Figures for the 20-69 age group, which the ministry released for the first time in January to better reflect labor market conditions, showed the ratio of employed was 77.7 percent, up 1.1 point from the previous year. To address the country’s graying population, the Diet passed a bill in December, pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to attract foreign workers from April into its labor-hungry sectors, including construction, farming and nursing care. It marked a major policy shift for the country, which had effectively granted working visas only to doctors, lawyers and others with professional knowledge and high-level skills. Under the new visa system, the government estimates Japan will accept up to around 345,000 foreign workers over the next five years.

jobs
women
internal affairs ministry
economic indicators


Nikkei rallies to 21,602 amid weaker yen and upbeat U.S. data

Abstract: Stocks staged a rebound Friday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as the yen weakened against the dollar following the release of positive U.S. economic data Thursday. The 225-issue Nikkei average rose 217.53 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 21,602.69. On Thursday, the key market gauge fell 171.35 points. The Topix index of all first-section issues gained 8.06 points, or 0.50 percent, to end at 1,615.72. It lost 12.76 points the previous day. Investors bought back shares as the dollar hit fresh two-month highs far above ¥111.50 following the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product data for October-December and the Chicago purchasing managers index for February, brokers said. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Thursday meanwhile announced it would suspend an additional tariff hike scheduled for Chinese imports until further notice, helping to improve sentiment in the Tokyo market, the brokers said. A rise in U.S. Dow Jones industrial average futures in off-hours trading was also positive for Japanese stocks, according to the brokers. The Tokyo market showed resilience after falling “too much” the previous day, said Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co. An inflow of fresh money at the start of a new month may have supported the rebound, Shimizu added. The closely watched U.S.-North Korean summit, which ended without an agreement Thursday, was a big event politically but its stock market impact in Tokyo was limited, brokers said. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,180 to 859 in the TSE’s first section, while 91 issues were unchanged. Volume decreased to 1.148 billion shares from 1.301 billion shares Thursday. Export-oriented issues fared well thanks to the weaker yen. Semiconductor-related Tokyo Electron added 1.55 percent, industrial robot producer Fanuc 1.93 percent and Yaskawa Electric 2.69 percent. Travel agency H.I.S. gained 2.82 percent after announcing on Thursday strong earnings and a stock listing plan for theme park unit Huis Ten Bosch Co. Among other winners were clothing retailer Fast Retailing and tech conglomerate SoftBank Group. In the meantime, shipping firms were downbeat. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines fell 2.22 percent, Kawasaki Kisen 2.86 percent and Nippon Yusen 1.20 percent. Department store operator J. Front Retailing lost ground due to a downward revision to consolidated earnings forecasts for the year to February. Also on the minus side were mobile phone carrier KDDI and steel-maker Kobe Steel. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key March contract on the Nikkei average added 230 points to end at 21,620.

nikkei
stocks
tokyo stock exchange
topix


Dollar hits 10-week high around ¥111.90 in Tokyo

Abstract: The dollar soared to 10-week highs around ¥111.90 in late Tokyo trading Friday, as market sentiment turned “risk on.” After scaling the highs, the dollar stood at ¥111.81-81 at 5 p.m., up from ¥110.75-76 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.1371-1371, down from $1.1381-1381, and at ¥127.15-16, up from ¥126.05-06. In foreign trading Thursday, the dollar took a sharp upturn following the release of strong U.S. economic data, including better-than-expected a gross domestic product for October-December last year. The dollar added gains in Tokyo on Friday, sailing past ¥111.70 by around noon on a Tokyo stock rally, dollar buying by Japanese importers and brisk Chinese economic data, traders said. In late trading, higher Chinese stock prices helped lift the U.S. currency to around ¥111.90, according to the traders. “The dollar’s bullish momentum increased when the currency broke through a key technical line of ¥111.30,” a Japanese bank official said. “The risk-on sentiment is strong on the back of the brisk performance of the benchmark Nikkei stock average,” an official of a major bank said. But an official of a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said, “The dollar will need bigger buying incentives to go above ¥112.”


Subaru announces global recall of 2.3 million vehicles, its biggest yet, over faulty brake lights

Abstract: Subaru Corp. is recalling around 2.3 million vehicles worldwide over a brake light problem, the automaker’s biggest-ever recall, as it grapples with a series of quality-related issues following rapid expansion. Japan’s sixth-largest automaker said Friday that it was recalling around 300,000 of its popular Impreza and Forester models in its home market and 2 million of the same models in the U.S. and other countries to fix a fault with the brake light switch, which can lead to ignition problems. Vehicles affected were produced from 2008 through 2017, and the recall is the automaker’s biggest in terms of affected units, excluding the ongoing Takata air bag recall. Since late 2017, Subaru has been reeling from a host of problems ranging from faulty components to inspection do-overs, coupled with weakening sales in the United States. This has forced the automaker to slash its full-year profit outlook to its weakest in six years. Quality-related issues have cast a pall on the automaker that enjoyed years of rapid growth in the United States, where it won over affluent and liberal-minded consumers with advertisements featuring slogans championing love and inclusion. Such branding boosted the image of Subaru, prompting it to ramp up production in the United States, which accounts for around 60 percent of its global sales volume. But in January, Subaru halted production at its sole car factory in Japan for nearly two weeks, holding up roughly 60 percent of its global output after it found a defect in a power steering component. Late last year, it announced a global recall of its signature boxer engines over an issue with its valve springs, while it has launched a series of domestic recalls for re-inspections after it admitted to cheating on testing processes.


J.C. Penney to close more stores after weak holiday season

Abstract: NEW YORK - American department store operator J.C. Penney Co. is closing more stores following a weak holiday sales season. Net income tumbled nearly 70 percent, and a key measure for health dropped 4 percent in the fourth-quarter, the most crucial period of the year for retailers who bank on strong holiday sales. The company said that it would turn the lights out at 18 department stores, including three that were announced last month. It will also close nine home and furniture stores. It will take charges of $15 million in relation to those closings during the first half of this year. The firm did top expectations for the fourth quarter results and under new CEO Jill Soltau, the department store chain did rid itself of unprofitable inventory and said it will have positive free cash flow this year. Shares jumped more than 23 percent Thursday. Soltau, who came on board in October, faces numerous challenges in avoiding the fate of Sears or other retailers that have filed for bankruptcy protection, or vanished. Under Soltau, the firm jettisoned major appliances, which accounted for 2.7 percent of J.C. Penney’s sales last year, but dragged on the company’s operating profit. It’s focusing instead on women’s clothing, and goods for the home like towels or bedsheets, which carry higher profit margins. Furniture is still available, but only online. That reverses the course followed by predecessor Marvin Ellison, who three years ago began selling major appliances again in an attempt to capitalize on problems at Sears. In a conference call Thursday, Soltau said she has spent time with customers, suppliers and workers and she said she’s convinced that the company can establish a path of “sustainable profit growth.” Changes will be swift, methodical and based on what customers want and expect from J.C. Penney, Soltau said. “This is not business-as-usual,” she said during a conference call Thursday. “Our current reality is clear.” Department stores like J.C. Penney are trying to reinvent themselves in an era when Americans are buying more online, or turning to discounters like T.J. Maxx for clothing. Bringing back shoppers has proven exceedingly difficult, even for iconic brands. Momentum appears to be slowing at Macy’s, which released fourth-quarter results this week. It reported weaker profit and total sales, as well as meager growth in sales at established stores, a key measure for a retailer’s health. Nordstrom posts earnings late Thursday and Kohl’s reports next week. Among the four stores, only Kohl’s has seen its stock move higher over the past 12 months, but just barely. Shares of Sears and J.C. Penney are down more than 60 percent in the past year. And the path back to prosperity appears especially tenuous for J.C. Penney. It is trying to claw its way back after a disastrous reinvention plan in 2012 by its former CEO, Ron Johnson, who dramatically cut back on promotions and brought in new brands to attract young shoppers. Sales at J.C. Penney went into a freefall, it suffered massive losses and once-loyal customers moved on. That situation has stabilized, but establishing an identity in a retail landscape that has undergone seismic changes continues to elude the firm. “The central problem for (J.C. Penney) is that it no longer gives shoppers reasons to visit stores and to make purchases,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “In other words, it has lost sight of why it exists. This is evident across both stores and online where a hodgepodge of products are thrown together in a seemingly random fashion.” The company reduced inventory by 13 percent last year and that will continue throughout 2019. Soltau said more uncluttered stores will allow people to find what they want more easily. New executive hires were also announced Thursday, including chief merchant, the person who decides what goes on store shelves. Saunders lauded Soltau’s leadership so far, saying J.C. Penney’s travails predate her. But he said time is limited. J.C. Penney posted net income of $75 million, or 24 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with $242 million, or 77 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue including credit income, fell more than 8 percent, to $3.78 billion, but that was also better than expected. Even though profit and sales fell, investors were elated that it wasn’t worse. Shares jumped 30 percent, but that brought the price to just $1.59 each. Before the economic crisis hit a decade ago, shares cost about $70.


Japan sees first fall in corporate profits in over two years due to weak China demand and high material costs

Abstract: Corporate profits in Japan were down for the first time in 2½ years in the fourth quarter of 2018 amid falling demand from China and rising costs, government data showed Friday. Pretax profits fell 7.0 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier to total ¥19.48 trillion. The first decline since the second quarter of 2016 indicated that growth in the world’s third-largest economy may be gearing down. Oil refiners, automakers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment were among the poorest performers as exports to China slowed and labor and raw materials costs climbed, according to the Finance Ministry. Still, companies continued to step up capital expenditure in order to boost capacity and productivity. Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment increased 5.7 percent from a year earlier to ¥12.05 trillion, up for the ninth straight quarter. Business investment has been a key driver of the economy, which is thought to be experiencing its longest expansionary phase since the end of World War II. It has been especially important as private consumption remains rather weak amid tepid wage gains. Compared with the previous quarter, capital expenditure, seasonally adjusted and not including spending on software, rose 3.3 percent. The Cabinet Office is scheduled to release revised gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2018 on March 8, taking into account the latest investment figures. Preliminary GDP data showed the economy grew an annualized real 1.4 percent in the October-December period, recovering modestly from a 2.6 percent contraction in the preceding quarter when the country was hit by a string of natural disasters. The Finance Ministry surveyed 31,826 companies capitalized at ¥10 million or more, of which 23,025, or 72.3 percent, responded.

economy
finance ministry
economic indicators
financial results


Neolithic humans loved their dogs to death, burial sites near Barcelona reveal

Abstract: PARIS - Neolithic communities clustered near present-day Barcelona some 6,000 years ago were really keen on dogs, in this life and the next. Archaeological evidence from at least four sites shows prehistoric humans and their four-legged friends living in close quarters, working together and sharing a common diet of mostly grains and veggies. “These animals were fully integrated into the Neolithic communities,” said lead author Silvia Albizuri, a researcher at the University of Barcelona. The special status accorded to canines even extended to the grave, Albizuri and her team reported recently in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. In more than two dozen circular burial plots, the partial or complete remains of pooches were carefully laid out next to individual men, women and children. The dogs chosen to spend eternity with their masters paid a stiff price for the privilege, the study concluded: They were sacrificed at the time of burial. The animals ranged in age between 1 and 6 years, with a quarter estimated at 12 to 18 months old. “The selection of puppies and 1-year-old animals suggests the intention to sacrifice,” said Albizuri. The Pit Grave people, in other words, loved their dogs to death. The preference for young dogs may also have stemmed from a reluctance to lose older ones already trained up in their guarding or herding duties. A lack of cut marks on the dog bones also suggests their flesh was not cut away and consumed before burial. Canines and humans laid to rest side by side have been found at other Middle Neolithic sites in northern Italy and southern France, but the Bobila Madurell tomb — just north of Barcelona — has more dogs than any other, the study said. The remains of all but nine of the 26 dogs examined were excavated there. Dogs were first used by humans for hunting and probably transport, scientists speculate. As humans settled and began to practice agriculture some 10,000 years ago, canines became sentinels against upright invaders and wild animals, especially their evolutionary cousins, wolves. They also learned to herd other domesticated creatures, such as sheep, goats or cattle. “Dogs played an important role in the economy of Neolithic populations, taking care of herds and settlements,” the researchers noted. The midsize dogs described in the study — standing up to half a meter tall, and weighing about 15 kg — resemble “shepherd dogs of the current Pyrenees,” the mountain chain separating France and Spain, Albizuri said. Bones from livestock found at the Spanish burial sites were scattered in a haphazard manner, further proof that Neolithic canines carefully laid to rest were in a class of their own. The fifth millennium B.C. in southern Europe was dotted with a few large settlements, along with small villages or hamlets in plains or on hilltops. Archaeologists have also unearthed the remains of simple farms, temporary shelters, and silos used to store grain.


Russia orders firms to free captive orca, Belugas held in Far East 'whale prison'

Abstract: MOSCOW - Russian authorities have ordered the release of nearly 100 whales held captive in cages in Russia’s Far East in a case that has drawn the ire of President Vladimir Putin, the public and international film stars, TASS news agency said on Thursday. Images of the whales, kept in cramped enclosures in a bay near the Sea of Japan port town of Nakhodka, first appeared last year, triggering a wave of criticism. The Kremlin has said the 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales were held in cruel conditions and were intended for sale to aquariums and Chinese buyers. But the problem of how to release the whales without harming them has caused delays and the animals remain in the enclosures, which Russian media have nicknamed a “whale prison. Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, brought charges against four companies on Monday for breaking fishing laws, TASS reported. “Expertise showed that the animals were kept in unsatisfactory conditions, and must be released into their natural habitat,” it cited the FSB as saying. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Putin had personally stepped in to handle the matter. “We are doing everything we can,” Ecology Minister Dmitry Kobylkin was cited by TASS news agency as saying on Thursday. “No one objects to releasing the orcas, but the most important thing is to release them properly,” he said, listing cold weather as one of the obstacles to freeing the whales without causing them any harm. A petition to release the whales, shared by actor Leonardo DiCaprio on social media, has gathered more than 900,000 signatures online. Actress Pamela Anderson posted an open letter to Putin on her website. “News about the ‘whale jail’ near Nakhodka, the icy conditions, and the suffering of the orca and beluga whales is causing international concern,” the actress wrote. Further complicating matters is the fact that Russia has no direct ban on the catching of such animals, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said last week. They can be caught, in specific circumstances, for scientific and educational purposes.

russia
whales
vladimir putin
sea of japan


Canada to contribute to NASA mission to put Gateway orbiter around moon

Abstract: OTTAWA - Canada will join NASA’s space mission to put an orbiter around the moon in a few years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday. “Canada is going to the moon,” Trudeau told a press conference that included a live video link from the International Space Station with Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. NASA plans to build a small space station, dubbed Gateway, in the moon’s orbit by 2026. It will serve as a way-station for trips to and from the lunar surface, but will not be permanently crewed like the International Space Station (ISS), currently in Earth’s orbit. According to the Canadian Space Agency, Gateway will provide living space for astronauts, a docking station for visiting spacecraft and research laboratories. Canada will develop and contribute an autonomous robotic system — Canadarm3 — that will be used to repair and maintain the station. The original 15-meter remote-controlled mechanical Canadarm, also known as the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, was used on the Space Shuttle for 30 years, deploying, capturing and repairing satellites, positioning astronauts, maintaining equipment and moving cargo. Its successor is used on the ISS. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that the organization is “thrilled that Canada is the first international partner for the Gateway lunar outpost.” “Our new collaboration on Gateway will enable our broader international partnership to get to the moon and eventually to Mars,” he said. Trudeau also announced 2.05 billion Canadian dollars ($1.55 billion) over 24 years for Canada’s space program, which will help support a push to develop new “artificial intelligence-based technologies” for space. Due to communications lags between Earth and remote outposts, it will be increasingly necessary to automate many robotic functions on space stations and vehicles. The last person to walk on the moon was Eugene Cernan in December 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission. Before humans set foot on the lunar surface again, NASA aims to land an unmanned vehicle on the moon by 2024. So far, only Russia, the United States and China have made the 384,000-kilometer (239,000-mile) journey and landed spacecraft on the moon. Last week, Israel launched a spacecraft that aims to join them.

canada
nasa
gateway
moon
space
justin trudeau
u.s .


SpaceX looks to send dummy to ISS this weekend in test for resuming manned U.S. flights

Abstract: WASHINGTON - SpaceX will try to send a dummy to the International Space Station this weekend in a key test for resuming manned U.S. space flights, perhaps this year if all goes well. Since the shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth on July 21, 2011, no American astronaut has blasted off from U.S. soil for a tour in space. NASA pays Russia to get its people up to the orbiting research facility at a cost of $82 million a head, round trip. In 2014, the U.S. space agency awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing for them to take over this task. But the program has suffered delays as safety requirements are much more stringent for manned flights than for unmanned missions to deploy satellites. No one in America wants to relive the tragedies of the U.S. space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, which disintegrated in midair in 1986 and 2003. Three years behind schedule, a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to blast off Saturday from Cape Canaveral at 2:49 a.m. (0749 GMT) with a Crew Dragon capsule in its nose, It will for a rendezvous one day later with the ISS. The capsule is scheduled to return to Earth on March 8. If all goes well, two astronauts will be aboard the next time such a seven-seat capsule is launched. That is supposed to happen in July but delays are possible. “These things always take longer than you think,” said Lori Garver, who was the number two official at NASA when the contracts were awarded to SpaceX and Boeing under then-President Barack Obama. Back then this decision was controversial, with lawmakers complaining about changing the way America sends people into space and the loss of contracts and jobs for big, veteran aerospace companies based in their states. “We have very few heroes left, and astronauts are our heroes. And losing our grip at NASA and allowing companies to take the lead on transporting them was a challenge for some. It still is,” said Garver. SpaceX is no rookie when it comes to trips to and from the space station. The company founded by Elon Musk and based in Los Angeles has carried out 15 resupply missions to the orbiter since 2012. One of its ISS-bound rockets exploded in 2015. The second, crewed version of the Dragon rocket has been adapted from the cargo model, which has proved to be reliable. Saturday’s mission is still a “big deal,” said SpaceX Vice President Hans Koenigsmann. “This is an absolutely critical first step that we do as we move towards returning the crewed launch capability back here to the U.S.,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator with NASA Human Exploration and Operations. It has taken years to get within reach of that goal. “I don’t think very many people thought that the length of time between the termination of Shuttle and a new vehicle was going to be as long as it has been,” said Roger Launius, former chief historian of NASA. The cooling of U.S. relations with Russia has increased pressure for the U.S. to be able to send people to space on its own. NASA has always relied on the aerospace industry for its manned space programs. Launius recalls that back in the days of the Apollo moon missions “almost everybody in that room were contractors, not NASA employees.” What is new now is that NASA no longer covers all development costs and does not own the spacecraft that will be used to send people into space. Rather, it buys a service for a set price: the 2014 contracts call for $4.2 billion for Boeing and $2.6 billion for SpaceX, with six missions and a test flight. That is a fraction of the $4 billion per year it would have cost to keep the original shuttle program alive, said Garver. An unmanned Boeing test flight is scheduled for April. Michael Neufeld, head curator in the Space History Department of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, stressed the significance of NASA opting to go with two companies that are competitors. “One of the lessons of the shuttle is, don’t bet on one vehicle,” he said. “If there’s an accident at least you’re not totally stuck.”

spacex
iss
nasa
russia
falcon 9
cape canaveral


'100 alarms a day': Europe's satellites flying blind as space junk threat spreads

Abstract: BERLIN - Europe needs its own technology to guard against a growing threat to its satellites from space junk ranging from dead satellites to tiny particles, according to a top adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). With the world increasingly reliant on orbital infrastructure to maintain communications links and steer new generations of autonomous vehicles, scientists warn that the danger posed by debris in orbit has grown exponentially. “We are getting around 100 alarms a day about approaching particles,” said Thomas Reiter, an adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). “Every two weeks, a satellite has to dodge something.” Europe has invested billions in its Galileo global positioning satellites, partly to ensure it is not dependent on U.S. systems, but it still relies on the U.S. military to track the hardest-to-spot threats in space. “Europe needs to be able to analyze what is happening in orbit itself,” said Reiter, a German former astronaut, adding that billions must be spent on a radar system to achieve this. “We are not (currently) in a position to get a picture of what is happening up there.” For now, the threat from thousands of dead satellites that continue to circle the planet is manageable, since they are relatively large and easy to track. Far more dangerous are an estimated 900,000 particles of over 1 cm in size, and the 130 million that are over 1 mm, the ESA says. Almost impossible to spot, a particle moving at high speeds can cause severe damage to satellites costing hundreds of millions of euros or even destroy them, disrupting communications for millions of users. Reiter said more needs to be done to clear space debris as well. This includes guiding defunct satellites into orbits that will see them fall into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up — a project that would cost some €200 million over three years, he said. Such efforts would require Europe to work with international partners. Of the 114 satellite launches in 2018, only eight were European, compared to 39 Chinese, 34 U.S., and 20 Russian, according to the ESA.

satellites
space junk
esa
thomas reiter
china
u.s .
nasa
russia
gps


Conservationists release 155 giant tortoises on Galapagos island

Abstract: QUITO - Conservationists have released 155 giant tortoises on an island in the Galapagos to help replace a similar species that died out 150 years ago, officials aid Thursday. The young tortoises, of the breed Chelonoidis hoodensis, were set free on Santa Fe island, the Galapagos National Park service announced. The tortoises, each aged around 10-12 years old, were raised at the Fausto Llerena breeding center and are part of a program to repopulate the island at the center of the Pacific archipelago. Also known as the Espanola Giant Tortoise, the newly freed reptiles are a similar species to the Chelonoidis spp., which are today extinct. They originally come from Espanola Island, also known as Hood Island, in the far southeast of the Galapagos chain. “The tortoises that have been released carry a microchip under their skin with a permanent number attached to make it easier to track them,” said Jorge Carrion, the head of the Galapagos National Park. The newly released tortoises join 394 others which were set free on the 9.5 square mile (24.7 square kilometer) island. The program, run by the national park service and the NGO Galapagos Conservancy, is due to run until 2026. The giant tortoises are “engineers of the ecosystem” because they help spread vegetation in their natural habitat, said Carrion. The first of the creatures was released on to the island in 2015, said Washington Tapia, in charge of Galapagos Conservancy’s giant turtle project. The animals are “between 10 and 12 years old and should start to reproduce in the next five to seven years,” he said. Located some 600 miles off the coast of South America, the islands belong to Ecuador and are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The islands are best known for their unique flora and fauna, which inspired naturalist Charles Darwin to write his landmark 1859 study on evolution, “The Origin of Species.” Giant tortoises are believed to have arrived on the remote volcanic island chain about three to 4 million years ago, borne by ocean currents. With no natural predators, they spread across the islands and split into different species. However, in the 19th century their population was devastated by sailors who used them as storable fresh meat on long ocean voyages, and by invasive rats, cats and ants which ate their eggs. Last week, conservationists announced they had discovered a giant tortoise from a species thought to have become extinct more than a century ago.

tortoises galapagos nature animals endangered


As Joe Biden weighs 2020 bid, Democrats ask: 'Does he meet the moment?'

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said this week he was “very close” to deciding whether to make a 2020 White House bid and will run only if he thinks he can win the Democratic Party’s nomination. He is not alone in questioning if he is the man for the moment. The clamor for Biden to join the pack seeking to challenge Republican President Donald Trump has quieted as the Democratic field has grown more crowded and diverse, according to interviews with more than two dozen strategists, activists, party organizers and voters. Opinion polls show Biden, a former U.S. senator from Delaware who served two terms as former President Barack Obama’s vice president, remains popular. But the Democratic Party may no longer need him in order to be competitive against Trump. “I love Joe Biden. He’s a great guy and a great politician,” said Jerry Shriner, a Democratic National Committee member from Idaho. “I wish he were the president right now. But I’m not sure I wish he is president in 2021.” Democrats are in the early stages of an internal debate about how best to challenge Trump in next year’s presidential election, weighing factors like electability, ideology and identity. The strength of the field — expected to include at least six sitting U.S. senators, plus several current or former governors, U.S. House of Representatives members and a former Cabinet secretary — is a factor in Biden’s calculations, those close to him say. He will be more likely to remain on the sidelines if he feels a strong candidate capable of beating Trump is emerging. But a source close to Biden said: “If I had to guess, he’s probably going to do it.” Biden associates have held discussions with potential staffers and supporters who could serve political strategy, grassroots organizing and digital campaign roles, according to two sources. One source said those conversations were necessary to quickly ramp up a formal campaign operation should Biden decide to run. Some party activists say, however, that Biden has not reached out to broad donor networks to gauge the level of monetary support he could expect. Biden, who mounted failed presidential campaigns in 1998 and 2008, said at an event in Delaware on Tuesday that he did not want a third bid to be “a fool’s errand.” “What I don’t want to do is take people’s time, effort and commitment without there being a clear shot I could be the nominee,” he said. “I think I can.” Biden chose not to run in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was widely considered the heavy favorite for the Democratic nomination. Some political analysts have since speculated he could have won industrial battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that proved crucial to Trump’s surprise victory. Biden’s high name recognition among Democratic voters means he likely can afford to wait longer than lesser-known candidates to enter the 2020 race. But even that comes with a risk. “The longer he waits, the more people are going to start to want to follow some of the new and younger voices they’re hearing,” said Bret Niles, the Democratic Party chairman in Linn County, Iowa. Biden’s age, ideology and record already are drawing scrutiny. If elected, he would be 78 when he was sworn in. “Joe Biden is too old,” said Mary Donough, 60, a Democrat from Des Moines, Iowa, who plans to participate in her state’s crucial nominating caucus next year and wants a younger candidate to challenge Trump. “There is just more energy there,” she said. Biden’s backers will argue his age represents experience, said a former aide who asked to speak on background in order to explain internal talking points. “Voters look at Donald Trump and they look at what we’re missing, which is someone who understands the institution, someone who is an adult, someone who is seasoned, someone who respects the institutions,” the former aide said. If Biden does run, the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, said on Thursday that Trump and the Republican Party would attack his work as vice president under Obama. “Go ahead and run,” McDaniel told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. “Run on your record of stagnant wages, of jobs leaving this country, of manufacturing jobs fleeing United States of America, of bad trade deals, of bad foreign policy. The Democratic Party undoubtedly has moved left since the last time Biden appeared alone on a ballot in 2008, when he was re-elected to the Senate by Delaware voters for his seventh term. “Times have changed,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “Does he meet the moment?” Green, whose group supports the candidacy of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, lumps Biden in with white, male, moderate Democrats who have faltered in recent elections, like Phil Bredesen, who lost his U.S. Senate race in Tennessee last year. Biden also will have to answer for his record. He chaired the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and was criticized for not doing enough to protect Anita Hill, who accused Thomas of sexual harassment. Biden has since apologized and said he should have done more to shield Hill from attacks by Republicans. Unions remain unhappy about the free-trade deals advocated by the Obama administration, and liberal progressive groups point to the bailout of Wall Street banks during the financial crisis that provided no help to distressed homeowners. Sharon Holle, who has been working to organize for Biden in Iowa ahead of his decision, argued his experience would appeal to Democrats nervous about the country’s direction under Trump. “People are scared,” Holle said. “We’re in a crisis right now. We need somebody we can trust.”

joe biden
democrats
donald trump
2020 presidential election


Trump ordered chief of staff to give Jared Kushner top-secret security clearance: NYT

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff in May to grant his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance, the New York Times reported on Thursday. It said senior administration officials were troubled by the decision, which prompted then White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to write an internal memo about how he had been ordered to give Kushner the top-secret clearance. The White House counsel at the time, Donald McGahn, also wrote an internal memo outlining concerns raised about Kushner and how McGahn had recommended against the decision, it said. The Times said the memos contradicted a statement made by Trump in an interview with the newspaper in January that he had no role in Kushner’s receiving his clearance. Asked about the report, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: “We don’t comment on security clearances.” Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in an email that White House and security clearance officials last year asserted that Kushner’s clearance was “handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone.” “New stories, if accurate, do not change what was affirmed at the time,” Mirijanian said.

jared kushner
security clearance
nyt
donald trump
john kelly


Cohen finishes week of testimony behind closed doors after calling Trump a racist, liar and cheat

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s former lawyer has completed three days of testimony on Capitol Hill — and is coming back for another day next week — after publicly branding his former boss a racist and a con man who lied about business dealings in Russia and directed him to conceal extramarital relationships. Cohen was interviewed behind closed doors Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee for more than eight hours, the last of his three appearances before Congress this week. He said as he left that he would be returning to Capitol Hill on March 6 for another round of questioning with the same panel. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff called the closed-door session with Cohen productive and said lawmakers were able to “drill down in great detail” on issues they are investigating. Schiff said the committee will also hear from Felix Sater, a Russia-born executive who worked with Cohen on an ultimately unsuccessful deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, in an open hearing March 14. Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress about the Moscow real estate project and reports to prison soon for a three-year sentence, gave harsh testimony about Trump on Wednesday. He said Trump knew in advance that damaging emails about Democrat Hillary Clinton would be released during the 2016 campaign — a claim the president has denied — and accused Trump of lying during the 2016 campaign about the Moscow deal. Cohen also said Trump directed him to arrange a hush money payment to a porn actress who said she had sex with the president a decade earlier. He said the president arranged to reimburse Cohen, and Cohen brought to the hearing a check that he said was proof of the transaction. Two of Trump’s most vocal defenders, GOP Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina, sent a referral to the Justice Department alleging Cohen lied in his testimony. Their letter to Attorney General William Barr details several Cohen statements they said were false, including claims that he “never defrauded any bank” and did not want a job in Trump’s White House. They pointed to Cohen’s guilty plea for making false statements to a banking institution and to court filings that say Cohen told friends he wanted a White House job. Cohen’s testimony unfolded as Trump was in Vietnam meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said he tried to watch as much of Cohen’s marathon hearing as he could. Trump called the hearing “fake” and said it was a “terrible thing” for Democrats to hold it during his summit. He seized on Cohen’s concession that he had no direct evidence that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to get him elected, the primary question of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Trump said he was a “little impressed” that Cohen had said that to the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Cohen, shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans, was the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on a version of the inner workings of Trump’s political and business operations. He likened the president to a “mobster” who demanded blind loyalty from underlings and expected them to lie on his behalf. “My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything: my family’s happiness, friendships, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and soon my freedom,” Cohen said. “I will not sit back, say nothing and allow him to do the same to the country.” In testimony that cut to the heart of federal investigations encircling the White House, Cohen said he arranged the hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels at Trump’s behest and agreed to lie about it to the public and the first lady. And he said he was left with the unmistakable impression Trump wanted him to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project, though the president never directly told him so. Cohen said prosecutors in New York were investigating conversations Trump or his advisers had with him after his office and hotel room were raided by the FBI last April. Cohen said he could not discuss that conversation, the last contact he said he has had with the president or anyone acting on his behalf, because it remains under investigation. The appearance marked the latest step in Cohen’s evolution from legal fixer for the president — he once boasted he’d “take a bullet” for Trump — to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. As Republicans blasted him as a convicted liar, a mostly unrattled Cohen tried to blunt the attacks by repeatedly acknowledging his own failings. He called himself a “fool,” warned lawmakers of the perils of blind loyalty to a leader undeserving of it and pronounced himself ashamed of what he had done to protect Trump. Cohen described himself as cooperative with multiple investigations in hopes of reducing his time behind bars. He is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation and their decade-long professional relationship.

donald trump
congress
2016 u.s. presidential election
russia probe
michael cohen


Trump declares all Islamic State territory retaken, contradicting allied commander

Abstract: JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA - President Donald Trump told American troops on Thursday that U.S.-backed forces in Syria have retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by Islamic State militants, contradicting the commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, who said it would take another week. “We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it’s 100 percent we just took over, 100 percent caliphate,” Trump told troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during a refueling stop in Alaska. Earlier on Thursday, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said in a video released to the news media that the SDF would be able to announce “the complete victory over Daesh (Islamic State) in a week.” Trump made his comments while talking to U.S. troops in Alaska about the progress his administration has made in Afghanistan and the Middle East over the past two years. He stopped in Alaska on his way back from talks in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The U.S. president has been anxious to declare that Islamic State has been driven out of all its territory since announcing in December that he would withdraw American forces from Syria, claiming they had succeeded in their mission to defeat the militant group. While the United States has withdrawn some troops, Trump responded to criticism of his move by deciding to leave some 400 U.S. troops in the country over the longer run: 200 to remain in the northeast as part of a multinational force and 200 to remain at an outpost in the southeast to counter Iranian influence. The U.S. president said on Feb. 6 he expected a formal announcement the following week that coalition forces had recaptured all territory previously held by Islamic State in Syria. That announcement has yet to be made.

islamic state
alaska
donald trump
syria
syrian democratic forces
caliphate
mazloum kobani
conflict
terrorism


Richard Nixon's brother Edward, a staunch defender of his legacy, dies at 88

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - Edward Nixon, the youngest brother of former President Richard Nixon who staunchly defended his sibling’s White House legacy, died Wednesday. He was 88. The Richard Nixon Foundation announced that Nixon died at a nursing facility in Bothell, Washington, a Seattle suburb. A geologist and Navy veteran, Nixon worked on his brother’s 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns and served as co-chairman of the Nixon re-election committee in 1972. In a statement released by the foundation, Richard Nixon’s daughters, Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, called their uncle “our family’s rock” since the former president died in 1994. They also called him a “source of strength.” Richard Nixon was 17 years old and getting ready to start college when his youngest brother was born on May 3, 1930, in Whittier, California. Edward Calvert Nixon was the fifth son of Frank and Hannah Nixon and had been the last surviving brother of the former president. Because of their age difference, Edward Nixon described his older brother as a mentor and assistant father, the foundation said. In 1994, Edward Nixon told reporters the former president was frequently misrepresented, with the focus on the Watergate scandal that drove him from office. He said in his extensive travels around the globe he was always asked by residents in other countries, “What’s the matter with the people in the United States? Why did they put him out of office?” “What really irks … his friends are the repeated references to the things that didn’t go well in his life and to the ‘enigma of the man,’ ” Nixon said at the time. “He’s just a brother to me.” Edward Nixon was an original board member of the private Richard Nixon Foundation, which founded and operated the presidential library until the National Archives took control in 2007. A $500,000 makeover followed, which scholars said provided a more balanced and accurate account of the Watergate story. But the new exhibit caused friction with the foundation, which filed extensive objections. Then-library director Tim Naftali, who described the original display as inaccurate, told the Los Angeles Times in 2011 that he had a tense encounter with Edward Nixon and other foundation members in 2010, who berated him about the revised exhibit and considered it unfair. Edward Nixon is survived by his daughters Amelie “Amy” Peiffer and Elizabeth “Beth” Matheny. His wife died in 2014.

richard nixon
edward nixon
watergate
obituary


Al-Shabab and Somali soldiers battle in Mogadishu

Abstract: MOGADISHU - A gunbattle raged in Mogadishu on Friday between Somali soldiers and al-Shabab fighters, holed up in a building next to a hotel they had hit with a suicide car bomb the previous evening. Heavy gunfire resounded across the Somali capital through the night and as dawn broke, police said the death toll, put at 13 so far, was rising following the blast at the Hotel Maka Al-Mukarama, located on a street lined with hotels, shops and restaurants. “The security forces rescued dozens of civilians in the hotel and nearby buildings. The militants are still inside and exchange of fire still continues. So far we confirmed 13 people died and scores were injured,” Maj. Mohamed Hussein, a police officer, told Reuters on Friday. “The death toll may rise. It was very difficult for the security forces to enter the building last night because it is dark and electricity was cut by the blast. Now it is daybreak, and we hope the operation will be concluded in the following hours,” he said. Al-Shbaab’s military spokesman said they still controlled the hotel. “The government tried three times to enter the building but we repulsed them. We still control the hotel,” said Abdiasis Abu Musab. The street where the blast occurred was closed on Friday. Reuters witnesses saw frantic residents in the city searching for missing relatives through the night, making countless phone calls to find out if anyone had seen their family members. “I have been running to and fro from blast scene to hospitals since yesterday evening in search of my husband and brother, who were selling a shop at the place where the blast took place. I have just seen them in the hospital; they are in critical condition. My husband lost his stomach and my brother suffered severe wounds to both arms,” said Halima Omar, a mother of three. Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991. Al-Shabab is fighting to dislodge a Western-backed government protected by African Union-mandated peacekeepers.

al-shabab mogadishu somalia conflict terrorism al-qaida


Where are bodies of militants India claims it bombed, Pakistani village asks

Abstract: JABA, PAKISTAN - The only confirmed victim of India’s airstrike against Pakistan is still unsure why he was shaken awake in the early hours of Tuesday by an explosion that rocked his mud-brick house and left him with a cut above his right eye. “They say they wanted to hit some terrorists. What terrorists can you see here?” said 62-year-old Nooran Shah, a resident of the village of Jaba, near the northeastern town of Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “We are here. Are we terrorists?” India says Tuesday’s raid destroyed a major training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad, a militant group that claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 members of a paramilitary police unit. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the strike killed “a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.” “Fidayeen” is a term used to describe Islamist militants on suicide missions. Another senior government official told reporters that about 300 militants had been killed. On Thursday, though, a senior defense official appeared to backtrack on the claims. Asked about how much damage the warplanes had caused, Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor said it was “premature” to provide details about casualties. But he said the Indian armed forces had “fairly credible evidence” of the damage inflicted on the camp by the airstrikes. India’s previous death toll estimates have been rubbished by Pakistan, which says the operation was a failure that saw Indian jets bomb a largely empty hillside without hurting anyone. It isn’t clear whether the discrepancy in claims will become a factor as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a second term in India’s general election, which must be held by May. There has been little sign as yet of the opposition pushing the government and the armed forces for more evidence of the mission’s results. On the wooded slopes above Jaba, villagers pointed to four bomb craters and some splintered pine trees, but could see little other impact from the series of explosions that blasted them awake at around 3 a.m. “It shook everything,” said Abdur Rasheed, who drives a pickup van around the area. He said there weren’t any human casualties: “No one died. Only some pine trees died; they were cut down. A crow also died.” Jaba is set in a thickly wooded area of hills and streams that opens the way to the scenic Kaghan valley, a popular holiday destination for Pakistani tourists. It is a little over 60 km (37 miles) from Abbottabad, the garrison town where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces in 2011. Locals say 400 to 500 people live locally, scattered across hills in mudbrick homes. Reuters spoke to about 15 people, none of whom knew of any casualties apart from Nooran Shah. “I haven’t seen any dead bodies, only a local who was hurt by something or hit by some window, he was hurt,” said Abdur Rasheed, echoing numerous others. In Basic Health Unit, Jaba, the nearest hospital, Mohammad Saddique, an official who was on duty on the night of the attack, also dismissed claims of major casualties. “It is just a lie. It is rubbish,” he said. “We didn’t receive even a single injured person. Only one person got slightly hurt and he was treated there. Even he wasn’t brought here.” In Balakot, a town largely rebuilt after an earthquake in 2005, Zia Ul Haq, senior medical officer in Tehsil Headquarters Hospital said no casualties had been brought in on Tuesday. People in the area said Jaish-e-Mohammad did have a presence, running not an active training camp but a madrassa, or religious school, about a kilometer from where the bombs fell. “It is Taleem ul Quran madrassa. The kids from the village study there. There is no training,” said Nooran Shah. A sign that had been up earlier in the week identifying the madrassa’s affiliation to Jaish-e-Mohammad had been removed by Thursday, and soldiers prevented reporters from gaining access. But it was possible to see the structure from the back. It appeared intact, like the trees surrounding it, with no sign of any damage of the kind seen near the bomb craters. Western diplomats in Islamabad also said they did not believe the Indian air force hit a militant camp. “There was no militant training camp there. It hasn’t been there for a few years — they moved it. It’s common knowledge amongst our intelligence,” said one of them.

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Pyongyang disputes Trump claim Kim sought end to all sanctions, warns leader may have 'lost the will' for deal

Abstract: SEOUL - North Korea struck a pessimistic tone after the collapse of a two-day summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump, hardening its stance with a warning by a top diplomat that Kim may have “lost the will” to reach an agreement on curtailing his country’s nuclear program. During a rare news conference by North Korean officials, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho disputed Trump’s claim that Kim had demanded a complete removal of all economic sanctions, insisting that his nation had “offered a realistic proposal” to begin the process of denuclearization. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told reporters the “U.S. not accepting our proposal is missing an opportunity that comes once in a thousand years.” Still, Kim has limited options as international sanctions choke North Korea’s faltering economy, and securing some measure of economic support from China would likely be crucial for the regime. The North Korean leader in January made a similar threat to shift toward a “new path” if Trump didn’t lift sanctions and then proceeded to meet the U.S. president. Trump ended the summit early and said Kim “wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that.” In exchange, Trump said the North Korean leader had offered to dismantle its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon. Ri, however, said North Korea had only asked for relief from sanctions enacted in 2016 and 2017. He said that would mean removing sanctions imposed by five of 11 U.N. resolutions against the country. The North Korean offer included shuttering both plutonium and uranium facilities at Yongbyon under the observation of U.S. experts, Choe said. Yongbyon is a sprawling complex with dozens of buildings and reactors, including plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment facilities and research centers. It is a crown jewel of the North’s nuclear capabilities. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, speaking to reporters during a refueling stop in Alaska on Trump’s return, confirmed that the president had been briefed on the North Korean news conference. “We want to make sure we have a good deal, not just a deal,” she said. The U.S. presented Kim with evidence of additional secret nuclear sites, surprising the North Koreans, according to Trump. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that even without Yongbyon, the country would still possess missiles, warheads and other elements of a nuclear program that were unacceptable to the U.S. Ri told reporters that “first stage” steps such as those Pyongyang proposed are “inevitable” for the process of complete denuclearization. He added that North Korea’s stance “will never be changed” and that “it could be difficult to meet again.” “Chairman Kim got the feeling that he didn’t understand the way Americans calculate,” Choe added. “I have a feeling that Chairman Kim may have lost the will” to negotiate with Trump. The North Korean officials’ hastily arranged news conference was a rare departure for the regime, which usually avoids directly engaging with Western media and communicates through formal statements. They assembled reporters on Friday just after midnight local time. Ri spoke and then Choe, the number two in the ministry, stayed behind afterward for a question and answer session. The summit ended abruptly before a scheduled “working lunch” at Hanoi’s iconic Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel. Reporters were ushered out of a dining room prepared for the two leaders and their aides, and the White House announced there had been a schedule change. Soon after, the two leaders separately departed the hotel and Trump left the country ahead of schedule. Trump received bipartisan praise from U.S. congressional leaders for walking out of the summit. “President Trump did the right thing by walking away and not cutting a poor deal for the sake of a photo op,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky commended the president. “Kim Jong Un now has a long train ride home, and he’ll have time to reflect on the future that is still within North Korea’s grasp,” he said. The summit’s collapse sent global stocks sliding as the future of U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks remained uncertain. While Trump said the meeting ended amicably with a handshake, he hasn’t committed to another summit with Kim.

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kim jong un
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India bans Kashmiri Islamist party for five years amid conflict with Pakistan

Abstract: SRINAGAR, INDIA - India banned a Kashmir-based Islamist political party called Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) for five years on Thursday, accusing it of supporting militancy in the disputed region that is at the heart of an escalating conflict with rival Pakistan. A police officer said Indian authorities arrested about 300 JeI leaders and activists in recent days in a crackdown on militancy in the state after a suicide bomber killed 40 paramilitary police on Feb. 14 in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The attack was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group, leading to strikes and counter strikes by the air forces of the two nuclear-armed countries. Created in 1942, JeI participated in Indian elections for more than two decades before becoming engaged with separatist politics following the onset of militancy in Kashmir in 1989. It is the third ban to be imposed on the organization, which wants Kashmir to be independent from India. India’s Ministry of Home Affairs said JeI supports claims for secession of a part of India, and that if its activities were not curbed, it could cause trouble for the country. The government declared JeI an “unlawful association.” “If the unlawful activities of JeI are not curbed and controlled immediately, it is likely to escalate its subversive activities including attempt to carve out an Islamic State out of the territory of Union of India by destabilizing the government established by law,” a ministry statement said. JeI did not respond to calls by Reuters seeking comment.


The India-Pakistan crisis in Kashmir: What we know, what we don't and what might happen next

Abstract: NEW DELHI - A string of violent escalations have pushed India and Pakistan to the brink of conflict, sparking global alarm and calls for restraint between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Here is an explanation of the events so far, and the possible next steps: What triggered the crisis? On Feb. 14, 40 paramilitary fighters were killed in a suicide bomb attack in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, igniting outrage. It was the deadliest militant attack there in three decades, and was claimed by Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Kashmir has been a major flash point since the end of British rule in the subcontinent in 1947. A cease-fire line divides it between India and Pakistan, but both claim the Himalayan region in its entirety. Kashmir has seen hostilities during three India-Pakistan wars, as well as a limited conflict in 1999. India has 500,000 troops stationed in the region to counter an armed insurgency by separatists seeking either independence or a merger with Pakistan. How did India react? Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened a “jaw-breaking” response after the bombing. New Delhi demanded action from Islamabad, which it accuses of using militant groups as proxies to fuel unrest in Kashmir and carry out terror attacks in India. On Feb. 26, Indian warplanes crossed the Kashmir cease-fire line into Pakistani airspace, dropping bombs on what New Delhi described as a large JeM camp where militants were preparing to stage more attacks in India. Islamabad confirmed the incursion and the dropping of payloads in undisputed Pakistani territory, a few kilometers outside the part of Kashmir it controls. But it said New Delhi’s claim of killing scores of militants was “self-serving, reckless and fictitious.” What was Pakistan’s response? An infuriated Islamabad vowed retaliation after the raid, India’s first use of air power on Pakistani soil since the two fought a war in 1971 — when neither had nuclear weapons. On Feb. 27, Pakistani jets flew across the Kashmir cease-fire line in what Islamabad described as a show of strength, hitting open spaces after locking on to military targets. But there was a dramatic escalation when the Pakistani planes were chased by Indian fighters. In the ensuing fight, both sides claimed to have shot down each other’s warplanes. Pakistan said it downed two Indian jets, and detained one of their pilots. New Delhi confirmed the loss of one of its planes, and said a Pakistani jet was shot down — which Islamabad denied. India has demanded the “immediate and safe return” of the pilot. As tensions reached a level not seen in years, Pakistan closed its airspace completely. What happens next? The crisis has sparked alarm across the world, with major powers urging the two nuclear-armed rivals to act with restraint. Both sides have sought to play down the threat of war — Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj have said they do not want to escalate further. A lot rests on how India reacts to the Pakistani retaliation and the capture of its pilot, analysts said. “If India were to … retaliate again, that could really take things to another level,” Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center told Bloomberg TV. But the fact that Pakistan has one of its pilots “may limit its options and may make it a bit more cautious.” And given limited communication between the two, “there is increased scope for misunderstanding and miscalculation,” wrote Rahul Roy-Chaudhury of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. While there is international pressure to avoid a plunge into full-blown war, there may be pressure within India to not let Pakistan have the last word. “India is led by a government that’s very conservative, and has been very tough on Pakistan. There’s an election coming up in a few weeks in India. … I find it hard to believe that India would be ready to de-escalate,” Kugelman said. “I don’t know if we’ve seen the last of these fireworks on the sub-continent, unfortunately.”

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As Trump returns empty-handed from summit with Kim, some in Washington breathe sigh of relief

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Among some U.S. officials, congressional aides, analysts and others who track North Korea, there was a sigh of relief Thursday as President Donald Trump headed home from Vietnam empty-handed from his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said he walked away from a deal because of Kim’s demands to lift all U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea in return for the denuclearization of its Yongbyon atomic complex but not others that the United States knows about. In contrast, North Korea’s foreign minister said Pyongyang offered to dismantle Yongbyon in return for a partial lifting of sanctions as a step toward better relations between the nations, technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Before the summit, there were hints Washington was open to declaring an end to the war, some sanctions relief, and opening of liaison offices, a first step toward diplomatic ties, if the North reined in its nuclear program. The fear of many in the U.S. national security establishment was that Trump would give up too much in return for too little and they were pleased that did not happen. There was still concern in Washington, however, about what the summit’s collapse will mean for future nuclear diplomacy with North Korea. Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the summit’s failure had eased fears that Trump, anxious to claim a foreign policy success, might have made an agreement that dispelled the North Korean nuclear-armed missile threat to the continental United States, but not the threat of its shorter-range missiles to U.S. regional allies, such as Japan. “The general feeling was that all President Trump wants is a scalp to hang on the wall, like he did with calling the Singapore nothing-burger a great victory,” said Armitage, referring to Trump’s first summit with Kim last June. That produced a vague statement of Kim’s pledge to work toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but little progress followed. Trump’s defenders have long said he had no intention of giving ground to Kim at their second meeting in Hanoi this week without major North Korean concessions. They said Trump planned to use the rapport he claims with Kim and negotiating skills honed as a real estate developer to secure the best possible deal despite skepticism from critics who question whether he is up to speed on the main issues. Mark Dubowitz, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, rejected criticism that Trump came up empty, tweeting: “Actually walking away from a bad proposed deal is exactly what we’d expect from a competent deal-maker.” It had appeared Trump was moving toward offering Pyongyang concessions on a peace deal, sanctions and liaison offices in return for “promises to make promises to move toward (nuclear) disablement and dismantlement,” a congressional aide said on condition of anonymity. “There is a certain sigh of relief in that respect.” Analysts estimate North Korea may have a nuclear arsenal of 20 to 60 weapons which, if mated with intercontinental ballistic missiles it has developed, could threaten the U.S. mainland. The collapse of the summit leaves Kim in possession of that arsenal, though Trump said the North Korean leader agreed to maintain his moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The United States has long resisted offering the North a formal end to the war regarding this as a concession that should not be made until Pyongyang abandons its nuclear arms. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will ever give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which Kim’s ruling family sees as vital to its survival. An end to the war could also have spurred demands from North Korea for the United States to withdraw some of its 28,500 troops from South Korea, where they serve as a trip wire to deter a North Korean invasion. Trump, who has questioned the value of keeping the troops there, made clear before the summit that removing them was off the table, another source of relief for those who believe their withdrawal could embolden the North and endanger the South. One of the ironies that experts pointed out was that in failure, Trump may actually have had a success. It may also have been a victory for hawkish White House national security adviser John Bolton, who has pressed for Washington to maintain its “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign intact while demanding Pyongyang’s full denuclearization. Even Adam Schiff, the Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is one of Trump’s main critics in Congress, offered qualified praise. “President Trump’s decision to walk away from the summit with North Korea without an agreement was preferable to making a bad deal,” he said.

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Pakistan set to release downed Indian pilot and reopen airspace amid Kashmir tensions

Abstract: NEW, DELHI/ISLAMABAD - Pakistan prepared to release a captured Indian pilot on Friday as the nuclear powers scaled back their confrontation, and said it would reopen its airspace to commercial flights. World powers have urged restraint from the two nations as tensions escalated following a suicide car bombing that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14. The United States has been actively mediating, to avert any risk of the two countries sliding toward their fourth war since independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has been at the root of two of those conflicts. Both governments claimed they downed enemy jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot whose MiG fighter jet crashed in enemy territory after dogfight with a Pakistani JF-17. Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said airspace closed this week amid the tensions would re-open for commercial flights from 4 p.m. on Friday. The pilot, who India named on Thursday as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, has become the human face of the most recent conflict between the two nations. Having attempted to evade capture, he is being portrayed as a hero in India. Abhinandan was expected be returned at the Wagah border crossing between the two countries, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said. “As a gesture of peace and to de-escalate matters, the Indian pilot who is under arrest with us will be released today in the afternoon at the Wagah border,” he told lawmakers. Firing along the contested border dividing Kashmir eased on Friday. But diplomatic relations between the two countries remain strained. Qureshi said he would not attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Abu Dhabi this weekend because his Indian counterpart had been invited to the event. Qureshi has said the Saudi foreign minister is set to visit Islamabad with a message from Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who visited both Pakistan and India last month. Abhinandan’s plane came down on Wednesday after a dogfight with a Pakistani jet, two eyewitnesses told Reuters. The pilot shouted pro-India slogans and, after realizing he was in enemy territory, attempted to flee, firing his pistol in the air to deter Pakistani villagers who were chasing him, the eyewitnesses said. “During that half-a-kilometer run, he fired some more gunshots in the air as well, to frighten the guys but to no avail,” said Muhammad Razzaq Chaudhry, 58, one of the eyewitnesses. “Then he jumped into a small stream. Then, he realized that he could not escape, he took out some documents and maps from his uniform and tried to swallow some, tear apart and immerse the rest.” Abdul Majeed, 40, said he was one of a number of villagers who had beaten and thrown stones at the pilot. “While in the stream he once again pointed his revolver at us and fearing that he may shoot directly at us, I threw a stone at him,” he said. “Some of us did thrash him … because he had given us a tough time. But later we handed him over to the army personnel.” The conflict comes at a critical time for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a general election that must be held by May. Modi is expected to benefit from the nationalist pride unleashed by his government’s announcement on Tuesday that Indian warplanes had destroyed a major training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 attack. But there were growing calls from opposition parties for more information about just how successful the mission was. India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said the strike killed “a very large number” member of the group, and another senior government official told reporters that about 300 militants had been killed, but New Delhi had still to provide evidence to support that assessment. Pakistan says the Indian planes missed whatever they were aiming at, and that no one died in the attack outside Balakot, a small town in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. On Thursday, Mamata Banerjee, one of the main leaders of an Indian opposition coalition attempting to unseat Modi, requested more information about the attack. “We have the right to know how many people died in the airstrike and who were they,” she said. “We want to know the actual incident as we have not received any details.” Amit Shah, the president of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and one of its most influential figures, sought to dispel any doubt. “People should decide if they trust India’s armed forces or not,” he said at an event on Friday. “Those who are doubting are helping Pakistan.”

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