White House asked for options to strike Iran after Baghdad compound shelling, WSJ reports

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The White House’s national security team last fall asked the Pentagon to provide it with options for striking Iran after a group of militants aligned with Tehran fired mortars into an area in Baghdad that is home to the U.S. Embassy, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The request by the National Security Council, which is led by John Bolton, sparked deep concern among Pentagon and State Department officials, the newspaper reported, citing current and former U.S. officials. ( on.wsj.com/2Clg09b ) The Pentagon complied with the request, but it is not known whether the options for an Iran strike were also provided to the White House or if President Donald Trump knew about it. The decision to seek options striking Iran was prompted by an incident in September in which three mortar rounds were fired into a diplomatic quarter in Baghdad, the newspaper said. The shells landed in an open lot and no one was hurt. Two days later, unidentified militants fired three rockets that hit close to the U.S. Consulate in the southern city of Basra but caused no serious damage. The State Department and Pentagon did not comment on the report. NSC spokesman Garrett Marquis, said in a statement on Sunday: “The NSC coordinates policy and provides the president with options to anticipate and respond to a variety of threats” and that it will continue to consider “the full range of options” after the attacks.


Chilean Patagonia: An open-air lab to study climate change

Abstract: MAGALLANES, CHILE - In one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, the southernmost part of Chile’s Patagonia region, scientists are studying whales, dolphins and algae in order to help predict how climate change will affect the world’s oceans. For the study, four researchers from the Austral University of Chile embarked from Punta Arenas for the remote Seno Ballena fjord. The fjord currently produces the kind of conditions that should be seen in other marine systems in the next few decades, when dramatic changes are expected in the environment due to increased carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and the melting of glaciers. “This place is like an actual experiment in nature because it allows us, without needing to conduct experiments in the lab, to know what will happen without imagining it,” said marine biologist Maximiliano Vergara. Reaching the fjord is no easy task — they had to negotiate the treacherous Strait of Magellan that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans for a day and a half aboard a small raft adapted for scientific research, with winds exceeding 100 kph (62 mph) and glacial temperatures. On site, they take readings from a system of sensors that provide a constant stream of data from water samples taken every three hours. The researchers are analyzing the chemical, physical and biological variables of the waters, which show lower levels of pH, salinity and calcium, especially in the most shallow areas, as a consequence of climate change. “What we’re doing at the moment is establishing our information baseline,” Vergara said. Seno Ballena gets its name from the humpback whales that feed in the area after traveling down from the warmer waters of Central America, where they breed. The chilly fjord waters provide one of the most productive marine habitats in the world, where sardines and krill can be found in huge numbers. But climate change poses a threat to its ecosystem as the melting of a glacier on Santa Ines Island and increased rainfall have led to rising levels of freshwater. If that continues, it would have dire consequences for whales, as the plankton they feed on could disappear. “A change in the microalgae could generate changes in the secondary structure (of the marine system) or the animals that feed on these,” said marine biologist Marco Antonio Pinto. Under normal circumstances, when there is an abundance of microalgae, these provide food for the zooplankton that subsequently nourish the food chain all the way up to whales, said Pinto. The expedition members are taking samples from eight stations around Seno Ballena to measure the effects of the melting glacier on Santa Ines, which has accelerated to such an extent that rocks have appeared that weren’t visible during their last trip in April. “The waters of high latitudes, both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, contain a huge amount of biological and physiochemical information that can be used as a basis to take crucial decisions for environmental preservation projects in developed countries,” said biologist Maximo Frangopulos, a professor at the University of Magellanes and leader of the expedition. The scientists are worried about the potential for a red tide — a phenomenon brought on by excessive numbers of microorganisms that absorb a huge amount of oxygen and produce toxins, resulting in the deaths of much marine life. For now, researchers have noted a slight drop in the number of humpback whales but an increase in other species such as sea lions, which previously were not present in that region, and dolphins. They also found a lower concentration of calcium carbonate, something which can affect the shells of marine organisms such as mollusks or krill, a staple of a whale’s diet. “It’s like a puzzle that we’re trying to put together … to see how climate change can affect not just the baseline marine system, but also the large mammals, something that would have a social and economic impact on the region,” said Pinto. The crab, a species vital to the economy of the region around the strait, is another that could be affected as it needs calcium to harden its shell. The scientists are set to return to the area during the Southern Hemisphere winter to obtain new samples — and to see what other secrets the waters in this area of Chilean Patagonia can reveal.

chile
climate
climate change
environment
emissions
water


World awash in sustainable palm oil, but consumers unwilling to pay premium for environmentally friendly supply

Abstract: KUALA LUMPUR - The world’s biggest growers of palm oil say they’re stepping up efforts to produce the contentious commodity more sustainably, but consumers are unwilling to pay more for environmentally friendly supply. Production of sustainable palm oil has jumped to a record 13.6 million tons a year, about 20 percent of global output, according to the industry body that certifies the commodity. But only half of that is sold as sustainable oil. That is because it’s more expensive to produce and hardly anyone is willing to pay a premium, says Sime Darby Plantation Bhd., the top planter by acreage. “Buyers don’t want to pay for it,” Simon Lord, chief sustainability officer at Sime Darby, said from Kuala Lumpur. “There is increasing resentment among growers that the other actors in the supply chain are not stepping up.” Palm oil is increasingly controversial, particularly in Western countries, as images of deforestation and dying orangutans turn popular opinion against the ubiquitous commodity. But producers are hitting back, saying consumers are not willing to put their money where their mouths are. The certified oil typically sells at a premium of about $30 a ton for the non-certified kind, though this can vary significantly depending on purchase volumes and negotiations between buyers and sellers. To gain certification, it costs producers a minimum of $8 to $12 a ton, and there are other additional expenses like audit fees, logistics and environmental assessments, says Sime Darby, the biggest producer of certified, sustainable palm oil (CSPO). Sime Darby says it can only sell about 50 percent of its certified variety at a premium, with the rest being offloaded into a pool of non-certified oil without achieving any added value. Companies are having to sell their CSPO below cost, and would rather do that than stockpile it, says Oscar Tjakra, a senior analyst for grains and oilseeds at Rabobank International. “Some companies are already making a loss due to the high cost of production and financing, in addition to the extra costs for sustainable certification,” said Tjakra. “Considering the oversupply situation in the market, companies still have to sell their palm oil as storage tanks are full.” So who isn’t buying? According to the World Wildlife Fund, demand for CSPO in major consumers India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia remains low. Some companies in Europe also haven’t adopted “ambitious, time-bound commitments to procuring 100 percent CSPO,” though uptake from the EU is the highest, WWF’s global palm oil lead Elizabeth Clarke said. Mondelez International Inc., maker of Cadbury chocolates, said it is working with suppliers to ensure its palm is fully traceable, and at the end of 2017 about 96 percent of what it used was traceable to the mill. Nestle SA, where about half the tropical oil it sourced in 2017 was traceable to the plantation, says buying the certified variety is one way of pushing the industry toward a sustainable future and it aims to use 100 percent Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified oil by 2023. Still, buyers do face challenges procuring the oil “in specific geographies due to the lack of proximity to available CSPO,” Nestle said. “Consumers today want to know what is in their food, where the ingredients come from and how it is made,” Nestle said by email. “In many cases, companies do pay higher prices for responsibly produced palm oil.” The controversy surrounding palm has been simmering for decades, but the furor has recently intensified, with a U.K. supermarket chain’s viral anti-palm ad and environmental groups naming and shaming buyers of the unsustainable oil. The biggest blow to the industry may come from one of the top purchasers — the European Union — which is clamping down on unsustainable supply. The body that certifies the oil is also disconcerted by the muted response from consumers. Set up in 2004, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is responsible for assessing the product, with the costs depending on plantation size, how far auditors have to travel and whether it’s a high risk area. Market commitment and uptake of CSPO will be the defining factor when it comes to spurring adoption of sustainability standards, the RSPO said. While retailer members are almost all buying certified oil, processors, traders and consumer goods manufacturers have significant room for improvement, it said. For Greenpeace, responsible production does cost more and consumer goods companies should pay for it to encourage change in the industry. “The solution is for big brands to only buy palm oil from responsible growers that protect rain forests,” Diana Ruiz, a senior palm oil campaigner for Greenpeace in the U.S. “And it is available.”

palm oil
nature
environment
conservation


Democrats say Robert Mueller must complete probe of Trump's Russia ties without interference

Abstract: COLUMBUS, OHIO - Fresh reporting raises new questions about President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia and emphasizes the need to ensure that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation reaches its conclusion without interference, Senate Democrats said Sunday. The New York Times reported Friday that the FBI had opened a probe in 2017 to determine whether the president had worked, knowingly or unknowingly, on behalf of Russia and against U.S. national interests. On Saturday, a Washington Post story said Trump went to great lengths to hide details of his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The reports build on previous questions about Trump’s connections with Russia that need to be investigated, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election must be allowed to finish to provide the answers, he said. That process will start with seeking assurances this week during the confirmation hearing for William Barr, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat. “Bill Barr had better give us some rock — ironclad, rock-bottom assurances in terms of his independence and his willingness to step back and let Mueller finish his job,” Durbin said on ABC’s “This Week.” Trump lashed out Saturday at the New York Times story, which said his firing of former FBI Director James Comey prompted the FBI to open an investigation. The president said he fired Comey for cause, and that the probe was started “for no reason and with no proof” of wrongdoing. In an interview Saturday night, Trump also said he “couldn’t care less”‘ if details from his conversations with Putin were released. “It’s so ridiculous, these people make it up,” Trump told Jeanine Pirro on Fox News Channel’s “Justice With Judge Jeanine.” He added, as he did on Twitter on Saturday, that he’d been tougher on Russia than recent U.S. leaders. Trump should be judged by his actions in response to questions about whether he was compromised by Russia, and investigations should “get past the innuendo,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on NBC that he’ll consider whatever evidence is produced by Mueller, but added, “I’m not going to base it on unsubstantiated media reports.” The staff of Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has already sent 51 letters asking for documents related to investigations involving Trump that the panel may open, according to an story to air Sunday night on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” The issues include the private use of government-owned aircraft by Cabinet members and the flow of foreign money into Trump’s businesses, an except released by the network said. “We’ve got to hit the ground, not running, but flying,” Cummings said. Putin’s policies have been “almost parroted” by Trump, and the latest coverage bolsters the case for opposing the Treasury Department’s plans to lift sanctions on three Russian companies linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN. He said Democrats want to vote this week to ensure the sanctions are preserved. “As more and more of this information comes out about ties between Trump and Trump officials and the Russians, it is the worst time to signal that we are going to take the pressure off oligarchs like Deripaska,” Warner said.

democrats
robert mueller
donald trump
william barr
mark warner
congress
russia probe


U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo to tell Saudi Arabia to hold Khashoggi's killers 'accountable'

Abstract: RIYADH - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday arrived in Riyadh, where he is set to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable. The top U.S. diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, embarked on his second politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder inside its Istanbul consulate sparked an international outcry. “We will continue to have a conversation with the crown prince and the Saudis about ensuring the accountability is full and complete with respect to the unacceptable murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” Pompeo told reporters in Qatar, before flying to Riyadh. “So, we’ll continue to talk about that and make sure we have all the facts so that they are held accountable, certainly by the Saudis but by the United States as well.” He was speaking in Doha after meeting his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. He also met the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, before heading to Saudi Arabia. Pompeo’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will be hosted by Prince Mohammed, is part of an extensive eight-day trip to Amman, Cairo, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Muscat, and finally Kuwait City. Khashoggi was slain on Oct. 2 in a case that stunned the world and threatened a serious rift between Riyadh and Washington. The journalist was murdered and his corpse dismembered inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. Evidence subsequently emerged that the killing was carried out by a team of Saudis sent from Riyadh and closely linked to the crown prince. Washington has demanded a transparent investigation. Riyadh prosecutors have announced indictments against 11 people, and are seeking the death penalty against five of them. But Prince Mohammed, whose right-hand aides were allegedly involved in the murder, was exonerated by prosecutors despite U.S. intelligence reportedly having evidence he was behind it. On a previous visit to Riyadh at the height of the Khashoggi affair, Pompeo’s broad smiles with the crown prince outraged some Americans. However, U.S. President Donald President Trump has said Washington wants to preserve the alliance with the kingdom, although the U.S. Senate has clearly blamed Prince Mohammed for the murder. Washington is eager for regional unity to gain widespread support its fight against Iran. Pompeo refused on Sunday to comment on reports Washington had recently considered military action against Tehran. He also called on Qatar and other Gulf countries to end the worst political rift in the region for years, which has seen Doha diplomatically and economically isolated by neighboring former allies for the past 19 months. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — all U.S. allies — cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and seeking closer ties to Saudi arch-rival Iran. Qatar — also a U.S. ally — denies the allegations and accuses the countries of seeking regime change. “As for the GCC … we are all more powerful when we’re working together when we have common challenges in the region and around the world,” Pompeo said, referring to the six member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “Disputes between countries that have a shared objective are never helpful.” He added that “President Trump and I both believe the ongoing dispute in the region has gone on too long. However, Pompeo later admitted in a Q&A session with U.S. Embassy staff in Doha that no progress was made on resolving the issue. “(It’s) not at all clear that the rift is any closer to being resolved today than it was yesterday,” he said. “And I regret that.” He said he raised the standoff at length with his counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain. The United States, which at first appeared to back the boycott of Qatar, has so far been unsuccessful in trying to end the dispute. Attempts at mediation have stalled, as highlighted by the recent resignation of U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni. “It was time for change and he made his decision to move on but America’s commitment remains unchanged,” said Pompeo of Zinni. For Washington, turning the page on the crisis is essential for the successful launch of the Strategic Alliance of the Middle East (MESA), which is a NATO-style security pact that includes Gulf countries as well as Egypt and Jordan. The U.S. and Qatar held the second “strategic dialogue” between the two countries on Sunday, and signed agreements on defense, education and culture.

saudi arabia
mike pompeo
mohammed bin salman
jamal khashoggi
murder
istanbul
qatar
turkey
donald trump


Key Republican to ask FBI about report of Trump counterintelligence probe

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Republican head of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Sunday he plans to ask the FBI about a report it launched a probe into whether President Donald Trump has been working on Russia’s behalf, suggesting the agency may have gone too far. “I am going to ask the FBI director — was there a counterintelligence investigation opened up regarding the president as being a potential agent of the Russians? I find it astonishing,” Sen.Lindsey Graham said on the “Fox News Sunday” program. “If this really did happen, Congress needs to know about it,” he added. “How could the FBI do that? What kinds of checks and balances are there?” The New York Times reported on Friday that the FBI opened the counterintelligence investigation in 2017 after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey out of concern the president’s actions may have presented a threat to national security. Comey at the time was leading an investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Moscow tried to tip the election to Trump. Russia has denied interfering, and Trump has said repeatedly there was no collusion between his campaign and Moscow. The Times reported the counterintelligence probe was sparked in part by growing alarm about Trump’s behavior, including comments he made suggesting he fired Comey over the Russia investigation, which is now being led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump rejected the Times story on Saturday, telling Fox News it was “the most insulting article I’ve ever had written.” The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who previously served as Trump’s CIA director, blasted the Times story, when asked about it on the CBS “Face the Nation” show. “The notion that President Trump is a threat to American national security is absolutely ludicrous.” Democratic lawmakers on Sunday said the report underscored the need for legislation to protect the Mueller probe. “I do think it’s curious that throughout that whole summer when these investigations started, you had (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s policies almost being parroted by Donald Trump,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said on the CNN “State of the Union” program. Democrats also expressed concern about a report in the Washington Post on Saturday on alleged efforts by Trump to conceal details about his conversations with Putin. The paper reported that Trump took notes from his interpreter and instructed the person not to discuss the details of his conversation with others. Reuters could not independently verify details of the Post report. “When he takes the interpreter’s notes and wants to destroy them so no one can see what was said … it raises serious questions about the relationship between this president and Putin,” the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, said on ABC’s “This Week.” In his appearance on Fox News on Saturday, Trump denied that he was keeping anything under wraps on his meetings with Putin. Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic member of the judiciary committee, said he plans to press Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr, for a pledge to let Mueller complete his work. Barr is scheduled to testify before the committee on Tuesday and Wednesday. If he is confirmed as attorney general, he would oversee the Russia probe. “I would need a firm commitment that he will not allow any interference in the Mueller investigation,” Coons said on “Fox News Sunday.” He also said Barr must allow Mueller to release a copy of his final report to the public. Barr, who served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, sent an unsolicited memo to the Justice Department in June raising concerns about Mueller’s investigation, and arguing that it was inappropriate for Mueller to look into whether Trump may have sought to undermine the probe.

fbi
donald trump
lindsey graham
james comey
robert mueller
william barr
russia probe


Trump dodges question of whether he has worked for Russia after report of FBI probe concerns

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump avoided giving a direct answer when asked if he currently is or has ever worked for Russia after a published report said federal law enforcement officials were so concerned about his behavior after he fired James Comey from the FBI that they began investigating whether Trump had been working for the U.S. adversary against American interests. Trump said it was the “most insulting” question he’d ever been asked. The New York Times report Friday cited unnamed former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation. Trump responded to the report Saturday during a telephone interview broadcast on Fox News Channel after host Jeanine Pirro, who is also a personal friend of the president, asked whether he is currently or has ever worked for Russia. “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” Trump said. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written, and if you read the article you’ll see that they found absolutely nothing.” Trump never answered Pirro’s question directly, but went on to say that no president has taken a harder stance against Russia than he has. “If you ask the folks in Russia, I’ve been tougher on Russia than anybody else, any other … probably any other president, period, but certainly the last three or four presidents.” The Times reported that FBI agents and some top officials became suspicious of Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign but didn’t open an investigation at that time because they weren’t sure how to approach such a sensitive and important probe, according to the unnamed officials. But Trump’s behavior in the days around Comey’s May 2017 firing as FBI director, specifically two instances in which he seemed to tie Comey’s ousting to the Russia investigation, helped trigger the counterintelligence part of the investigation, according to the newspaper. In the inquiry, counterintelligence investigators sought to evaluate whether Trump was a potential threat to national security. They also sought to determine whether Trump was deliberately working for Russia or had unintentionally been influenced by Moscow. Trump tweeted early Saturday that the report showed that the FBI leadership “opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof” after he had fired Comey. Robert Mueller took over the investigation when he was appointed special counsel soon after Comey’s firing. The overall investigation is looking into Russian election interference and whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Russians, as well as possible obstruction of justice by Trump. The Times says it’s unclear whether Mueller is still pursuing the counterintelligence angle. Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told the Times he had no knowledge of the inquiry but said that since it was opened a year and a half ago and they hadn’t heard anything, apparently “they found nothing.” Trump has also repeatedly and vociferously denied collusion with the Russians.

donald trump
james comey
robert mueller
rudy giuliani
russia probe


Thanks for sharing? U.S. politicians target voters with unfiltered social media posts

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke shared his dentist appointment on Instagram. Sen. Elizabeth Warren guzzled a beer on the same online platform. And an unfiltered Sen. Cory Booker sends video selfies to young users on Snapchat. These American politicians may or may not be running for president in 2020, but they are united in their savvy social media use to raise their national profiles, appear more relatable to new voters and rake in millions of dollars in donations. The approach — even when desperately oversharing personal lives online — is a bold one, full of promise and some pitfalls. A fresh generation of Democratic lawmakers, and a few canny veterans, are pioneering the new social media strategy they hope will help them topple U.S. President Donald Trump. Today’s digital age is a startlingly frank and revealing one, and some lawmakers are embracing it, political risks be dammed. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was tending bar one year ago, but now, as a new Democratic member of Congress, the 29-year-old New Yorker has 2.3 million Twitter followers and, perhaps more intriguingly, 1.7 million on photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram. While Ocasio-Cortez posts about policy, she also shares videos of herself showing off dance moves or cooking macaroni and cheese. At first glance they are just glimpses into the everyday world of the lawmaker known simply as AOC. But she and others are gambling big time on bringing along thousands or even millions of viewers on their life journey. That could make all the difference for those running for president in 2020. “If you’re not … making serious investments online, you likely have zero shot in the Democratic primary,” said Adam Parkhomenko, a consultant and former staffer for 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “It’s probably the most important thing that a campaign can do.” Online personal brand promotion is being embraced by politicians, especially those who came of age in the 21st century and recognize its importance. “They’re using it to get out their message, and it works,” Parkhomenko said. The idea that nonpresidential imagery or messaging is taboo for White House candidates is almost trite today. The president himself is famous for pushing the boundaries of decency on his favorite platform, Twitter. “Things have changed a ton in the last two or three years,” Parkhomenko added. “You want to support someone that you can relate to” — even if that means watching them shop, jog, drive through their district or see a doctor. Enter O’Rourke, whose visit to a dentist in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, for a conversation about life near the U.S.-Mexico border triggered an avalanche of reaction online. “So, I’m here with Diana, my dental hygienist,” O’Rourke says to kick off the video on Instagram, where he has 760,000 followers. The clip shows O’Rourke, 46, wearing a protective green bib as Diana removes an electric polishing tool from his mouth after cleaning his pearly whites. “Even for me, this is Too Much Instagram,” complained one user. O’Rourke may well have sought to improve his brand image, but the visit also brought up the issue of dental coverage. “Beto better have an answer now about dental care,” said American University communications professor Scott Talan. Lawmakers were not always so revealing. But Talan says a new generation of tweeters and Instagram users in Congress are revealing their daily lives more than ever. Talan says voters should expect more everyday life clips from presidential hopefuls, pushed to the screens of millions of Americans who never log off. But the transparency is mostly illusory, with the risk of coming off as inauthentic. When Warren, 69, recently livestreamed herself drinking a Michelob Ultra, it unleashed a provocative debate. “This is where you get into serious questions about … politicians overreaching,” Talan said. “Even a beer opening on Instagram has risks and can ring inauthentic.” But it nevertheless can ring in big money. Instagram is owned by Facebook, and the megasite is likely optimized to comb through enormous data sets gathered from the millions of users who watch Warren, O’Rourke, Booker, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and other politicians on Instagram. So even if O’Rourke’s teeth-cleaning was cringeworthy and substance-free, it could help his campaign target Facebook ads or messages at the thousands of users who watched his livestream. These political messengers are seeing their followings grow with every personable clip. But how intimate will politicians’ postings get? “We won’t know how much is too much until we reach it,” Talan said.

social media
instagram
elizabeth warren
u.s .
elections
beto o'rourke


Trump rejects report that he hid details of Putin meetings, seized translator's notes

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has rejected a Washington Post report that he has refused to share details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin with top U.S. government officials. Trump, in a telephone interview late Saturday with Fox News, dismissed as “ridiculous” the Post story that alleged he went to great lengths to hide the content of his talks with Putin, even confiscating the notes of his interpreter and ordering that person to not discuss what was said. Trump said he had “a great conversation” with Putin in Helsinki in July 2018. When asked why not release details of the nearly two-hour conversation, Trump said: “I would, I don’t with care. “I mean, I had a conversation like every president does. You sit with the president of various countries… We were talking about Israel and securing Israel and lots of other things … I’m not keeping anything under wraps, I couldn’t care less. I mean, it’s so ridiculous.” He added: “Anybody could have listened to that meeting, that meeting is up for grabs.” According to the Post there is no detailed record of Trump’s personal talks with Putin at five locations over the past two years. The newspaper quotes unnamed current and former government officials as sources for the story. Trump also told Fox when asked about Putin that “no collusion” has been found between his 2016 campaign and Russia, that he was a better candidate than Democrat Hillary Clinton, that the U.S. economy “is the strongest in the world,” and that The Washington Post is “basically the lobbyist for Amazon,” as both are owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Trump also took aim at an earlier story in The New York Times stating that the FBI launched a previously undisclosed counterintelligence investigation to determine whether he posed a national security threat, at the same time that it opened a criminal probe into possible obstruction of justice. The FBI investigation was later folded into the broader probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and possible collaboration by the Trump campaign. Fox asked if he had ever worked for Russia. “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” he said, without directly answering the question. He slammed the Times story as “the most insulting article I’ve ever had written and if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing.” No evidence has publicly emerged that Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian officials, the Times said. The FBI had been suspicious of Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign, but it held off on opening a probe until the president sacked Comey, who refused to roll back the Russia investigation, the Times said. Mueller has indicted 33 people in the probe and convicted some of the president’s close associates. Trump’s ex-national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his Moscow ties. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has been sentenced to three years in prison for multiple crimes, including felony violations of campaign finance laws that prosecutors allege were carried out under Trump’s direction. And Trump’s former presidential campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been convicted in one case brought by Mueller and pleaded guilty in another, over financial crimes related to his work in Ukraine before the 2016 campaign, and for witness tampering.

donald trump
russia
vladimir putin
robert mueller
u.s .
russia probe


May warns it would be 'catastrophic' for U.K. democracy if Parliament halts Brexit

Abstract: LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May warned lawmakers Sunday that failing to deliver Brexit would be catastrophic for democracy, in a plea for support two days before Parliament is expected to reject her deal with Brussels. With the clock ticking down to its March 29 exit from the European Union and Parliament deadlocked, Britain faces a hugely uncertain path that could lead to a disorderly exit or even remaining in the bloc. May, who postponed a vote in Parliament on her deal in December after admitting she was set to lose it, said lawmakers must not let down the people who backed Brexit in a June 2016 referendum. “Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy,” she wrote in the Sunday Express. “So my message to Parliament this weekend is simple: it is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country.” May has so far refused to retreat from her unpopular deal, which envisages close trading ties with the EU but without any say on policy as Britain has now. The vexed Brexit issue represents Britain’s biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years. May’s deal has come under fire from all sides — with opponents of the EU seeking a cleaner break and many pro-Europeans pressing for a second referendum. May is expected to suffer a big defeat when Parliament votes Tuesday. Meanwhile, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gave his clearest indication yet that his party is ready to call a no-confidence ballot within days of May losing the parliamentary vote. Speaking on the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday, Corbyn said a confidence vote would be brought “at a time of our choosing, but it is going to be soon, don’t worry about that.” Corbyn is seeking to topple the government by forcing a general election. Under British electoral law, May’s Conservatives would have two weeks following a lost confidence vote to form a new government. If they fail, an election would be called. The Labour leader faces a major hurdle: His chances of winning a confidence vote are slim, as he’d have to gain the support of both Tory and Northern Irish lawmakers, who fear a Labour takeover of government. If a confidence vote failed, he’d be under pressure to back a second Brexit referendum, risking a backlash from the many Labour supporters who voted to leave the EU. Corbyn said he’d prefer to see a negotiated deal than a second referendum. Labour says it wants a full, permanent customs union with the EU, something that would appall many pro-Brexit Tories, though senior ministers are now said to be urging May to ask Corbyn for help in the hope of agreeing on a joint plan. A no-deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” for industry and trade, Corbyn told the BBC. “We will do everything we can to prevent a no-deal exit.” As May made a last-ditch appeal to members of Parliament, the Guardian reported the EU is expecting a request from London to extend the March 29 deadline for leaving the bloc. A probable first step would be a “technical” extension until July to allow the prime minister to revise and ratify the Brexit deal, the newspaper said, citing EU sources it didn’t identify. A defeat would leave Britain on course to leave the EU with no new trading arrangements in place. According to Bank of England analysts, such a chaotic split could hammer the pound and house prices, and plunge Britain into a recession worse than the financial crisis a decade ago. The Sunday Times reported that some lawmakers are planning to seize control of the legislative agenda from the government in an act that would allow Parliament to extend the Brexit deadline or even overturn the decision to leave the EU. A senior government official on Sunday described the plan as extremely concerning, since if it succeeds lawmakers would gain control over not just Brexit legislation but all legislation. In a warning to Conservative rebels ahead of the vote, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said Brexiteers seeking “ideological purity” are in danger of seeing Britain not leave the EU at all. But asked about a Brexit Plan B, Barclay hinted that May is not ready to ditch her plan if it’s defeated, saying he “strongly suspects” lawmakers will end up voting for “something along the lines” of the current deal. The EU is waiting to see the outcome of Tuesday’s vote — and the margin of the expected defeat — before considering its response, officials said, with some predicting that May will have to delay Brexit. A margin of defeat exceeding about 60 lawmakers would probably mean the agreement is close to death and negotiations are in uncharted waters, several EU officials said. A narrower defeat and the bloc may look at fresh ways of making the agreement more palatable to get it across the line in Parliament.


Breaching a postwar taboo, German far right dallies with 'Dexit' from EU

Abstract: RIESA, GERMANY - As the British Parliament prepares for a crucial Brexit vote Tuesday, Germany’s far right voted Sunday to break a national taboo by campaigning to quit the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met. A party congress gathered in Riesa in Saxony state — the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) biggest stronghold — voted for the demand to be included in its manifesto for European Parliament elections in May. Aware that a vast majority of Germans remain in favor of their country’s EU membership, delegates advanced cautiously. They called for a “Dexit” only “as a last resort” if fundamental reforms do not reshape the EU “in an appropriate timeframe. But the decision marks the first time in Germany’s postwar history that a political party has dared suggest blowing up the nation’s EU membership. Alongside the transatlantic alliance with the United States, membership in the EU project has long been a key element of German national identity, and one way the country has sought to move on from the Nazi past while defending its interests. By contrast, “AfD is trying to rehabilitate a German nationalist position” in political debate, historian and political scientist Klaus-Peter Sick told AFP. “This position is a normalization of the nationalist right relative to what’s going on in neighboring countries like Italy or France,” he added. “By moving onto this territory, AfD is carrying out a test within the party and among voters to discover whether it’s a theme that can glean support.” Germany’s biggest opposition party since September 2017 elections, the AfD produced its manifesto only after intense internal negotiations. If “deep reforms” are not made, “we judge it necessary, as a last resort, for Germany to leave the EU or for the EU to be dissolved” in favor of an economic community, it declares. Among the changes demanded by the party are the abolition of the European Parliament and the euro single currency as well as an end to the “Islamization” of Europe. Many delegates originally hoped for an even tougher program on “Dexit” that would allow just one European Parliament term — until 2024 — for reforms before the AfD would campaign directly for departure. But party chiefs urged the congress not to tie its hands with a fixed date. “I think we would be badly advised to campaign with a maximalist demand,” said joint leader Alexander Gauland. He warned that if Brexit causes significant upsets to the British economy, comparable demands from a German party could scare off voters. More generally, with a massive pro-EU majority in Germany, AfD bosses know they could deter swathes of potential voters by talking too loudly about quitting. A European Parliament survey in November found 82 percent of Germans would vote to remain in the EU if the country held a U.K.-style referendum, while 75 percent saw Brexit as either “probably” or “definitely” the wrong decision. The move opens up a new front for the AfD alongside opposition to Islam and immigration, the foundation of the party’s electoral successes since 2015 and the arrival of more than 1 million asylum seekers. Far-right leaders need fresh issues to whip up sentiment, after their favorite punching-bag, Chancellor Angela Merkel, announced her retirement for 2021 at the latest. Their European sally comes two days before a critical U.K. Parliament vote on whether to accept a deal that London has negotiated with Brussels. At present the accord looks set for rejection, increasing the danger of a chaotic departure with unforeseeable consequences.

dexit
eu
germany
brexit
euro
afd
angela merkel
right-wing


Trump warns Turkey of economic devastation if it hits Kurd allies in Syria after U.S. exit

Abstract: ISTANBUL - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Turkey with economic devastation if it attacks a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia in Syria, weakening the Turkish lira and prompting sharp criticism from Ankara on Monday. Relations between the two NATO allies have been strained over U.S. backing for the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that is waging a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil. A diplomatic crisis last year, when Trump imposed sanctions on two of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ministers and raised tariffs on Turkish metal exports, helped push the Turkish lira to a record low in August. Trump said Sunday the United States is starting the military pullout from Syria that he announced in December but that it will continue to hit Islamic State fighters there. “Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone . . . Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey,” Trump wrote on Twitter. The lira slid as much as 1.6 percent to 5.5450 against the dollar. Turkey’s presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said Trump should respect Washington’s alliance with Ankara. “Mr. @realDonaldTrump It is a fatal mistake to equate Syrian Kurds with the PKK, which is on the U.S. terrorists list, and its Syria branch PYD/YPG,” Kalin wrote on Twitter. “Terrorists can’t be your partners & allies. Turkey expects the U.S. to honor our strategic partnership and doesn’t want it to be shadowed by terrorist propaganda,” he said Monday. Trump gave no details about the safe zone proposal. He announced last month he will withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, declaring they have succeeded in their mission to defeat the Islamic State group and are no longer needed. However, U.S. officials have given mixed messages since then. The U.S.-led coalition said Friday it had started the pullout but officials said later it involved only equipment, not troops. The Kurdish YPG has been a U.S. ally in the fight against the jihadis and it controls swaths of northern Syria. Erdogan has vowed to crush it in the wake of Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of the region. Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s communications director, said “Turkey will continue its anti-terror fight decisively” and that it is a protector of the Kurds, not their enemy. “Terror is terror and it must be eradicated at its source. This is exactly what Turkey is doing in Syria,” he wrote on Twitter. Turkey has swept YPG fighters from Syria’s Afrin region and other areas west of the River Euphrates in military campaigns over the past two years. It is now threatening to strike east of the river, which it has avoided until now — partly to avoid direct confrontation with U.S. forces. An official from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militias led by the YPG, said Sunday Islamic State militants are “living their final moments” in the last enclave they hold near the Iraqi border.

turkey
kurds
syria
donald trump
islamic state
mike pompeo


Trump isn't giving in on southern border wall, says GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A leading Senate Republican close to President Donald Trump says Trump isn’t giving in on his demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the issue that’s caused the partial government shutdown that’s now in its fourth week. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he encouraged Trump during a telephone conversation Sunday to reopen the government for a period of weeks to try to negotiate a deal with the Democrats that would break the impasse. But the South Carolina Republican said Trump wants a deal first. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also has insisted that Trump end the shutdown first before any negotiating takes place. “I tried to see if we could open up the government for a limited period of time to negotiate a deal,” Graham said. “The president says ‘Let’s make a deal, then open up the government.’ Nancy Pelosi says even if you opened up the government I wouldn’t fund a wall. “What is he supposed to do? Just give in. He’s not going to give in,” Graham said. The assessment from Graham, who has become close to Trump, suggested the shutdown could last for weeks longer, if not months, inflicting additional financial pain on the 800,000 federal workers who have been idled or required to work without pay for the duration. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called Graham’s idea for a brief reopening of the government a “great place to start.” “Stop harming our country and our economy and let’s make our best efforts because we all agree we need to invest more in border security,” Coons said. Graham said he thinks Trump is willing to accept the level of wall funding he is seeking, along with some immigration measures Democrats might find acceptable, such as helping immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children. But Trump has said that while he is interested in pursuing a broader overhaul of the immigration system, he first wants to hear what the Supreme Court has to say about the group of immigrants known as “Dreamers.” Pelosi also has shown no interest in accepting a wall — she has called it an “immorality” — in exchange for the suggested immigration fixes. And Trump appeared to shoot down Graham’s suggestion of a “wall plus” deal, saying Sunday on Twitter that even Democrats don’t want to make “Dreamers” part of the shutdown talks. “The damage done to our Country from a badly broken Border — Drugs, Crime and so much that is bad — is far greater than a Shutdown, which the Dems can easily fix as soon as they come back to Washington!” Trump said in a separate tweet. Graham has been among the most outspoken Republicans pushing Trump to use his authority to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress and build the wall by tapping unspent money sitting in various government accounts, including for military construction and disaster relief. Democrats oppose such a declaration but may be powerless to stop it. Many Republicans are wary, too, fearing its use by a future Democratic president. “We don’t want it to come down to a national emergency declaration,” said House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. “Clearly the president’s got authority under the law, but he’s said he doesn’t want it to come to that. He wants Congress to solve this problem. Congress needs to solve this problem.” Trump has said he prefers giving Congress more time to work out a deal before pulling the trigger on such a declaration. But Graham said Sunday that time is running out. “It’s the last option, not the first option, but we’re pretty close to that being the only option,” Graham said of an emergency declaration. Graham and Coons spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”

lindsey graham
donald trump
nancy pelosi


Top Republicans oppose border 'emergency' as shutdown drags on

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Top Republican lawmakers on Sunday warned against Donald Trump declaring a national emergency to secure funds for a border wall, signaling doubts within the president’s party as a government shutdown was set to enter a fourth workweek. Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, told CNN that he would “hate” to see Trump invoke emergency powers for a wall. “If we do that, it’s going to go to court and the wall won’t get built,” he said. And Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, told ABC, “We don’t want it to come down to a national emergency declaration,” even if he believes Trump has the authority to do so. Trump only recently backed away from talk of an emergency declaration, after pressing it for days as a way out of the continuing budget standoff. Democrats have strongly opposed the idea. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, said Sunday on ABC that “if this president is going to turn to national emergencies every time he disagrees with Congress, I’m against it.” He urged Trump to “put an end to the shutdown and put everything on the table.” As the partisan battle drags on, the effects of the partial shutdown have become steadily clearer, and new polls show growing public dissatisfaction. On Sunday, Trump acknowledged, at least indirectly, the mounting costs of the shutdown. “The damage done to our Country from a badly broken Border — Drugs, Crime and so much that is bad — is far greater than a Shutdown, which the Dems can easily fix as soon as they come back to Washington!” he said. Many lawmakers spent the weekend in their home states — often hearing constituents’ complaints about the shutdown — but will return to Washington on Monday. Trump has tried various angles to pressure Democratic negotiators, but they have not visibly budged from an offer to support some border security spending — the figure of $1.3 billion has been floated — but not the $5.7 billion he wants for a wall. Two new polls indicate the Democrats may be winning the battle for public support. The Washington Post/ABC News survey found that far more Americans blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown than blame the Democrats — by 53 percent to 29 percent. Meantime, a separate poll by CNN showed Trump’s disapproval rating among Americans had climbed by five points — to 57 percent — in just a month, with just 37 percent approving. But the Post poll also found a hardening of Republican support for a wall, with 70 percent now saying they strongly support the wall, up from 58 percent a year earlier. The president has closely tied his fate to his steadfast conservative base. Many Republicans doubt that the invocation of a national emergency would help their cause — likely influencing Trump’s decision Friday to say he was holding off in order to give Democrats more time to strike a deal. “I want to give them the chance to see if they can act responsibly,” he told Fox in an interview late Saturday. Trump has acknowledged that an emergency declaration would likely trigger a legal battle ending in the Supreme Court. Opponents say such a unilateral presidential move would be constitutional overreach and set a dangerous precedent. The partial shutdown became the longest on record at midnight Friday, when it overtook a 21-day stretch in 1995-1996 under President Bill Clinton. The impasse has paralyzed Washington — its impact felt increasingly around the country — with the president refusing to sign off on budgets for swaths of government departments unrelated to the dispute. As a result, 800,000 federal employees — including FBI agents, air traffic controllers and museum staff — received no paychecks on Friday. Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the U.S.-Mexican border presents challenges, but Trump has turned his single-minded push for more walls into a crusade. He tweeted Sunday that “The building of the Wall on the Southern Border will bring down the crime rate throughout the entire Country!” Some studies show that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than people born in the United States. Only in recent days has Trump begun describing the problem as “humanitarian,” referring in a tweet Saturday to “a massive Humanitarian Crisis at our Southern Border.”


Israel says all Hezbollah cross-border tunnels from Lebanon have been found

Abstract: JERUSALEM - Israel said Sunday it had uncovered all cross-border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon and will bring its operation to find and destroy them to an end after more than a month. The operation had raised concerns that Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shiite group and enemy of Israel, would respond and spark a new conflict between them, but the border has remained calm throughout. An Israeli military spokesman declined to say how many tunnels had been discovered in total, but the army has announced six since the operation was launched. The last tunnel was exposed on Saturday, the army said. “We have found yet another Hezbollah cross-border attack tunnel from Lebanon to Israel,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. “According to our intelligence and our assessment of the situation there are no longer any cross-border attack tunnels from Lebanon into Israel.” The latest tunnel began in the Lebanese village of Ramyeh, some 800 meters (yards) away from Israel, the army said. It reached a few dozen meters into Israel, and at 55 meters underground was the deepest as well as “the longest and most detailed” of all the tunnels the army exposed, Conricus said. The army said its discovery marked the end of the operation launched on December 4 and that the last tunnel would be destroyed in the coming days. On a visit to an area near the Israeli border with Lebanon on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the success of the operation dubbed “Northern Shield.” “A very serious threat was averted here,” said Netanyahu. “Hezbollah’s operational plan was to use the tunnels weapon to infiltrate many fighters, between 1,000-2,000 terrorists, into the Galilee to seize communities here. … We have prevented this — and will continue to prevent it,” he said. The tunnels are being destroyed either with explosives or by filling them with a cement-like material to make them unusable. Conricus said there were no more tunnels reaching Israel from Lebanon but the army was still monitoring “facilities” being dug by Hezbollah inside Lebanese territory. “We have achieved the goal (to expose and destroy the tunnels from Lebanon) which we set out to achieve at the beginning,” Conricus said. He also reiterated that Israel holds the Lebanese government accountable “for any act of violence or violation of 1701,” the U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, was informed of the latest tunnel, Conricus said. Israel alleges Hezbollah had planned to use the tunnels to kidnap or kill its civilians or soldiers, and to seize a slice of Israeli territory in the event of any hostilities. It has said, however, that they were not yet operational. A month-long war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Israel says all anti-tunnel operations have taken place within its territory, and the highly publicized mission has gone ahead without drawing a military response from Hezbollah. The announcement that the operation is ending comes as military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot steps down at the end of his term. Israeli analysts see the operation as one of Eisenkot’s important achievements. Neither Lebanon nor Hezbollah has commented directly on the end of the operation. Lebanese officials however held talks on Sunday with U.S. Undersecretary of State David Hale that included discussion of the border area, statements from both sides said.

israel
hezbollah
lebanon
benjamin netanyahu
u.s .
terrorism


French media denounce violent 'yellow vest' attacks on press

Abstract: PARIS - French media and reporters’ organizations on Sunday denounced attacks on journalists by “yellow vest” anti-government protesters and called for better protection after a series of incidents this weekend. Paris police fired water cannon and tear gas to push back demonstrators from around the Arc de Triomphe monument on Saturday, in the ninth straight weekend of protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms. Journalists covering the protests are increasingly becoming a target for the demonstrators. In the western city of Rouen, LCI television reporters were attacked by a group of protesters. One of the security agents working with the TV crew was beaten while he was on the ground and had his nose broken, with footage of the incident widely shared on social media. In Paris, an LCI reporter was pushed to the ground as demonstrators tried to take away her camera, the station said, adding that it will take legal action against the attackers. Several other stations, including BFM TV and franceinfo, on Sunday showed images of reporters being hassled or pushed around during Saturday’s “yellow vest” marches. Reporters without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire called on authorities to take action. “This is anti-democratic blackmail from people who consider they can beat up journalists if they disagree with the way events are covered,” he said on France Info radio. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on his Twitter feed that anyone attacking reporters will be brought to justice. “In our democracy, the press is free … attacking journalists is attacking the right to inform,” he said. France has been rocked by yellow vest protests against Macron’s reforms since the middle of November in a movement that has no designated leaders and is not linked to political parties or unions. Started as a protest against high fuel prices, the movement has morphed into a fight for social justice and more direct democracy. Several demonstrations have degenerated into violent clashes with police. Over the coming week, Macron will launch three months of national debate to air yellow-vest grievances in the hope of appeasing the movement, which has undermined his authority and upended his reform drive.

media
yellow vests
france
reporters without borders


Islamic State in 'its final moments,' says U.S.-backed Syrian force

Abstract: QAMISHLI, SYRIA/BEIRUT - Islamic State militants are “living their final moments” in the last enclave they hold near the Iraqi border, where U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are attacking them, an SDF official said on Sunday. A defeat of the jihadis in the enclave would wipe out Islamic State’s territorial foothold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said the SDF were making “great progress … but the fight continues.” The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of militias led by the Kurdish YPG, have driven Islamic State from a swath of northern and eastern Syria with the help of the U.S.-led coalition over the last four years. Mustafa Bali, SDF media office head, said the SDF had stepped up attacks in the last two days and taken control of the area between the Islamic State enclave and the Iraqi border, cutting an escape route. “They are living the final moments and realize that this battle is the battle to eliminate them,” he added. U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced he would withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, declaring they had succeeded in their mission to defeat Islamic State and were no longer needed. Since then, U.S. officials have given mixed messages. On Friday, the U.S.-led coalition said it had started the pullout, but officials later said only equipment, not troops, were going. Col. Sean Ryan, the coalition spokesman, said: “The SDF is making great progress and continues to liberate more territory once held by ISIS (Islamic State), but the fight continues. “The lasting defeat of ISIS is still the mission and they still present a very real threat to the long-term stability in this region, so it is not over yet.” The U.S. decision has injected new uncertainty into the eight-year-old Syrian war and spurred a flurry of contacts over how the security vacuum will be filled in the swath of northern and eastern Syria where the U.S. forces are now stationed. While Turkey aims to pursue the Kurdish forces allied with the United States, the Russia- and Iran-backed Syrian government sees a chance to recover extensive territory. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton suggested last week that protection for Washington’s Kurdish allies would be a precondition of the U.S. withdrawal. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called his comments “a serious mistake.” Bali said the people of northern Syria and the coalition must discuss a plan for “after the elimination of Daesh, and to take measures to prevent Daesh reorganising itself and returning once again. Islamic State still holds territory on the western bank of the Euphrates, between areas controlled by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian-backed allies.

islamic state
syria
ypg
donald trump
u.s .
terrorism
kurds


Afghan talent show singer finds fame as doppelganger for Canada's Justin Trudeau

Abstract: KABUL - An Afghan talent show contestant’s striking resemblance to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned him into an unlikely celebrity in the war-torn country — and potentially given him the winning edge. Abdul Salam Maftoon, a wedding singer from a village in the remote and impoverished northeastern province of Badakhshan, had never even heard of his more famous doppelganger until a judge on the popular television music contest “Afghan Star” pointed out the uncanny likeness. Slightly built with a long face and dark brown hair and eyes, Maftoon, 29, hopes the flattering comparison to the politician widely rated as one of the sexiest leaders in the world will bring him more votes on Afghanistan’s version of “American Idol.” “People have forgotten my name and now they just call me ‘Justin Trudeau,'” Maftoon said, his self-conscious smile revealing two gold-plated front teeth. “I didn’t know anything about Justin Trudeau until I saw the photos on social media. “The resemblance has boosted my chances of winning the competition by 50 percent.” Composite photos of the pair — Maftoon wearing a hat favored by men in northern Afghanistan and Trudeau in Western-style clothing — have drawn scores of comments on Facebook. And a video of an “Afghan Star” panel discussion about their physical similarities has been viewed tens of thousands of times. “Trudeau’s lost twin,” wrote Neila Abdulzadah on Facebook. Fowzia Zereh posted: “I think their story is like a Bollywood movie — they were separated at birth and he found his lost twin brother.” Another said: “This is truly the copy of Trudeau. I’d love to see our Trudeau win this year’s ‘Afghan Star.'” Maftoon has a good chance. The performer is among eight contestants to make it through to the next elimination round on Thursday. The final will be held on March 21, the Persian new year’s eve. So far, Maftoon’s repertoire of romantic folk songs, which he sings in both of Afghanistan’s official languages Dari and Pashto, and his looks have impressed viewers, whose votes decide which performer is kicked off the show each week. He has also caught the attention of the official judges. “He looks like my prime minister,” said Afghan-born Canadian musician Qais Ulfat, one of the four judges who first pointed out Maftoon’s resemblance to Trudeau. “His voice is very satisfying. He has that god-gifted vocal ability. “This guy could be the next Justin Bieber.” Until now, Maftoon has relied on singing and playing instruments at wedding and birthday parties to support his wife and four children. But he is confident that his newfound fame will boost demand for his entertainment services. “When I go back to my hometown, people will definitely call me,” Maftoon said, his trademark hat perched on the back of his head as he practiced vocals with Ulfat in a recording studio at local television station Tolo. While Maftoon has little chance of going to Canada anytime soon, he holds hopes of one day meeting his Canadian double. “I want to meet him if he wants to because he is a global personality and I am a poor man from a remote part of Afghanistan,” he said. “We will see what happens.”


China says detained Canadian lacks diplomatic immunity

Abstract: BEIJING - China on Monday ridiculed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim that a former Canadian Embassy official detained in Beijing still held diplomatic immunity. Chinese authorities arrested former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor last month, accusing them both of endangering national security. The move was widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a top Chinese executive from telecom giant Huawei. Trudeau on Friday accused China of “arbitrarily and unfairly” detaining the two men and of ignoring Kovrig’s “diplomatic immunity” — earning a scornful rebuke from Beijing. “The accusations that the Chinese side arbitrarily detains Canadian citizens are unfounded,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing. “The relevant people on the Canadian side should seriously learn and study the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. … Don’t make specious statements that make a fool of oneself,” Hua added. Persons carrying a diplomatic passport are protected by limited immunity when they are abroad under the terms of the Vienna Convention. Kovrig was arrested Dec. 10 after taking leave from his diplomatic posting to work for the International Crisis Group think tank. Trudeau’s statement suggested Kovrig carried a diplomatic passport while on his sabbatical — which is possible if authorized by Canada’s foreign ministry — but Hua said he was in China on an ordinary travel document with a business visa. “No matter which angle you look at it from, Michael Kovrig does not have diplomatic immunity,” she said. “Kovrig is not currently a diplomat.” Ottawa has called for the Canadians’ immediate release, with the backing of the U.S., EU and several Western nations. Trudeau has also called for China to respect the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Canada should “first take real action to prove that its own judicial system is independent,” Hua said.


Million dead fish cause environmental stink in Australia

Abstract: SYDNEY - As many as a million fish are believed to have died along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, and the authorities warned Monday of more deaths to come. The banks of the Murray-Darling Rivers are thick with rotten fish, with officials putting the number of dead at hundreds of thousands and saying the toll is likely closer to 1 million. Further high temperatures forecast for this week could make the situation worse, the New South Wales government has warned. Low water conditions and the heat may also have encouraged an algae bloom that starves the fish of oxygen and produces toxins. “We do expect to see more fish kills across parts of the far west and Northern Tablelands this week,” said state minister Niall Blair. The deaths have become a national issue, sparking angry allegations about the cause and who is responsible. “It’s a devastating ecological event,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday, pointing to apocalyptic scenes. “The sheer visual image of this is just terribly upsetting,” he said. Morrison’s government has blamed the fish deaths on drought, and defended policies which some local residents say have caused the systemic depletion and pollution of the river system. “There’s a drought and this is one of the consequences of drought. There are many, and my focus on drought has not shifted one inch,” Morrison said. But for years scientists have been warning of people extracting vast amounts of water without check for irrigation or other uses, undercutting billions of dollars of investment. “Dead fish and dying rivers are not because of the drought, it’s because we are extracting too much water from our river,” said John Williams, an expert in water economics at the Australian National University. Opposition leader Bill Shorten called on the government to set up an “emergency task force” to address the issue. “You can’t ignore a million dead fish, that’s a shocking development,” said Shorten. Morrison insisted the management plan for the Murray-Darling Basin was bipartisan, adding that his government was only following on the policies of the opposition Labor government. “I’m concerned today that some might want to play politics with that,” he said. “There were reports done by scientists under Labor’s contribution to that plan back in 2012 and the plan has been operating in accordance with that advice.” Scientists are calling for politicians to be held to account. “Billions have been spent on upgrading irrigation infrastructure,” said Quentin Grafton, also of the Australian National University, “but with no public benefit.” “It’s a disgrace and it’s time those responsible are held accountable for this unfolding disaster.”

fish
australia
rivers
water
environment
heat waves


Cambodian prime minister warns of 'dead' opposition if EU withdraws preferences

Abstract: PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday threatened to retaliate against the opposition if the European Union withdraws duty-free trading access over human rights concerns. The EU in November began a formal procedure to strip Cambodia of its Everything but Arms (EBA) status, after Hun Sen returned to power in a July general election in which his party won all of the seats after a crackdown on the opposition. “If you want the opposition dead, just cut it,” Hun Sen said in a speech at the inauguration of a ring road around the capital, Phnom Penh, addressing the European Union and referring to Cambodia’s EBA status. “If you want the opposition alive, don’t do it and come and hold talks together,” he said. EBA is an initiative aimed at helping poorer countries. It can be withdrawn in the case of serious violations of human rights conventions. The EU threatened to withdraw the trade preferences because of a crackdown on the opposition ahead of the July election, which the EU condemned as not being credible. Hun Sen, 66, who also marked the 34th year of his premiership Monday, said that he would not forgive those who had appealed to Western countries to cut aid to press his government, and said critics should get ready to flee abroad. “People are prepared to flee, be prepared,” Hun Sen said. “I won’t forgive them.” Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and banned 118 party members in 2017 at the request of the government after accusations that the party was plotting to take power with the help of the United States. The party and the United States rejected any such plot. CNRP leader Kem Sokha was released from prison in September after spending more than a year in jail on treason charges but remains under house arrest in Phnom Penh. He denies any wrongdoing. Other senior party members have left the country, in fear of arrest. EU countries took about 40 percent of Cambodia’s exports in 2016, the bulk from the garment sector that employs about 700,000 people. EU Ambassador George Edgar and the CNRP did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Monday.


Canadian man facing harsher sentence after China court orders retrial in drug smuggling case

Abstract: DALIAN, CHINA - A Canadian man accused of drug smuggling in China faced a new trial Monday after an upper court called for a harsher sentence in a case that could further strain ties between Beijing and Ottawa. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison and a 150,000 yuan ($22,000) forfeiture, could now potentially face the death penalty under China’s zero-tolerance drug laws. His retrial in the northeast city of Dalian comes against the backdrop of the Chinese government’s anger over the arrest in Canada of a top executive of telecom giant Huawei last month. Chinese authorities have since detained two Canadian nationals — a former diplomat and a business consultant — on suspicion of endangering national security. Schellenberg, who was reportedly detained in northeast Liaoning province in 2014, is accused of playing an important role in drug smuggling and of potentially being involved in international organized drug trafficking activities. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November. His appeal backfired as a high court in Liaoning ruled in December that the sentence was too lenient given the severity of his crimes. There has been little public information from the courts about Schellenberg’s case, rights groups say, making it difficult to keep track of what has been happening. “It’s clear that Chinese courts are not independent, and by systematic design, courts can be influenced by Communist Party officials,” William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, said. Court retrials are rare, said Donald Clarke, a professor at George Washington University specializing in Chinese law, and even rarer are retrials calling for a harsher sentence. “It is obvious . . . that Schellenberg’s fate will have little to do with his actual guilt or innocence,” Clarke added. “If the Chinese government has an innocent explanation for all the unusual features of this case, I hope it will provide it,” he added, “otherwise, I don’t know how to understand this case other than as a simple threat.” The Canadian Foreign Ministry has said it is following the case “very closely” and has provided Schellenberg consular assistance since his arrest. Beijing has taken the unusual step of inviting selected foreign media to observe the retrial. Beijing and Ottawa have been locked in a diplomatic tussle since the Dec. 1 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States, where she is accused of fraud related to Iranian sanctions violations. In what is believed to be a retaliation to Meng’s arrest, Chinese authorities detained former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who currently works for a foreign think tank, and businessman Michael Spavor days later. Beijing has repeatedly denied any diplomatic pressure behind Schellenberg’s case. “You can ask these (critics) which laws the relevant Chinese judicial organs and departments have violated by (ordering a retrial),” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing Friday. “If no laws have been broken, I hope that these people can stop recklessly suspecting others of politicizing legal issues just because they have done so.” China has executed other foreigners for drug-related crimes. In 2014, a Japanese national sentenced in Dalian was put to death for drug offenses, according to Tokyo diplomats and media reports. A Filipina drug trafficker was executed in 2013, according to the Philippine Foreign Department, ignoring Manila’s request to spare her life. “Amnesty International is very concerned that Robert Schellenberg may be sentenced to death, particularly as drug-related offenses do not meet the threshold of the ‘most serious crimes’ to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international law,” Nee said.

china
courts
drugs
death penalty
canada
huawei


Experts say China hackers 'APT10 Group' likely behind attack on major Japanese business lobby in 2016

Abstract: A hacking group based in China known within the cybersecurity community as the so-called APT10 Group was likely involved in a hacking incident that targeted the Japan Business Federation, also known as the Keidanren, in 2016, cybersecurity experts said Sunday. They said the type of virus detected and servers involved in the cyberattack on Keidanren were identical to those used in past cases attributed to APT10. The business lobby said in November 2016 that internal data had been leaked from personal computers. Its investigative team has found a large volume of suspicious data communications between 10 external servers and 23 infected PCs. Data feared to have been released included information regarding policy recommendations, lists of names related to internal committees, and email exchanges with public officers and member companies, according to the Keidanren. Also Sunday, the Asahi Shimbun daily also cited a report linking the Chinese group, which has been accused by the United States government in a series of cybertheft cases around the world, to attacks on other Japanese institutions. The U.S. indicted two Chinese nationals who belonged to the group late last year over alleged state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting government agencies and companies in the U.S. The types of computer viruses used in the Keidanren attack as well as the external computer addresses to which information was covertly transmitted were very similar to some that have turned up in a separate report conducted by a number of British entities. That report said a Chinese hacking group identified as APT10 was responsible for “systematically targeting Japanese organizations.” While the report said APT10 had infiltrated the computer systems of the Foreign Ministry, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, no mention was made of the Keidanren attack, according to Asahi. In December, Japan criticized the group over cyberattacks targeting its government, companies and academic institutions, and urged Beijing to take “responsible” actions. APT10, short for Advanced Persistent Threat 10, was first identified by U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye, according to media reports. Widely known within the cybersecurity community, the group is one of several that share the “APT” tag, indicating their willingness to pursue targets over long periods of time. APT10 also goes by the names “Red Apollo” and “Stone Panda.” The group is said to have engaged in multiple hacking campaigns into computer systems around the world since at least as early as 2006, as part of what the U.S. and some allies say is a massive hacking campaign by China to steal trade secrets and technologies.


Influential Japanese philosopher Takeshi Umehara dies at age 93

Abstract: KYOTO - Influential Japanese philosopher Takeshi Umehara died of pneumonia at his home in Kyoto on Saturday. He was 93. Umehara, who was awarded the Order of Culture in 1999, addressed not only philosophy but also touched on wide-ranging topics about Japanese culture. Born in Sendai, Umehara served as a professor at Ritsumeikan University and also as president of Kyoto City University of Arts, the oldest art university in Japan, after graduating from Kyoto University’s philosophy department in 1948. Initially he focused on Western philosophy but then shifted his attention to Japanese culture, particularly ancient history and Buddhism. His research activities went beyond existing academic boundaries, resulting in a variety of publications reflecting his unique perspective. In a 1972 book he said Horyuji temple, in Nara Prefecture, was built to soothe grudges held by the family of Shotoku Taishi, an ancient prince and politician known for promulgating the first written code of laws in the country. After publishing “Jigoku no Shiso” (“The Concept of Hell”) in 1967, Umehara wrote a number of Buddhism-related books including on religious school founders Honen and Shinran. He also helped establish the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, and served as the first head of the center from 1987 to 1995. In recent years, he studied a “philosophy of mankind” about the coexistence of civilization and nature. In a 2010 book that presented his own views about Izumo, in present-day Shimane Prefecture, myths regarding the birth of Japan drew public attention. Umehara was critical about organ transplants from brain dead donors and nuclear power generation. Together with writers Kenzaburo Oe and Jakucho Setouchi, he called for the establishment of “Kyujo no Kai,” a group advocating war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. He joined a government panel as a special adviser to design reconstruction programs for areas devastated by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the Tohoku region. Umehara also wrote “Yamato Takeru,” the first “super-kabuki” play which premiered in 1986, in an attempt to breathe new life into the country’s traditional performing arts. He headed the Japan P.E.N Club, for writers, for six years from 1997. Umehara was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 1992.

takeshi umehara
philosophy
history
buddhism
article 9
obituary


Torn between airplanes and Japanese arts, former Air Self-Defense Force officer debuts as geisha in Gifu

Abstract: A 32-year-old woman who used to serve in the Air Self-Defense Force debuted last month as a geiko — another term used to refer to geisha — in Gifu, a city known for having a unique tradition of entertaining guests on riverboats with geisha performances and ukai cormorant fishing. “I hope more people will become interested in me and also in karyūkai (the world of geisha),” said Miho Koketsu, a native of Mino, Gifu Prefecture, who goes by the name Kikumatsu. On Dec. 2, Kikumatsu made her debut performance at a hotel in Gifu. As she danced to shamisen music wearing a black kimono and holding a fan in her hand, she received a warm round of applause from the audience. As a child, Kikumatsu was fond of airplanes and almost every year she went to see an air show held at the ASDF’s Gifu Air Base in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. She studied English at Kyoto Notre Dame University and after graduating from university she joined the ASDF, serving for 9½ years until last fall. She worked mainly as an officer in charge of making flight arrangements and correspondence, and she was proud of being an SDF member. But she also had another dream of getting involved with traditional Japanese culture — something she adored since she was a child. In her childhood, she would go to watch the local fireworks display wearing a kimono made by her mother, a kimono-maker. While attending college in Kyoto, she joined a koto music club and also took Japanese traditional dance lessons. She enjoyed watching kimono-clad geisha walking down the street. She began dreaming about becoming a geisha after finding on the internet that a woman debuted as a maiko — an apprentice geisha — in 2010 while a member of Hosen Giren, a geiko agency in Gifu. She began checking the agency’s blog and was impressed by its efforts to promote the tradition of geiko culture. It is said that there were 700 to 800 geiko in the city before World War II, but the number has dropped to about 20, many of whom are members of the Gifu Geiko Union. Hosen Giren, a separate agency launched in 1998, dispatches performers to teahouses, high-class Japanese restaurants and boats on the Nagara River to entertain guests. After she joined the agency, Kikumatsu has been busy taking lessons in drums, shamisen, Tokiwazu theatrical music, traditional dancing and tea ceremony, but she says everything is new and exciting. The former SDF officer says she still can’t get rid of her habit of waking up at 5 a.m. every morning and answering “Yes!” with a sharp voice when someone speaks to her. “She is always cheerful. I’m sure she can make her own way,” said Kikuji, 48, head of Hosen Giren.

geisha
gifu
geiko
miho koketsu
self defense forces


Coming-of-age ceremonies in areas of Japan devastated by last year's disasters hold extra poignancy

Abstract: Coming-of-age ceremonies were held in many places across the country over the weekend, including areas devastated by natural disasters last year. Those who were born in 1998 and became 20 years old in the last year number 1.25 million — about half of the national record of 2.46 million set in 1970 — according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In addition to the numerous ceremonies held Monday, a coming-of-age ceremony held Sunday in the town of Saka, Hiroshima Prefecture, was preceded by a minute of silence in memory of the victims of floods caused by torrential rain in July. Naoya Nishitani, 20, chairman of the ceremony planning committee, called for the minute of silence. His home was severely damaged by the floods. He said he accepted a request to assume the committee’s chair “to return the help I received from my former classmates and the Saka town government during the disaster.” “I myself faced hardships, but we were able to overcome difficulties together. This gives me confidence for the rest of my life,” Nishitani said. At a coming-of-age ceremony in the city of Kurashiki in neighboring Okayama Prefecture, which dealt with extensive flooding due to the heavy rains, Mayor Kaori Ito said many people came to the ceremony from heavily affected areas, expressing her heartfelt sympathy. “I hope that you will push forward vigorously toward your goals,” Ito said to the new adults, especially those affected by the disaster. Ayaka Shidahara, a 19-year-old from the heavily hit Kurashiki district of Mabicho who now lives in temporary housing, said: “The light is gradually coming back to the town. Supported by this, I’ll work hard.” In the town of Atsuma in Hokkaido, which was struck by a massive earthquake in September, a total of 26 new adults attended a coming-of-age ceremony . In a speech, Hikaru Asano, 20, said, “We’ll pass down the memories of the disaster into the future while praying for a decrease in the number of people having hardships.” Koji Yamada, 20, whose family business has about 70 cows, is set to graduate from an agriculture school this spring. “I want to be a good farmer,” he said.

population
festivals
coming-of-age day
coming of age


Veteran actress Etsuko Ichihara dies of heart failure at 82

Abstract: Etsuko Ichihara, a veteran Japanese actress best known for her role in a popular long-running TV drama series, has died of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital, her office said Sunday. She was 82. The native of Chiba Prefecture was best known for her leading part in the drama series “Kaseifu wa Mita” (It was Witnessed by the Housemaid). Having joined a theater troop in 1957, she appeared in a number of plays and movies. She won the Japan Academy Prize for best supporting actress for her role in late director Shohei Imamura’s film “Kuroi Ame” (Black Rain) based on the novel of the same name by Masuji Ibuse, which depicted the aftermath of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.

actress
etsuko ichihara
kaseifu wa mita
obituary


Tokyo set 30-day deadline for Seoul over talks on forced labor rulings, South Korean media reports

Abstract: Tokyo has asked Seoul to respond within 30 days to its request for diplomatic talks over court rulings on the use of wartime forced labor by Japanese companies, according to a South Korean media report. Japan made the request Wednesday, the South’s Yonhap news agency quoted government sources in Seoul as saying Sunday, after a court in South Korea approved the seizure of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. assets in the country in relation to a ruling over forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the peninsula from 1910-1945. The report came just days after diplomatic sources in Tokyo indicated that the issue has also been raised by Pyongyang. Tokyo and Seoul have been engaged in an intensifying dispute since October, when South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel to compensate four South Korean nationals for wartime forced labor and then handed a similar ruling to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. the following month. Japan has refused to comply with the rulings based on its position that the matter of compensation for wartime labor was resolved under a 1965 agreement normalizing relations with South Korea. Last week, Tokyo formally requested that Seoul launch consultations, to which South Korea said it would review the request carefully. With Japan said to have insisted on the fixed schedule, the South Korean government has apparently said it “will not be tied down by the 30-day window” to make any decision, according to the Yonhap report that quotes unidentified sources. Japan’s call for the talks is based on Article III of the 1965 treaty between Seoul and Tokyo. The agreement stipulates that any dispute related to the treaty must be settled by the two sides primarily through diplomatic channels. Tokyo has argued that all issues over reparation related to its rule of what is now known as South Korea were settled via the pact. However, the treaty does not specify any deadline within which to arrange diplomatic talks. Under the pact, if the two countries are unable to reach a resolution through diplomatic talks, they must form an arbitration committee together with a third party to settle disputes. In that event, Tokyo and Seoul must appoint representatives “within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt by the Government of either Contracting Party from the Government of the other of a note requesting arbitration of the dispute,” according to the treaty. It was unclear if the reported request by Japan was referring to the formation of such an arbitration committee. The third party arbitrator must be agreed upon by Japan and South Korea “within a further period of thirty days” or appointed by the government of a third, agreed-upon country within that period. The third party arbitrator cannot be a national of either side. The reports came the day after diplomatic sources in Tokyo revealed that North Korea had threatened to raise the issue of wartime forced labor in future bilateral talks if Tokyo continues to pursue the issue of Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, according to a report by Kyodo News that cited unidentified diplomatic sources. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has repeatedly criticized Japan’s stance over the issue in state-run media. According to the sources, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho warned that if Tokyo continues to focus on the abductions, he would bring up the issue of the “more than 8.4 million Koreans who were forced to work” under Japanese colonial rule, the sources said. While Tokyo normalized bilateral ties with Seoul under their 1965 agreement, Japan does not have any diplomatic relationship with nuclear-armed North Korea. Abe said last week that his government is “using various channels” to communicate with Pyongyang, including over a potential summit with leader Kim Jong Un. For his part, Kim, too, appears interested in talks with Abe, telling South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April last year that he is ready to hold a dialogue with Japan at “any time.” However, Abe has said time after time that Japan will hold back any economic incentives until all of its concerns — the nuclear, missile and abduction issues — are resolved. Experts say that comments by the North, which has cultivated closer ties with the South over the last year, reveal important elements regarding its posture toward relations with Tokyo. “First, Pyongyang feels that it has considerable leverage right now with Japan considering its warmer relations with South Korea — which is in the midst of its own nasty row with Japan over history and other issues again — and also its ties with both China and the U.S.,” said J. Berkshire Miller, a senior visiting fellow with the Japan Institute of International Affairs in Tokyo. “Frankly put, there is no urgency for North Korea to resolve matters with Japan on the abductions matter and they are playing their hand in a different way.” Pyongyang is also using the timing to hammer away at increasingly brittle trilateral ties between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. “The North is using the approach of critiquing Tokyo — as it has done for decades — to further weaken and exploit cracks in a weakening trilateral front between the U.S., Japan and South Korea — which are supposed to be on the same page regarding the denuclearization of North Korea,” Miller said.

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


Putin to visit Japan in June as Foreign Minister Taro Kono looks ahead to 'historic year'

Abstract: MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Japan in June, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Monday during a trip to Moscow, describing part of what Japan’s top envoy hoped would be a “historic year” in 2019. Kono, who spoke ahead of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met his Russian counterpart in an endeavor to inject fresh momentum into talks toward concluding a postwar peace treaty amid a decadeslong territorial dispute. “I’d like to have an intensive discussion on a peace treaty,” Kono said at the outset of the meeting. “With an eye to making the year 2019 a fruitful and historic one, my hope is to work with Minister Lavrov to proceed with our work,” Kono said. The meeting is the first since Kono and Lavrov were tapped by their leaders in December to oversee the peace treaty talks. Lavrov, for his part, expressed his desire to elevate bilateral relations to a “higher level” but he also urged Tokyo to fulfill a promise between Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to carry out talks without “distorting past agreements.” The meeting was the first since Kono and Lavrov were tapped by their leaders in December to oversee the peace treaty talks. They were tasked with identifying and discussing each side’s concerns and laying the groundwork for a planned summit next week between Abe and Putin in Russia. Abe and Putin agreed in November to step up talks based on a 1956 joint declaration. The document mentions the transfer of two of the four disputed islands off Hokkaido — Shikotan and the Habomai islet group — to Japan by the Soviet Union following the conclusion of a peace treaty. The agreement between Abe and Putin during a summit in Singapore in November, to negotiate on the basis of the 1956 document, has led to the view that Japan will focus on the transfer of the two Russian-held islands first, despite its long-standing policy of seeking to resolve the status of all four islands. Abe has made it a priority to settle diplomatic issues outstanding since the end of World War II, and the conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia by resolving the standoff over the islands is one of them. The Japanese prime minister has held 24 summit talks with Putin, and is believed to be seeking a broad agreement in June when Putin had been expected to visit Japan for a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Osaka. Japan and Russia remain far apart over the islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. Japan has maintained that the four islands, which also include Etorofu and Kunashiri, have been illegally occupied by Russia, which seized them following Tokyo’s 1945 surrender in World War II. Moscow has urged Tokyo to recognize the outcome of the war, including Russian sovereignty over the islands. Ahead of the Kono-Lavrov meeting, Japanese government officials trod carefully so as not to negatively influence ongoing negotiations. Russia, for its part, has accused Japan of distorting the essence of the Singapore agreement and misleading the public in both countries. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov summoned Japanese Ambassador Toyohisa Kozuki on Wednesday and protested recent remarks by Abe and other Japanese officials over the disputed islands. Abe has said Russian residents of the islands need to understand that their territorial status will change and that their lives will improve by living alongside Japanese people. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman also raised questions about Japan’s approach to the negotiations as Tokyo was opposed to holding a joint news conference after the Kono-Lavrov meeting, Russia’s Tass news agency reported Sunday. The spokeswoman reportedly called it “strange and contradictory” that Tokyo was “whipping up tensions” ahead of the talks, but it had no desire to disclose the outcome of the ministerial meeting to the press.

vladimir putin
shinzo abe
disputed islands
wwii
russia-japan relations