Aid agency MSF suspends nonessential work in eastern Congo after pair's abduction

Abstract: Doctors Without Borders has suspended nonessential work in a part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, it said Sunday, days after gunmen abducted two MSF staff there. The agency, known by its French-language acronym MSF, said that security concerns compelled it to reduce staffing after an incident, which it did not specify, on the route between Nyabiondo and Masisi on Feb. 8. GOMA, CONGO - MSF will continue emergency services at Masisi’s main hospital. Cosmas Kangakolo, administrator in the Masisi territory, said that two local MSF agents were abducted by armed men in the area on Feb. 8. Masisi lies some 100 km northwest of North Kivu’s provincial capital of Goma. Armed groups in this troubled province frequently abduct foreigners and Congolese nationals working for aid organizations. Mineral-rich eastern Congo has been torn by armed conflict fueled by ethnic rivalries and territorial disputes for more than 20 years. MSF won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for providing medical aid in trouble spots around the world.

msf
congo
doctors without borders
conflict


Venezuela's Juan Guaido calls for 'million volunteers' in aid standoff with Maduro

Abstract: CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido set a goal Sunday of enlisting a million volunteers within a week to confront a government blockade that has kept tons of humanitarian aid, most of it from the United States, from flowing into the country. Guaido has given Feb. 23 — one month to the day after he proclaimed himself acting president — as the date for a showdown over the aid with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements have been stockpiled near the Venezuelan border in Cucuta, Colombia. Additional storage centers are supposed to open this week in Brazil and Curacao, a Dutch island off Venezuela’s northern Caribbean coast. “Our principal task is to reach a million volunteers by February 23,” Guaido said in a message to the 600,000 supporters who have signed up so far for the push to bring aid in. He said the volunteers would gather at designated points, or participate on social media, but has kept to himself how he plans to overcome the obstacles put up by the Venezuelan military, on Maduro’s orders. Maduro, who denies the existence of a humanitarian crisis, dismisses the opposition moves as a “political show” and a cover for a U.S. invasion. An imploding economy has driven an estimated 2.3 Venezuelans to migrate, while those who remain have been punished by hyperinflation that has put scarce food and medicine out of reach for many. At Guaido’s request, groups of volunteers were holding town hall-style meetings at various locations around the country to begin organizing for the Feb. 23 event. “Venezuela is preparing for the humanitarian avalanche,” Guaido told about 4,000 supporters clad in white T-shirts and green scarves who gathered Saturday to sign up as volunteers. The throng included doctors, nurses and students. Without revealing details that could jeopardize the operation, Guaido said volunteer brigades will travel in a bus caravan to entry points for the aid. Coromoto Crespo, 58, told AFP he volunteered because of the urgent need for supplies. “To find medicines requires a miracle. I need tablets for high blood pressure, and what I find, I can’t pay for,” Crespo said. “One of my relatives died because of a lack of antibiotics.” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, announced on Twitter Sunday that he was traveling to Colombia for a first-hand look at the aid operation in Cucuta. Three U.S. military cargo planes delivered several dozen more tons) of food assistance to Cucuta on Saturday. Another U.S. aircraft is due in Curacao from Miami on Tuesday, and a collection center for Brazilian aid will open Monday on the border, Guaido’s team said. Saturday’s shipment was accompanied by a delegation led by Mark Green, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The aid “will come in, yes oh yes, by land and sea,” Guaido said. On Friday, Maduro instructed his army to prepare a “special deployment plan” for the 2,200-km (1,370-mile) border with Colombia. He said he would examine “what new forces” might be needed to keep the frontier “inviolable.” Maduro has poured scorn on the aid, spurning it as “crumbs” and “rotten and contaminated food” while blaming shortages of food and medicine on U.S. sanctions. He said 6 million families had benefited from subsidized food boxes and he claimed to have bought 933 tons of medicines and medical supplies from China, Cuba and Russia, his main international allies. “We paid for it with our own money because we’re beggars to no one,” Maduro said. On another front, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza confirmed having held two meetings with special U.S. envoy Elliott Abrams. Arreaza, who traveled to New York on Feb. 13, said he held the talks with Abrams at the request of the State Department. He declined to comment on the substance of their discussions. Guaido repeated his call on Venezuela’s military — whose support for Maduro has been crucial — to let the aid pass. “You have, in your hands, the possibility of fighting alongside the people who are suffering the same shortages you are,” Guaido said in a tweet addressed to soldiers.

venezuela
juan guaido
humanitarian aid
nicolas maduro
cucuta
colombia
marco rubio
u.s .
usaid


French classical music composer Camille Pepin faces entrenched sexism

Abstract: PARIS - Camille Pepin is a rarity. She is a woman composer. Women have conquered space, risen in the military ranks, but some professions remain resolutely and bewilderingly masculine. When Pepin turned up for her first day at the Paris Conservatoire — as usual the only woman in a class of men — an official told her that her name wasn’t on the list. But when she insisted that she was and that he look again, he cried, “Ah, you’re a woman!” Camille is also a man’s name in France. “I would never have thought,” he apologized. “There are so many men.” With so few female composers in the classical music scene, it was an easy mistake to make. Pepin has never let everyday sexism get her down though, laughing it off like water off a duck’s back. “One male composer told me I was getting commissions because I was a woman and not too bad-looking,” said the 28-year-old, whose first album, “Chamber Music,” will be released later this month. After a concert of one of her more combative pieces, “a man came to tell me my music was ‘very fresh, flowery and sweet,’ ” she told AFP. “I am a woman so clearly those three words” apply, she said wryly. Pepin, whose music recalls both Claude Debussy and American minimalist composers like John Adams, said sometimes the sexist stereotypes which persist in the classical music world are hard to take. One “old school” music professor insisted she sit on his right at lunch “because that was a woman’s place” and sent her off to make the coffee. “I was the only woman in all my classes in the Conservatoire, and it was fine,” said Pepin, who is now working on her first ballet score in her Paris apartment which doubles as a studio. Mostly the young composer, who made her breakthrough with the orchestral piece “Vajrayana” in 2015, said she was treated exactly the same as her male colleagues in classes with French contemporary composers like Guillaume Connesson, Thierry Escaich and Marc-Andre Dalbavie. Beyond the classroom, however, progress is slow in the conservative world of classical music. Pepin believes it will take generations for the forgotten work of female composers to get just recognition. Beyond the casual unthinking sexism, she said the biggest problem for young female composers was “a lack of role models.” A few women such as the American composer Meredith Monk, Kaija Saariaho of Finland and Tansy Davies from the U.K. have managed to break the glass ceiling. But even Pepin admitted that when she was younger she didn’t know of a single female composer. “We never studied them,” she said. Who has ever heard of Helene de Montgeroult (1764-1836), Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) or Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)? Fanny was the older sister of the more famous Felix Mendelssohn, with many at the time saying her work was more expressive. But after she married she was limited to domestic duties and had to content herself with being her brother’s chief editor and muse, which led him to call her his “Minerva” of wisdom. “Lots of female composers were crushed like Clara Schumann (the wife of Robert Schumann),” despite being one of the most distinguished composers and musicians of the Romantic era, said the pianist Celia Oneto Bensaid, who often performs Pepin’s work. “You play my music,” Schumann once bluntly told his wife, a star of concert halls across Europe. Born into a family in the northern French city of Amiens that wasn’t particularly musical, Pepin began to write her own melodies at 13. But even at the age of five in her ballet class, her eyes were more drawn to the piano. “I was so fascinated that I would forget to do my exercises,” she said. Before settling on composing, Pepin thought about being a dancer. “I need to feel the notes physically,” she said. Her first ballet will be choreographed next year by Sylvain pad for France’s Ballet du Nord. Finally, she feels she is getting beyond the dreaded question — “But what do you do for a living?” — when she tells people she’s a composer. “They thought it was just something I did to chill on Sundays,” she laughed.

classical music women france discrimination


Thousands of Libyans mark eight strife-torn years since uprising brought down Gadhafi

Abstract: TRIPOLI - Thousands of Libyans took the streets Sunday to mark eight years since the uprising that ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi, despite chronic political and security crises. Waving flags and wearing the country’s national colors of red, black and green, marchers poured into Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square, where the late autocrat once gave speeches, to continue celebrations kicked off the day before. The day’s festivities were filled with fireworks, concerts and music blasted from loudspeakers. In Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and the “cradle of the revolution,” celebrations were dimmer. Only a few dozen people gathered at the Benghazi court square where the first anti-Gadhafi demonstrations began. Once a symbol of the uprising, it now lies in ruins, bearing the scars of a war against jihadis launched in 2014. “This revolution was born in the streets and squares, carried by the youth… but some are trying to steal the dreams and desires of our people for a dignified life,” said 32-year-old Benghazi resident Mohamad al-Agouri. Libya has been mired in power struggles since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising, with militias and tribes vying for control of the country’s resources. The oil-rich country is torn between rival administrations, with the UN-backed Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and a parallel body in the east backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army. Basic public services are wanting and continued violence and divisions are fueling uncertainty and desperation, especially among the country’s youth. “I’m impatiently waiting to see Libya stabilise and to be able to live in peace,” pharmacist Abdelhamid al-Maghrabi told AFP. “We’ve had enough of wars, massacres and destruction,” said the father of four.

libya
moammar gadhafi
conflict
arab spring


California tells Trump lawsuit over border wall emergency declaration is 'imminent'

Abstract: WASHINGTON - California will “imminently” challenge President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to obtain funds for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Sunday. “Definitely and imminently,” Becerra told ABC’s “This Week” program when asked whether and when California would sue the Trump administration in federal court. Other states controlled by Democrats are expected to join the effort. “We are prepared, we knew something like this might happen. And with our sister state partners, we are ready to go,” he said. Trump invoked the emergency powers on Friday under a 1976 law after Congress rebuffed his request for $5.7 billion to help build the wall that was a signature 2016 campaign promise. The move is intended to allow him to redirect money appropriated by Congress for other purposes to wall construction. The White House says Trump will have access to about $8 billion. Nearly $1.4 billion was allocated for border fencing under a spending measure approved by Congress last week, and Trump’s emergency declaration is aimed at giving him another $6.7 billion for the wall. Becerra cited Trump’s own comment on Friday that he “didn’t need to do this” as evidence that the emergency declaration is legally vulnerable. “It’s become clear that this is not an emergency, not only because no one believes it is but because Donald Trump himself has said it’s not,” he said. Becerra and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have been expected to sue to block Trump’s move. Becerra told ABC that California and other states are waiting to learn which federal programs will lose money to determine what kind of harm the states could face from the declaration. He said California may be harmed by less federal funding for emergency response services, the military and stopping drug trafficking. “We’re confident there are at least 8 billion ways that we can prove harm,” Becerra said. Three Texas landowners and an environmental group filed the first lawsuit against Trump’s move on Friday, saying it violates the Constitution and would infringe on their property rights. The legal challenges could at least slow down Trump’s efforts to build the wall but would likely end up at the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court. Congress never defined a national emergency in the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which has been invoked dozens of times without a single successful legal challenge. Democrats in Congress have vowed to challenge Trump’s declaration and several Republican lawmakers have said they are not certain whether they would support the president. “I think many of us are concerned about this,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Trump could, however, veto any resolution of disapproval from Congress. White House senior adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News on Sunday that Trump’s declaration would allow the administration to build “hundreds of miles” of border wall by September 2020. “We have 120-odd miles that are already under construction or are already obligated plus the additional funds we have and then we’re going to outlay — we’re going to look at a few hundred miles.” Trump’s proposed wall and wider immigration policies are likely to be a major campaign issue ahead of the next presidential election in November 2020, where he will seek a second four-year term.

california
border wall
donald trump
xavier becerra
democrats
u.s .


Russia pioneering the return of 'Islamic State children' to motherland despite security fears

Abstract: MOSCOW - As the end nears for the last IS enclave in Syria and the fate of jihadis’ family members becomes a pressing issue, Russia can be seen as a pioneer in systematically returning children of Islamist fighters home. A potential homecoming of the many foreign women who have gone to live in the IS “caliphate” and their children, many of whom were born there, has been a subject of debate in Russia, with some security chiefs seeing them as potential threats. Earlier this month, 27 children, from 4 to 13 years old, were flown from Iraq to the Moscow region. Clutching stuffed toys and bundled in winter jackets, the children were carried off the cargo plane to face the Russian winter after years in the desert. After health exams, they would be put into the care of their uncles, aunts, and grandparents in the Russian North Caucasus, the majority-Muslim territory in the south of Russia that is home to most of the Russians that had joined the Islamic State group. Another 30 children were brought back in late December. “They attend school and kindergarten. Volunteers work with them and talk to them about what they have been through, explaining how they have been indoctrinated,” said Kheda Saratova, an adviser to Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has assumed a central role in the process of repatriating Islamists’ relatives. Russian authorities have given sometimes conflicting figures of returnees. Saratova said that about 200 children have been brought to Russia, but nearly 1,400 are still stuck in Iraq and Syria. Kadyrov, a longtime Kremlin protege with vast resources, began efforts to bring back fighters’ children in 2017. Diplomatic negotiations are often led by an Aleppo-born senator, Chechnya’s Ziyad Sabsabi. Endorsing Kadyrov’s efforts, President Vladimir Putin in late 2017 called the drive to return the children “a very honorable and correct deed” and promised to help. “It’s very good for the image of Kadyrov. He seems somebody who doesn’t just use violence against terrorists but who builds mosques and hands out humanitarian aid,” said Grigory Shvedov, who edits a Caucasus-focused news website Caucasian Knot. When he began Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015, Putin justified it by the need to kill jihadis before they come to Russia. Although some regions have tried rehabilitation programs for Islamic extremists, these have failed to catch on at the national level. Young men who returned from Syria or Iraq and turned themselves in have faced harsh punishment. This month Russia’s Supreme Court confirmed a 16-year term for a young man who went to Syria as a 19-year-old student and worked as a cook and driver on IS-controlled territory for six months. Returning the wives of jihadis is also complicated by the absence of an extradition agreement between Russia and Iraq, where many have been sentenced, sometimes to life, in prison. But there is also reluctance by Russia’s powerful security services to bring home adult civilians. FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov in November noted that many women with children exiting conflict zones have been used by jihadis as suicide bombers or recruiters. “The FSB sees them as dangerous, even though many of these wives purchase their freedom from the Kurds and will eventually return one way or another,” said Saratova. Any affiliation with Islamic State jihadis is a crime, since the group is banned under Russian law. “Some sort of amnesty has been promised to many, but it doesn’t actually happen,” said Shvedov. “They are put on trial, (charges) sometimes trumped up and sometimes real.” Last year, two women returned from Syria to their native Dagestan and were swiftly convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. The court eventually ruled to delay their time in prison until their children are older. The children themselves face a difficult reintegration process in Russia, a country they barely know, after spending their formative years in the “caliphate.” Russian authorities hope that bringing them back into their extended families can minimize risks of radicalization once they reach adulthood in the Caucasus, a region with a history of Islamic extremism.


GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham looks to investigate talk of removing Trump from office

Abstract: COLUMBUS, OHIO - Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he could subpoena Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to explore allegations they discussed whether President Donald Trump could be removed from office. McCabe said in an interview to air on the CBS show “60 Minutes” Sunday that Rosenstein discussed with him in 2017 whether there were enough members of Trump’s Cabinet who would support removing the president for being unfit under the constitution’s 25th Amendment. Rosenstein has denied that. “There’s an allegation by the acting FBI director at the time that the deputy attorney general was basically trying to do an administrative coup, take the president down,” Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an interview airing Sunday on the CBS show “Face the Nation,” according to a transcript from the network. “We will have a hearing about who’s telling the truth, what actually happened,” he said. Asked if he would subpoena McCabe and Rosenstein to appear, Graham said, “How can I not, if that’s what it takes?” An assertion that Rosenstein considered secretly recording Trump has been backed up in private testimony to Congress by two FBI lawyers. Both officials also told lawmakers that there was simultaneous talk in the spring of 2017, just months after Trump’s inauguration, that two unidentified Cabinet officials were on board with the idea of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump as president.

lindsey graham
rod rosenstein
andrew mccabe
donald trump
u.s. constitution


Trump policies unite allies against him at European security forum

Abstract: MUNICH, GERMANY - In 2009, then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden came to Munich to “press the reset button” with Russia. A decade later he came again to offer the world better relations, this time with his own country. Promising that “America will be back” once Donald Trump leaves office, Biden won a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference from delegates who find the president’s brusque foreign policy stance hard to like. But their elation also exposed the weakened state of Western diplomacy in the face of Trump’s assertiveness, according to European diplomats and politicians who were present. Biden’s successor, Mike Pence, was met with silence at a reception in the palatial Bavarian parliament on Friday evening after he delivered his signature line: “I bring you greetings from the 45th president of the United States, President Donald Trump.” His four-day trip to Europe succeeded only in deepening divisions with traditional allies over questions such as Iran and Venezuela and offered little hope in how to deal with threats ranging from nuclear arms to climate change, diplomats and officials said. Misgivings about Washington’s role in the world are being felt by ordinary people as well as foreign policy specialists. In Germany and France, half the population see U.S. power as a threat, up sharply from 2013 and a view shared by 37 percent of Britons, the Washington-based Pew Research Center said in a report before the Munich foreign policy gathering. Asked about European anxiety over Trump’s leadership style, a senior U.S. official on Pence’s Air Force Two plane said the vice president’s Munich conference speech on Saturday at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof would “help give them a different perspective.” But if the Europeans did not like the “America First” message, there was no concerted response to it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on her own after a last-minute cancellation by French President Emmanuel Macron. That caused some to lament the failure of the West to uphold the rules-based international order that Washington itself championed in the 70 years that preceded the arrival of Trump in the White House. “The tit-for-tat logic is unfortunately prevailing … I think that takes us back to the question of enlightened leadership,” said Thomas Greminger, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a security and human rights watchdog. “We need leaders again who do not believe exclusively in short-termism,” he told Reuters. It fell to China to aid Merkel in her defense of the post-World War Two order, as the country’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, spoke in flawless English for over 20 minutes about the virtues of open trade and global cooperation. Pence’s message was, in fact, that the pillars of U.S. foreign policy were being rebuilt on a different foundation: isolating Iran, containing China, bringing American troops home and requiring European powers to fall into line. After using a speech in Warsaw on Thursday to accuse Britain, France and Germany of trying to undermine U.S. sanctions on Iran, Pence called in Munich for the European Union to recognize Venezuelan congressional leader Juan Guaido as president over Nicolas Maduro, whom he called a dictator. That drew an angry response from Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who said the European Union could acknowledge Guaido as interim president until new elections, in line with the Venezuelan constitution. French foreign minister Jean-Yves LeDrian said he was mystified by U.S. policy on Syria after Trump’s decision to withdraw troops because it would only benefit Iran, which Washington wants to be tough on. European diplomats and officials also took issue with Pence’s insistence that EU governments stay away from Chinese telecoms companies as they build the latest generation of mobile networks, preferring first to have an internal discussion about the potential risks and U.S. claims of Chinese espionage. “U.S. pressure has a tendency to make us do the opposite. U.S. pressure is counterproductive. It’s best that they don’t try and pressure us,” a senior French diplomat said. Whatever the threats, officials seemed to be mainly talking past each other. Kumi Naidoo, global head of Amnesty International, said security was often defined too narrowly, failing to address the wider dangers of climate change. “The narrative here at the Munich Security Conference is broken. They are talking about the right topics but in the wrong language. The mentality here is that security is only a national issue,” Naidoo told Reuters. Leaving for Washington, Pence was unfazed, telling reporters his trip had been very successful. “We’re advancing the interests of the free world, and we’ve made great progress.”

europe
joe biden
russia
donald trump
munich security conference
mike pence
venezuela
juan guaido
nicolas maduro
u.s .


Seven lawmakers quit U.K. Labour Party over Brexit and anti-Semitism

Abstract: LONDON - Seven British lawmakers quit the main opposition Labour Party on Monday over its approach to issues including Brexit and anti-Semitism — the biggest shake-up in years for one of Britain’s major political parties. The announcement ripped open a long-simmering rift between socialists and centrists in the party, which sees itself as the representative of Britain’s working class. It’s also the latest fallout from Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, which has split both of the country’s two main parties — Conservatives and Labour — into pro-Brexit and pro-EU camps. Many Labour lawmakers have been unhappy with the party’s direction under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who took charge in 2015 with strong grassroots backing. They accuse Corbyn of mounting a weak opposition to Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans for leaving the European Union, and of failing to stamp out a vein of anti-Semitism in the party. The quitters represent a small fraction of Labour’s 256 lawmakers, or of the 650 total members of Parliament. But this is the biggest split in the party since four senior members quit in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party. Luciana Berger, one of those who quit Monday, said Labour had become “institutionally anti-Semitic.” “I am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation,” she said at a news conference alongside six colleagues. Labour leaders have admitted that Berger, who is Jewish, has been bullied by some members of her local party in northwest England. Labour has been riven by allegations that the party has become hostile to Jews under Corbyn, a longtime supporter of the Palestinians. Corbyn’s supporters accuse political opponents and right-wing media outlets of misrepresenting his views. There have long been signs that British voters’ 2016 decision to leave the EU could spark a major overhaul of British politics. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives are in the throes of a civil war between pro-Brexit and pro-EU wings. Labour is also split. Many Labour members oppose Brexit — which is due in less than six weeks, on March 29 — and want the party to fight to hold a new referendum that could keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc. But Corbyn, who spent decades criticizing the EU before becoming a lukewarm convert to the “remain” cause in the 2016 referendum, is reluctant to do anything that could be seen as defying voters’ decision to leave. “I am furious that the leadership is complicit in facilitating Brexit, which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country,” said Mike Gapes, one of the departing lawmakers. The seven members of Parliament leaving Labour said they will continue to sit in the House of Commons as the newly formed Independent Group. Corbyn said he was “disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945.” The Labour lawmakers who quit in 1981 eventually became today’s Liberal Democrats, a centrist party that has failed to topple the dominance of the two bigger parties. The new group of seven stopped short of forming a new political party, but the seeds have been sown. The new group has a name, a website and a statement of principles, which argues for a mix of pro-businesses and social-welfare measures and a pro-Western foreign policy that is closer to the “New Labour” of former Prime Minister Tony Blair than to Corbyn’s old-school socialism. Their statement said the Labour Party “now pursues policies that would weaken our national security; accepts the narratives of states hostile to our country; has failed to take a lead in addressing the challenge of Brexit and to provide a strong and coherent alternative to the Conservatives’ approach.” The departing lawmakers said they would not be joining the Liberal Democrats, and urged members of other parties to help them create a new centrist force in British politics. “We do not think any of the major parties is fit for power,” said lawmaker Angela Smith. “People feel politically homeless and they are asking and begging for an alternative.” Victoria Honeyman, a lecturer in politics at the University of Leeds, said history suggests the breakaway group will struggle to gain traction in British politics. “It’s very cold out there as an independent,” she said. “It’s all well and good leaving because you believe the party has moved away from you, but you can often achieve more from being inside the tent.”


'Crime may have been committed' by Trump, fired deputy FBI chief Andrew McCabe says

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Sunday that a “crime may have been committed” when President Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. McCabe also said in the interview with “60 Minutes” that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. “And the idea is, if the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia’s malign activity and possibly in support of his campaign, as a counterintelligence investigator you have to ask yourself, “Why would a president of the United States do that?” McCabe said. He added: “So all those same sorts of facts cause us to wonder is there an inappropriate relationship, a connection between this president and our most fearsome enemy, the government of Russia?” Asked whether Rosenstein was onboard with the obstruction and counterintelligence investigations, McCabe replied, “Absolutely.” A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Sunday night. McCabe also revealed that when Trump told Rosenstein to put in writing his concerns with Comey — a document the White House initially cited as justification for his firing — the president explicitly asked the Justice Department official to reference Russia in the memo. Rosenstein did not want to, McCabe said, and the memo that was made public upon Comey’s dismissal did not mention Russia and focused instead on Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation. “He explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo. And the president responded, “I understand that, I am asking you to put Russia in the memo anyway.” Trump said in a TV interview days after Comey’s firing that he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he fired Comey. Those actions, including a separate request by the president that the FBI end an investigation into his first national adviser, Michael Flynn, made the FBI concerned that Trump was illegally trying to obstruct the investigation. “Put together, these circumstances were articulable facts that indicated that a crime may have been committed,” McCabe said. “The president may have been engaged in obstruction of justice in the firing of Jim Comey.” McCabe was fired from the Justice Department last year after being accused of misleading investigators during an internal probe into a news media disclosure. The allegation was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington for possible prosecution, but no charges have been brought. McCabe has denied having intentionally lied and said Sunday that he believes his firing was politically motivated. “I believe I was fired because I opened a case against the president of the United States,” he said. In the interview Sunday, McCabe also said Rosenstein in the days after Comey’s firing had proposed wearing a wire to secretly record the president. McCabe said he took the remark seriously, though the Justice Department last Septemeber — responding last September to a New York Times report that first revealed the conversation — issued a statement from an official who was in the room and interpreted the remark as sarcastic. McCabe said the remark was made during a conversation about why Trump had fired Comey.” “And in the context of that conversation, the deputy attorney general offered to wear a wire into the White House. He said, “I never get searched when I go into the White House. I could easily wear a recording device. They wouldn’t know it was there,” McCabe said, In excerpts released last week by CBS News, McCabe also described a conversation in which Rosenstein had broached the idea of invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The Justice Department said in a statement that Rosenstein, based on his dealings with Trump, does not see cause to seek the removal of the president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who is seeking her party’s nomination for president, told reporters after a campaign event Sunday in Las Vegas that if the people around Trump believe he cannot fulfill the obligations of his office, then they have a duty to invoke the 25th Amendment. A favorite target of Trump’s ire, Warren said she has no special knowledge on whether there are grounds to remove Trump from office but said that “there are a whole lot of people who do see him every day who evidently were talking about invoking the 25th Amendment.”

andrew mccabe
donald trump
russia
vladimir putin
espionage
scandals
robert mueller
2016 u.s. presidential election
russia probe


U.K. plans new tax to boost recycled plastic content and get producers to pay for waste disposal

Abstract: LONDON - Britain is to set out plans to overhaul its recycling system on Monday, including making producers of plastic packaging pay the full cost of dealing with their waste and introducing a deposit return scheme for cans and bottles. The plans, which also aim to make household rubbish collections more consistent around the country, will be introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove and go out for consultation for three months. “We will introduce a world-leading tax to boost recycled content in plastic packaging, make producers foot the bill for handling their packaging waste, and end the confusion over household recycling,” Gove said in a statement. The tax will be payable by producers who fail to use enough recycled material. At present, producers pay only around 10 percent of the cost of dealing with plastic packaging waste, the environment ministry said. Under an Extended Producer Responsibility system, the industry will pay higher fees if its packaging is harder to reuse or recycle. EPR for packaging will raise between £800 million and £1 billion ($1 billion to $1.3 billion) a year for recycling and disposal, the ministry said. Government will seek views on two options for how a deposit return scheme might work for cans and glass or plastic bottles, it added. The first would target a large amount of drinks on the market, irrespective of container size. The second, known as the “on the go” model, would concern smaller container sizes — those most often sold for consumption outside the home. “This could drive up the recycling of an estimated 3 billion plastic bottles which are currently incinerated, sent to landfill or left to pollute streets, countryside and the marine environment,” the ministry said. Household waste recycling rates in England have risen from around 11 percent between 2000-2001 to about 45 percent, but since 2013 rates have plateaued, according to ministry figures.

recycling
plastic
waste
environment
pollution
u.k .
plastic waste


Syrian Kurds beseech Europe: Don't abandon us

Abstract: PARIS - A top Kurdish official has called on Europe not to abandon Syrian Kurds once the battle against the Islamic State group is over and to help set up an international force to protect them from Turkey. European powers “have a political and moral responsibility” to the Kurds, Aldar Khalil said in a interview in Paris, warning that the Kurds would seek the protection of Syrian President Bashar Assad if failed by Europe and the U.S. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been leading the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria for the past four years, backed up by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition. With Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate now in ruins, the Kurds fear being left at the mercy of Turkey after the U.S. declares mission accomplished in the final battle currently under way for the jihadis’ last Syrian holdout. Turkey, which has been battling a Kurdish insurgency on its own soil since 1984, views the Kurdish fighters that dominate the SDF as terrorists and has threatened to invade areas under Kurdish control in northeast Syria. Khalil, who played a key role in establishing Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region in 2013, appealed to Europe for protection. “If they (Europe) don’t meet their commitments they are effectively abandoning us,” Khalil said late Sunday, calling on France in particular to work at the United Nations for the creation of a buffer zone along the Turkish border. “France can table a proposal to the Security Council on our protection, suggesting an international force between us and the Turks — of which it would be part — or to protect our airspace,” he said. The senior political representative said it could be modeled on the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along Lebanon’s border with Israel. But European powers have already rebuffed U.S. proposals for an observer force that would stay on in northeast Syria, fearing they will have to bear the burden once the U.S. pulls out. “They’re trying to manage the consequences of a hasty decision and making us carry the responsibility,” a French government source said last week. U.S. President Donald Trump caused shock among America’s Western and Kurdish allies in December by announcing plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria even before the end of the fight against IS. The withdrawal would leave the Kurds, who control nearly 30 percent of Syria, including the cities of Qamishli, Hasaka and Raqqa, exposed to a long-threatened attack by Turkey. The Kurds fear a repeat of the Turkish offensive that drove Kurdish fighters and civilians out of the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin last year. They have also warned the West that the foreign jihadis currently languishing in Kurdish jails could escape and urged their countries of origin to take them back. On Monday, EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss the issue, which has taken on greater urgency as the battle for the jihadis’ last redoubt ramps up. The jihadis are trapped in less than half a square kilometer in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border. Khalil said the Kurds will seek protection from Assad unless their Western allies step up — and he spelled out the terms of a possible deal. “We will be obliged to agree a deal with the (Syrian) regime so that it deploys its troops along the border and protects us,” Khalil explained. He said the Kurds will insist on maintaining autonomy and demand that the border troops be from Kurdish areas. “They would come under the orders of the Syrian army, but be our units,” he said, adding that foreign fighters would be kept under Kurdish guard and not handed over to Assad’s forces. In return, the Kurds would offer to give Assad, who is anxious to restore sovereignty over the biggest area beyond government control, a cut of the Kurdish region’s oil revenues. “We can also agree to raise the regime’s flag,” Khalil added. But Western observers expect Assad, whose forces control about 60 percent of Syria, to take advantage of the Kurds’ vulnerability and drive a hard bargain. On Sunday, Assad warned them that the U.S. would not protect them against Turkey. “No one will protect you except your state,” he said.


Iran launches home-grown 'cruise missile-capable' submarine also armed with torpedoes and mines

Abstract: TEHRAN - Iran on Sunday launched a new locally made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country’s latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the U.S. The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. “Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea,” Rouhani said. “Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country,” he added. Named the Fateh (Farsi for Conqueror), Fars news agency said the new submarine is Iran’s first in the semi-heavy category, filling a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo class submarines that the country possesses. Fars said the near 600-ton underwater vessel is equipped with torpedoes and naval mines in addition to cruise missiles, and can operate more than 200 meters below sea level for up to 35 days. The U.S. withdrew from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and re-imposed biting unilateral sanctions later last year. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Feb. 7 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), according to the elite unit’s official media agency Sepah News. The surface-to-surface missile — called Dezful — is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brig. Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh said. Rouhani said on Sunday that “pressure by enemies, the (Iran-Iraq) war and sanctions” were incentives for Tehran to be self-reliant in its defence industry. “Maybe we would not have this motivation to industrialise our defence sector,” he said, if Iran could just buy the weaponry it needed. Iran’s top military brass and Cabinet ministers attended the ceremony.

iran
missiles
submarines
mines
conflict
u.s .


U.S. prevents North Korea working with U.N. aviation body to establish safe airspace before Trump-Kim summit

Abstract: MONTREAL/SEOUL - The United States has blocked efforts by a U.N. agency to improve civil aviation in North Korea at a time when Pyongyang is trying to reopen part of its airspace to foreign flights, three sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The U.S. move is part of a negotiating tactic to maintain sanctions pressure on North Korea, one of the sources said, ahead of a second summit between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in late February. Washington is seeking concrete commitments from Pyongyang at the summit to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which has 192 member countries, has been working with Pyongyang to open a new air route that would pass through North and South Korean airspace. Airlines currently take indirect routes to avoid North Korea due to the threat of unannounced missile launches, which have been witnessed by some passengers on commercial flights. If the space was deemed safe, international airlines could save fuel and time on some routes between Asia and Europe and North America, and North Korea could begin reviving its own commercial aviation industry. The cash-strapped country has a population of more than 25 million but its economy has been squeezed by a series of sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Montreal-based ICAO was prepared to help improve North Korea’s aviation system by leading training sessions between its military and civil aviation staff, two sources said. North Korea also asked ICAO for access to U.S.-produced aeronautical charts, they said. But the United States discouraged the U.N. agency from helping North Korea with its air program as Washington wanted to “pool all the leverages and incentives” until Pyongyang makes substantial progress on denuclearization, a third source said. “They would keep tight hold of all available leverage to make sure there is no loophole until the North Koreans take action that deserves a reward,” the source said. All sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. ICAO cannot impose binding rules on governments, but wields clout through its safety and security standards which are approved by its member states. Asked for comment, a U.S. State Department official said it does not publicly discuss details of diplomatic conversations. An ICAO spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment and there was no immediate reaction from South Korea’s foreign ministry. In 2017, the United States proposed the U.N. Security Council freeze the assets of state-carrier Air Koryo, which flies to a handful of cities in China and Russia, as part of new sanctions on Pyongyang. The measure was dropped during negotiations between the 15 members. Airlines including Air Koryo and Air China Ltd. offer less than 200,000 available seats a year in the North Korean market, according to a January note from independent research firm CAPA Centre for Aviation. That compares with over 13 million seats available in the South Korean market, which has roughly double the population, CAPA said. The biggest beneficiaries of lifting air restrictions over North Korea would be South Korean carriers including Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines Inc, according to CAPA. The United States has doubled down on sanctions enforcement ahead of the planned second summit amid concerns Pyongyang is not committed to denuclearization, though Washington promised to relax some rules on humanitarian aid. South and North Korea, meanwhile, have rapidly advanced relations, which prompted U.S. officials to openly warn against moving too quickly without sufficient progress on denuclearization. A fourth source told Reuters that the U.S. move to facilitate humanitarian aid was intended to appease South Korea, facing some complaints that Washington is not willing to make any concessions. “But they made it clear that there will be no relief of economic sanctions until they see substantial progress,” said the source who also spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

north korea
donald trump
kim jong un
airlines
u.s .
u.n .
nuclear weapons
north korea nuclear crisis
kim-trump summit


In a land where half of all pregnancies are unplanned, Pakistani women resort to abortions as birth control

Abstract: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN - Pregnant, desperate and poor, Pakistani mother Zameena faced a stark choice: Risk her life by having a secret abortion, or risk her life bearing her husband a sixth child. In the end, she opted for the former, one of more than 2 million women a year to do so in a country where religious leaders are critical of family planning measures and there is a lack of sex education and access to contraception. Almost half of all pregnancies in Pakistan — around 4.2 million each year — are unplanned and around 54 percent of those end in termination, according to a report by U.S. research firm Guttmacher Institute. “Three years ago, when my daughter was born, the doctor told me that I should stop having babies because it would be bad for my health,” said Zameena, using an assumed name, from her home in the northwest city of Peshawar. “But whenever I say that to my husband, he tells me to trust God,” the 35-year-old added. “My husband is a religious man . . . he wants to have a line of sons.” Decades ago, a family planning campaign with the slogan “ do bache hi ache, ” or “two children is good,” was rejected by religious leaders as well as nationalists who wanted a bigger population to rival the 1.2 billion people in neighboring India. Today with a population of around 207 million, Pakistan’s baby boom is stretching resources beyond capacity and experts warn of trouble ahead. Zameena said she frequently suggested to her husband that they practice family planning, but he refused. “My mother-in-law had nine kids,” said Zameena. “When I complain to my husband that I can’t have more babies, he answers: ‘If my mother didn’t die, you should also stay alive.'” Abortion is allowed in Pakistan if the health of the mother is in danger. But many doctors invoke their Muslim faith and refuse to carry them out. As a result, some women abort illegally and authorities largely turn a blind eye to the situation. The preferred method is by ingesting Misoprostol, an over-the-counter drug used to treat ulcers, which causes the expulsion of the embryo. It can also cause serious complications for the mother. NGO Aware Girls counsels those who call its hotline on how such drugs should be used safely and when to seek emergency or professional treatment at a clinic. “Most of us know women who have died of an abortion,” said Aware Girls co-founder Gulalai Ismail. Zameena was one of the lucky ones — she knew where to go for help once she decided to terminate her latest pregnancy. At the other end of the Aware Girls hotline, counselor Ayeesha reassured and advised her on what medicines to take and in which dosage. They insist that women must never be alone when they attempt such procedures. “My work saves women’s lives. When they call, they are willing to do anything to have an abortion,” explained the 26-year-old. Ayeesha estimated that she fields around 350 calls a month. Most women who contact the NGO know very little about contraception. Access to condoms, the most well-known option, is limited and even when they can be bought, it requires the man to agree. According to official statistics, only around 35 percent of Pakistani women use any form of nonabortive birth control despite them being inexpensive. Birth control pills cost just 20 rupees (€0.12, $0.14), for example, while an IUD is available for 400 rupees (€2.5, $2.86). But population control is a controversial issue in Pakistan, where large families are prized. “Authorities have not been able to make this issue an emergency for Pakistan. It is all rhetoric and political gibberish,” says Dr. Haroon Ibrahim of the family planning NGO Greenstar, Zeba Sathar, a demographer in charge of another NGO, the Population Council, branded the nation’s negative attitude to contraception a “systemic failure.” Prime Minister Imran Khan in December acknowledged the lack of political will on the issue and promised pro-contraception campaigns using the media, cell phones, schools and mosques. “The mullahs have a key role to play,” he insisted. But the Council of Pakistani Islamic Ideology, a religious body which advises the government, says otherwise, insisting that family planning is against Islam. “The birth control campaign at the government level should be immediately stopped and the birth control program should be removed from the economic planning,” the council said. The charity Marie Stopes, whose clinics provide post-abortion care, has profiled a typical client in Pakistan: aged in her thirties, married at 18, she is poor, uneducated and already has three children. Such women approach the agency when backstreet abortions go wrong. “Women are just dying . . . for the lack of knowledge,” said Xaher Gul, an executive at Marie Stopes. In 2012, the year of their last study, the Guttmacher Institute estimated there were 2.25 million abortions in Pakistan with 623,000 women treated for post-abortion complications. “We have failed women in this country,” warned Hassan Mohtashami, former head of the United Nations Development Program in Pakistan. He added: “Abortion is not a family planning method.”

pakistan
abortion
family planning
sex
_asia


With every incident, fear grows that China is giving New Zealand the cold shoulder over Huawei ban

Abstract: WELLINGTON - When an Air New Zealand jet to Shanghai was forced to turn around earlier this month, it seemed a relatively innocuous event put down to misfiled paperwork. But it was the first of a string of incidents that are fueling concerns China may be turning a cold shoulder toward New Zealand after it barred Huawei Technologies Co. from its next-generation wireless networks. While Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denies any friction, the opposition is calling on her government to shore up the relationship to avoid potentially dire economic consequences. “Our relationship with China is worth over NZ$27 billion in two-way trade,” opposition National Party foreign affairs spokesman Todd McClay wrote in a New Zealand Herald column on Sunday. “The prospect of a deteriorating relationship with China is a major risk. It hampers certainty in the economy and creates uncertainty for our exporters and tourism operators.” Any cooling of the friendship could have significant ramifications for the tiny South Pacific nation, which is in the process of negotiating an upgrade of its free trade agreement with China. The world’s most populous country and second-largest economy has become New Zealand’s biggest trading partner, taking a quarter of all exports, while surging Chinese visitors have helped make tourism the country’s biggest foreign-exchange earner. New Zealand, which is a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance that includes the U.S., Australia, Canada and the U.K., wouldn’t be the first to face a backlash from China. Since Canada arrested Huawei’s chief financial officer on a U.S. extradition request in December, China has detained two of its citizens and sentenced a third to death for drug trafficking. In Australia, beef and wine exporters complained of customs delays after the government implied China was meddling in its politics and media. The trigger for China’s displeasure with New Zealand may have been the Ardern government’s decision in November to block Huawei from supplying fifth-generation wireless equipment to its telecommunications operators. Following Australia’s lead, and after reported pressure from the U.S., New Zealand said the Huawei 5G technology represented an unspecified national security risk, raising the ire of the Chinese authorities. That came against the backdrop of a defense strategy paper in June that identified China’s growing influence in the Pacific as a concern. Earlier this month, Air New Zealand, the government-controlled airline, was forced to redirect a flight to Shanghai, apparently because paperwork included a reference to Taiwan. Within days, other signs of strain in the relationship were being identified: The formal launch of the 2019 China New Zealand year of tourism in Wellington was postponed because senior Chinese officials were unable to attend. Seafood exporter Sanford said several of its fresh salmon shipments had faced delays in being cleared through Chinese ports. A report in a Chinese newspaper said tourists were canceling plans to visit New Zealand due to the Huawei ban and strained political relations. Ardern’s planned trip to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping, originally scheduled for late last year, was postponed due to “scheduling issues.” “If it had just been the plane that was turned around, I might have said it was just misfiled paperwork,” said Stephen Noakes, a senior politics and international relations lecturer at University of Auckland who specializes in Chinese foreign policy. “But all these things happening at once makes it look like China is less than happy with New Zealand right now.” The Ministry for Primary Industries said Feb. 15 that exports continue to be cleared into China as usual despite “recent media reports suggesting delays.” And Ardern has accused the opposition of scaremongering, saying it is blowing small administrative issues out of proportion. “I’ve heard statements made by the opposition that I deem to be incorrect” and “it’s in the national interest to correct them,” she told a news conference in Wellington on Monday. “Our relationship with China is complex, but our goods exports are up, our tourism numbers are up and there are a number of other indicators that show we still have a strong relationship despite those complexities.” Feedback from New Zealand’s dairy exporting giant Fonterra Cooperative Group was that “they haven’t seen any issues,” Ardern added. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Noakes said it’s impossible to say for sure whether China is snubbing New Zealand, and in any case things could be a lot worse. “Canadian-China relations are at an all-time low, I don’t think that’s true of New Zealand,” he said. “We’re only at the point where we’re speculating that it’s not as good as it was last week.”

china
new zealand
air new zealand
jacinda ardern
_asia


North Korea faces 'historic turning point,' state media says ahead of Kim-Trump summit

Abstract: SEOUL - North Korea is facing a “significant, historic turning point,” state media said on Monday, ahead of a highly-anticipated second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un. The meeting between the two leaders — which will be the second time the pair have come together following their Singapore summit in June — is scheduled for Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 27 and 28. Attention has been focused on whether the U.S. team will offer to lift some economic sanctions on North Korea in return for Pyongyang taking concrete steps toward denuclearization. “It is time for us to tighten our shoe strings and run fast, looking for a higher goal as we face this decisive moment,” the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial. “Our country is facing a significant, historic turning point,” it added, without explicitly referencing the summit. Earlier this month, Trump tweeted that North Korea will become a “great Economic Powerhouse” under Kim. “He may surprise some but he won’t surprise me, because I have gotten to know him & fully understand how capable he is,” said Trump. The Rodong Sinmun commentary called on North Koreans to make greater efforts to boost the country’s economy. North Korea is rising as a “strong, socialist nation,” and one’s true act of patriotism begins at one’s workplace, the commentary added. “Each and every product should be made to make our country shine.” North Korea, which holds most of the peninsula’s mineral resources, was once wealthier than the South, but decades of mismanagement and the demise of its former paymaster the Soviet Union have left it deeply impoverished. In 2017 the U.N. Security Council banned the North’s main exports — coal and other mineral resources, fisheries and textile products — to cut off its access to hard currency in response to Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

north korea
kim-trump summit
donald trump
kim jong un
rodong sinmun
north korea nuclear crisis


Police reportedly probing rare murder case in Macau after man found stabbed in bed at Sands resort

Abstract: HONG KONG - Police in the world’s biggest gambling hub of Macau are investigating what they suspect is a rare murder in a five-star casino resort after a Chinese man was found stabbed in his bed, broadcaster TDM reported on Monday. Murder cases have been rare in the Chinese territory since Portugal ceded control of what had been a colonial backwater on the heel of China’s southern coast 20 years ago. The suspected murder took place in Sands China’s Conrad Macau hotel, TDM reported, citing police. It comes as slower mainland growth, a weaker yuan and a simmering trade war with the United States threaten to derail Macau’s growth. The 41-year-old victim, an active gambler from the mainland, had been stabbed. The case was being investigated and no further details were available, TDM said. Macau police and Sands China did not respond to requests for comment. The company is controlled by U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands. Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. Casino revenues shrank in January for the first time in more than two years. Violent crime in Macau has often been linked to its junket operators — the middlemen who bring China’s wealthiest to the gambling tables. Slower growth and tighter regulations have made it hard for many small junket companies to stay in business. Criminal gangs known as triads, which are known to operate in Macau, are typically involved in extortion, money laundering, murder and prostitution.


Australia says foreign government behind cyberattack on lawmakers

Abstract: SYDNEY/CANBERRA - A cyberattack on Australian lawmakers that breached the networks of major political parties was probably carried out by a foreign country, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, without naming any suspects. As Australia heads for an election due by May, lawmakers were told this month to urgently change their passwords after the cyber intelligence agency detected an attack on the national Parliament’s computer network. The hackers breached the networks of Australia’s major political parties, Morrison said, as he issued an initial assessment by investigators. “Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity,” he told Parliament. “We also became aware that the networks of some political parties, Liberal, Labor and Nationals have also been affected.” Morrison did not reveal what information was accessed, but he said there was no evidence of election interference. Duncan Lewis, director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main spy agency, would not comment on how deeply the attack had penetrated the computer networks. “The electoral machinery which we have in this country, that’s the Australian Electoral Commission and the various state electoral commissions that work with the federal system — there is no evidence that they have been compromised,” Lewis told a Senate committee. He would not say whether the attack had been neutralized, saying it was “being managed.” Morrison did not name any suspects, but analysts have said China, Russia and Iran were the most likely culprits. “When you consider motivation, you would have to say that China is the leading suspect, while you wouldn’t rule out Russia either,” said Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. “It is the honey-pot of juicy political gossip that has been hoovered up. Emails showing everything from the dirty laundry of internal fights through to who supported a policy could be on display.” Although Australian officials have not blamed any country, in 2011 it was reported that China was suspected of accessing the email system used by lawmakers and parliamentary staff. Ties with China have deteriorated since 2017, after Canberra accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic affairs. Both countries have since sought to mend relations, but Australia remains wary of China. Tension rose this month after Australia rescinded the visa of a prominent Chinese businessman, just months after barring Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to its 5G broadband network. Officers of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency covertly monitored computers of U.S. Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and campaign committees, and stole large amounts of data, U.S. investigators have concluded.

australia
cyberattacks
scott morrison
hacking


Facial recognition to be used for officials and journalists at Emperor's anniversary ceremony, but not for politicians

Abstract: The government plans to use a facial recognition system at a ceremony later this month to mark the 30th anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s accession to the throne, officials said. The use of facial recognition technology, a first for a government-sponsored event in Japan, is designed to reduce the time required for participant identification and help prevent terrorism. Using images of the faces of participants registered in advance, the system authenticates recognized faces in some 10 seconds per person with an accuracy rate of more than 99 percent, the officials said. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony set to take place at Tokyo’s National Theatre on Feb. 24. The facial recognition system will be used for hundreds of people including government officials and journalists. Cabinet ministers and lawmakers as well as heads of prefectural and municipal governments will be exempted. The government is also considering using facial recognition technology for other events and ceremonies, including the Oct. 22 ceremony marking Crown Prince Naruhito’s accession to the throne. Emperor Akihito is scheduled to abdicate on April 30, with the Crown Prince set to take the throne on May 1.

facial recognition
emperor akihito
terrorism


Koike presents vision for Tokyo, stressing importance of ties with Osaka ahead of Olympics and Expo

Abstract: Gov. Yuriko Koike spoke to the press Monday about her plans to repurpose the former site of the Tsukiji fish market and strengthen ties with Osaka prior to the 2020 Olympic Games and 2025 World Expo, setting out her ambitions for ongoing development of the capital. The former site of the Tsukiji fish market, which closed last October after 83 years of operation, is a 23-hectare slot of land adjacent to the Ginza and Shinbashi districts. In the short term, the property will be used as a transportation hub for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, as it has the capacity to serve as a staging area for up to 3,000 buses and cars. “It is very much a prime location within Tokyo,” Koike said during a news conference conducted in English at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, adding that she hopes the site will provide a “new image for this vision of Tokyo and also become a site for international exchange in the future.” What will happen to it after the games, Koike said, will be decided by the end of the financial year, after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government takes into account consultations with various experts as well as public comments — the latter of which will stop being accepted after the end of this week. The new Toyosu market welcomed approximately 40,000 visitors on its first public viewing day in October. “Since opening, operations at the new market are proceeding smoothly and we are working together with the local community and Toyosu traders to establish the new Toyosu brand, keep the market lively and grow it into a driver for Tokyo and Japan growth,” Koike said. Moving forward, Koike said Tokyo is “poised for dramatic change” as it prepares to host the Rugby World Cup in September and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Koike also noted that in 2025, Osaka will host the World Expo. The previous World Expo held in the city, in 1970, drew 64 million visitors and is still regarded as one of the most successful expos ever held. As both cities prepare to host their respective “global mega-events,” Koike said she hopes to strengthen ties between Tokyo and Osaka for the greater prosperity of Japan. “These two major events will serve as a springboard to transform our city, and this year, 2019, will be key in making those games a success in ushering a new Tokyo,” she said. “It is vital, in achieving sustainable growth, for the capital city of Tokyo and other regions in Japan to develop together as partners.”

tokyo
osaka
yuriko koike
tsukiji
2020 tokyo olympics
tokyo metropolitan government
toyosu
osaka expo 2025


Re-enactment of Korematsu case that upheld Japanese internment fuels debate on Trump immigration policy

Abstract: NEW YORK - A re-enactment in New York of Korematsu v. United States, a 1944 Supreme Court case that upheld the wartime incarceration of some 120,000 Japanese-Americans, was recently staged with a new ending that takes into account the court’s decision to overrule the notorious decision last June. The public event, held on Jan. 30 to mark the centennial of the late Japanese-American activist Fred Korematsu’s birthday, drew a crowd of roughly 150 who watched lawyers and judges re-enact a case that continues to resonate amid President Donald Trump’s harsh policies against Muslim immigrants and asylum-seekers on America’s southern border. Playing the role of Chief Justice John Roberts, legal analyst Albert Fox Cahn read out the June 2018 rebuke of the 1944 ruling for its support of the “morally repugnant” executive order by which Americans of Japanese ancestry — mostly those residing on the West Coast — were detained in remote U.S. camps during World War II. “Korematsu was wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and — to be clear — ‘has no place in law under the Constitution,'” Cahn read from the court’s majority opinion. Although the court’s stance on Korematsu might otherwise have been welcomed by the Japanese-American community, it came as part of a heavily criticized ruling that upheld Trump’s ban on U.S. entry by citizens of several predominantly Muslim countries, a measure within which many see a repeat of such discrimination by executive fiat. During the panel discussion at the gathering, Rose Cuison Villazor, a law professor at Rutgers University, criticized the court for allowing law based on animus toward a particular group to remain intact. “(Korematsu) may have been overruled, but we still have this pernicious opinion that continues to exclude on the basis of race on our borders and also within our borders,” she said. Mike Ishii, 53, co-chair of the New York Day of Remembrance Committee, one of the event organizers and a descendant of Japanese-Americans who were interned, expressed similar frustration. “The hypocrisy of overturning Korematsu and then upholding that decision (the travel ban) all in one stroke — it is not only insulting but really weakens the Constitution,” Ishii told Kyodo News. The committee, formed over 30 years ago during the successful grass-roots movement for Japanese-American reparations, has become increasingly active in the city, organizing educational art exhibits and community discussions in the age of Trump. “Men early on were taken away to Department of Justice camps and separated from their families — this is a next variation . . . taking children away from their families,” Ishii said, comparing U.S. government practices in the 1940s to Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has seen thousands of migrant children detained without their parents. U.S. Judge Denny Chin, a narrator in the re-enactment, explained to the audience that the script had been put together by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and used in 11 performances but needed to be reworked to include the Supreme Court’s 2018 opinion. During the war, Korematsu, then 23, was arrested and charged with violating a government order after resisting relocation to a Japanese-American internment camp. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court in 1944 and lost in a 6-3 decision that upheld the executive order to place Japanese-Americans in camps. Korematsu’s conviction was eventually overturned in 1983, and he remained an activist until his death in 2005 at the age of 86. New York City’s Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution was adopted in 2017. So far, 10 states recognize Jan. 30 as Korematsu Day, celebrating his legacy of resisting unjust detention before he and his family were sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah during World War II.

immigration
fred korematsu
donald trump
u.s .


Spring decorations announcement to be pushed back due to Imperial succession

Abstract: The government will delay the customary April 29 announcement of those who will receive spring decorations conferred by the Emperor until after Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the Imperial Throne on May 1, a government source has said. It will be the first time for such an announcement to be postponed since the current form of the honors system was implemented in 1964, the source said Saturday. The government believes it is preferable, according to the source, to announce the public recipients — which are recommended by the Cabinet and approved by an emperor — after Crown Prince Naruhito succeeds the throne following Emperor Akihito’s abdication on April 30. Emperor Akihito will become the first living Japanese emperor to relinquish the throne in about 200 years. Recipients of the decorations are announced on April 29 and Nov. 3 every year, with the awarding ceremonies being held shortly thereafter. About 4,000 individuals with distinguished accomplishments in various areas are selected for the honor. Some of the decorations are handed out by an emperor himself in the ceremonies. All recipients gain an audience with the emperor. Last year’s recipients included former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Nobel Prize-winning writer Kazuo Ishiguro. In a rare video message in August 2016, Emperor Akihito, who turned 85 in December, expressed his desire to step down, citing concerns about his age and health.

emperor akihito
abdication
awards
imperial family
emperor naruhito


Organs of brain-dead boy under 6 to be donated, in only 10th such case for Japan

Abstract: The family of a boy under 6 judged brain dead under the Organ Transplant Law has agreed to donate his organs, according to the Japan Organ Transplant Network. This is the 10th case of organ donation by a donor under 6 announced by the network, which is the only intermediary organization for organ transplants in Japan. The boy had been hospitalized in Gunma Prefecture. The donation of his organs was announced on Sunday. “Because our son was a kind boy who would give anything to others in need, we believe the choice of organ transplants meets his wishes,” the boy’s parents said in a statement released through the network. The boy’s heart will be given to a girl under 10 at University of Tokyo Hospital, his lungs to a girl under 10 at Tohoku University Hospital, his liver to a girl under 10 at the National Center for Child Health and Development, and his kidneys to a teenager at Toho University’s Omori Medical Center.

japan organ transplant network
organ donation
medicine
children


Japan approves world-first trial using iPS cells to treat spinal cord injuries

Abstract: The health ministry on Monday approved the world’s first clinical test in which artificially derived stem cells will be used to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. A team of researchers from Keio University, which filed a request for the test with the ministry, will inject neural cells produced from so-called induced pluripotent stem cells — known as iPS cells — into four people who are injured while playing sports or in traffic accidents. It is the fifth time the government has authorized clinical studies using iPS cells. The patients, aged 18 or older, will undergo the test treatment under the care of a team led by Hideyuki Okano, a professor at the Keio University School of Medicine. “It’s been 20 years since I started researching cell treatment. Finally we can start a clinical trial,” Okano said at a news conference in Tokyo. “We want to do our best to establish safety and provide the treatment to patients.” Okano and his team have already succeeded in enabling a paralyzed monkey to walk again through the same approach. The patients will have suffered lost mobility and sensation. The cells will be injected within two to four weeks of the patients’ accidents — the period in which the treatment is believed to be effective. The team will observe the efficacy and safety of the cells for about a year while the patients undergo rehabilitation. The cells to be transplanted will be created from iPS cells in storage at Kyoto University and will be kept frozen. Kyoto University’s Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2012 for developing iPS cells, which can grow into any type of body tissue and are seen as a promising tool for regenerative medicine and drug development. The main purpose of Keio’s study is to confirm the safety of the neural cells to be created. The team will limit the number of cells they will transplant to 2 million but plan to increase that to up to 10 million in the future. Every year in Japan, around 5,000 people sustain spinal cord damage, and the number of people living with some sort of spinal cord-related injury is estimated to total over 100,000. People with existing spinal cord injuries are mostly in the chronic phase and, therefore, will not be eligible to the upcoming clinical trial. But Masaya Nakamura, a Keio professor of orthopedics who is in charge of the procedures, said the team wants to confirm “within two to three years” the safety of the treatment for patients with chronic spinal cord injuries. On Monday, a panel at the ministry also reviewed another plan for a clinical test in which corneas produced from iPS cells will be transplanted to treat eye diseases. The trial was proposed by an Osaka University research team. The panel did not reach a decision on the cornea trial, leaving further consideration to future discussions. Among other clinical tests with iPS cells, the government-backed Riken institute conducted the world’s first transplant of retina cells grown from iPS cells to an individual with an eye disease in 2014. Kyoto University also began a clinical test using iPS cells to treat Parkinson’s disease last year. In that test, which took place in October, nerve cells created from iPS cells were transplanted into the brain of a patient in his 50s. Parkinson’s disease reduces dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, and results in tremors in the hands and feet and stiffness in the body. While there are treatments to relieve the symptoms, there is currently no cure for the disease.

ips
keio university
transplants
kyoto university
health care


Skiers rescued by helicopter in Niigata

Abstract: NIIGATA - Two men were rescued by helicopter Monday after going missing while backcountry skiing over the weekend in a popular ski resort town in Niigata Prefecture. Takao Okawa, 59, of Kanagawa Prefecture, and Yasuhiro Kato, 38, of Tokyo, were found uninjured. They had been unaccounted for since skiing in unmarked areas in the town of Yuzawa on Saturday, according to the police. A friend notified police that the two were missing at around 5 p.m. Saturday after they failed to show up at a mountain hut where they were supposed to stay the night and could not be reached by mobile phone. There was a blizzard in the area at the time and more snow fell Sunday, according to the police. A search and rescue mission began Sunday morning. At around 8:55 a.m. Monday, a police helicopter found the skiers around 1.4 kilometers southwest of the summit of Mount Kaguragamine. The two were taken to a hospital, the police said. The National Police Agency has been warning of the risks of backcountry skiing, saying it requires knowledge and outdoor gear similar to that for mountain climbing. During the New Year’s holidays, 40 people got lost in mountainous areas across Japan, including one person who died. Thirteen of the 40 people were skiing in unmarked areas, most of them foreigners.


In first message to Kim, abductees' kin vow not to oppose normalizing North Korea ties if victims returned

Abstract: In their first message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since their group formed in 1997, families of Japanese nationals abducted to the country decades ago said they do not oppose the normalization of diplomatic ties if abductees are immediately returned home. In the message, sent Sunday, the families asked Kim to return all abductees immediately, saying that they “do not intend to oppose normalizing Japan-North Korea diplomatic relations” and that they won’t try to elicit secrets from the victims who return. The message said the families only “want to live quiet lives with the victims.” “We’ve decided to deliver a humanitarian message, instead of only applying pressure to North Korea using mainly economic sanctions,” said Sakie Yokota, 83, whose daughter Megumi was kidnapped to North Korea in 1977 at the age of 13. “This is one way (for the victims) to return home.” Shigeo Iizuka, the head of the group, said the families want the abductees to be returned as soon as possible, but that the group also wants the government to take a step-by-step approach before proceeding with any meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim. As the first step, Iizuka said, the families want U.S. President Donald Trump to take up the abduction issue during his planned meeting with Kim later this month. “We want (the president) to tell North Korea to return the Japanese. It will not move forward at all unless Kim makes the decision,” Iizuka said. Iizuka’s younger sister, Yaeko Taguchi, was kidnapped in 1978 when she was 22. Japan officially lists 17 nationals as abductees but suspects North Korea’s involvement in even more disappearances. Five were repatriated in 2002 under an initiative led by then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. In the latest development, a government official revealed Friday that North Korea has informed Japan that Minoru Tanaka, a Hyogo Prefecture native who vanished in 1978, is living in Pyongyang with his wife and children. Japan has also been informed that Tatsumitsu Kaneda, who used to work with Tanaka at the same noodle shop in Kobe and disappeared at age 26, is also living in North Korea with his wife and children, according to the official. Tanaka went missing in 1978 after departing from Narita airport for Vienna. According to a man believed to be a former North Korean agent, the proprietor of the ramen restaurant where Tanaka worked was also a covert operative and helped lure him abroad to be abducted. The following year, Kaneda disappeared after telling people around him that he was going to Tokyo to meet with Tanaka.

abductions
north korea
kim jong un
families
sakie yokota
shigeo iizuka
shinzo abe
north korea-japan relations


Likely Trump visit from May 26 could make him first foreign state guest to meet new Emperor

Abstract: U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be invited to Japan for around three days from May 26, possibly making him the first foreign state guest to meet Crown Prince Naruhito after his planned accession to the throne, a Japanese government source said Monday. The government is apparently seeking to demonstrate strong Japan-U.S. ties by receiving Trump as the first foreign head of state to be treated with utmost courtesy after the Imperial accession on May 1. “The United States is the most important country for Japan. Mr. Trump is the most suitable (foreign guest) to meet the new Emperor first,” one of the sources said. If realized, Trump would visit Japan twice in around a month, as he is also expected to attend the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in late June. Crown Prince Naruhito, 58, will succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne after Emperor Akihito, 85, abdicates on April 30 — the first living monarch to do so in about two centuries. The U.S. president visited Japan as an official guest in November 2017, but would this time receive the higher honor of being treated as a state guest. During the envisioned state trip, Trump is expected to meet Abe and brief him on the outcome of the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28 in Vietnam. The U.S. and Japanese leaders are likely to reaffirm their cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s denuclearization and the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Trade is also likely to be on the agenda, as the two leaders agreed last September to launch negotiations for a bilateral pact. Abe and Trump, both of whom are avid golfers, may also head to the fairways again, as they did on the sidelines of previous bilateral summits held in the United States and Japan.

donald trump
emperor akihito
north korea
shinzo abe
imperial family
u.s.-japan relations
emperor naruhito


67% plan to vote against U.S. air base transfer within Okinawa, poll finds

Abstract: Over 67 percent of Okinawa residents plan to vote against the central government’s controversial plan to transfer a key U.S. air base within the prefecture, in the local referendum set for Feb. 24, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday. While the result of the referendum will not be legally binding, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki hopes the vote will demonstrate local opposition to the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in the country. According to the opinion poll, which was conducted Saturday and Sunday on 1,047 eligible voters in the prefecture, 67.7 percent of respondents said they will cast a “no” vote on the base plan and only 15.8 percent said they will vote in favor of the relocation. About 1.16 million Okinawa residents with Japanese citizenship aged 18 or over will be eligible to vote. Voters will have three options on the ballot asking what they think about building a replacement facility in a coastal area of Henoko — “yes,” “no” or “neither.” Some 13.1 percent responded that they will vote “neither.” Of all the respondents, 86.3 percent said the central government should respect the referendum outcome. Among those opposed to the base relocation within Okinawa, nearly 40 percent said they do not want a new U.S. military facility in the prefecture. As for people supporting the transfer plan, about 55 percent said safety issues surrounding the Futenma base need to be addressed. Under the referendum ordinance, the governor must “respect” the outcome of the plebiscite and notify the prime minister and U.S. president if it is approved by at least a quarter of eligible voters, or around 290,000 people. Heavy U.S. military presence in Okinawa — a fierce battleground in World War II — has long been a source of conflict between the prefecture and Tokyo. Tamaki was elected in September on a promise to stop the U.S. base relocation, along with a pledge to seek a review of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement that gives certain legal privileges to U.S. military personnel, despite the central government taking precedence over the local government on matters related to the two countries’ alliance. The relocation plan originated from an agreement reached between the Japanese and U.S. governments in 1996 after public anger was fueled by the 1995 rape of an Okinawa girl by three American servicemen. Many residents of Okinawa, which reverted to Japan’s administration in 1972 after decades of U.S. military oversight following the war, are frustrated with noise, accidents and crime linked to the U.S. military presence and want the Futenma base moved outside the prefecture. The central government has maintained that the current relocation plan is “the only solution” for removing the dangers posed by the Futenma base, which is situated close to schools and homes in Ginowan, without undermining the deterrence provided by the Japan-U.S. security alliance. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration is pressing ahead with the transfer of the base to the Henoko coast, adjacent to U.S. Marine base Camp Schwab, despite a series of legal and administrative battles with the local government. Full-fledged land reclamation began in December in order to build air base runways.

okinawa
denny tamaki
futenma
henoko
u.s. bases


In Diet grilling, Abe refuses to deny nominating Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declined on Monday to comment on a claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that he’d nominated the American leader for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but did not deny the assertion, instead praising Trump’s efforts to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis. “I’m not saying it’s untrue,” Abe told a Budget Committee session of the Lower House. “The Nobel committee doesn’t reveal who submits nominations, or those who were nominated, for fifty years. In accordance with this policy, I’d like to refrain from commenting,” he added. In response, opposition lawmakers argued that suggesting peace had already been achieved in the region would be inaccurate, and at odds with the nation’s recent decision to purchase new missile defense systems. Abe’s remarks followed Trump’s surprising claim Friday that Japan’s prime minister had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, for his work toward easing tensions with North Korea last year. On Sunday, the daily Asahi Shimbun reported that Abe had nominated Trump for the prize after the U.S. government sounded the Japanese leader out over a possible nomination, citing an unnamed government source. According to Nobel rules, “neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until 50 years have elapsed.” This year there are 304 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize, out of which 219 are individuals and 85 are organizations, the Nobel Committee has said. The submission deadline was Jan. 31. Abe’s reported nomination of Trump, if true, may have been based on his pragmatic view of the Nobel Peace Prize. In October 2014, Abe reportedly told ex-Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba that nominations for the peace prize are “rather politically motivated.” Abe has tried to build a close relationship with Trump, partly because of his aspiration to keep the U.S. committed to the defense of Japan and its allies from the North Korean nuclear and missile threat. The Japanese leader’s efforts have included many summit meetings and teleconferences with the U.S. president, pledges to buy expensive weapon systems produced by U.S. firms and even a red-carpet reception for Ivanka Trump when she visited Japan in November 2017. “President Trump has been decisively working to resolve the nuclear and missile issues of North Korea. He held a historic meeting” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, Abe told Monday’s Budget Committee session. Trump is also fully cooperating with Tokyo in trying to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents, Abe said. “Cooperating hand-in-hand with President Trump, I’d like to make all-out efforts to resolve the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abduction issue, as the most important agenda for our country,” Abe said. Abe was answering questions from Yuichiro Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, the second largest opposition force. Tamaki immediately criticized Abe’s response. “You can’t comment on (the report), which I believe means you actually nominated” Trump for the prize, Tamaki said. “If you believe the current situation in Northeast Asia is peaceful, I think it’s a problem,” Tamaki said. “Nothing has been resolved. None of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues were resolved,” including those involving short- to medium-range ballistic missiles that are capable of directly hitting Japan, Tamaki said. “We cannot help but say you are looking at the situation too optimistically. On top that, it would send a terribly inaccurate message to the world,” Tamaki argued. Tamaki also said that the nomination, if true, would conflict with Japan’s decision to introduce two Aegis Ashore anti-missile defense systems. Japan has decided to introduce the weapons systems — estimated to cost about ¥600 billion in total — citing the “imminent threat” of North Korean ballistic missiles. The comment from Trump came Friday in a speech from the Rose Garden of the White House, when he said that Abe had sent a “most beautiful five-page letter” to the Nobel committee to nominate him for the prize . Trump said he thanked Abe at the time, but added that he did not expect to win the prize, and that that was “OK.” The U.S. leader said his work on the North Korean issue had prompted the move, noting that Abe “had rocket ships and … missiles flying over Japan, and they had alarms going off. … Now all of a sudden they feel good, they feel safe. I did that.”

nobel peace prize
shinzo abe
donald trump


Upping the ante in 'comfort women' row, South Korea speaker brands Japan a 'brazen thief'

Abstract: SEOUL - The speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly has added fuel to a simmering controversy over his call for the Emperor to apologize to “comfort women,” describing Japan as a “brazen thief” for demanding that he retract his comments. The term “comfort women” is a euphemism used to refer to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during World War II. In interviews with several South Korean media organizations reported Monday, Moon Hee-sang doubled down on his demand for an apology from Emperor Akihito to settle the long-standing dispute. He also slammed the Japanese government for having demanded he retract and apologize for his initial remarks, made in an interview with Bloomberg News on Feb. 8, in which he called for Emperor Akihito to apologize to the women before abdicating at the end of April. The lawmaker said Japan was acting like a “brazen thief” for demanding an apology for his remarks when it is Tokyo that should be apologizing. In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it was “extremely deplorable that the speaker has repeated inappropriate remarks.” The top spokesman, speaking at a news conference, said the Japanese government will continue to take a “stern position” over the issue. Moon has accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of politicizing his remarks for domestic benefit even though cooperation among the United States and its Asian allies is of paramount importance ahead of a second U.S.-North Korea summit at the end of this month. Moon said his comments had been meant to underscore the need for “sincere action” from those who represent Japan, such as the prime minister and the Emperor. Apologies should come from the sitting prime minister and the Emperor, in that order, he said. Moon’s remarks to Bloomberg prompted Tokyo to lodge a protest with Seoul. The dispute over his comments has further escalated tensions between the two countries, whose ties have long been strained over historical grievances related to Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945. Japan and South Korea reached an agreement in 2015 to settle the comfort women issue once and for all, but the government of President Moon Jae-in, who took office in 2017, concluded that the deal — which was unpopular with the public — failed to reflect the opinion of the surviving victims. Seoul then decided to dissolve a Japanese-funded foundation that had been set up as a key pillar of the deal. The foundation had disbursed money to dozens of former comfort women.

comfort women
south korea
japan
moon hee-sang
emperor akihito
wwii
history