Elton John joins George Clooney in urging boycott of Brunei-owned inns over sultanate's crackdown on gays and adultery

Abstract: LONDON - British pop legend Elton John has joined actor George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death-penalty laws for gay sex and adultery. The call came as a growing list of politicians and celebrities added their names to those condemning the new laws and supporting a boycott. “I commend my friend, #GeorgeClooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of #Brunei — a place where gay people are brutalized, or worse — by boycotting the Sultan’s hotels,” the singer wrote on his Twitter page late Saturday. The 72-year-old, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said his “heart went out” to staff at the hotels, but that “we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable. The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney are located in Britain, France, Italy and the United States. They include London’s exclusive Dorchester and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. The Dorchester Collection luxury chain issued a statement saying that its code emphasizes “equality, respect and integrity in all areas” and that “we do not tolerate any form of discrimination,” CNN reported. Clooney called for the boycott earlier this week, saying “every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery.” “No one should face the death penalty because of who they love. Brunei’s decision is barbaric,” Britain’s international development minister, Penny Mordaunt, wrote on Twitter. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark called the new penal code “shocking” and “barbaric. Amnesty International called on Brunei to “immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments. In the U.S., Clooney’s call drew supportive declarations from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle and a strong statement from the Trump administration. “We strongly oppose human rights violations and abuses against LGBTI persons, including violence,” the State Department said in a statement. LGBTI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex. Intersex people are people born with physical features that are neither wholly male nor female. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to seek the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, tweeted on Friday: “Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral … “There is no excuse — not culture, not tradition — for this kind of hate and inhumanity.” Another Democrat seeking the party’s nomination, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, joined the chorus. “These human rights abuses cannot be tolerated,” she said. And Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said on Twitter: “This is wrong. It is barbaric. America should condemn this immoral and inhumane law, and everyone should be united against it.” Actress Jamie Lee Curtis also tweeted in support of her fellow actor’s stand. “I stand with George Clooney, a good man doing the right thing, fighting an unjust and barbaric law.” Clooney and his wife, human-rights lawyer Amal Clooney, have been active in humanitarian causes. Brunei, an absolute monarchy ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, is to implement the new penal code starting Wednesday. Homosexuality is already illegal in the sultanate, but it will now become a capital offense. The law applies only to Muslims. Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but implementation has been delayed, in the face of opposition by rights groups, and as officials worked out the practical details.

elton john
george clooney
boycotts
brunei
adultery
beverly hills hotel
stoning
death penalty
lgbt


Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal adopts 'inclusive' trade name minus second part of its official moniker

Abstract: Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., the world’s third-biggest steelmaker, changed its name to Nippon Steel Corp. on Monday to start afresh with an “inclusive” trade name as it aims to further expand overseas operations. Japan’s largest steelmaker was created through the merger of Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. in October 2012. It resuscitated the name Nippon Steel Corp. to “adopt a new and more inclusive trade name befitting a steelmaker with origins in Japan and an emphasis on continuing growth in global markets,” the company said when it announced the name change in May last year. Nippon means Japan in Japanese. Eiji Hashimoto, formerly executive vice president, assumed the president post the same day, replacing Kosei Shindo, who will become chairman with representative rights.


Water-spraying drones and canned air among remedies touted to curb Asia's smog

Abstract: HONG KONG - As billions of people in Asia choke under polluted skies, authorities have turned to water-dispersing drones and outdoor air purifiers to improve air quality, while companies have tried to cash in by selling everything from canned air to lung-purifying teas. Around 92 percent of the population in the Asia-Pacific region are exposed to levels of air pollution that pose a significant risk to their health, according to U.N. Environment. Here is a look at some of the ways those living under the haze try to limit its effects: As public anger rises over toxic air, authorities have turned to spraying water, which is thought to stick to pollutants and carry them to the ground. But tools such as water cannons have been criticized as having little effect and being a “band-aid” solution that distracts from root causes. New Delhi — the world’s most polluted major city — tried in 2017 to use helicopters to sprinkle water over the city, but the choppers were not able to fly due to low visibility caused by smog. In Bangkok, the government tried a raft of measures to combat a murky haze that blanketed the city for weeks in January, including spraying overpasses with water, cloud seeding and even deploying a fleet of water-dispersing drones. Cloud-seeding is used to stimulate rain by injecting chemicals into clouds using rockets, cannons or aircraft, but the technique is not always successful. An attempt by South Korea to create artificial rain to tackle air pollution in January failed, after an aircraft sent to seed clouds with silver iodide only produced several minutes of misty rain. The northern Chinese city of Xi’an is experimenting with a giant air purifier the size of an industrial smokestack that can reduce PM2.5 concentration by 15 percent within 10 sq. km, according to researchers. Hong Kong this year opened a 3.7-km tunnel equipped with an air purification system touted as the largest of its kind in the world in terms of volume of air handled — 5.4 million cu. meters of vehicle exhaust every hour. The government says it will be able to remove at least 80 percent of harmful particulates and nitrogen dioxide using large fans which suck exhaust into air purification plants in three ventilation buildings along the tunnel. New Delhi last year announced a plan to install huge air purifiers at traffic intersections and mount air filters on the roofs of buses that trap pollutants as they move, according to Hindustan Times. During particularly bad spates of air pollution, which tend to come during the winter, many residents in smoggy Chinese cities escape to cleaner places, such as resorts in the south of the country, for a temporary break and return after it has cleared. Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agent, estimated in 2016 that every year, over a million residents of smoggy cities such as Beijing and Shanghai leave the country to escape the smog. Popular destinations for these “smog refugees” include places such as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Some even travel to Antarctica on “lung-cleansing trips,” according to Ctrip. Although experts say residents in smoggy cities are unlikely to see health effects from breathing bottled air, that hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs from selling them canisters of the stuff from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. For about $22, consumers can order an 8-liter can of Banff Air from the popular tourist spot in Canada, or pay $125 for a jar of air from the British countryside. In China, “anti-smog” teas are promoted by vendors as a way to clean the lungs, while Mongolian residents drink “oxygen cocktails” — made by spraying oxygen into glasses of juice using machines or cans of air. Advertisements boast that “drinking just one oxygen cocktail is equal to a three-hour-walk in a lush forest,” despite no scientific evidence they protect from pollution.

drones
pollution
environment
new delhi
bangkok
south korea
ctrip
china
canada


Plane crash claims one of Russia's richest women, S7 Group airline co-owner Natalia Fileva

Abstract: FRANKFURT, GERMANY - One of Russia’s richest women, S7 Group co-owner Natalia Fileva, has died in a small plane crash in Germany, the Russian airline operator said Sunday. Fileva, 55, was aboard a single-engine, six-seat Epic LT aircraft that crashed and burned in a field as it approached the small airport at Egelsbach, a town in southwestern Germany, about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, the airline’s press service said in an email. German police said there appeared to be three people aboard the plane, including the pilot of the flight, which originated in France. They said the two passengers were believed to be Russian citizens but that positive identification of the occupants would require further investigation. German aviation authorities were probing the cause of the crash. Egelsbach is about 10 km (6 miles) south of Frankfurt. The business publication Forbes.ru estimated Fileva’s fortune at $600 million. “S7 Group team extends sincere and heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Fileva’s family and loved ones,” the company said in a statement. “The memory of her as an inspiring and sympathetic leader and a wonderful person will forever stay in the hearts of all S7 Group employees. It is an irreparable loss. ” Based at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, S7 is part of the Oneworld alliance and flies to 150 destinations in 35 countries. The crash was also linked to other deaths in Germany. The dpa news agency, citing police, reported that two people died Sunday and three others were seriously hurt when a police vehicle that was responding to the plane crash with flashing lights and sirens was struck head-on by another vehicle several kilometers (miles) from the crash site. Citing police, dpa reported that three injured were in the police vehicle and the two dead were in the other car.

russia
s7 group
airlines
natalia fileva
germany
aircraft accidents


Japan's big manufacturers grew more pessimistic in March: tankan

Abstract: Business sentiment among large manufacturers worsened in March compared with three months earlier in the biggest point loss since December 2012, reflecting concerns over a slowdown in China and other overseas economies. The Bank of Japan tankan , measuring confidence among companies such as carmakers and electronics firms, stood at 12, down from 19 in the December survey. The result, released Monday, was slightly weaker than the average market forecast of 13 in a Kyodo News poll. The seven-point decline from December was the largest since December 2012, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current administration was launched, and came after the index remained unchanged at 19 in December. Large manufacturers forecast a further decline to 8 for the coming months, the survey showed. The index represents the percentage of companies reporting favorable conditions minus the percentage reporting unfavorable ones. A BOJ official said weak demand in Asian markets including China dampened sentiment among Japanese manufacturers such as electronics companies. “Many manufacturers said they grew concerned over the outlook of the Chinese and other Asian markets on the back of slowing demand,” he said. While expectations have been growing for a resolution to trade talks that began last year between the United States and China after they imposed hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs on each other’s exports, the spat has hurt the global economy, including Japan’s exports to China. “The worsened sentiment was attributable to a decline in exports of semiconductor-related products, but demand for them may rebound later this year after bottoming out around June,” said Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. The drop in the outlook among big manufacturers came as more of a surprise to analysts, suggesting corporate Japan doesn’t expect a quick end to the gloom surrounding the first quarter. The deteriorating sentiment is likely to fuel concerns over the impact that the consumption tax hike scheduled for October will have on a weakened economy. The last rise in the consumption tax triggered an economic contraction. Plans for capital spending, a pillar of economic growth recently, came in weaker than a year ago but a touch stronger than expected, suggesting that alarm bells aren’t ringing in company boardrooms yet. By industry, machinery manufacturers were less optimistic due largely to a slowdown in the Chinese economy, while nonferrous metal producers and pulp and paper companies were hit by higher raw material costs. Large manufacturers expected an exchange rate of ¥108.87 against the dollar for fiscal 2019 from April 1, stronger than the ¥109.41 assumed in the previous business year that ended in March. In general, a stronger yen hurts export-reliant manufacturers but lowers import costs. Sentiment among large nonmanufacturers was down 3 points at 21 and was forecast at 20 for the coming months, with many respondents blaming a continuing labor shortage. Large companies, classified as those with capital stock of more than ¥1 billion, said they plan to increase capital spending by 1.2 percent during fiscal 2019, slowing from a 13.9 percent increase the previous business year. “Capital spending in fiscal 2018 was relatively firm, but a slowdown in the global economy could negatively affect companies’ fixed investment,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute. The BOJ surveyed 9,830 companies between Feb. 25 and last Friday, of which 99.4 percent responded.

manufacturers
tankan
economy
boj
economic indicators


Bank of Japan should avoid pushing rates further below zero, head of lenders' association says

Abstract: The new head of the nation’s main banking lobby is warning the Bank of Japan against deepening negative interest rates, signaling that such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders’ profits. “It will be a quite difficult option to take,” Makoto Takashima, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, said in an interview. “Simply speaking, that would cause policy side effects to further grow.” Speculation for more BOJ easing has resurfaced as the economy weakens and central banks around the world pivot away from policy tightening. BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has indicated that taking rates further negative is one of his stimulus options, even as global debate intensifies over the potential drawbacks, including its effect on lending profitability. The BOJ needs to “carefully consider” the economic impact of driving the short-term rate further below zero, said Takashima, who is also chief executive officer of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s banking arm. Domestic banks are already faced with very thin lending margins, and some financial firms are turning to risky investments to boost returns, he said. Large Japanese banks have long been critics of the policy introduced in 2016, which charges financial institutions 0.1 percent on a portion of their reserves to encourage them to use the money more productively and help spur inflation. Concern about similar policies abroad is also mounting, with officials at the European Central Bank recently raising the issue of how negative rates are hurting banks’ earnings. In Japan, a deeper negative rate would also make it “more and more difficult” for institutional investors to earn the returns needed to serve their clients, Takashima said. That could make them more dependent on foreign exchange products, emerging market investments or other risky assets to secure yields, he said. Underscoring those hazards, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. last month announced massive writedowns, including a ¥150 billion charge to restructure its foreign bond portfolio. Moody’s Investors Service said the move was primarily the result of unrealized losses caused by higher U.S. interest rates. Banks have also been piling into bundled overseas corporate loans, known as collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), a practice that has recently attracted the scrutiny of the Financial Services Agency. “It is possible that Japan’s financial institutions have a kind of concentrated risk within themselves,” Takashima said, referring to CLOs. Recent suggestions that the BOJ could introduce a negative lending rate — essentially paying banks to borrow money from the central bank — were also met with skepticism by Takashima, who said such a move probably wouldn’t benefit the economy. Even if it prompts banks to lend to customers at negative rates, it might spur an excessive expansion in credit for real estate, he said. The lobby group, which represents lenders including the nation’s three mega-banks, has also been critical of the BOJ’s strict adherence to its 2 percent inflation target, a goal that remains firmly out of sight and is keeping any prospects for monetary policy tightening off the agenda. Takashima’s predecessor, Koji Fujiwara, called earlier this year for the BOJ to instead seek a range of 1 percent to 2 percent. One concern for Japanese policymakers stemming from the recent dovish tilt by central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, is that the yen could appreciate excessively, harming the export-driven economy. Takashima said fiscal stimulus would be a better option to counter the economic impact of a stronger yen, rather than monetary easing. “You can’t solve everything with monetary policy alone,” he said. “That should be clear from the start.”

banks
negative interest rates
interest rates
makoto takashima
japanese bankers association
boj


China will continue to suspend extra tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts

Abstract: BEIJING - China’s State Council said on Sunday that the country would continue to suspend additional tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts after April 1, in a goodwill gesture following a U.S. decision to delay tariff hikes on Chinese imports. In December, China said it would suspend additional 25 percent tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts for three months, following a truce in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The State Council, or Cabinet, said Sunday’s move was aimed at “continuing to create a good atmosphere for the ongoing trade negotiations between both sides.” “It is a positive reaction to the U.S. decision to delay tariff hikes and a concrete action adopted (by the Chinese side) to promote bilateral trade negotiations,” the State Council said. “We hope the U.S. can work together with China, accelerate negotiations and make concrete efforts towards the goal of terminating trade tensions.” The government also said it would announce separately when the suspension would end. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that trade talks with China were going very well, but cautioned that he would not accept anything less than a “great deal” after top U.S. and Chinese trade officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in Beijing. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides since Trump delayed a scheduled March 2 increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The talks are set to resume next week in Washington with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.

china
tariffs
trade
trade war
donald trump
u.s .
cars
steve mnuchin


Japan debuts legal cap on long work hours under labor reform law, but for now only big firms affected

Abstract: A labor reform law came into force on Monday, setting a legal cap on long work hours to change Japan’s notorious overwork culture blamed for causing sickness and deaths. The cap, which only targets major companies for now, is one of the three pillars of labor reform pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who faces the difficult task of addressing Japan’s shortage of workers that has now become a major issue across various industry sectors. The law limits overtime work to 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year in principle. The monthly cap can be extended in busy periods, for up to six months a year. Even in such cases, the ultimate overtime cap of 100 hours a month and 720 hours a year is set. Companies that violate the rules will be punished, possibly with a fine of ¥300,000 ($2,700). Japan has a tight labor market with companies vying to secure labor amid the aging of its population. In a major policy shift, the country opened its doors to more foreign workers by creating a new visa system on Monday. As the labor shortage is more severe in certain sectors than in others, construction workers, taxi and truck drivers, as well as doctors will be exempted from the law for five years. The law will become effective for small and midsize companies in April next year. Such exemptions have already raised concern that smaller companies will be forced to bear the brunt of big companies cutting their own employees’ overtime work. Critics say it is uncertain whether imposition of the legal cap will drastically change the deeply rooted overwork culture. The issue of “karoshi,” or death from overwork, was brought into fresh focus after the 2015 suicide of an overworked female worker at advertising firm Dentsu Inc. that was later recognized in 2016 as due to overwork. In fiscal 2017, Japan had 190 deaths from overwork, including suicides, according to government data. Skilled professionals with high wages such as consultants and financial traders will be exempted. Another major feature of the law, ensuring “equal pay for equal work” for regular and nonregular workers, will take effect in April next year.

overwork
shinzo abe
overtime
karoshi
jobs


New car sales in Japan rise third straight year despite scandals

Abstract: New car sales in the 2018 business year rose 1.2 percent from the previous year to 5.26 million units, increasing for the third consecutive year on strong minicar sales. The positive figures for the year ended Sunday came despite headwinds for the industry following a series of scandals: Former Nissan Motor Co. boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested for alleged financial misconduct while several automakers had to admit to improper vehicle inspections. Sales of minivehicles with an engine capacity of up to 660 cc rose 3.4 percent to 1.92 million units, according to the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association. Daihatsu Motor Co. remained at the top despite its minicar sales dropping 0.1 percent, while Honda Motor Co. saw an increase of 8.8 percent on brisk demand for the N-Box. Sales of cars other than minivehicles stood at 3.34 million, down by around 1,600 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said. Toyota Motor Corp. saw a 2.3 percent fall, while Subaru Corp., which has recalled vehicles in Japan over malpractice including inspections by unauthorized staff, also affected the overall decline. Sales at Nissan and Mazda Motor Corp. were up. In March alone, new car sales dropped 4.0 percent from a year earlier to 640,811 units, with both minicars and other vehicles declining.


Tokyo stocks start fiscal 2019 with robust gains

Abstract: Stocks surged Monday in the first session of the 2019 business year, as buying grew in the wake of rises in overseas equities and strong Chinese manufacturing data. The market also got a boost from congratulatory purchases ahead of the announcement of Japan’s next era name late in the morning. The Nikkei 225 average shot up 303.22 points, or 1.43 percent, to end at 21,509.03. On Friday, the key market gauge advanced 172.05 points. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues finished 24.17 points, or 1.52 percent, higher at 1,615.81 after gaining 8.79 points Friday. The market got off to a strong start following Wall Street’s continued advance Friday on sustained hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks and an improvement in the purchasing managers’ index in China announced Sunday, brokers said. Investors also stepped up buying to celebrate the new era name from the outset, brokers said. The name is “Reiwa,” to be used starting May 1 upon Crown Prince Naruhito’s accession to the throne, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced before noon. Stocks accelerated their upswings in the morning on purchases induced by the yen’s easing against the dollar and a jump in Shanghai stocks, allowing the Nikkei to gain over 470 points. In the afternoon, however, the market trimmed gains due to selling on a rally, brokers said. “In addition to the China PMI reading and the weaker yen, a rise in Nikkei futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange contributed to the strong opening,” said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc. The Bank of Japan’s tankan survey for March, released just before the opening bell, showed that business conditions deteriorated in both large manufacturers and large nonmanufacturers. But the quarterly report affected the market little, as dismal results had already been expected, brokers said “The market will likely search for direction this week,” with attention focused on currency movements and U.S. economic data, including the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for March, due out later Monday, Otani said. Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 1,837 to 259 in the first section, while 43 issues were unchanged. Volume increased to 1.419 billion shares from 1.174 billion Friday. China-linked issues attracted purchases. Among them, industrial robot maker Yaskawa Electric went up 5.04 percent, construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu 3.07 percent and Nippon Steel 2.99 percent. Daiichi Sankyo jumped 8.25 percent to a listing-to-date high after the drugmaker announced a business tie-up with British peer AstraZeneka over a cancer medicine. Other major winners included technology investor SoftBank Group and automaker Toyota. Meanwhile, Yoshinoya Holdings dropped 1.68 percent on its profit warning for the year that ended in February. Also on the minus side were cybermall operator Rakuten and airline JAL.


Dollar rises past ¥111 in Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar firmed above ¥111 in Tokyo trading Monday, aided by a stock market rally. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.04-04, up from ¥110.73-74 at the same time Friday. The euro was at $1.1238-1238, up from $1.1230-1231, and at ¥124.79-80, up from ¥124.36-37. The dollar topped ¥111.10 around midmorning on risk-on buying prompted by the Nikkei 225 stock average’s continued advance after opening broadly higher. A rise in U.S. long-term interest rates in off-hours trading also supported the dollar, traders said. But the greenback later bowed to selling on a rally amid the Nikkei trimming its gains. “Renewed hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations before the start of a ministerial meeting on Wednesday underpinned the dollar,” an official at a major securities firm said. In late afternoon trading, however, players increasingly took to the sidelines to wait for manufacturing data in Germany and the United States, both due out later Monday. Pointing out that investors have been sensitive to economic indicators recently, a currency broker forecast a bumpy market after the announcements of the data for March.


New Japanese oil giant created with Idemitsu-Showa Shell merger

Abstract: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan’s second-largest oil wholesaler, and fourth-ranked Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. merged Monday, creating a new oil giant to better compete in increasingly challenging market conditions amid falling demand for gasoline. The new company, with combined sales of over ¥5 trillion, is set to dominate the nation’s petroleum wholesale sector along with industry leader JXTG Holdings Inc., which was formed in 2017 through a merger of JX Holdings Inc. and TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. While Idemitsu will be the surviving entity, the merged company will conduct business under the Idemitsu Showa Shell trade name and will continue to use their conventional brand names at gas stations. The merger, first announced in 2015, was long delayed due to opposition by the founding family of Idemitsu, citing differences in corporate culture. The feud was settled after the family gave its approval on condition its members join the board of the merged company. Showa Shell became a wholly owned subsidiary of Idemitsu through a share exchange. The new company expects the merger to improve efficiency in crude oil procurement, refining and distribution in a shrinking domestic market, where gasoline demand has been declining 2 to 3 percent annually partly due to the accelerating trend toward fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.


Lawson to install self-checkout service in all stores across Japan amid labor crunch

Abstract: Lawson Inc. will introduce self-checkout systems in all 14,000 of its convenience stores by October to cope with Japan’s chronic labor shortage and ease the burden on existing employees, company sources said Monday. Customers across the nation will process their purchases by scanning barcodes themselves with cashier machines that can be used for either self-service or cashier-staffed checkouts depending on how busy the store is, the sources said. Only cashless payment methods such as credit cards and digital currency will be accepted for self-checkout, they said. Lawson said in December it was equipping 1,000 stores with a system allowing customers to pay for products by scanning barcodes with their smartphones by October. It currently has around 10 such stores. Lawson said Friday it will experiment with operating two unmanned stores from midnight to 5 a.m. for a few months starting in the summer. As of the end of last year, the chain had 14,574 stores in Japan. The labor shortage brought on by the aging of the population and declining birthrate has prompted convenience store operators to review their around-the-clock business hours. Last month, industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan Co. began shorter operating hours on a trial basis at 10 stores in Tokyo to gauge the impact on sales and customer traffic after a franchise owner in Osaka Prefecture started closing his store overnight due to a lack of staff. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recently urged four major convenience store operators to come up with measures to address issues arising from the labor shortage.

lawson
convenience stores
jobs
retailers
shopping


LCD maker Japan Display, a key Apple supplier, plans ¥110 billion bailout deal this week

Abstract: Display panel maker Japan Display Inc., a key supplier of Apple Inc., said Monday it is aiming to agree this week on a bailout of more than ¥110 billion ($989 million) from a group of Chinese and Taiwanese companies and an investment fund backed by the Japanese government. The company said it is negotiating a capital injection of ¥60 billion to ¥80 billion by the group, including China’s state-owned Silk Road Fund and Taiwan’s TPK Holding Co., through the issuance of new shares and bonds. It is also expecting the public-private fund INCJ Ltd., its largest shareholder with a 25.3 percent interest, to agree on refinancing, including a conversion of debts to preferred shares, the company often referred to as JDI said. One of the world’s top vendors of LCD panels used in iPhones, Japan Display has been battered by Apple’s shifting fortunes. It has been hurt in particular by a slowdown in iPhone sales and a proliferation of new models that use newer, organic light-emitting displays (OLED). Japan Display has said it expects to book a net loss for fiscal 2018 that ended in March for the fifth consecutive year due to slowing sales of display panels for Apple products. Japanese electronics companies have been competing fiercely with South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. in developing advanced display panels. Japan Display, which was formed in 2012 through a merger of the LCD operations of Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., initially aimed to close the bailout deal by the end of March.

lcd
japan display
apple
china
silk road fund
tpk holding
incj
iphones
oled
smartphones


Carlos Ghosn and Nissan CEO Saikawa considered adding fourth partner to alliance, email shows

Abstract: Last September, two months before his arrest in Tokyo, then-Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn and the carmaker’s chief executive officer considered bringing in a new partner for the alliance with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to an email. At the time, Ghosn was under pressure to make the three-way automobile alliance “irreversible.” In a message to Ghosn seen by Bloomberg, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa wrote that he had been working over the summer “quietly by myself,” at his boss’s request, to find a structure that would be “acceptable for both sides.” He offered to discuss possibilities with Ghosn. In the correspondence, Saikawa raised the possibility of bringing in another manufacturer as a fourth partner for the alliance. He didn’t identify any potential candidate. He wrote that expansion opportunities also included “acquisition of Chinese companies” for electric vehicles or connected services. The email casts light on the private discussions between the two men on the way forward for the French-Japanese alliance, which together is one of the biggest automakers in the world. Internally, Saikawa had argued against a full merger and that Nissan should remain independent or be the dominant force in any deeper union. He told the Nikkei financial newspaper in April that Nissan wanted to maintain the three-way alliance. Ghosn, who was chairman of all three companies, is now awaiting trial for financial crimes after spending 108 days in Tokyo Detention House. He has denied charges and blamed a “plot” against him by Nissan executives trying to prevent closer integration with Renault. Nissan spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said the company doesn’t comment on, or confirm or deny, the content of internal communications. He said he wouldn’t comment on “matters potentially related to pending judicial processes.” Representatives for Ghosn’s family and Renault declined to comment. In the message to Ghosn, Saikawa advises changing the alliance’s structure in 2019 “rather than wait.” Seven months before, Ghosn had pledged to cement the partnership, a promise that came after France, Renault’s most powerful shareholder, had demanded deeper ties with Nissan. Yet a move for closer relations faced resistance from within Nissan, which feared Renault would gain even greater sway. Already their shareholding is lopsided, with Renault owning 43 percent of Nissan compared with the Japanese carmaker’s 15 percent stake in Renault. Their partnership has been under further strain since Ghosn’s Nov. 19 arrest. In considering bringing in a fourth partner for the alliance, Saikawa’s email also highlights the pressure carmakers are under to grow amid an expensive shift by the industry to electric and self-driving cars. Last week, the Financial Times reported that Renault wanted to pursue the idea of a merger with Nissan, before a tie-up with another partner, possibly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Saikawa denied any deal-making talks, and said he was unaware of any such move by Renault. The French carmaker declined to comment and the government downplayed the report. In a bid to restore trust, Renault and Nissan earlier this month unveiled a new board to govern their alliance.

carlos ghosn
nissan
carmakers
renault
mitsubishi motors
hiroto saikawa


Recruits mark first day at work across Japan as fiscal 2019 begins with new overtime curbs

Abstract: This year’s recruits went to work at their new jobs for the first time Monday, the start of fiscal 2019 and the beginning of stricter overtime restrictions. “I would like (this ministry) to lead Japan’s social security and working style,” Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takumi Nemoto said in an address to 180 new recruits. “Do not feel small and please believe that you’re supporting the country through your role here.” The ministry, which has come under fire for releasing faulty job data for over a decade, played a major role in drafting a labor reform law setting a legal cap on long working hours that came into force Monday. While the government was unveiling the name of Japan’s new Imperial era, with Crown Prince Naruhito set to ascend the throne on May 1, many new graduates were attending welcome ceremonies organized by their employers across the nation. Toyota Motor Corp.’s 1,492 new hires participated in a ceremony wearing work uniforms at its head office in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. “You can become anything you want to be if you put your mind and effort into it,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda told them. “Be a treasure of the company and if possible you should be someone who will be valued by society.” Japan Airlines Co. group companies welcomed around 1,960 new employees at its Haneda airport aircraft hangar in Tokyo, with President Yuji Akasaka emphasizing how every one of them is responsible for passengers’ lives. JAL has been under scrutiny since one of its pilots was arrested by British police last October for being around 10 times over the legal alcohol limit under Britain’s aviation law, which was followed by a string of revelations involving crew members and alcohol. Professional figure skater and Olympic medalist Mao Asada made a surprise appearance at the JAL ceremony, referring to the announcement of the new era name, Reiwa. “Everyone here was born in the current Heisei Era, including me,” she said. “I’d like to embark upon the new one with a fresh start.” Seven new recruits started their jobs in the town of Okuma, which co-hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. “I hope you thrive and become part of this town’s recovery,” Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe told them. According to official government data, 91.9 percent of new job seekers, a record high proportion since such surveys began, had found jobs as of Feb. 1 ahead of their graduation in March, showing a continued improvement in the labor market for the eighth straight year.


Border row pitches noninterventionist Mexican president into deep water with Trump

Abstract: MEXICO CITY - Donald Trump’s threat to shut the U.S. border if Mexico does not halt all illegal immigration has exposed the limitations of the new Mexican government’s strategy of trying to appease the U.S. president as he gears up for re-election. Amid a surge in migrant detentions at the southwest U.S. border, Trump on Friday said he would close the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) frontier, or sections of it, during the coming week if Mexico did not halt the flow of people. Casting the government under leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the villain in his struggle to curb illegal immigration to the United States, Trump returned to a signature theme of his 2015-2016 presidential election bid. His words were a slap in the face to Lopez Obrador, who has refused to answer back to provocative comments from Trump. Instead, the Mexican leader has worked to cement his powerbase by combating poverty with welfare handouts and lambasting his predecessors as corrupt. On Friday, Lopez Obrador again said he would not quarrel with Trump, invoking “love and peace” and repeating his commitment to curbing migration. However, for former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castaneda, Mexico faces “incredibly damaging” consequences if Trump does order “go-slows” at the border, which would pitch Lopez Obrador into uncomfortable new territory. “He’s totally unfamiliar with international affairs. He’d prefer not to have to worry about these things,” Castaneda said, noting that the U.S. president had tested many governments. “Nobody’s been able to find a way to manage Trump. It’s a mess.” Staunchly noninterventionist in international affairs, Lopez Obrador shows little interest in diplomacy. He has often said “the best foreign policy is domestic policy.” But as the destination of 80 percent of Mexico’s exports and workplace of hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, the United States offers Trump plenty of leverage to apply pressure via the border. Policy experts say Trump’s demand is not realistic and that Mexican authorities are already stretched. Still, Mexico has signaled it will redouble efforts to contain migration, which stems largely from three poor, violent Central American countries: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he did not believe Trump was demanding an outright stop to the migrant flow, which has run into the millions over the past decade. “What can be done is to improve work on registering and regulating (migration),” Ebrard told Reuters. “They’re asking us to put into effect what we said we would do.” The government has vowed to curb migration by addressing the root causes, keeping better tabs on the people entering Mexico and adopting a more humane approach to the phenomenon. In exchange, Lopez Obrador has sought to enlist Trump’s aid in tackling the problems of Central America, which critics say has been scarred by a history of messy U.S. interventions. On Thursday, Lopez Obrador said migration was chiefly a matter for Washington and the troubled region, reflecting the view that Mexico cannot help being sandwiched between the struggling countries and the richest nation on the planet. Instead, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday it was cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, raising questions about Trump’s commitment to helping there. Soaring border arrests have rankled with the U.S. president. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol projections are for over 90,000 apprehensions to be logged during March, according to data provided to the Mexican government. That is up more than 140 percent from March 2018, and a seven-fold jump from 2017. At the same time, Lopez Obrador is sending fewer migrants back home. In December-February, the administration’s first three months, the number dropped 17 percent from a year earlier to 19,360, data from the National Migration Institute show. The fall partly reflects the government’s decision to issue humanitarian visas to encourage Central Americans to stay in Mexico. The visas proved so popular that the government had to suspend them, officials say. Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador’s savings drive to pay for his social programs has cut the budget of the National Migration Institute by more than a fifth this year. The clash illustrates Lopez Obrador’s miscalculation in thinking he could contain Trump’s hostility toward Mexico with U.S. presidential elections in 2020, said Agustin Barrios Gomez, a member of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations. Tension was inevitable given that Trump’s tough stance on illegal immigration is “immediately antagonistic” to Lopez Obrador’s core constituency: poorer Mexicans who often seek to better their lot in the United States, he argued. Yet by agreeing in December to accept Central American asylum seekers while their claims are processed in the United States, Lopez Obrador gave the impression he could be “pushed around” by Trump, said former foreign minister Castaneda, who backed Lopez Obrador’s closest rival in the last election. To keep the border open, Mexican business leaders say they are leaning on U.S. partners to pressure Congress. A shutdown would be “very negative for both countries,” said deputy Mexican economy minister Luz Maria de la Mora, who saw Trump’s comments as part of his election campaign. “I think the U.S. administration and the advisers in the White House know it’s not a good idea,” she told Reuters. But if push came to shove, Mexico would suffer most, said Castaneda. “The Americans have a much greater capacity … to outlast the Mexicans,” he said. “For Mexicans it’s a life or death issue. For Americans it’s a pain in the ass, but that’s it.”

mexico
donald trump
immigration
andres manuel lopez obrador
central america
u.s .
u.s.-mexico border


Trump aides repeat threat to shut down U.S.-Mexico border on 'melting point' migrant crisis

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on Sunday doubled down on its threat to shut down the southern border with Mexico, a day after it cut aid to Central American countries which President Donald Trump accused of deliberately sending migrants to the United States. Faced with a surge of asylum seekers from Central American countries who travel through Mexico, Trump said on Friday there was a “good likelihood” he would close the border this coming week if Mexico does not stop unauthorized immigrants from reaching the United States. He also accused, without providing evidence, the nations of having “set up” migrant caravans and sending them north. Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” show, White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said the president had few other options in the absence of any support from Democrats for more border security or legislative action to change the immigration law. “Faced with those limitations, the president will do everything he can. If closing the ports of entry means that, that’s exactly what he intends to do,” Mulvaney said. “We need border security and we’re going to do the best we can with what we have,” he added. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told “Fox News Sunday” that the situation at the border was at “melting point” and said the president was serious in his threat. “It certainly is not a bluff. You can take the president seriously.” Neither Trump aide offered any specific details or timeline for the potential border shutdown. At a Saturday rally on the border in El Paso, Texas, Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke denounced Trump’s immigration policies as the politics of “fear and division.” Trump has repeatedly said he would close the U.S. border with Mexico during his two years in office. His latest threat had workers and students who frequently cross the border worried about the potential disruption to their lives. The government says it is struggling to deal with a surge in recent days of asylum seekers from countries in Central America who travel through Mexico and on Saturday cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. March is on track for 100,000 border apprehensions, Department of Homeland Security officials said, which would be the highest monthly number in more than a decade. Most of those people can remain in the United States while their asylum claims are processed, which can take years because of ballooning immigration court backlogs.

u.s.-mexico border
mexico
donald trump
immigration
mick mulvaney
kellyanne conway
el salvador
guatemala
honduras
refugees


Pope hits leaders who build walls to keep migrants out, saying they ultimately imprison themselves

Abstract: ABOARD, THE PAPAL PLANE - Pope Francis said on Sunday that political leaders who want walls and other barriers to keep migrants out “will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build. The pope made his comments to reporters aboard the plane returning from Morocco in response to a question about migration in general and about U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to shut down the southern border with Mexico. “Builders of walls, be they made of razor wire or bricks, will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build,” he said. Francis, who did not mention Trump in his response, has sparred with the U.S. president before over migration, which was a theme of several questions on the plane as well as during the trip to Morocco. Trump has declared a national emergency to justify redirecting money earmarked for the military to pay for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall. “I realize that with this problem (of migration), a government has a hot potato in its hands, but it must be resolved differently, humanely, not with razor wire,” the Argentine-born pope said on the plane. Addressing Moroccan leaders on Saturday, Francis said that problems of migration would never be resolved by physical barriers but instead required social justice and correcting the world’s economic imbalances. “With fear, we will not move forward, with walls, we will remain closed within these walls,” he said on Sunday. Besides the United States, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries. On the plane, Francis repeated some of the key points of his views on migration. He said wealthy countries should help eliminate the root causes of migration such as poverty, war and political instability. Migrants should be accepted, protected and integrated and if a country cannot handle the numbers, the migrants should be distributed among other countries, he said.

pope francis
morocco
donald trump
border wall
u.s .
immigration
refugees
catholic church


Rwanda's genocide killers learn new life back home

Abstract: MUTOBO, RWANDA - Dozens of ex-militia killers stroll around an open camp beneath mist-shrouded volcanoes in Rwanda. They are learning to reintegrate into the country whose government they have spent years trying to overthrow. These are men who helped carry out Rwanda’s horrific 1994 genocide, and then formed a rebel army that has been fighting ever since. After the carnage of the Rwanda genocide, which began 25 years ago this April, the men who carried out the massacre of at least 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi, fled west to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of them are former members of Rwanda’s army. Others had joined the militia known as the Interahamwe, club- and machete-wielding Hutu gangs that carried out the killings targeting the Tutsi minority. Chased out of Rwanda, they formed a notorious rebel army, the Hutu fighters of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, known by its French acronym, FDLR. But after a quarter of a century haunting Congo’s forests, many of these veterans were exhausted and wanted to give up the fight. So a stream of rebels have returned home. Rwanda houses them at Mutobo, a camp some 100 kilometers northwest of the capital Kigali and beneath the Virunga Mountains, seeking to reintegrate them into society. Joseph Kabalindwi, a 50-year-old former rebel major, said he laid down his arms in 2014 “to promote peace.” Kabalindwi was one of 1,563 former FDLR fighters who returned to Rwanda last November after Congo refused to keep them on their soil any longer. But he says he is happy to be back. “Even though I left the country a long time ago, I remained Rwandan,” he said with conviction. “Rwanda is my country, and I wanted to go home.” There is no fence around the camp, but Rwanda keeps a close eye on the former rebels. The government’s demobilization and reintegration commission, which runs the Mutobo camp, has handled 11,000 fighters from rebel forces since 1997. Each batch spends three months in the camp, before they can return to the families and homes they left decades before. They are then also issued with identity papers and a one-off payment of 60,000 Rwandan francs ($66) to start their new life. In Mutobo, the former FDLR receive civic education classes aimed at combating the bloody ideology that led to the genocide. The former guerrillas also learn how to participate in the reconstruction and development of the nation, and, for men who have spent years in military fatigues, training to reacquaint them with civilian life. In November, Kabalindwi’s brothers came to visit. They had last met in 1994. “They were very happy to see me,” he said with a smile. “Some of us died in the forests of Congo, so for me it is a miracle from God to find someone who is still alive.” When he and his comrades returned to Rwanda, many believed that they would be killed immediately. Instead, they have been surprised by their reception. “Since we have been here, fear is gradually diminishing,” Kabalindwi admitted. For many FDLR fighters, mistrust of Kigali is the main obstacle to their return — as well as the fear of facing justice for the crimes they committed. In the classrooms where the men learn their lessons, the mood is serious. Focus Twiringiyimana, a 47-year old ex-FDLR fighter, takes detailed notes at a sewing machine, while the teacher at the blackboard offers instructions. Twiringiyimana passed through the camp a year ago but has returned for training to become a tailor. For his old FDLR comrades still fighting in the bush, he offers a simple message. “They should come back to the country, to work for their own development,” Twiringiyimana said. They are only wasting time and it will do them no good.” Not everyone in the camp joined the FDLR. One newcomer is Bernard Ntuyahaga, a former army major, who arrived in December from Belgium after serving 20 years in prison. He was convicted over his role in the death of 10 Belgian soldiers with the U.N. peacekeeping force, who were slaughtered in 1994 as they protected then-Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. She was also murdered. Ntuyahaga, now in his late 60s, returned to Rwanda in December against his will after exhausting all legal efforts to remain in Belgium. Now he is taking classes in civic education. “Within just the few months I have spent here, I already feel comfortable,” he said. There is, at times, an echo of official rhetoric. It is unclear if he believes it, or if he is wary of criticizing the government policies. “I am hopeful for the years that I have left to live,” he added.


North Dakota fossil 'mother lode' records Earth-shaking asteroid's impact: study

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Scientists in the U.S. say they have discovered the fossilized remains of a mass of creatures that died minutes after a huge asteroid slammed into the Earth 66 million years ago, sealing the fate of the dinosaurs. In a paper to be published Monday, a team of paleontologists headquartered at the University of Kansas say they found a “mother lode of exquisitely preserved animal and fish fossils” in what is now North Dakota. The asteroid’s impact in what is now Mexico was the most cataclysmic event ever known to befall Earth, eradicating 75 percent of the planet’s animal and plant species, extinguishing the dinosaurs and paving the way for the rise of humans. Researchers believe the impact set off fast-moving, seismic surges that triggered a sudden, massive torrent of water and debris from an arm of an inland sea known as the Western Interior Seaway. At the Tanis site in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation, the surge left “a tangled mass of freshwater fish, terrestrial vertebrates, trees, branches, logs, marine ammonites and other marine creatures,” according to Robert DePalma, the report’s lead author. Some of the fish fossils were found to have inhaled “ejecta” associated with the Chicxulub event, suggesting seismic surges reached North Dakota within “tens of minutes,” he said. “The sedimentation happened so quickly everything is preserved in three dimensions — they’re not crushed,” said co-author David Burnham. “It’s like an avalanche that collapses almost like a liquid, then sets like concrete. They were killed pretty suddenly because of the violence of that water. We have one fish that hit a tree and was broken in half.” The fossils at Tanis include what were believed to be several newly identified fish species, and others that were “the best examples of their kind,” said DePalma, a graduate student and curator of the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History in Florida. “We look at moment-by-moment records of one of the most notable impact events in Earth’s history. No other site has a record quite like that,” he said. “And this particular event is tied directly to all of us — to every mammal on Earth, in fact. Because this is essentially where we inherited the planet. Nothing was the same after that impact. It became a planet of mammals rather than a planet of dinosaurs.” The paper is to be published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

north dakota
fossils
asteroids
dinosaurs
mexico
tanis


International aid helps cyclone-ravaged Mozambique fight growing cholera outbreak in Beira

Abstract: BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE - As Mozambique battles to control a fast-spreading cholera outbreak in the cyclone-hit central city of Beira, international assistance is arriving. The number of cholera cases jumped to 271 over the weekend although no deaths from the disease had been reported. More than 500 people have died in Mozambique from Cyclone Idai , which slammed into Beira more than two weeks ago, according to government officials. Another 259 people died in Zimbabwe and 56 in Malawi, bring the three-nation total to more than 815. Authorities warn the tolls are preliminary as flood waters recede and reveal more bodies. The Chinese government has sent doctors to fight the cholera outbreak in Beira and on Sunday Chinese aid workers sprayed anti-cholera disinfectant in parts of the port city of 500,000. The World Health Organization has said some 900,000 cholera vaccine doses are expected to arrive on Monday, with a vaccination campaign to start later this week. “You know we came from China and our government cares very much about the situation in Beira here in Mozambique. And China has a good relationship with Africa, so the China government sent medical doctors to come and give some treatment,” said Wang Shenguin, spokesman for the Chinese doctors. The U.S. army joined the international humanitarian aid efforts to Mozambique by airlifting food and relief supplies from South Africa. The first round-the-clock flights to deliver supplies from the U.N. World Food Program started Saturday and continued Sunday from King Shaka International Airport in Durban, South Africa, said Robert Mearkle, U.S. embassy spokesman. He said the commodities airlifted from Durban were from the World Food Program’s internal stock. “Separately from these shipments, the United States has provided nearly $3.4 million in additional funding for the World Food Program to deliver approximately 2,500 metric tons of rice, peas, and vegetable oil to affected people in Sofala, Zambezia, and Manica provinces,” said Mearkle. “This lifesaving emergency food assistance will support approximately 160,000 people for one month.” The U.S. government has provided nearly $7.3m in humanitarian assistance to help people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi who have been affected by Cyclone Idai, including more than $6.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Mearkle. The cholera outbreak in Beira started on Wednesday with five cases of the acute diarrheal disease confirmed by national health director Ussein Isse. The number of cases jumped to 271 over the weekend. Beira’s crowded, poor neighborhoods are at particular risk. Children and other patients curled up on bare beds at a treatment center in Beira, some with anxious parents by their side. They had intravenous drips to help replace fluids. Doctors Without Borders has said it is seeing some 200 likely cholera cases per day in the city, where relief workers are hurrying to restore the damaged water system and bring in additional medical assistance. Cholera is spread by contaminated food and water and can kill within hours if not treated. The disease is a major concern for the hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors in the southern African nation now living in squalid conditions in camps, schools or damaged homes. Some drink from contaminated wells or filthy, stagnant water. As health responders stress the need for better disease surveillance, the United Nations’ deputy humanitarian coordinator in Mozambique, Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, has said all cases of diarrhea are being treated as though they are cholera. Cholera is endemic to the region, and “it breaks out fast and it travels extremely fast,” he told reporters. Doctors Without Borders has said other suspected cholera cases have been reported outside Beira in the badly hit areas of Buzi, Tica and Nhamathanda but the chance of spread in rural areas is smaller because people are more dispersed. Mozambican officials have said Cyclone Idai destroyed more than 50 health centers in the region, complicating response efforts. The United Nations has said some 1.8 million people need urgent help across the sodden, largely rural region.


Murdered South Carolina student may have thought car was her Uber ride, say police

Abstract: MILWAUKEE - A South Carolina man has been charged in the murder of a University of South Carolina student who may have gotten into her killer’s car mistakenly believing that it was her Uber ride, police said. Nathaniel Rowland, 24, was charged with the murder and kidnapping of Samantha Josephson, 21, who was last seen outside of Five Points bar in Columbia, South Carolina, early Friday morning, Columbia Police Chief William Holbrook said during a news conference on Saturday evening. Her friends called the authorities to report a missing person about 12 hours later after they had not seen Josephson since she left the bar the night before, he said. “We believe that she simply mistakenly got into this particular car thinking that it was an Uber ride,” Holbrook said. “She opened the door, got into it and departed with the suspect driving.” Two hunters found her body in a wooded area along a dirt road in a rural part of a nearby county a few hours after her friends called police, Holbrook said. “Our hearts are broken. There is nothing tougher than to stand before a family and explain how a loved one was murdered,” he said. “It was gut-wrenching.” Her father, Seymour Josephson of Robbinsville, New Jersey, wrote a post on Facebook about his daughter’s death. “It is with tremendous sadness and of a broken heart that I post this! I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life,” he wrote. Police received a number leads and were able to determine through video that the vehicle Josephson got into was a black Chevrolet Impala. Early on Saturday morning, an officer spotted a vehicle matching the description of the car two blocks from the tavern and initiated a traffic stop, Holbrook said. The officer took the suspect into custody after a short foot chase. Police later found blood and her cell phone along with several cleaning items in his car. Blood was also found in the car’s trunk, Holbrook said. Uber Technologies Inc. launched a public awareness campaign in July 2017 regarding Uber scams and how riders can avoid getting into the wrong car, suggesting that they check the app to make sure that the car matches the one that they ordered. If the information doesn’t match up, do not get into the car, the company wrote on a blog post.

murder
south carolina
uber
nathaniel rowland
samantha josephson
u.s .


Turkish leader Erdogan's ruling AK Party loses control of Ankara; Istanbul results disputed

Abstract: ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered a severe setback as his ruling AK Party lost control of the capital, Ankara, for the first time in a local election and he appeared to concede defeat in the country’s largest city, Istanbul. Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics since coming to power 16 years ago and rules his country with an ever tighter grip, campaigned relentlessly for two months ahead of Sunday’s vote, which he described as a “matter of survival” for Turkey. But the president’s daily rallies and overwhelmingly supportive media coverage failed to win over the country’s capital or secure a definitive result in Istanbul, as Turkey’s economic downturn weighed heavily on voters. Turkish broadcasters said the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Mansur Yavas had won a clear victory in Ankara, but the vote count in Istanbul was so tight that both parties declared the narrowest of victories. “The people have voted in favor of democracy, they have chosen democracy,” opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said, declaring that his secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) had taken Ankara and Istanbul from the AK Party and held its Aegean coastal stronghold of Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, Defeat for Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted party in Ankara was a significant blow for the president. Losing Istanbul, where he launched his political career and served as mayor in the 1990s, would be an even greater symbolic shock and a broader sign of dwindling support. State-owned Anadolu Agency said the AKP will appeal in some districts of the capital. In Istanbul, the AK Party said former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim defeated his CHP rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, by a mere 4,000 votes — with both candidates polling more than 4 million votes. Imamoglu said he had a lead of 28,000 with only 2,000 votes uncounted. In a speech to supporters in Ankara, Erdogan appeared to accept AKP defeat in Istanbul, although he maintained that most neighborhoods in the city were held by his party. “Even if our people gave away the mayorship, they gave the districts to the AK Party,” he said. The party will appeal results wherever needed, he added. Erdogan pledged that Turkey will now focus on its troubled economy in the run-up to national elections in 2023. “We have a long period ahead where we will carry out economic reforms without compromising on the rules of the free-market economy,” he told reporters. Turkey’s most prominent leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic, Erdogan’s support has been based on strong economic growth and backing from a core constituency of pious, conservative Muslim Turks. A consummate campaigner, he has been the country’s most popular — although divisive — modern politician, tightening his grip in elections last year that ushered in a powerful executive presidency, approved in a bitter 2017 referendum which alarmed Western allies who fear growing authoritarianism in Turkey. But a currency crisis after last year’s election dragged the lira down by 30 percent and tipped the economy toward recession. With inflation close to 20 percent and unemployment rising, some voters appeared ready to punish the president. “Today’s elections are as historic as that of 1994,” prominent journalist Rusen Cakir tweeted, referring to the year Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul. “It is a declaration that a page that was opened 25 years ago is being turned.” As authorities again scrambled to shore up the lira over the past week, Erdogan cast the country’s economic woes as resulting from attacks by the West, saying Turkey will overcome its troubles and adding he is “the boss” of the economy. However, Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo political risk advisers, said the AK Party has lost seven of the country’s 12 main cities, even without taking Istanbul into account. “It’s a bad night for the AK Party,” he said. “They have done very poorly in all the economic powerhouses of country. For a party which portrays itself as pro-business, it’s a huge issue.” The lira traded at 5.61 to the dollar after initial results came in, compared with 5.55 at Friday’s close and 5.65 in U.S. trading hours later Friday. In mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, residents celebrated as the pro-Kurdish opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) won back municipalities that authorities had taken over two years ago, accusing the HDP of terrorist links. The HDP denies links to the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party. “They robbed us of our will and we overturned this,” Diyarbakir resident Abdullah Elmas said.


Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy leads Ukraine presidential vote

Abstract: KIEV - Early results in Ukraine’s presidential election show a comedian with no political experience maintaining his strong lead against the incumbent president in the first round, setting the stage for a runoff in three weeks. With nearly 60 percent of the polling stations counted Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy had 30 percent of Sunday’s vote, while incumbent President Petro Poroshenko was a distant second with just over 16 percent. Ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko trailed behind with 13 percent. The results were in sync with a top exit poll. The strong showing for the 41-year-old Zelenskiy reflects the public longing for a fresh leader who has no links to the corruption-ridden Ukrainian political elite and can offer a new approach to settling the grinding five-year conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. “This is only the first step toward a great victory,” Zelenskiy said after seeing the exit poll findings. The top two candidates advance to a runoff on April 21. Final results in Sunday’s first round are expected to be announced later Monday. Zelenskiy dismissed suggestions that he could pool forces with Tymoshenko to get the backing of her voters in the second round in exchange for forming a coalition following parliamentary elections in the fall. “We aren’t making any deals with anyone,” he said. “We are young people. We don’t want to see all the past in our future, the future of our country.” Like the character he plays in a TV sitcom, a schoolteacher turned president, Zelenskiy made fighting corruption a focus of his candidacy. He proposed a lifetime ban on holding public office for anyone convicted of graft. He also called for direct negotiations with Russia on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The election was marred by allegations of widespread vote buying. Police said they had received more than 2,100 complaints of violations on voting day alone in addition to hundreds of earlier voting fraud claims, including bribery attempts and removing ballots from polling places. Zelenskiy’s headquarters alleged multiple voting and other cheating on the part of Poroshenko’s campaign, but election officials said the vote took place without significant violations. Poroshenko looked somber as the votes came in, but visibly relieved about surpassing Tymoshenko to advance to the runoff. “I critically and soberly understand the signal that society gave today to the acting authorities,” he said. “It’s a tough lesson for me and my team. It’s a reason for serious work to correct mistakes made over the past years.” It is not clear whether he would or could adjust his campaign enough to meet Zelenskiy’s challenges over the next three weeks. Poroshenko, 53, a confectionery tycoon before he was elected five years ago, saw approval of his governing sink amid Ukraine’s economic woes and a sharp plunge in living standards. Poroshenko campaigned on promises to defeat the rebels in the east and to wrest back control of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move that has drawn sanctions against Russia from the U.S. and the European Union. A military embezzlement scheme that allegedly involved top Poroshenko associates as well as a factory controlled by the president dogged Poroshenko before this election. Ultra-right activists shadowed him throughout the campaign, demanding the jailing of the president’s associates accused in the scandal. Poroshenko after the vote hit back at Zelenskiy, describing him as a pawn of self-exiled billionaire businessman Igor Kolomoyskyi, charges that Zelenskiy denies. “Fate pitted me against Kolomoyskyi’s puppet in the runoff,” he said. “We won’t leave a single chance for Kolomoyskyi.” Zelenskiy quickly shot back, saying mockingly that it’s impossible to say whether a corrupt official involved in the military embezzlement scheme was Poroshenko’s puppet, or the other way round.

ukraine
elections
petro poroshenko
yulia tymoshenko
corruption
conflict
russia
crimea
volodymyr zelensky


Thousands in Brazil protest 55th anniversary of military coup that Bolsonaro praised

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO - Several thousand protesters chanting “dictatorship never again” took to the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities Sunday on the 55th anniversary of the coup that established more than two decades of military rule. Some 2,000 people rallied in Rio de Janeiro’s central Cinelandia plaza, while in Sao Paulo a few hundred converged on popular Ibirapuera Park to demonstrate against the 1964-1985 dictatorship. The protests were sparked by the order recently issued by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro for defense forces to “appropriately” commemorate the overthrow of President Joao Goulart. Nearly 1,000 noisy protesters in Brasilia chanted slogans against Bolsonaro, an ex-army captain and unabashed admirer of the country’s former dictators, shouting “Bolsonaro out.” “It’s not a date that should be commemorated,” retired teacher Maria Fatima, who is 65, told AFP at the Rio demonstration. “It is a day of mourning, of violence, of cruelty.” The demonstrations came a day after an appeals court judge overturned another judge’s decision to bar commemorations sought by Bolsonaro. Appellate judge Maria do Carmo Cardoso accepted the government’s argument that Brazilian democracy was strong enough to support “a pluralism of ideas.” “I see no violation of human rights, particularly as similar demonstrations took place in the barracks in preceding years with no negative consequences,” she wrote. Bolsonaro, who is on a three-day visit to Israel, is the country’s first president since democracy was restored in 1985 to publicly exalt the military regime, though he argues its rise to power was not a “coup.” In the past, the tough-talking Bolsonaro has referred to the dictatorship as a “glorious” time in Brazilian history. He was quoted in 2008 as saying that “the error of the dictatorship was that it tortured but did not kill.” Since taking office, Bolsonaro has had fond words for military dictators in 1970s and 1980s Latin America, such as Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay and Chile’s Augusto Pinochet. At least 434 people were killed or disappeared in Brazil during the 21-year dictatorship, far fewer than the 30,000 deaths in Argentina and 3,200 or more in Chile during their respective periods of right-wing military rule. But unlike its South American neighbors, Brazil has not prosecuted military officials for regime-era crimes, leaving the events of that dark period unresolved. Bolsonaro, who ran for the presidency as a political outsider determined to dismantle a culture of corruption, has seen his approval rating plunge amid scandals and missteps since his Jan. 1 inauguration.


Antipollution activists in southern France unimpressed by EU's environmental promises

Abstract: BOUCHES-DU-RHONE, FRANCE - Outside the French Mediterranean port of Marseille, at Fos-sur-Mer, one of the largest industrial and port zones in Europe has been spewing a noxious cocktail of fumes for years. And few residents think EU pledges to clean up the continent will make a difference anytime soon. Environmental concerns are expected to be a major issue in the European Parliament elections in May, when analysts say green parties could score better than they do in national contests. Yet antipollution activists say that despite EU claims of having the toughest standards in the world, its actions are far too feeble against places like Fos-sur-Mer, home to dozens of oil refineries, chemical factories and steel companies. “I’m fed up with the European Union — what are they waiting for to raise awareness about this?” said Daniel Moutet, who has spearheaded the campaign to force Fos-sur-Mer to clean up its act. Rates of cancer and chronic diseases are higher in this area than the average in France — last year Moutet was diagnosed with diabetes, which he believes could be linked to the dire air quality. In March 2018 ARS, the regional health agency, acknowledged that the health of residents of the area had been hit by the pollution levels. A year earlier an independent study concluded that women questioned in the area had cancer levels three times higher than the national average. According to Moutet, mercury, benzene, sulfur and nitrogen oxides are all part of that toxic cocktail along this stretch of the French Mediterranean coastline. Last May, the European Commission took France and five other countries to the European Court of Justice for failing to apply long-sought steps to improve air quality. In France’s case the move came after 12 years of warnings over fine particles as well as nitrogen dioxide levels which in some cities were more than double EU limits. Some residents have learned to live with the fumes belching from the Fos-sur-Mer chimneys. “The white ones are just steam,” said Martine Monnier, 65, enjoying the spring sun on a beach just a stone’s throw from the site. “But there are also red ones and yellow ones, those are more dangerous. We know how to recognize them.” According to France’s public health agency, fine particle pollution alone is the cause of 48,000 premature deaths in the country each year. To ensure the EU’s pollution limits are met, countries are supposed to impose — and enforce — strict emission limits for industrial sites like Fos-sur-Mer. Some progress has been made: A study released in March showed a marked decline in atmospheric concentrations of mercury since the 1970s in response to tougher rules. And the Esso refinery, for example, which produces 7 million tons of petroleum products a year, says it has cut its sulfur emissions in half over the past 10 years, while reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by two-thirds. “There are lots of spot checks” by state inspectors, the site’s director, Stefaan Van Severen, said. “We’ve gotten our environmental footprint under control.” Such claims fail to persuade the EU’s critics in Fos-sur-Mer and nearby Marseille, where there is also shipping traffic and a heavy reliance on cars because of limited public transportation options. A recent report by Greenpeace and the Respire (“Breathe”) advocacy groups found that a quarter of Marseille’s schools and day care centers are in areas where NO2 levels exceed EU thresholds. Rene Raimondi, who was the Socialist mayor of Fos-sur-Mer for 14 years before stepping down last year, says he is “a little disappointed” that the EU has “very little power” when it comes to the environment. “France has been convicted several times by Europe over fine particles, but afterward nothing ever happens,” he said. A case in point is the steel giant ArcelorMittal, which was targeted in late 2018 for excessive runoffs of benzene, a known carcinogen, at Fos-sur-Mer. Critics say the fine of just €15,000 ($16,850) was unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the operations of a company with an annual turnover in the billions. ArcelorMittal Europe CEO Aditya Mittal says the group is cleaning up its act at Fos-sur-Mer. “We are obviously making additional investment and we plan to solve all these problems by the end of April this year,” he said. Alain Dumort, the European Commission’s representative in Marseille, said Brussels will fulfill its role as the guardian of Europe’s air quality. He pointed to the commission’s warning to Paris in January to enact several EU directives into French law, a first step toward legally binding infringement proceedings. The EU is also financing a €7 million research project aimed at capturing the industrial gases emitted at Fos-sur-Mer and using them in the production of insulation products and plastic films. But the eventual results of the four-year project might not be enough to convince Fos-sur-Mer residents of the EU’s effectiveness, less than two months from the European Parliament elections.

pollution france eu environment elections


Thai king's rebuke of Thaksin points to junta-backed regime taking office

Abstract: BANGKOK - Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a rare rebuke of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra about a week after an inconclusive national election, making it more likely that a pro-military party would form a government. The monarch revoked royal decorations given to Thaksin because he fled Thailand after being sentenced to prison, which is “an extremely inappropriate behavior,” according to a statement posted on the Royal Gazette’s website. Thaksin hasn’t set foot in the country since 2008 after being accused of corruption in a case he has called politically motivated. Provisional results show the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai party emerged with the most seats after the general election on March 24, which followed almost five years of military rule. He or his allies have won the most seats in every election held since 2001, only to be unseated from government by coups or the courts. Pheu Thai says it has built an alliance of anti-junta parties that would have a majority in the lower house of parliament. That claim is disputed by a pro-military party, Palang Pracharath, which says it will seek to form a coalition government after winning the most votes of any single party. “It’s a significant signal that one side is viewed as more favorable than the other,” said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor at Mahidol University who often writes about politics. “Everything points to a favorable outcome for the pro-military party and its allies. They’ll be successful in forming a government, but it will be difficult for them to maintain its power and last a full term.” The shape of the next government may not emerge for many weeks, following a messy election dogged by opposition claims of rigging and incompetent administration. Authorities must certify official results by May 9, which comes a few days after Vajiralongkorn’s coronation ceremony. The king, who serves as head of state and is traditionally considered above politics, has been vocal around the election. In February, he denied an attempt by a Thaksin-linked party to name Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya as its candidate for prime minister, saying it was highly inappropriate and violated the spirit of the constitution. The courts disbanded the party soon afterward. Then on the eve of last Sunday’s vote, Vajiralongkorn released a statement that in effect asked citizens to back good people to govern the nation. It came shortly after Thaksin was photographed with the princess at his daughter’s wedding in Hong Kong. After the vote, Thaksin wrote an op-ed in the New York Times calling the election “rigged” and warning that the junta “will find a way to stay in charge.” “They have no shame, and they want to be in power no matter what,” Thaksin said. A spokesman for Pheu Thai couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Sunday. The party canceled a planned rally in Bangkok featuring Sudarat Keyuraphan, its candidate for prime minister, just a few hours after the king’s statement was published. In an unrelated statement on Sunday, Pheu Thai said the anti-junta coalition had twice as many votes as the pro-military camp, showing the country doesn’t want current junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha to stay in power. Thailand’s royal family is officially treated as semi-divine, and the country has some of the world’s toughest lese-majeste laws. Offenders face as many as 15 years in prison for defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen, heir apparent or regent. Since taking the throne in 2016, Vajiralongkorn has changed rules related to royal powers. He gained greater control of the Crown Property Bureau’s billions of dollars in holdings following a legal change in 2017 that transferred ownership of the assets to him. In the past, the bureau was described as managing and preserving crown property that was neither public property nor the private property of the monarch. Just over a month after ascending to the throne, the military-appointed legislature approved changes to an interim national constitution following suggestions from the king’s office. The most notable adjustment allowed Vajiralongkorn to travel abroad without temporarily handing over power. The current constitution allows the military to appoint a 250-member Senate that will also get a vote for prime minister. The group will most likely back Prayuth, effectively tilting the playing field in favor of the armed forces. If Prayuth takes power without a working majority in the lower house, however, he would struggle to pass legislation and could be vulnerable to a no-confidence vote. That scenario could end up hurting the economy, according to Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University’s College of ASEAN Community Studies. “It’s not looking good for either side,” he said. “Investors don’t want to be investing in a country that has a lot of risks.”

thailand
maha vajiralongkorn
thaksin shinawatra
elections
military
pheu thai
coups


China reveals details of key Xi speech on overcoming West's long-term economic and military superiority

Abstract: BEIJING - Developed Western nations have long-term economic, technological and military advantages over China and the Communist Party has to realize that some people will use the West’s strong points to criticize socialism’s failings, President Xi Jinping said. Since assuming power in China more than six years ago, Xi has ramped up efforts to ensure total party loyalty and discipline, including a sweeping crackdown on corruption, warning the party’s very survival is at stake. This year, which is marked by a series of sensitive anniversaries, including three decades since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square, has seen a further increase in calls for party loyalty. On Monday, leading party theoretical journal Qiushi, which means “Seeking Truth,” published lengthy excerpts for the first time from a speech Xi gave in early 2013 shortly after becoming party boss, warning of the dangers the party faces. Citing Marx and Engels, Xi said socialism would inevitably vanquish capitalism, but that it would be a long historical process. China practices what it calls “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” China must “fully appraise the objective reality of the long-term advantage Western developed countries have in the economic, scientific, and military fields, and conscientiously prepare for all aspects of long-term cooperation and struggle between the two social systems,” Xi said. The party also needed to “face the reality that some people compare the good qualities of Western developed nations with the insufficiencies of our country’s socialist development and offer criticism of it,” he added. While the party has committed “big mistakes” like the Cultural Revolution, when children turned on parents and students on teachers after Mao Zedong declared class war, the party’s history is “generally speaking glorious,” Xi said. Those who criticize the revolution — which brought the Communist Party to power in 1949 — are simply trying to incite the overthrow of the party, he added. But China needs to stick to its landmark economic reforms begun in 1978, without which the party could have fallen, Xi said. The party “may even have faced a serious crisis, like the death of the party and the death of the country encountered by the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.” But China had proved the naysayers wrong, Xi added. “Both history and reality tell us that only socialism can save China. Only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China. This is the conclusion of history and the choice of the people.”

china
military
xi jinping
u.s .
rights
protests


Trump's sale of F-16 fighters to Taiwan seen making China nervous politically

Abstract: NEW, DELHI/TAIPEI - The U.S. may finally sell Taiwan the warplanes it has sought for more than a decade to defend against China. Their arrival would deal more of a political shock than a military blow to Beijing. Trump administration officials have given tacit approval to Taipei’s request to buy more than 60 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16s, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for the first such deal since 1992. While a few dozen fighter jets would hardly tip the military balance against the increasing powerful Chinese military, it would signal a new American willingness to back the democratically run island. “For Beijing, it would be a huge shock,” said Wu Shang-su, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “But it would be more of a political shock than a military shock. It would be, ‘Oh, the U.S. doesn’t care how we feel.’ It would be more of a symbolic or emotional issue.” The potential sale is among several gestures of U.S. support for Taiwan in recent months, even as President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping near a deal to end the costly trade war. The U.S. also sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait and accommodated President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in Hawaii last week, drawing protests from China, which denounced the moves as “extremely dangerous.” Renewed U.S. interest in Taiwan follows growing calls in Washington for a “whole-of-government” effort to prevent China from surpassing American military and industrial dominance. Perhaps nowhere has the power shift been felt more than on Taiwan, an island of 23.6 million people that China aims to eventually control despite 70 years of divided rule. China has directed its industrial strength toward huge investments in military hardware over the past two decades, building a world-class navy and filling its coastline with missiles capable of hitting Taiwanese targets. The country spent 23 times more than Taiwan on defense in 2017, up from double in 1997. New F-16s won’t “change the fundamental balance of capabilities across the strait, nor will it eliminate the threat that China poses to forcibly absorb a democratic Taiwan,” said Scott Harold, an associate director of Rand Corp.’s Center for Asia Pacific Policy. “Taiwan will continue to need to invest in missiles, electronic warfare, mines and other advanced conventional and asymmetric capabilities designed to deter, and if necessary defeat, any Chinese effort to use coercion to compel unification.” Rand analysts argued in a 2016 report that China’s sophisticated short-range ballistic missiles could “cut every runway at Taiwan’s half-dozen main fighter bases and destroy essentially all” parked aircraft in a conflict. Any planes that made it in the air could face Chinese pilots flying jets such as the J-20, a “fifth-generation” stealth fighter considered to be a rival to Lockheed’s advanced F-22s and F-35s. Still, the F-16 sale would represent a shift by the U.S., which is obligated to sell “arms of a defensive character” to Taipei under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. Presidents since Bill Clinton have repeatedly rebuffed Taiwan’s requests for new fighter jets and other advanced weapons systems that could provoke Beijing, with Barack Obama agreeing in 2011 to merely upgrade its aging F-16 fleet. Tsai said during her visit to Hawaii on Wednesday that a fighter jet deal would “greatly enhance our land and air capabilities, strengthen military morale and show to the world the U.S.’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense.” The F-16Vs requested by Taiwan are promoted as the world’s most advanced fourth-generation jet, including the latest radar and avionics, even though the original F16 model has been in service for more than 40 years. The aircraft would help the island respond day-to-day incidents such as air space incursions that fall short of open war and mop up data during routine patrols. China, which suspended military exchanges with the U.S. in response to previous sales, protested the F-16 move. The foreign ministry said the country lodged “stern representations” with U.S. while the defense ministry warned against moves that undercut the contention that the mainland and Taiwan are part of “one China.” “Any words or actions that undermine the one-China policy are tantamount to shaking the foundation of China-U.S. relations, are inconsistent with the fundamental interests of China and the United States and are also extremely dangerous,” Senior Col. Wu Qian said at a briefing Thursday in Beijing. The sale could be calibrated to test China’s bottom line without breaching it. Xi, the Chinese president, would have to decide whether to risk his trade pact with Trump or even an open conflict between two of the world’s most powerful militaries to prevent the sale of a few dozen jets. The U.S., meanwhile, refused Taiwan’s request for F-35 fighter jets. Not only would the costly aircraft strain Taiwan’s defense budget, a deal for America’s most advanced military technology would be more likely to provoke China’s ire. “It’s better for us to have F-16s as a first priority,” Feng Shih-kuan, who served as defense minister under Tsai until February last year and is now at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research. “We won’t feel any sadness if we don’t get F-35s.”

f-16s
taiwan
china
lockheed martin
donald trump
trade war


Taipei blasts 'provocative' Chinese fighter jet incursion across Taiwan Strait line

Abstract: Taiwan has protested what it called a “reckless” and “provocative” flight by two Chinese fighter jets across the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait, the country said late Sunday. “At 11 a.m., March 31, 2 PLAAF J-11 jets violated the long-held tacit agreement by crossing the median line of the #Taiwan Strait,” the official Twitter account of the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said in a tweet. “It was an intentional, reckless & provocative action. We’ve informed regional partners & condemn #China for such behavior.” PLAAF is the acronym for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. In the extremely rare flight, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that the Chinese warplanes had crossed into its airspace and that it had scrambled fighters in response. Local media reports said the incident had triggered a 10-minute standoff between the Taiwanese and Chinese warplanes. The 180-km-wide Taiwan Strait separates mainland China from self-governed and democratic Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold — by force if necessary. The flight was rare in that Beijing and Taipei have generally respected the median line in the Taiwan Strait, usually keeping their warplanes and ships from crossing it. Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, called the flight “unusual,” but noted that Chinese fighter jets had frequently crossed the median line in the mid- to late-1990s. However, Glaser said that the Chinese “haven’t done so for at least a decade, likely longer.” “I’ve been told that Chinese jets approach the midline, but then veer off,” she said. The flight came just after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen capped off a tour of several Pacific nations with a visit last week to Hawaii, where she said she had formally submitted new requests to the United States for F-16B fighter jets. The U.S. has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island’s main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taipei more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010. China is suspicious of Tsai and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party and any push for the island’s formal independence. Chinese President Xi Jinping said in January that Beijing reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful “reunification.” Beijing has called Taiwan “the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations” and has bolstered its military presence near the island, sailing its sole operating aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait in January and March of last year and holding large-scale “encirclement” exercises and bomber training throughout 2018. In an editorial published late Sunday, the state-run China Daily newspaper criticized Tsai, saying that she “clearly intends to keep the U.S. tied to her bandwagon of ‘Taiwan independence,’ ” adding that “if Tsai continues to blindly pursue the course she has been taking and gives a cold shoulder to public will, she will pay a dear political price sooner or later.” The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency noted in a report released in January that China continues to undertake ambitious steps to modernize and better equip its military — steps that are driven primarily by “Beijing’s long-standing interest to eventually compel Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland and deter any attempt by Taiwan to declare independence.” “Beijing’s anticipation that foreign forces would intervene in a Taiwan scenario led the (People’s Liberation Army) to develop a range of systems to deter and deny foreign regional force projection,” the report added. Sunday’s move also comes less than a week after the U.S. sent ships through the strait — the third time in as many months — amid Washington’s ramped-up naval activities in the waterway. Observers have said that those sailings have likely been interpreted by China as implicit support for self-ruled Taiwan. The most recent saw the U.S. send the Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture-based USS Curtis Wilbur destroyer and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf through the strait on March 25 and 26. That mission was unusual, experts said, in that it was believed to be the first one involving a Coast Guard vessel. Although the waterway is regarded as an international waterway, China has long been sensitive about the presence of U.S. military forces there. That presence has grown since last year, with the most recent operation being the sixth known transit in about seven months. The U.S. Navy also sailed two ships through the strait in October and November — operations that were shadowed by multiple Chinese warships — and conducted a similar operation in July. Prior to that, the operations were believed to occur only about once a year.