Christchurch Muslim greeted mosque killer with 'Hello, brother,' and was gunned down

Abstract: CHRISTCHURCH - “Hello, brother.” The warm-hearted words an elderly Muslim reportedly used to greet a white supremacist gunman have become Christchurch’s answer to his volley of hate. Mohemmed Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old from war-torn Afghanistan, was buried on Thursday. But his supposed final words echo across this broken New Zealand city. The gunman’s footage showed Nabi offering a welcome at the doors of the Al Noor mosque. He was shot and the killer moved inside. Initial reports indicated Nabi’s remark was “Hello, brother,” a fraternal greeting that could not contrast more starkly with the bile spewed about “invaders” by alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant. The words are indistinct but it is a message that has resonated widely, including for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “His welcome tells us so much — that he was a member of a faith that welcomed all its members, that showed openness, and care,” Ardern said. The phrase has since appeared across Christchurch and New Zealand — scribbled on police cordons that flutter in the wind, Tweeted from around the world and written on placards held by mourners at his funeral. Kawthar Abulaban was praying in the women’s section of the Al Noor mosque when the attack began. The first shots she heard would have been the ones that felled Nabi. She believes he has left a legacy, a powerful vocal rebuke to hatred and extremist ideologies. “This message will tell all of the world what the Muslim people are, how we treat other people, how we care about them, how we want to live in peace together,” the 54-year-old told AFP from the home she shares with her two daughters on the outskirts of Christchurch. She was not in the least bit surprised the gunman was welcomed on arrival — the Al Noor mosque regularly held open days. During Christchurch’s deadly earthquakes eight years ago, the mosque opened its doors to survivors and those without shelter. Sara Mousa, who arrived in New Zealand from Egypt three years ago, was walking in the park opposite Al Nour with her eight-year-old son Malek, who sports a Kiwi accent. She said everyone in Christchurch’s close Muslim community now knew the phrase “Hello, brother.” “It was so kind of him, he had a lot of mercy and love, no hatred. Even if he is holding a gun towards him and wants to kill him, he is welcoming him,” she said. The phrase has been repeated thousands of times on social media, appearing in cartoons and on tributes left with the growing walls of flowers in Christchurch. One note tied to a tree in the city read: “This greeting was made by a pure soul with a peaceful faith as a rifle was pointed at him… Let us remember his love and be like him.” • Fifty pairs of white shoes- Faith communities have played a major response in helping Christchurch’s tight-knit Muslim community deal with their trauma. Churches have offered to open their doors for any Muslims wanting to pray. On Wednesday evening a biker-pastor organized a show of solidarity with locals standing behind Muslims as they prayed in the park opposite Al Noor mosque. “We are here because love is greater than hate, that’s the theme. We are here tonight for our Muslim whanau,” Derek Tait, the biker-pastor said, using a Maori term for an extended family. One particularly poignant tribute can be seen outside All Soul’s Church in the suburb of Merivale where 50 pairs of shoes spray-painted white are lined up. The tribute mimics a similar permanent memorial to the 189 people killed in the 2011 earthquake which contains a white tear for every person killed. “I just thought of the chaos, tripping over shoes. There are all these people barefoot and bleeding on the street. There are people who will never fill those shoes,” Vicar Megan Herles-Mooar, one of three women who came up with the idea, told AFP. She described such tributes as “a visible sign on a sort of invisible grief” but warned New Zealand will need more than acts of solidarity in the immediate aftermath of these murders. “We have to ask some really serious questions around racism and ‘othering’ and how we welcome immigrants and let them know that they’re not immigrants, they are part of our community,” she said. “My hope is that we have the courage to do that.” Back at her home Kawthar Abulaban says she has barely managed to sleep since Friday’s attacks — the trauma of that day coming back to her in waves of flashbacks. But she takes comfort knowing the shooter has so far failed to inspire the division he hoped to sow. “He is the loser,” she says, after contrasting Tarrant with Nabi. “He lost, not us. We lost friends, lots of friends from my community, but he didn’t win.” Nabi’s funeral on Thursday showed that community had only grown, his 100-plus mourners — families and friends — expanding to include a phalanx of bikers and locals inspired by his message.

christchurch
guns
new zealand
brenton tarrant
immigration
australia
mass shootings


Pyongyang's sanctions workarounds failing to soften their impact

Abstract: SEOUL - North Korea’s illicit and highly sophisticated efforts to circumvent U.N. sanctions may have sought to cushion their impact, but they offer no long-term solution to the fallout of tightened economic isolation, analysts say. Sanctions relief was top of leader Kim Jong Un’s agenda for his Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last month, but the meeting broke up without a statement or even a lunch as the two sides disagreed over walking back Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for relaxation. The North publishes virtually no economic statistics of its own, but according to figures from Chinese Customs, exports to what is by far Pyongyang’s biggest trade partner have plummeted by more than 90 percent. Until 2016 — when the figures say the North sold China $2.5 billion worth of goods — the U.N. Security Council sanctions largely targeted technology that could be used for weapons development. Since then new measures have taken aim at a variety of broad economic sectors, including some of Pyongyang’s key foreign currency earners, with exports of coal, iron ore, seafood and other commodities banned, trade in textiles blocked in both directions, and curbs on oil and fuel deliveries. Exports to China were just $213 million last year, say the Chinese Customs statistics — although some observers question their reliability. A report released last week by the U.N.’s independent Panel of Experts found that Pyongyang was employing increasingly sophisticated and varied ways to circumvent the rules, including the “physical disguise of tankers” and illegal name changing, as well as ship-to-ship cargo transfers on the high seas. Hugh Griffiths, the coordinator of the U.N. panel, likened Pyongyang’s efforts to high-net-worth individuals engaging in tax avoidance and multinational corporations. “They are exploiting international waters and the offshore economy,” he said. The North uses ship-to-ship transfers for “most of its maritime related coal trade,” the report said, adding that “such illegal deliveries became regularised and systemic in 2018.” But Griffiths pointed out: “No member state has supplied me with evidence to show that other member states in the region are allowing or aware of any systemic import of coal onto their territory. “It all has to be primarily in international waters through ship-to-ship transfers. It takes more time, more effort and more cost.” The North is using “increasingly advanced evasion techniques” to circumvent a cap of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products imports a year, the panel said. It described one example of vessel identity fraud as “the most sophisticated case” it had yet seen, which had “defeated the due diligence efforts of the region’s leading commodity trader,” U.S. and Singaporean banks and “a leading United Kingdom insurer.” The world’s biggest container shipping line has also been caught up in the efforts, with the U.N. report saying it had continued to “unwittingly transport prohibited items.” Copenhagen-based APM-Maersk said in a statement that its policy is “not to trade with North Korea” and that it had “guidelines and processes in place to ensure compliance with international sanctions and trade controls.” But while sanctions are being “successfully evaded on a case by case basis,” Griffiths said, “They are working and that’s very evident from the Hanoi summit. What was the sole demand of the North Koreans? That sanctions be lifted.” Analysts say the five sanctions the North wanted withdrawn in Hanoi make up the bulk of the pressure that has helped bring Kim to the table, and without them the U.S. would lose leverage. The current sanctions are the “most excruciating” the North has yet faced, said Jeong Hyung-gon of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, and the “dramatic” drop in its exports to China “underscores the effectiveness of Beijing’s enforcement.” Under-the-table trade will always fall far short of offsetting lost official revenues, said Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute. And those earnings are “not enough” for North Koreans, especially for those in the ruling class, he added. Last April Kim declared the development of his nuclear program complete and said that “socialist economic construction” is now Pyongyang’s top priority. He has slowly introduced some liberalizing economic reforms in recent years, and the North regularly stresses that it wants to improve its citizens’ livelihoods. But “no matter how hard the regime tries to get around the sanctions,” said Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, without relief from the restrictions Kim’s economic goals are “doomed to fail.”

sanctions
north korea
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
trade
china
u.n .
north korea nuclear crisis


Indian court acquits four men in 2007 India-Pakistan train blast case

Abstract: NEW DELHI - An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted four Hindu men accused of bombing a train between India and Pakistan in 2007 that killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, citing a lack of evidence, defense lawyers said. Pakistan’s acting foreign secretary described the ruling as a “travesty of justice.” The ruling comes weeks after a sharp escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan after a suicide car bomb in Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. The court in the northern state of Haryana gave its verdict after dismissing a petition filed last week by the daughter of a Pakistani victim who wanted to get her statement recorded as a witness. “Prosecution has failed to prove the case so the court acquitted all of them,” lawyer Mukesh Garg told reporters outside the court. “The court first rejected the application from a Pakistani lady.” One of those declared not guilty is Swami Aseemanand, a self-styled Hindu holy man and former member of the nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent of India’s ruling party. Aseemanand was jailed in 2010 after admitting his involvement in the attack on the train near Panipat, a city about 100 km (62 miles) north of Delhi. He later said he had been tortured to give a false statement. Two coaches of the Samjhauta Express, a biweekly train that runs between New Delhi and Lahore in Pakistan, caught fire late on Feb. 19, 2007, after two improvised explosive devices exploded, according to a charge-sheet filed by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2013. In all, the NIA had accused eight men of conducting what it described as a “dreadful terrorist act.” It said the group had been “angry with attacks on Hindu temples by jihadi terrorist activities.” One of the accused was murdered in December 2007 and three others absconded from justice. Pakistan’s acting foreign secretary summoned the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad on Wednesday to protest the decision. “Pakistan had consistently raised the lack of progress and the subsequent, concerted attempts by India to exonerate the perpetrators of this heinous terrorist act,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. “The acquittal of the accused today, 11 years after the heinous Samjhauta Terror Attacks, makes a travesty of justice and exposes the sham credibility of the Indian Courts.” Pakistan earlier questioned what it called India’s lack of action against the accused. India had responded by accusing Pakistan of failing to act against militant groups behind attacks in Mumbai in 2008, in which 166 people were killed. Asaduddin Owaisi, an Indian lawmaker and prominent Muslim leader, criticised Wednesday’s verdict. “68 dead and nothing to account for them, nothing to say that justice has been done,” he said in a tweet.

india pakistan kashmir jaish-e-mohammed terrorism religion


Japanese citizen believed to be among 5 miners killed by gunmen in Ethiopia

Abstract: ADDIS ABABA - Five miners in Ethiopia were shot dead by unidentified gunmen earlier this week and the Japanese Embassy is trying to confirm media reports Thursday that one of the victims was a Japanese citizen. The victims, who included three Ethiopians and an Indian, were attacked in a car in the Oromiya region, some 500 kilometers west of Addis Ababa, on Tuesday, according to local media. Several conflicts and a border dispute are simmering in the region, the reports said. The Oromo Liberation Front, a popular party involved in armed conflict in the region, reached a deal last year with the federal government to disarm. But some of its factions have opposed efforts to restore peace.


Comprehensive sake study group formed in Niigata

Abstract: NIIGATA - A group has been formed in the city of Niigata to promote comprehensive study on sake from an academic perspective. Domestic sake consumption is on a declining trend after a recent boom. Meanwhile, tours to visit breweries and taste local sake are drawing attention from foreign travelers. On March 8, researchers gathered for the inaugural general meeting of the academic society established at the initiative of Niigata University professor Akira Sawamura. The national university in Niigata Prefecture, which has the largest number of sake breweries among the country’s 47 prefectures, opened a course on the alcoholic beverage, made from rice, in April last year. The study group has some 20 founding members, including researchers of 15 universities and graduate schools across the country, such as Fukuoka University, Yamagata University, Nagoya University and a graduate school of Kobe University. Member researchers will conduct research on sake using their expertise in agriculture, economics, pharmacy and other areas. Their findings will be shared mainly at an annual general meeting. The group is also considering publishing a collection of essays and holding lecture meetings open to the public. “New values and research fields will be opened up as we bring together scholars studying sake from across the country,” Nami Goto, chair of the study group and president of the National Research Institute of Brewing, said at the inaugural meeting. Shunji Odaira, head of the Niigata Sake Brewers Association, expressed hope that the study group will promote deeper public understanding of the historical and cultural backgrounds of sake so that its appeal will be communicated more widely.


Start of cherry blossom season declared in Tokyo

Abstract: The cherry blossom season officially arrived in Tokyo on Thursday after officials from the Meteorological Agency confirmed that more than five blossoms had opened on a Somei-Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward. Most Somei Yoshino cherry trees in Tokyo are now expected to be in full bloom in about seven days. This year, the sakura (cherry blossoms) arrived five days earlier than average and four days later than last year. The Meteorological Agency declares the arrival of sakura each year after confirming that more than five flowers on one of its monitored Somei Yoshino trees have bloomed. Nagasaki Prefecture on Wednesday was the first to see sakura bloom this year.

cherry blossom
meteorological agency
somei-yoshino
sakura
hanami


Osaka wrestles with merger plan as campaign for governor kicks off

Abstract: OSAKA - To merge or not to merge? That is the question Osaka hopes to finally answer as the campaign for Osaka governor kicked off Thursday morning. It’s an election being watched closely not only in Osaka but also in Tokyo by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who have long been on unusually close terms with the top leaders of Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) but must back Liberal Democratic Party candidates running against them. The results are also expected to impact the fortunes of Osaka-based Upper House election candidates from the LDP, Komeito and Osaka Ishin’s national political party, Nippon Ishin no Kai. The governor’s election, the mayoral election and polls for municipal and prefectural members take place on April 7. The gubernatorial race pits the local Osaka Ishin candidate, former Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura, 43, against Tadakazu Konishi, 64, who is backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. The official election campaign period of the Osaka mayoral election begins on Sunday. In the mayoral election, former Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, 55, who also leads Osaka Ishin, will run against former Osaka Municipal Assemblyman Akira Yanagimoto, 45, who has the backing of the LDP and Komeito. Other political parties opposed to the Osaka merger, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party, are unofficially encouraging their members to back Konishi and Yanagimoto. All of Osaka’s local elections are focused on a single issue: efforts by Osaka Ishin to hold another referendum on merging Osaka’s 24 wards into four semi-autonomous districts. Osaka Ishin made this a fundamental campaign pledge in the November 2015 elections for governor and mayor. But opposition by the LDP, Komeito and other established parties in the municipal and prefectural assemblies, where Osaka Ishin has a plurality but not a majority, have created a deadlock that candidates hope will finally be broken on April 7. “This is the perfect opportunity to say ‘no’ to Ishin’s politics. There’s a risk of higher costs and worse bureaucratic service under (Osaka Ishin’s) merger plan,” Konishi said in a stump speech Thursday morning. At a separate rally later Thursday morning, Yoshimura fired back. “We’re keeping our 2015 campaign pledge to hold a referendum on the merger issue. The real reason why all of the other established political parties are opposed to the merger plan is because they’re trying to guard their territory,” he said. Under Osaka Ishin’s merger plan, the wards would have more control over their budgets for issues such as child care, education and social welfare services. Functions such as tourism promotion, transportation infrastructure, industrial revitalization and urban development would all be handled by the prefecture. Osaka Ishin says the merger is a necessary cost-cutting measure that will decrease bureaucratic redundancy and increase efficiency. But the party has been unable to explain how the merger will specifically benefit local residents and businesses, such as by lowering personal or corporate taxes. The LDP and Komeito have long said that merging Osaka’s wards and eliminating the Osaka Municipal Assembly and mayoral position would actually increase the financial burden on residents, with no guarantee of improved bureaucratic services. In addition to touting its merger plan, Osaka Ishin’s strategy for the elections is to tout its experience and results, especially in terms of Osaka’s international relations. “It was under Osaka Ishin that Osaka won the 2025 World Expo and the right to host this year’s Group of Twenty summit,” Matsui said at the rally for Yoshimura on Thursday morning. But at a meeting to drum up support for Konishi and Yanagimoto early Thursday afternoon, senior officials from the LDP and Komeito dismissed such claims, saying it was Abe and the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition that used their overseas connections to win the expo and who decided to give Osaka the G20 meeting. There was also criticism of Yoshimura and Matsui for their decision to quit and run for each other’s positions. “It’s not good to have the Osaka governor and mayor resign their positions now, with the G20 coming up and with the need to start preparations for the expo,” said Komeito Lower House member Shigeki Sato, who heads the party’s Osaka chapter.

osaka
shinzo abe
yoshihide suga
osaka ishin no kai
one osaka
nippon ishin no kai
hirofumi yoshimura
ichiro matsui


Official campaigning for unified local polls, including 11 gubernatorial races, begins across Japan

Abstract: Official campaigning for quadrennial unified local elections began across Japan on Thursday, with results expected to impact the House of Councilors election in the summer. Incumbents and new faces filed their candidacies for the first round of the local elections, set to be held on April 7, which will include gubernatorial races in 11 prefectures, mayoral polls in six major cities, and assembly elections in 41 prefectures and 17 large cities. Revitalizing regional economies and stemming population declines are among major issues in the regional elections, which are held simultaneously every four years with the aim of cutting election costs and increasing voter turnout. Among the gubernatorial races, the governor’s race in Hokkaido will be the only one to feature candidates backed by the ruling coalition and multiple opposition forces. In Kanagawa, Nara, Tottori and Oita, incumbents supported by both the ruling bloc and some opposition parties will compete with candidates who are backed by the Japanese Communist Party or who are unaffiliated. Mie will see a head-to-head competition between an incumbent recommended by the ruling coalition and a newcomer backed by the JCP. In Fukui, Shimane, Tokushima and Fukuoka, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been divided on which candidate to endorse, triggering a feud within its local groups. Osaka abruptly joined the prefectures holding gubernatorial elections after Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned earlier this month to seek a swap of their current positions, in an attempt to realize the goal of reshaping the city into a metropolitan government similar to that of Tokyo. The LDP, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has faced an uphill battle in the past when unified local elections coincide with triennial Upper House elections, a situation that arises every 12 years, with the party struggling to secure local members’ support in the national race as they are “worn out” by their own campaigns. A crushing defeat in the Upper House election in 2007 led to the collapse of the first Abe administration, which lasted for less than a year. The prime minister returned to power in late 2012. The second round of unified local elections to pick mayors and assembly members in Tokyo’s 23 wards, smaller cities, towns and villages will be held on April 21. That poll will coincide with House of Representatives by-elections in the Osaka No. 12 district and the Okinawa No. 3 constituency.


Russian envoy claims Japan's sanctions violate 1956 declaration

Abstract: Tokyo’s sanctions against Russia violate the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin claimed Wednesday. In his speech at a members-only event organized by the Research Institute of Japan, a Jiji Press affiliate, Galuzin argued that the Japanese sanctions contradict the statement’s first paragraph declaring the restoration of peace, friendship and good neighborly relations between the two countries. The Russian envoy apparently referred to the joint statement with the aim of separating Japan from the Group of Seven’s joint sanctions against Moscow, which were implemented in 2014 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In November last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to accelerate talks based on the 1956 statement to conclude a World War II peace treaty between their countries. During the speech, Galuzin questioned the Japanese government’s emphasis on the joint declaration’s ninth paragraph calling for two of four islands off Hokkaido at the center of the two countries’ territorial row to be transferred from Russia to Japan after they conclude a peace treaty. Galuzin said the bilateral negotiations should proceed in a direction toward implementing the whole of the 1956 statement. For the success of the negotiations, he claimed that Japan should accept that the islands had become Russian territory as a result of the war and that it should address Russian concerns over the Japan-U.S. security treaty. The envoy indicated that U.S. military bases in Japan are posing a threat to Russia, saying that Washington obviously has a hostile policy toward Moscow now. Meanwhile, Galuzin suggested that the dialogue between Abe and Putin, who have had over 20 meetings, has been a driving force for developing the bilateral relations. He mentioned the ongoing work to arrange a so-called two-plus-two meeting among the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers this year, and the idea of designating next year as a year for promoting exchanges between Japanese and Russian regions.

ambassadors
mikhail galuzin
northern territories


Tomomi Inada's uphill battle to 'promote understanding' of LGBT issues in Japan

Abstract: Tomomi Inada isn’t trying to get Japan to legalize same-sex marriage or ban discrimination against gay citizens. The conservative lawmaker just wants to “promote understanding” of LGBT issues. Even that seems too much. The former defense minister said she’s unsure she’ll be able to introduce new legislation seeking greater tolerance of same-sex relationships amid opposition from her Liberal Democratic Party colleagues. Members of the ruling party have publicly opposed calls for change in recent months, some warning it would slow the already anemic birth rate. “People asked me if I’d turned left-wing,” said Inada, an LDP executive and an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It’s a tough situation for me, but I think it’s a human rights issue and nothing to do with being conservative or liberal.” While other developed countries including the United States, Australia and most of Western Europe have moved to recognize same-sex marriage, traditionalist Japan has barely budged. Now, business groups are cautioning that the country’s LGBT policies are hurting their hunt for top global talent, and activists argue the situation could become a source of embarrassment when Tokyo hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics. A group of 13 same-sex couples filed suit on Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — over what they contend is marriage discrimination in Japan. The government’s top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, signaled little interest in change. “Whether or not we recognize same-sex marriage is a problem that relates to the roots of what a family should be in our country,” Suga told the Diet. “So it’s something that needs to be considered extremely cautiously.” Inada’s lonely battle to pass the legislation shows both how Japanese sensibilities may be changing and how much further advocates have to go. Inada, who led the defense ministry from August 2016 to July 2017, is better known for her justification of Japan’s past colonial expansion across Asia, than for promoting minority rights. “There is so little understanding that some conservatives think recognizing LGBT people will destroy the traditional family, or reduce the birthrate,” Inada, who is one of just 22 women in the 283-member LDP’s Lower House caucus, said in an interview last month. Financial hub Like elsewhere, Japanese gay rights advocates found increasingly vocal allies among multinational corporations, who see it as a competitive issue for the world’s third-largest economy. A Hong Kong court ruling allowing dependent visas for same-sex spouses last year raised the pressure on places like Tokyo and Singapore. “Looking at Tokyo as an international financial center, and how to attract foreigners, it would be better to establish a framework to attract talented people,” Hiroyuki Arita, representative director and president for asset manager BlackRock Inc.’s Japan unit, said in an interview. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan — supported by sister organizations from Australia, Canada, Ireland and the U.K. — went a step further in September, publishing a policy paper calling for full marriage equality. The public appears more tolerant than the LDP, which has controlled the government for all but four years since 1955. Same-sex relationships were long condoned among the samurai class and Buddhist monks before Japan’s mid-19th century modernization and adoption of “Western” values. Divisive comments Transgender entertainers are among the biggest stars on local TV. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which highlighted the difficulties Queen singer Freddie Mercury faced as a gay man, was the country’s top-grossing movie last year. A poll by NHK in 2017 — the most recent data available — found 51 percent of respondents believed same-sex marriage should be allowed in Japan. That compared with 41 percent who were opposed. Still, some LDP members continue to stoke outrage from the LGBT rights advocates, such as when Katsuei Hirasawa argued in a speech last month that the “nation would collapse” if everyone were gay. Another ruling party lawmaker, Mio Sugita, published a magazine article last year describing gay couples as unproductive because they don’t have children. Abe himself said in 2015 that the Constitution, which requires the consent of “both sexes,” didn’t envisage same-sex marriage. While a few local governments issue certificates to same-sex couples to help them overcome difficulties renting homes, or gaining next-of-kin status in hospitals, the unions have no legal standing. ‘No right’ Ai Nakajima, who was among the activists suing for marriage equality Thursday, said she was being unfairly denied the right to live in Japan with her German spouse, Christina Baumann. “Tina has no right to live here and can’t get a visa,” Nakajima said. The main opposition force, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has submitted its own bill that would outlaw discrimination against LGBT people, and is discussing another to allow same-sex marriage, according to Kanako Otsuji, Japan’s only openly gay lawmaker. Neither bill can pass at present without support from the ruling party. “The ball is in their court,” Otsuji said. Inada, a former lawyer, argues the constitutional wording was intended to give people the right to marry without securing the head of household’s permission, not to exclude same-sex couples. For now, she’s focused on fostering a dialogue between gay rights advocates and the ruling party. “I invited members of the LGBT community to LDP headquarters for discussions,” Inada said. “When I asked them if they’d ever visited before. They said they had — but only to protest outside.”

lgbt
same-sex marriage
ldp
diet
lower house
sexuality


Abe eyes U.S. trip in late April for talks with Trump on trade: sources

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the United States in late April for talks with President Donald Trump, sources familiar with bilateral relations said Wednesday. In the envisioned April 26-27 trip, Abe and Trump are likely to discuss trade negotiations the two governments may start the same month, as well as a planned visit by Trump to Japan in late May, the sources said. But the timing of Abe’s trip could change, given the possibility that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may hold a summit meeting in late April to reach a trade deal. In the planned talks, Abe and Trump are also expected to discuss how best to deal with North Korea in the wake of the collapse of a second summit between Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un in late February in Vietnam. Abe and Trump are expected to affirm that the international community will coordinate in maintaining sanctions on Pyongyang until it achieves complete denuclearization. On bilateral trade, the two leaders are likely to exchange views on what they aim to achieve in the negotiations. While the United States desires a free trade agreement that would cover a range of areas such as goods, services, investment and currency, Japan is insisting the two governments aim for a trade deal on goods only. Abe and Trump are also expected to coordinate the U.S. leader’s trip to Japan, which will likely take place from May 26 to 28. If the trip is realized, Trump would likely become the first foreign state guest to meet with Crown Prince Naruhito after he accedes the throne on May 1, following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito. The Japanese government also plans to invite Trump to the Group of 20 summit planned in Osaka at the end of June. Should all meetings occur, it would be rather unusual for the leaders of Japan and the U.S. to meet for three consecutive months. Prior to the trip to the U.S., Abe is considering visiting France and other European countries as part of preparations for the Osaka Group of 20 summit in June, they said.

shinzo abe
donald trump
u.s.-japan relations


India's new ambassador to Japan sees strong potential in technology cooperation

Abstract: India’s new ambassador to Japan believes the two countries can complement each other in terms of talent and technology, and that cooperation could lead to new innovations. “Indian software competence, married with Japanese hardware production … if these two can merge together, you have embedded systems on very efficient hardware, which can lead to new products,” Sanjay Kumar Verma said during a courtesy visit to The Japan Times on Wednesday. Verma, who began his current stint on Jan. 17, sees it as his mission to “increase engagement” between India and Japan “in all sectors and fields.” When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tokyo last October, the two governments agreed to cooperate on a range of objectives, from regional security to promoting digital industries. Verma is looking to carry that vision forward. Democracy, technology, startups — “all these fields are open for global leadership and we need to collaborate with each other,” he said. “The digital economy is now becoming synonymous (with) India and Japan.” The combination of Japan’s labor shortage and India’s youthful workforce makes the countries a “good match,” Verma said, noting that over 60 percent of his country’s 1.3 billion people are aged 35 or under. This presents a “huge complementarity,” he said. “India has been sending engineers (to Japan), depending on the demand of the Japanese companies and Japanese market. The only difficulty so far faced is the Japanese language,” he said. When it comes to security, Verma stressed the need to ensure the “rule of law” prevails in the Indo-Pacific region. Asked about the rise of China, he avoided singling out Beijing but said that when any country attempts to “behave in a unipolar manner, that is the time all other countries have to get together and tell them, ‘That’s not OK.'” Verma, 53, has worked at Indian consulate generals and embassies around the world, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Turkey and Italy. He was also ambassador to Sudan. Before his appointment to Japan, he was responsible for administration and cyber diplomacy at the Indian foreign ministry. His interests include information technology and artificial intelligence, as well as facilitating small business and investment. With Japan, Verma aims to help build bridges for doing business. “We need to do a lot together,” he said.


Japan's weakening economy may force Abe to take corrective action ahead of local and Upper House elections

Abstract: A recent spate of warning signs that the economy is headed for a downturn means the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may need to take corrective action sooner rather than later. Worsening conditions — and upcoming elections — could push Abe to beef up fiscal stimulus or even postpone an upcoming increase in the consumption tax, analysts say. On Wednesday the Cabinet Office downgraded its headline assessment of the world’s third-largest economy for the first time in three years. The move reflected a significant decline in exports to China and came after a key indicator of economic trends signaled that Japan may already be in a recession. But Toshimitsu Motegi, minister for economic and fiscal policy, denied that the latest growth phase, touted to be the country’s longest since the end of World War II, has ended. “Our view that the economy is recovering moderately as a trend remains unchanged,” he told a news conference. For Abe, the issue is crucial. During his six years back in power, his Abenomics policy mix of fiscal stimulus and drastic monetary easing has been his main support driver, trumping his divisive nationalist leanings and accusations of cronyism. With elections at the local level and in the House of Councilors taking place this year, he needs to continue to paint a rosy picture if he hopes to secure a resounding victory for his Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito. Evidence of a downturn has been stacking up for some time. Machinery orders, which are a leading indicator of capital expenditure, and industrial production have been falling for the past several months. Gross domestic product grew an annualized real 1.9 percent in the October-December quarter, an uninspiring rebound after a string of natural disasters caused a contraction in July-September. “Is the economy still recovering? The truth is, it’s too close to call,” a senior official at the Cabinet Office admitted. This has come as China, one of the largest markets for Japanese exports, marked its slowest rate of growth in nearly three decades amid a trade war with the United States. Growth in the eurozone has also slowed and faces even more risks as the U.K. attempts to negotiate an exit from the bloc. Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., says he believes that Japan is still in a growth phase. But he expects the global economy to lose steam in late 2019 and that Japan will be dragged down with it. “If the situation deteriorates more than expected, the government may decide to announce more fiscal stimulus” on top of the ¥2 trillion package already included in the draft budget for the year beginning in April, he said. A recession would also put pressure on Abe to postpone the consumption tax hike scheduled for Oct. 1. In 2012, the then-ruling Democratic Party of Japan agreed with the LDP and Komeito to raise the value-added tax in two stages from 5 percent to 10 percent. Abe implemented the first increase to 8 percent in April 2014, but the move caused private consumption to plummet and drained momentum for the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target for inflation. Loath to repeat the mistake, Abe has postponed the second increase twice. And while he has said that only a crisis on the scale of the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers and ensuing global financial meltdown would warrant another delay, some analysts say such a move is still on the table. “It’s clear that this criteria, a Lehman shock-scale situation, can’t be taken at face value,” said Naohiko Baba, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Japan Co. “The run-up to the Upper House election in July will be key. If economic indicators don’t show a clear rebound, or if public sentiment toward the tax hike sours significantly, it could become a huge liability for the Abe government heading into the polls,” he said. Postponing the tax hike a third time holds its own risks. It would deprive the government of precious revenue as a rapidly aging population causes spending on social security such as pensions and health care to snowball. That would dash any hopes of improving Japan’s battered fiscal health, the worst among advanced economies. The tax hike is also supposed to provide the funding for free preschool and higher education, one of the campaign promises that won Abe the 2017 Lower House election. “Depending on how things go, the Abe government could be faced with a difficult decision,” Baba said.

economy
upper house
elections
consumption tax
abenomics


Mega-quake would likely flood more of Fukushima than 2011 tsunami

Abstract: If a once-in-1,000-years earthquake occurs, the area of Fukushima Prefecture expected to be flooded by subsequent tsunami could be 1.3 times larger than at the time of the March 2011 disaster, the prefectural government said Wednesday. If such a powerful earthquake takes place, tsunami of up to 22.4 meters high could hit the coast of Fukushima, and some 14,300 hectares of land in the prefecture could be inundated, according to a prefectural government estimate. The prefectural government plans to call for 10 coastal municipalities to create hazard maps and review evacuation routes by the end of fiscal 2020. The estimate assumes that such an earthquake will take place at high tide. The 2011 disaster occurred at low tide. In the 2011 disaster, the highest tsunami in Fukushima was recorded at the coast of Tomioka, at 18 meters, according to data from Tohoku University and others. The prefectural estimate shows that the coast of Soma could experience the highest tsunami, at 22.4 meters. Iwaki could be hit by 14-meter-high tsunami, which could flood some 3,600 hectares of land, 2.4 times larger than in 2011. On the coast of Okuma, near Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the scene of the triple reactor meltdown caused by the 2011 disaster, 21.8-meter-high tsunami could occur, flooding part of the plant to a depth of more than 5 meters. In 2011, the coast was hit by 17.3-meter-high tsunami. Fukushima is the first of the three prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 disaster to work out such an estimate.

fukushima
tsunami
earthquake
disasters
fukushima no . 1


Japanese official yells he 'hates South Koreans,' is detained for allegedly assaulting worker at airport in Seoul

Abstract: TOKYO/SEOUL - A Japanese government official was temporarily detained in South Korea for allegedly assaulting an airport worker in Seoul while on a personal trip, the government said Wednesday. Kosuke Takeda, a 47-year-old official of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, is suspected of assaulting a worker at Gimpo International Airport and telling the worker that he hates South Koreans, according to a senior ministry official. South Korean police said Takeda was detained Tuesday on suspicion of hitting an airport worker at a boarding gate while under the influence of alcohol. “He was heavily drunk,” police said, adding Takeda had admitted to the allegations and apologized. An airport official said he appeared drunk and “started to throw papers and hit our worker” when he was asked to wait before boarding. The ministry apologized for the incident in a statement, saying it will dispatch officials to South Korea to look into the matter. Takeda, who was released and has already returned to Japan, was replaced as head of the Wage Division by Wednesday, the ministry said. He said Tuesday in a Facebook post that he was detained by the local police but did not know why. “I was beaten and sustained an injury. I was handcuffed and grabbed by five people. It’s a weird country,” he said in the post. In another post Wednesday, Takeda said, “In fact, I wasn’t drunk. I acted disorderly but didn’t hit the airport worker.” He admitted telling the airport worker that he hated South Koreans but said it was because he was angry and there was “no political intention.” “I’ll be written about in the papers again lol,” he said in the Facebook post. Takeda caused controversy earlier this month when he told a ruling party lawmakers’ meeting that the government was considering a unified minimum hourly wage by sector, prompting a denial by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

kosuke takeda
gimpo international airport


U.S. to punish foreign financial institutions funding Venezuela's Maduro

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The United States will impose sanctions on foreign institutions helping to finance embattled far-left Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the White House said Wednesday. The measure, announced by President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, is the latest tightening of screws in Washington’s campaign to force Maduro from power. “The United States is putting foreign financial institutions on notice that they will face sanctions for being involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt network,” Bolton said in a statement. Trump is leading international pressure to have Maduro replaced by opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington recognizes as the official interim president. The government is already trying to cripple Maduro’s access to finances via sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and handing control to Guaido of Venezuelan bank accounts in the United States. More than 50 other countries have recognized Guaido as interim president, but Maduro has powerful backing from Russia and China. He describes the U.S.-led campaign against him as an imperialist plot to seize control of the oil-rich nation. Years of hard left rule have transformed once thriving Venezuela into an economic basket case, with severe shortages of basic food and medicine.

venezuela
nicolas maduro
john bolton
juan guaido
pdvsa
u.s .


Disgraced U.S. celebrity chef Mario Batali divests of all restaurants

Abstract: NEW YORK - U.S. celebrity chef Mario Batali has sold his stake in all of his restaurants after being accused of sexual assault by several women, the businesses announced Wednesday. “We wanted to let you all know that Mario is now fully divested from our businesses. This week, we acquired all of his interests in our restaurants,” decades-long Batali partners Tanya and Joe Bastianich wrote in a letter to employees seen by AFP. The siblings confirmed the dissolution of the Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group, estimated to be worth $250 million, and the subsequent creation of a new company. Batali, who often refers to his Italian heritage for culinary inspiration, also negotiated the sale of his part in the chain of gargantuan Eataly food stores, which no longer sell his line of sauces or his 11 cookbooks. New York police closed an investigation into 58-year-old Batali in January without filing charges. An employee accused him last year of having assaulted her in 2005 at one of his 26 restaurants, The Spotted Pig, a fashionable New York spot favorited by celebrities. The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, claimed the chef drugged her and assaulted her, adding that when she came to there was semen on her clothing. She went to hospital and called the police, but ultimately decided against filing a complaint and the physical evidence produced at the hospital wasn’t kept. Batali denies the allegations. An employee at The Spotted Pig claimed to have witnessed a similar incident in 2008 through the restaurant’s security cameras in which employees had to intervene to stop an assault against a woman who was unconscious. The once-prestigious chef, known for his red ponytail and orange Croc shoes, had already been accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching. Those allegations led him to apologize publicly for making “many mistakes” and to take a sidelined role at his businesses and leave “The Chew” television program, but he initially hung on to the restaurants.

mario batali
restaurants
eataly
the spotted pig
the chew
u.s .
sex crimes


Singapore noodle vendor, 90, helps keep foodie culture alive as UNESCO listing eyed for 'hawker' stalls

Abstract: SINGAPORE - Leong Yuet Meng cannot walk more than 10 meters without assistance. Yet, the frail 90-year-old still runs a wonton noodle stall in downtown Singapore, selling at least 200 bowls on any given day. Leong rises around 4 a.m. to do some accounting and prayers before her son drives her to the local market to buy ingredients for the day ahead. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., she is hunched over a pot of simmering noodles, slicing char siu — barbecued pork belly — or serving bowls of bargain-price hot food. “I try to do this as long as I can, but I am old,” said Leong, one of many older food vendors, or “hawkers,” in the Asian city-state. “I am afraid that all the experience that I have accumulated over the years will be lost. None of my children can take over.” The city has about 110 hawker centers — open-air food courts set up to house former street vendors in an effort to clean up the island in the 1970s — and their over 6,000 stalls are mostly packed. The government has said it will submit a bid this month to add its hawker culture to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. “We’re putting the finishing touches (on the nomination),” Yeo Kirk Siang, a director at Singapore’s National Heritage Board, told Reuters. Nominations will be accepted until March 31 to be included on the list next year. Celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay have effused over typically Singaporean dishes like chicken rice; some hawker stalls serve up the cheapest Michelin star meals at $2; and last year’s Hollywood hit film Crazy Rich Asians showed its stars tucking into heaped plates at a famous Singapore night market. But the enthusiasm cannot mask one underlying problem — Singapore’s hawkers are getting older and their better-educated sons and daughters are increasingly shunning cramped, sweaty kitchens for office jobs. The average age of hawkers is 59, according to a government report, well above the national workforce average of 43. “UNESCO is not a silver bullet, it is just one of the things we need to do … to keep hawker culture alive,” said Yeo. To encourage Singapore’s street hawkers to resettle into the centers in the 1970s, the government heavily subsidized hawker rentals. While around 40 percent of older hawkers still enjoy low rents, new hawker stalls are sold in an open bidding process, often making rentals much more expensive, especially at popular sites. One hawker, 38 year-old Lance Ngo, said that finding hawkers in their 20s “is more difficult than finding gold. The government has introduced schemes in recent years to get veteran hawkers to pass on their skills to the next generation, teach business skills and subsidize equipment and rent to reduce overhead costs. This has attracted some young hawkers looking for an escape route from dead-end office jobs. “A lot of young people do see it as an avenue to be able to create and be their own boss,” 32 year-old coffee stall owner Faye Sai said. “This has attracted younger hawkers and career switchers but that’s a minority.” But others say more needs to be done to make the business more lucrative longer term. “Before applying for that (UNESCO), I think they have to settle the problems in front of them first. Twenty years down the road when all the older generation pass away, who is going to take over?,” said Alan Choong, a 24-year-old owner of Sino-Japanese fusion food stall Prawnaholic. Lee Sah Bah, a hawker in his late 60s who sells Chwee Kueh rice cakes at less than 2 Singapore dollars a portion, says he also faces the prospect of his legacy dying out. His two daughters — one a lecturer at a university in Melbourne and the other an accountant in Singapore — won’t take over his business. “I don’t think hawker centers will exist in the next 50 years,” Lee said. “It’s too much hard work, we have to put in 16 hours a day sometimes. It’s hot. Kids nowadays wouldn’t want to work here.”


Bailed ex-Nissan boss Ghosn recuperating after 108-day 'hostage justice' ordeal in Tokyo, says lawyer

Abstract: Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn is currently recuperating after his release on bail Wednesday, following more than 100 days in custody, his lawyer said, noting that no date for a news conference has been set at this time. “His health condition has not fully recovered. I will talk with other lawyers and carefully consider (the schedule for a news conference),” lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters. He ruled out the possibility of Ghosn meeting with the press on Thursday. The 64-year-old has not spoken in public since his release on ¥1 billion ($9 million) bail from the Tokyo Detention House, where he had been held since his arrest on Nov. 19. He has denied the charges he is facing regarding financial misconduct. Ghosn was granted bail Tuesday by the Tokyo District Court following the third bail request, and the first from his revamped defense team. To address concerns of evidence tampering, the team proposed the installation of surveillance cameras at the entrance of Ghosn’s residence and restricting his computer use to weekdays during the daytime when he visits his lawyer’s office, with internet access forbidden. The treatment of the once-celebrated auto executive following his arrest has brought Japan’s criminal justice system under international scrutiny, including a tendency to hold suspects for long periods when they deny allegations against them — which critics have likened to “hostage taking.” “I’m glad that the bail was granted. I hope this case will become the start of ending the ‘hostage justice’ system,” Hironaka said. In 2016, district courts in Japan granted pre-trial bail to defendants in 8.9 percent of cases where they denied the charges against them. Prosecutors in Japan have a conviction rate of 97.3 percent for defendants who have pleaded not guilty, compared with 85 percent in the U.S., according to Japan’s Ministry of Justice.

nissan
carlos ghosn
junichiro hironaka
scandals


Japan may be in recession rather than longest growth phase since the war, key index suggests

Abstract: The government on Thursday downgraded its assessment of a key indicator of economic trends, suggesting Japan may have already entered a recession rather than marking its longest growth phase since the end of World War II, as previously believed. The Cabinet Office’s coincident index of business conditions for January was down 2.7 points from the previous month at 97.9 against the 2015 base of 100. It was the index’s third consecutive decline, prompting the office to say that it was “signaling a possible turning point.” Prior to that, the office had said conditions were “weakening.” Toshimitsu Motegi, minister for economic and fiscal policy, said in January that the most recent growth phase from December 2012 had likely surpassed the Izanami Boom, a 73-month streak from 2002 to 2008. The latest assessment, based on factors such as a slowdown in industrial output amid falling exports to China, casts doubt over that assertion. The economy likely peaked in autumn, the index showed. It is not conclusive, however, as a government panel retroactively determines the length of economic cycles after examining more data, a process that can take more than a year. A weakening economy would be a headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has counted on the success of his Abenomics policy mix to maintain public support for his Liberal Democratic Party ahead of local and national elections this year. Gross domestic product data had shown the world’s third-largest economy bounced back in the fourth quarter of 2018 after taking a hit from natural disasters including an earthquake and typhoon. On the other hand, corporate profits saw their first quarterly fall since 2016, and improvement in the jobs market also appears to have peaked. “The economy is at a crossroad,” said Shinichiro Kobayashi, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co. “At this point, it’s an even split between continuing to improve and worsening.” “Exports are key, and the outcome of trade talks between the United States and China will be crucial,” he said. The top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, said that, at least for now, the government is upholding its claim to the longest postwar growth phase. Speaking at a regular news conference, Suga also said that the government will go through with a planned increase in consumption tax from the current 8 percent to 10 percent in October unless it faces a crisis comparable to the 2008 global financial meltdown. The last time the index was described as signaling a turn to the downside was in 2014, after a previous consumption tax hike caused private spending to plummet. The leading index of business conditions, which predicts the trend in the coming months, deteriorated 1.3 points to 95.9 for the fifth consecutive month of decline.

toshimitsu motegi
izanami boom
economy
economic indicators


In setback for Trump, report shows U.S. trade deficit surged to 10-year high in 2018 as goods deficit hit record $891 billion

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit hit its highest level in a decade in 2018, in a resounding failure for President Donald Trump’s global trade offensive, U.S. government data showed Wednesday. And America’s merchandise trade deficit — the main focus of Trump’s ire — surged to its highest level ever in 2018. So did the imbalance in goods trade with China, Mexico and the European Union, even after Washington slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions in imports from its largest trading partners. The bulging deficit numbers come as U.S. and Chinese officials say they are nearing a breakthrough in talks to end their trade war. Beijing is expected to offer to make eye-catching purchases of American agricultural goods to cut the trade deficit and please Trump. Trump has angrily described trade deficits as a defeat for the United States, and aimed to erase them, but the Commerce Department report was bristling with records after Americans snapped up mobile phones and companies invested in computer equipment in 2018. The total U.S. goods deficit surged 10.4 percent to $891.3 billion, the highest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, the overall trade deficit with the rest of the world, with services factored in, jumped 12.5 percent to $621 billion as both imports and exports rose to their highest levels ever, according to the report. The deficit in 2017 was $552.3 billion. In December alone, the total deficit also vaulted past expectations, surging 18.8 percent and likely weighing on an economy that was already slowing at the close of the year. “We expect the slowdown in global growth to continue to weigh on exports and industrial production,” Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients. “In particular, economic weakness in China and Europe and trade-related uncertainties are dampening trade volumes.” In 2018, however, solid U.S. growth, low unemployment and consumers’ thirst for foreign products drove imports of goods and services up 7.5 percent to a record $3.1 trillion for the year. Exports also rose, but not enough to chip away at the imbalance. Sales abroad increased 6.3 percent to $2.5 trillion last year, also the highest level ever. And with the country on its way to becoming a net energy exporter, crude sales abroad more than doubled to $47 billion. But soybean exports, a crucial crop across vast expanses of the country, fell 18 percent for the year to $18.2 billion amid a Chinese boycott sparked by Trump’s trade war. American purchases of foreign autos, computers and machinery, and consumer goods, as well as foods and animal feeds, were also at the highest ever levels. Imports of goods ($2.6 trillion) and services ($557.9 billion) reached new all-time highs, the report showed. And even as Washington and Beijing have exchanged punitive tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, the U.S. deficit with China expanded to an even larger $419.2 billion — a new record. Trump rejects conventional economic views of trade, which hold that deficits are not always a negative for the economy as they can allow cheaper goods and services to be made available to more people while promoting job creation. The White House maintains that trade imbalances translate directly into thousands of job losses. But while the tariff protections help some companies, many others have struggled with higher prices and held off on investments amid the trade war. Some have even gone bankrupt or laid off workers as a result of the tariff battles. While officials have projected optimism in recent weeks, details on a possible deal with China remain scarce. The deficit with the European Union, also in a trade standoff with Washington, rose to a record $169.3 billion, while the gap with Mexico hit a high of $81.5 billion. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is in Washington this week and due to meet later Wednesday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as they prepare for formal negotiations. At the same time, the United States recorded surpluses with the U.K. and with South and Central America. The OECD on Wednesday cut its global growth forecast for 2019 by two tenths to 3.3 percent, citing trade tensions and political uncertainty. Wall Street slid following the news, with major indices adding to Tuesday’s losses.

trade deficit
donald trump
china
tariffs
trade war
jobs
u.s .


Dollar almost flat around ¥111.80 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar was almost flat around ¥111.80 in directionless trading in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.78-78, compared with ¥111.78-79 at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1307-1307, up from $1.1301-1301, and at ¥126.39-40, up from ¥126.33-34. In early trading, the dollar fell below ¥111.60, pressured by weak U.S. economic data, a decline in U.S. long-term interest rates and a fall in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average. The greenback later bounced back on buying by Japanese importers. The dollar moved in a tight range in the afternoon in the absence of fresh trading incentives. “There are no strong dollar-selling incentives, and buybacks emerge when the currency falls to around ¥111.50,” an official of a major life insurance firm said. An official of a Japanese bank said, “There is no momentum to bid up the dollar further due to subdued risk appetite and weak stock prices.” The dollar is expected to remain range-bound until U.S. jobs data come out on Friday, an official of another Japanese bank said.


Tokyo stocks fall further on economic woes

Abstract: Stocks fell further on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, driven down by concerns about the outlook for the global economy. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost 140.80 points, or 0.65 percent, to end at 21,456.01, after falling 129.47 points on Wednesday. The Topix index of all first-section issues finished down 13.59 points, or 0.84 percent, at 1,601.66 following a decline of 3.98 points the previous day. The Tokyo market’s decline came as U.S. equities fell overnight after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development lowered its outlook for global economic growth. Sentiment was also dampened by news of a major production cut by Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp. and a sharp cut in Mizuho Financial Group Inc.’s profit projection, brokers said. Referring to the OECD’s downbeat growth outlook, an official at a Japanese securities house said concerns about a global economic slowdown have been building. It is necessary to keep a close watch on U.S. jobs data due out Friday, the official said. Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co., said, “The weakness of Renesas and other semiconductor-related issues gave an additional damper on stock prices.” News of Renesas’ partial plant shutdown, which comes amid slowing economic growth in China, is an apparent sign of impacts from trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, Shimizu said. Hiroaki Hiwada, strategist at Toyo Securities Co., said the Tokyo stock market’s downside has been solid in recent sessions, backed by buying on dips and exchange-traded fund buying by the Bank of Japan. Falling issues outnumbered rising ones 1,505 to 556 in the TSE’s first section, while 72 issues were unchanged. Volume increased to 1.254 billion shares from 1.016 billion shares on Wednesday. Renesas plunged 14.62 percent, while chip equipment makers Tokyo Electron and Advantest Corp. dropped 2.95 percent and 2.47 percent, respectively. Mizuho lost 1.54 percent. Among rivals, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. fell 1.62 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. declined 1.77 percent. Other losers included industrial robot producer Fanuc Corp. and Yaskawa Electric Corp. On the other hand, domestic demand-oriented issues attracted purchases as investors sought safe bets amid growing concerns over global growth. Railway operator Central Japan Railway Co. gained 0.87 percent and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. rose 1.56 percent. Kubota Corp. gained 1.37 percent after Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd. raised its investment rating for the construction machinery maker. Also on the positive side were clothing retailer Fast Retailing Co. and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key March contract on the Nikkei average fell 170 points to end at 21,420.


ANA makes superjumbo-size bet it can fill axed Airbus A380s with Japanese tourists to Hawaii

Abstract: Just as a tide of canceled orders has prompted Airbus SE to halt production of the A380 superjumbo, Japan’s biggest airline is betting it can succeed where others have failed — by filling the luxurious double-deckers with tourists flying to Hawaii. From May 24, ANA Holdings Inc. has scheduled three flights a week from Narita airport near Tokyo to Honolulu on the 520-seat behemoths, painted in a special sea-turtle theme. The carrier will bring on one more A380 for the Hawaii service in July and a third next year, ANA President Yuji Hirako said, adding that reservations for the route are already more than 40 percent higher than a year ago. The plan leaves ANA as the only passenger line with A380s on order other than Dubai-based Emirates, which has been the plane’s mainstay airline. The aircraft — which wowed travelers with in-flight showers, bedrooms and bars but was too big to win over most carriers — may help ANA close the Hawaii market-share gap with arch-rival Japan Airlines Co. Still, some question whether the carrier can keep filling the plane once the novelty wears off. “ANA is spending a lot on advertising, so they will initially be able to fill the planes, but in coming years, it may get harder to consistently sell all the seats,” said Yasuo Hashimoto, chief researcher at Japan Aviation Management Research. Japan Airlines has counted on Hawaii and the route has become one of the few where it surpasses ANA. JAL, as the airline is known, replaced ANA in a code-share partnership with Hawaiian Airlines in March last year and controls about 33 percent of the Japan-Hawaii air travel market, compared with about 14 percent for ANA, according to JAL. “This is one of the few major routes where JAL dominates ANA,” said Hashimoto. “If ANA can reverse that, that would be big. Their aim is to take at least part of JAL’s market share.” Even with the added capacity, ANA won’t directly challenge JAL on some Hawaii routes. JAL offers Japan’s only direct flights to Kona, a hot spot on Hawaii’s largest island, and schedules service to Honolulu from the Japanese capital and cities including Osaka and Nagoya. “We welcome the competition because it will expand the overall market for travel to Hawaii,” JAL President Yuji Akasaka said of ANA’s decision to use the A380. “Our strength is that we fly to more than one city in Hawaii, including Kona.” ANA said adding the plane will help it compete. “We are introducing all three of our A380s on the Hawaii route because we want to dominate that in terms of market share,” ANA Chief Executive Officer Shinya Katanozaka told reporters last week. After a dozen years in service Airbus last month decided it will stop making the A380 in 2021, burying a prestige project that faded as airlines grew to prefer smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Such efficient, twin-engine planes that use lighter material, such as carbon fiber, have undermined demand for the world’s largest passenger airliner — a guzzler powered by four turbines. By 2021, there will be about 250 A380s flying with 15 airlines, Airbus said in an email. “The A380 will continue to fly, with A380 operators to be supported by Airbus.” ANA allocated the superjumbos to the Honolulu route in 2016 with a plan to start flying two of them this year. The A380s will gradually replace the 787s it currently flies to the mid-Pacific islands in a bet that first- and business-class seating on the massive planes can help draw more, and higher-paying, fliers. “That kind of customer drops a lot of money at the destination,” ANA’s Hirako said. Local officials in Hawaii welcome that trend, he added, because they want to boost the islands’ image as a high-end vacation option.


Hidden tunnels and buildings found below Alcatraz prison are remnants of U.S. Civil War fort

Abstract: SAN FRANCISCO - Archaeologists confirmed a long-time suspicion of historians and say that famed Alcatraz prison was built over a Civil War-era military fortification. Researchers found a series of buildings and tunnels under the prison yard of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which once held Al Capone, SFGate reported Tuesday. A study published last week in the journal Near Surface Geophysics said archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar and terrestrial laser scans and historical maps and photographs. They found fully buried structures, ammunition magazines and tunnels. “This really changes the picture of things,” study author Timothy de Smet, an archaeologist at Binghampton University, told PBS. “They weren’t erased from the island — they are right beneath your feet.” Archaeologists are now planning more study to discover what else lies just below the surface. Historians believe workers built over existing structures when the prison was built in the 20th century. Alcatraz first came to the attention of the U.S. government after it took control of California from Mexico in the 1840s. Its location in San Francisco Bay made it attractive for military fortification purposes. During the Civil War, Fort Alcatraz was the official military prison for the West Coast. In the 1930s, the first federal prisoners — deemed by the media to be the worst of the worst — began arriving. The last inmate left in 1963.

alcatraz
prisons
san francisco
history
archaeology
u.s. civil war


One small step for a woman, one giant leap for womankind in planned all-female spacewalk

Abstract: NEW YORK - Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was launched into space 55 years ago. She was followed nearly 20 years later by the second woman in space, Svetlana Savitskaya, who also did a spacewalk two years later. Now, nearly 35 years after Savitskaya’s second journey, the first all-female spacewalk is planned for March 29, NASA announced on Wednesday. The space agency insisted it was just a coincidence that the date coincides with the last week of Women’s History Month. Astronauts Christina Koch and Ann McClain will walk outside the International Space Station (ISS) as members of Expedition 59, on a mission to replace batteries installed last summer. They will receive ground support from flight director Mary Lawrence and Kristen Facciol of the Canadian Space Agency in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. “I cannot contain my excitement!” exclaimed Facciol in a tweet on Friday. There have been 213 space walks at the ISS since 1998 for the purposes of maintenance, repairs, testing of new equipment or science experiments, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Less than 11 percent of the more than 500 people who have been to space have been female, and spacewalk teams have either been all-male or male-female. In the nearly 60 years of human spaceflight, there have only been four times when expeditions included two female members trained for space walks. McClain and Koch were part of the 2013 NASA class that was 50 percent women. “It definitely resonates with women around the agency that we’re at this point,” Stephanie Schierholz, a NASA public affairs officer, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. McClain is on the ISS, currently, and her Twitter posts with a stuffed toy Earth have garnered tens of thousands of retweets. Koch is due to lift off on March 14 for her first space flight. NASA estimated their walk will last about seven hours. It will be the second of three walks scheduled for Expedition 59’s mission. While having the first women-only spacewalk was exciting, the more common sentiment around NASA was that it is more important that it not be the only one, Schierholz said. She pointed to the first African-American administrator, Charles Bolden, who said in 2016, “Being the first African American Administrator is all well and good, but I want to make sure I’m not the last.”


Second U.S. judge calls citizenship question on census illegal

Abstract: SAN FRANCISCO - The Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census “threatens the very foundation of our democratic system” because it would cause a significant undercount of immigrants and Latinos that could distort the distribution of congressional seats, a U.S. judge said Wednesday. Judge Richard Seeborg said the commerce secretary’s decision to add the question was arbitrary and capricious and would violate a constitutional requirement that the census count everyone in the country. “The record in this case has clearly established that including the citizenship question on the 2020 census is fundamentally counterproductive to the goal of obtaining accurate citizenship data about the public,” Seeborg said. Seeborg became the second judge to declare the move illegal, so the effect of his decision is limited. A federal judge in New York had previously blocked the administration from adding the question to the population count that occurs every 10 years, and the U.S. Supreme Court last month agreed to review that decision. The ruling in California, however, differed from the January decision by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in a significant way. Furman also found the question violated administrative requirements, but he rejected an argument that it violated the Constitution. Seeborg found a constitutional violation, which could present another issue for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider if federal officials appeal his decision. An email to the U.S. Department of Justice seeking comment on the ruling was not immediately returned. Seeborg’s decision came in lawsuits by California and several cities in the state that asserted the citizenship question was politically motivated and should be kept off the census. “Justice has prevailed for each and every Californian who should raise their hands to be counted in the 2020 census without being discouraged by a citizenship question,” state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. California argued that the question would cost it a substantial amount of money and at least one congressional seat by reducing the percentage of Latinos and immigrants who respond to the survey. It said that would lead to an undercount in the state with a substantial number of people from both groups. Census numbers are used to determine states’ distribution of congressional seats and billions of dollars in federal funding. The Justice Department had argued that census officials take steps such as making in-person follow-up visits to get an accurate count. Households that skip the citizenship question but otherwise fill out a substantial portion of the questionnaire would still be counted, Justice Department attorneys said in court documents. The Commerce Department announced the addition of a citizenship question a year ago, saying the Justice Department asked for it and it would improve enforcement of a 1965 law meant to protect minority voting rights. The move sparked an outcry from Democrats, who said it would disproportionately affect states favoring their party. People were last asked whether they were U.S. citizens in the 1950 census. Seeborg rejected the claim that the citizenship question stemmed from a request by the Justice Department, calling that a “pretext” for the real reason to add it. He cited an email from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to a Commerce Department official nearly a year before the question was announced, in which Ross said he was “mystified” why nothing had been done in response to his “months old request that we include the citizenship question.” “What ensued was a cynical search to find some reason, any reason, or an agency request to justify that preordained result,” the judge said.

immigration
latinos
california
wilbur ross
u.s .
congress
donald trump
u.s. census


Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou appears in Canadian court; her lawyer raises Trump comments

Abstract: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - A Canadian judge set Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s next court date for May 8 at a brief court appearance on Wednesday where her lawyer briefly raised comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump. Canada arrested Meng on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, kicking off a diplomatic dispute with China. Meng and Huawei are accused in the United States of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions. Both deny the allegations. Following Meng’s arrest, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds and sentenced another to death. Meng’s lawyer, Richard Peck, said her team plans to discuss with prosecutors what applications will be brought between now and May 8. Peck, speaking before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather J. Holmes, said there are concerns over the political nature of Meng’s case and comments made by Trump. Trump said in December that he would possibly intervene in the criminal trial if it could help him to secure a trade deal with China. The Canadian government approved extradition proceedings against Meng on March 1. With appeals, it may be months or years before a judge could issue an order effectively recommending extradition. In that case, Canada’s minister of justice would have to make a final decision on whether to send Meng to the United States.

huawei
meng wanzhou
donald trump
canada
china
u.s .
trade war


Caracas boots German ambassador for meddling in internal affairs after he welcomed Guaido home

Abstract: CARACAS - Venezuela’s government said on Wednesday it had expelled the German ambassador for interfering in the country’s internal affairs, two days after the diplomat welcomed opposition leader Juan Guaido at Caracas airport. President Nicolas Maduro’s government said Ambassador Daniel Kriener had 48 hours to leave Venezuela and accused him of violating international diplomatic norms, though it did not detail the actions that led to his expulsion. “Venezuela considers it unacceptable that a foreign diplomat carries out in its territory a public role closer to that of a political leader aligned with the conspiratorial agenda of extremist sectors of the Venezuelan opposition,” the government said in a statement. A German foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed Venezuela had expelled the ambassador. Kriener, along with ambassadors and diplomats from other European embassies, had gone to the airport on Monday to support Guaido, who had risked arrest on his return to Venezuela for flouting a court-imposed travel ban to visit other Latin American countries. Most Western nations, including Germany, recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate head-of-state and back his plan to install a transition government ahead of free elections. Guaido denounces Maduro as an usurper whose re-election last year resulted from a sham vote. Maduro says he is victim of a coup. The German embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his expulsion. On Monday, the embassy said on its Twitter account that Kriener hoped Guaido’s return “was a step towards a peaceful and political process to overcome the Venezuelan crisis.”

venezuela
juan guaido
nicolas maduro
daniel kriener
germany


Saudi slaying of Jamal Khashoggi shadows Trump bid to pick first Riyadh envoy

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as ambassador to Saudi Arabia said the U.S. must engage and partner with the kingdom to counter threats from Sunni-Muslim extremism and Iran despite the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi and frustration over the war in Yemen. “This is not to say that I am unaware of the challenges facing the U.S.-Saudi partnership today,” retired Army Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing Wednesday. “War in Yemen, the senseless killing of Jamal Khashoggi, rifts in the Gulf alliance, alleged abuses of innocent people — to include an American citizen and female activists — all present immediate challenges. “Yet in the long run, we need a strong and mature partnership with Saudi Arabia,” Abizaid, 67, added. Trump nominated Abizaid, the former head of U.S. Central Command, in November to be the next ambassador to Saudi Arabia as ties with the kingdom began to crumble over the murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. That killing, at the hands of Saudi officials and possibly with the knowledge of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, drew bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill and calls for tougher measures against the Saudi government. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said in the hearing that the crown prince had gone “full gangster” and was increasingly making it “untenable” to work with Saudi Arabia because of his missteps. He mentioned past incidents, including the kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minister, barring the Canadian ambassador from Riyadh and a continuing dispute with Qatar. “He is reckless, he is ruthless,” Rubio said. “Anyone who thinks that’s an unfair assessment of the young man should look at what he’s done in the last two years. It seems like something out of a James Bond movie.” While Trump administration officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said they will hold anyone behind Khashoggi’s killing responsible, they’ve also said the importance of the U.S. alliance with Riyadh outweighs an outright break with the kingdom. They’ve declined to say publicly whether they think Prince Mohammed knew about or ordered the killing, a possibility U.S. intelligence agencies consider likely. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t,” Trump has said. The crown prince has denied any involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, who died after entering the Saudi Consulate in October to get paperwork for his marriage. Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the panel, said two closed briefings on Saudi Arabia by the administration so far were “unsatisfactory,” and lawmakers from both parties say the White House has failed to respond to a 120-day deadline for a report on Khashoggi’s killing requested by the Foreign Relations committee. “The administration’s attempt to explain its failure to provide a legally mandated determination about the murder of American resident Jamal Khashoggi was insulting,” the senator from New Jersey said. The U.S. hasn’t had an ambassador to Riyadh since Trump took office, even as the president made ties with the kingdom a central part of his foreign policy strategy. His first trip abroad as president was to Saudi Arabia, and he has counted on the kingdom to aid in his efforts to isolate Iran. In addition to his role overseeing Central Command, Abizaid’s career included tours as a commandant of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He’s now a security consultant and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Concerning support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, Abizaid said the U.S. “can’t afford” to withdraw its backing despite concern over civilian casualties. “If we want them to fight right, we need to continue to give them that expertise,” he said. Abizaid also warned that if a rogue Iranian-linked Hezbollah force forms in Yemen, it would be a “lethal threat” to the region and one that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia couldn’t ignore.

jamal khashoggi
donald trump
saudi arabia
yemen
john abizaid
murder
mohammed bin salman
marco rubio
conflict


Trump: Civilians killed in U.S. intelligence ops now to go unreported

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked an Obama-era requirement for reporting civilian casualties that resulted from U.S. intelligence operations in noncombat areas across the globe. Trump struck out a section of an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama that required both the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies to report on civilian casualties that occurred during their operations. There are other provisions that still require the Pentagon to report on civilian casualties caused by military operations outside of combat areas. Obama issued the order after coming under pressure for greater transparency after his administration sharply increased the use of drones for targeted attacks in military and counterterrorism operations. The change by Trump could give the CIA greater latitude to conduct strikes as Trump increasingly relies on the spy agency, rather than the military, for lethal drone operations. The agency took the lead role in drone strikes in post-9/11 counterterrorism activities, targeting al-Qaida and other extremists especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, with frequent reports of significant “collateral” civilian deaths. Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy at the private Federation of American Scientists, said: “I don’t know why they’re being coy. They are not saying, ‘We don’t want to report CIA operation casualties,’ but that’s what they’re doing. They are eliminating reporting of casualties arising from CIA operations.” In a statement, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the U.S. government is fully committed to “minimizing — to the greatest extent possible — civilian causalities and acknowledging responsibility when they unfortunately occur during military operations.” The spokesman, who spoke only on condition of anonymity to elaborate on the president’s written order, said Trump’s action eliminates “superfluous” reporting requirements that don’t “improve government transparency, but rather distract our intelligence professionals from their primary mission.” Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s national security project, said Trump’s action increases secrecy about the United States’ killing of people abroad and is “deeply wrong and dangerous for public accountability.” “This decision will hide from the public the government’s own tally of the total number of deaths it causes every year in its lethal force program,” Shamsi said.

donald trump
civilian casualties
barack obama
cia
hina shamsi


Thailand court disbands pro-Thaksin political party for nominating princess

Abstract: BANGKOK - Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the dissolution of a major political party ahead of this month’s general election because it nominated a member of the royal family to be its candidate for prime minister. The Thai Raksa Chart Party on Feb. 8 nominated Princess Ubolratana Mahidol as its candidate for the March 24 polls. However, her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn later that day issued a royal order calling the nomination highly inappropriate and unconstitutional. The court in its ruling also banned members of the party’s executive board from political activity for 10 years. The decision will raise fresh questions about the fairness of the upcoming election, the first since a military coup toppled the democratically elected government in May 2014. Thai Raksa Chart is aligned with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose allied parties have won every national election since 2001 but have twice been toppled in coups. The latest election is being held under rules that are generally acknowledged to make it hard for pro-Thaksin parties to win a majority, and the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart will make that all the more difficult. The Constitutional Court is one of the most conservative institutions in Thailand and has consistently ruled against Thaksin and his allies. Its statement explaining Thursday’s ruling was even more critical of the party’s action than the king’s had been. It appeared to ascribe ill intentions to the party’s actions, blaming it for endangering a tradition that keeps the royal family above politics. It voted unanimously to dissolve the party, and by a vote of 6-3 for the political ban on its executive members. The state Election Commission after the king’s statement last month disqualified Ubolratana’s nomination and forwarded to the court its recommendation that Thai Raksa Chart should be dissolved because its candidate was “in conflict with the system of rule of democracy with king as head of state.” The party itself quickly asserted its loyalty to the king and said it had only good intentions in making the nomination. Ubolratana’s registration as a candidate was a stunning move, not only because it would have broken a taboo on a senior royal running for public office, but also because it would have allied her with a party considered by many royalists to be unsympathetic to the monarchy. Thaksin’s populist policies delivered unmatchable electoral majorities, but he was resented by the traditional ruling class, including royalists and the military. Thaksin went in exile in 2008 to avoid serving jail time on a corruption conviction he insists was politically motivated. The leader of the ruling junta and prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, is seeking to become prime minister again after March’s election, though he is not running for a seat in parliament. One of the new laws passed under military rule allows a prime minister who is not a lawmaker to rise to the top post in a vote by the upper and lower house. The upper house is entirely appointed by the ruling junta. Ubolratana’s nomination was initially thought of as a clever move to by Thaksin to outmaneuver the new electoral rules. But when the king issued his statement, it quickly became apparent it was a huge political blunder. The ruling leaves the main pro-Thaksin party, Pheu Thai, in the race. But because of strategic cooperation by the parties not to split the vote in many constituencies, the overall prospects of Thaksin’s forces will be hurt. In an analysis made ahead of the ruling, Prajkak Kongkirati, a political science professor at Thammasat University predicted that dissolution would weaken the Thaksin side significantly. “The chance of Thaksin’s side winning the election and forming the government is still possible,” Prajkak said. “But, if the party is dissolved, the chance will be slim.”

thailand
elections
thai raksa chart
princess ubolratana mahidol
thaksin shinawatra
royalty


Activity at North Korea missile research facility may indicate preparation for rocket launch

Abstract: Seoul’s spy agency has spotted movements by supply transport vehicles at a major North Korean missile research facility, possibly indicating preparations for a rocket launch, South Korean media said Thursday, following revelations a day earlier that the North appears to be rebuilding a rocket test site it had promised to scrap. The activity was detected at the Missile Research and Development Facility, located in the Sanum-dong neighborhood on the outskirts of Pyongyang, a major research and development facility that produced the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which is believed to be capable of striking the U.S., the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing a South Korean lawmaker who had been briefed by the spy agency on Tuesday. The Sanum-dong facility also builds space-launch vehicles, experts have said. One, an Unha-3 rocket used in a February 2016 satellite launch at the Sohae long-range rocket facility, was seen in North Korean state media at the Sanum-dong site during an inspection by leader Kim Jong Un, according to Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California who specializes in analysis of satellite imagery. Two think tanks said in separate reports released Tuesday that work had started to rebuild the Sohae facility — also known by the name of its location, Tongchang-ri — which the North began to dismantle last year after pledging to do so in June at the first summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. Sohae, which is relatively close to Sanum-dong, would allow for an easy transfer of rockets to the site, where Pyongyang launched satellites in 2012 and 2016. Those launches were widely viewed as thinly veiled tests of ballistic missile technology, including for long-range weapons such as the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 ICBMs, and were roundly condemned by the international community. This has led some observers to conclude that the timing of the activity there and at the Sohae site could point to a possible satellite or other kind of launch. “Sohae is being reassembled and if there is activity” at Sanum-dong, it doesn’t necessarily mean an ICBM, Schmerler wrote Wednesday on Twitter, adding that the activity could signal a possible “rush” to a space launch “for political reasons.” His sentiment was echoed by colleague Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “North Korea makes both ICBMs (Hwasong-14, -15) and Space Launchers … at Sanum-dong. What we get is going to be a surprise,” Lewis wrote the same day on Twitter. The moves at Sanum-dong and Sohae come after the collapse of nuclear talks at the second Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi and could be seen as a signal by Pyongyang of its unhappiness over how those negotiations ended unfruitfully. They also come ahead of two key dates for Pyongyang: April 5, the anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the current leader, and April 25, the anniversary of the creation of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in 1932. The North has twice launched satellites on or before these dates: on April 5, 2009, and on April 13, 2012. A rocket launch, however, even under the guise of a space program, would likely be seen by Trump as an escalation that would force him to respond. Asked about the news of the reported rebuilding at Sohae, Trump said Wednesday that he “would be very disappointed if that were happening” but added that it is “too early” to know for sure yet. The North’s rocket launches, which can have military applications, are banned under United Nations resolutions. Despite this, North Korean officials and state-run media have revealed a five-year National Space Development plan aimed at building a satellite communication system to contribute to “economic development, including geostationary satellites, and people’s lives.”

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