Pushing the envelope: Money politics undermines democracy in Indonesia

Abstract: JAKARTA - Shanti Ramchand learned quickly what was expected when she began campaigning in Jakarta for Indonesia’s national parliament; distribute envelopes of cash at a small campaign event, and give a motorcycle or an air-conditioning unit to the community leader. Ramchand — an aspiring politician from the National Democrat Party, part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s coalition — is trying a novel approach to getting elected. She is not only eschewing the cash and gifts that are traditionally given out on the campaign trail, but making that the centerpiece of her pitch to voters. Indonesia is the world’s third-largest democracy, but researchers say it has some of the worst money politics in Southeast Asia. According to both politicians and anti-graft advocates, handouts of cash and gifts lead to rampant corruption in its national legislature as successful candidates recoup their election expenses, and more, once elected. Envelopes, usually stuffed with cash ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 rupiah ($1.42 to $7.08), are commonly doled out to voters. These are small amounts, but the overall cost can be huge over a six month campaign. Earlier this month, Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) seized six storage chests in a concealed basement owned by Bowo Sidik Pangarso, a parliamentarian seeking re-election and a member of the Golkar Party, another party in Widodo’s ruling coalition. The chests contained 400,000 envelopes each believed to contain 20,000 rupiah — a total of 8 billion rupiah (over $566,000). Bowo, who has been detained but not formally charged, told reporters last week after leaving an interview with the anti-corruption body that the envelopes were for the national parliament election, not the presidential election, both due next Wednesday. While illegal, politicians and analysts say it is relatively rare to see prosecutions for election-time bribery. Two politicians from the National Mandate Party, part of the opposition coalition headed by former Gen. Prabowo Subianto, were sentenced to three months in prison in December for giving voters coupons for the umrah pilgrimage to Mecca. They will not be disqualified from running for office again. In 2017, the speaker of parliament, Setya Novanto, was arrested for orchestrating a scheme to plunder $173 million from a government contract for a national electronic identity card. The KPK alleged most of the money was to be funneled to up to 60 lawmakers. Novanto was sentenced to 15 years in prison, underscoring why Indonesia’s national parliament rates in surveys as among the most corrupt institutions in the country. In a south Jakarta neighborhood Ramchand is working the courtyard crowd, engaging in discussions as she tries to convince constituents to vote for her. “We don’t choose the envelope, right?” she says, receiving scattered approval from the crowd of about 40 congregating in a shady courtyard to ward off the midafternoon sun. “That’s right. Check the background of the candidate. Ask them about their programs. Your voice can’t be bought.” In an interview, Ramchand said that at 3 out of 10 planned appearances, community leaders would demand gratuities to allow her to talk to the voters in her South Jakarta electorate. “Sometimes people bluntly ask for money. Others ask for air-conditioning units or a motorbike,” she said. Ramchand, a policy consultant to corporations and governments who has lived overseas for most of the past decade, presented WhatsApp messages sent to her by village chiefs and officials from religious organizations demanding money to let her speak at gatherings. Ramchand said she has also declined to pay the usual political “dowry” required by political parties to endorse candidates. The going rate for a serious run for one of 560 seats in the national legislature is about 10 billion rupiah ($708,000), according to the former deputy chief of the KPK, Busyro Muqoddas. “We live in a kleptocracy, not a democracy,” said Busyro. A spokesman for the campaign team of Widodo, Ace Hasan Syadzily, said his own party, Golkar, does not demand a political dowry but conceded “vote buying does happen.” The president was against money politics, he added. A spokesman for the opposition coalition led by Prabowo, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, declined to comment on whether candidates had to pay parties to be endorsed. “The cost of running for political office is expensive and can potentially be the cause of corruption,” he said. “We are pushing for political parties to be funded by the state and, if they are corrupt, they should be disbanded.” Ramchand said she was met with broad skepticism that her campaign strategy could work. She admits that she has had to cancel many events. A poll of voters in three Jakarta constituencies by the Charta Politika agency in January found support for cash and other gratuities at 58.2 percent, 47 percent and 42.6 percent. Edward Aspinall, a professor at Australian National University who has researched money politics across Southeast Asia, said the practice of cash handouts is deeply entrenched in Indonesia. He blamed the deterioration on the introduction of the “open list” electoral system in 2009, in which voters choose candidates rather than a party, and it is the candidates who bear most of the costs of the campaigns. “The incentive is for individual candidates to maximize their personal vote,” he said. “Very often they do this with money. How else can you differentiate yourself from rivals from the same party when you have the same policies?” Cash for votes reaches its peak during the “dawn attack,” the morning of the election when candidates blitz voters. “It’s high drama at the last minute,” said Aspinall. “Candidates see this is really inefficient and ineffective but they feel if they don’t do it, they won’t stand a chance.” Ramchand said, “I’ll be sleeping in.”


Dalai Lama released from New Delhi hospital, says he feels 'almost normal' after treatment

Abstract: NEW DELHI - The Dalai Lama was released from an Indian hospital on Friday, saying he felt “normal, almost normal” after being treated for a chest infection. The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader looked pale but strong and spoke cheerfully as he walked out of the New Delhi hospital after being discharged. The Dalai Lama was hospitalized on Tuesday after coming to the capital to consult with doctors. He is likely to return this week to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala, which has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year traveling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight Tibetans’ struggle for greater freedom in China. But he has cut down on travel in the past year in order to take care of his health. China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile and accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture. At an event with educators in New Delhi earlier this month, the Dalai Lama said he was not seeking independence for Tibet, but rather a “reunion” with China under mutually acceptable terms. The Dalai Lama also predicted that the political impasse with China could change if he lived for at least another decade.

dalai lama
tibet
buddhism
china
religion


South Korea's instant 2-year-olds: Lawmaker looks to put an end to 'Korean age'

Abstract: DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA - Just two hours after Lee Dong-kil’s daughter was born on New Year’s Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2 years old. She wasn’t alone: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1. According to one of the world’s most unusual age-calculating systems, South Korean babies become 1 on the day of their birth and then get an additional year tacked on when the calendar hits Jan. 1. A lawmaker is working now to overturn the tradition amid complaints that it is an anachronistic, time-wasting custom that drags down an ultramodern country. For parents whose babies are born in December, it can be especially painful. One hour after his daughter’s birth in the central city of Daejeon at 10 p.m., Lee posted the news on social media. His friends showered him with congratulatory messages. “An hour later, when the new year began, they phoned me again to say congratulations for my baby becoming 2 years old,” said Lee, who is 32 internationally but 34 in South Korea. “I thought: ‘Ah, right. She’s now 2 years old, though it’s been only two hours since she was born. What the heck!'” The origins of this system aren’t clear. Being 1 upon birth may be linked to the time babies spend in the womb or to an ancient Asian numerical system that didn’t have the concept of zero. Becoming a year older on Jan. 1? That is even harder to explain. It could be that ancient Koreans cared a lot about the year in which they were born in the Chinese 60-year cycle but, without regular calendars, didn’t care much about the specific day they were born, so they mostly ignored the day of their birth and instead marked another year of age on the day of the lunar new year, according to senior curator Jung Yon-hak at the National Folk Museum of Korea. This may have then shifted to the solar new year on Jan. 1 as the South began embracing the Western calendar. North Korea uses the Western age calculating system, but they follow their own calendar, which is based on the birth of national founder and president-for-life Kim Il Sung. The year of your birth is still incredibly important in South Korea, and lumps those linked children together for life. Other Asian countries, including Japan and Vietnam, abandoned the Chinese-style age system amid an influx of Western culture. Officially, South Korea has used Western-style calculations since the early 1960s. But its citizens still embrace the old-fashioned system in their daily lives because the government has done little to get people to change over to the Western style. Most South Koreans are simply accustomed to living with two ages. People don’t hold massive joint birthday parties on New Year’s Day; they just celebrate their birthday on the days they were born. Young people consider themselves another year old on New Year’s Day, while older people often use the lunar new year’s day. Many family restaurants don’t charge babies if they are 36 months old or younger, so parents often calculate their babies’ ages under the Western method when they are dining out. Some South Koreans still worry that the practice makes their nation look odd on the international stage. Some feel confusion when meeting with foreigners. Foreign journalists in Seoul must ask Koreans what year and month they were born to calculate their Western age for news stories. There are also some who say the concept of “Korean age” encourages a fixation on age-based social standing in this seniority-based country. In South Korea, those born in the same year often treat each other as equals, while people must use honorific titles to address those born earlier, rather than directly using their names. Ahn Chang-gun, from the southeastern city of Gimhae, said he felt “empty” when his first child became 2 on Jan. 1, 2013, about two weeks after his wife delivered him after eight years of marriage. “He was this precious baby that we finally had, but I felt that all of a sudden two years had just gone by and yet I hadn’t done anything for my baby,” said Ahn. Parents whose babies are born in December often worry about their kids falling behind other children born earlier in the same year, though worries gradually disappear as their children age. When Seo Hyo-sun from Bucheon, just west of Seoul, was taken to the hospital to get a cesarean section on Dec. 29, she couldn’t stop weeping because her baby’s due date was supposed to be Jan. 7. “Tears kept flowing. … My doctor told me the baby wanted to come out today so let’s just celebrate,” said Seo, 31 in international age. “When I awoke from my anesthesia, I felt really grateful … because my baby was born healthy. That was enough.” In January, lawmaker Hwang Ju-hong submitted a bill aimed at requiring the government to put international ages in official documents and encouraging general citizens to go with their international ages in everyday life. It’s the first legislative attempt to abolish “Korean age.” “It is aimed at resolving confusion and inefficiency caused by the mixed use of age-counting systems,” Hwang said in the proposed legislation. Hwang’s office said a parliamentary committee discussion and a public hearing on the issue are expected in coming months. Surveys in recent years showed more South Koreans supported international age, though it wasn’t clear how seriously they wanted a change. “If we use international age, things could get more complicated because it’s a society that cares so much about which year you were born,” said Lim Kyoung-jae, 46, head of the Seoul-based Miko Travel agency. “We should also definitely count the time of a baby being conceived and growing in its mother’s womb.” Lim’s employee Choi Min-kyung, who is 26 internationally and 28 in South Korea, disagreed. “It’s good to be 2 years younger … (especially) when you meet men” on blind dates, Choi said with a laugh. “There is a big difference between 26 and 28.”

south korea
tradition
children
parenthood


Chinese youth 'volunteers' to be sent back to villages in Mao-style move

Abstract: BEIJING - China is planning to send millions of youth “volunteers” back to the villages, raising fears of a return to the methods of Chairman Mao’s brutal Cultural Revolution of 50 years ago. The Communist Youth League (CYL) has promised to despatch more than 10 million students to “rural zones” by 2022 in order to “increase their skills, spread civilization and promote science and technology,” according to a Communist Party document. The aim is to bring to the rural areas the talents of those who would otherwise be attracted to life in the big cities, according to a CYL document quoted in the official Global Times daily Thursday. “We need young people to use science and technology to help the countryside innovate its traditional development models,” Zhang Linbin, deputy head of a township in central Hunan Province, told the state-run Global Times. Students will be called upon to live in the countryside during their summer holidays, although the CYL did not say how young people would be persuaded to volunteer. Former revolutionary bases, zones suffering from extreme poverty and ethnic minority areas will receive priority, according to the CYL. Relations are often fraught between the Han majority, who make up more than 90 percent of the population, and ethnic minorities like the Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs. Users on the Twitter-like Weibo social platform reacted warily. Many evoked the chaos of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, when Mao sent millions of “young intellectuals” into often primitive conditions in the countryside, while universities were closed for a decade. “Has it started again?” wondered one user named WangTingYu. “We did that 40 years ago,” wrote Miruirong. “Sometimes history advances, sometimes it retreats,” noted KalsangWangduTB. Current President Xi Jinping, known for his nostalgia for the Mao era, himself spent seven years in a village in the poor northern province of Shaanxi from the age of 16.

china
cultural revolution
communist youth league
uighurs
tibet
xinjiang
mao zedong


WTO upholds South Korea ban on some Japan seafood imports over Fukushima nuclear disaster

Abstract: GENEVA/SEOUL - The World Trade Organization on Thursday ruled in favor of a South Korean ban on imports of some Japanese fishery products introduced in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, reversing an earlier decision against the restrictions. The decision, delivered by the WTO’s appellate body for dispute settlements, the highest judicial entity of the organization’s mechanism to resolve disputes, leaves Japan with no legal recourse in a battle that has dragged on for years. The appellate body invalidated the conclusions of a dispute settlement panel that made the earlier decision because, it said, the panel “erred in its interpretation and application” of WTO rules on food safety. The appellate body, however, did not look at the details of the amount of contaminants in Japanese food products or how much protection South Korean consumers should have. Farm minister Takamori Yoshikawa on Friday reiterated that Japanese food products are safe. “I find (the WTO decision) regrettable when I think about recovery efforts made by those affected by the disaster,” he told a news conference. Foreign Minister Taro Kono told South Korean Ambassador Lee Su-hoon on Friday that Tokyo will continue to push for the measures to be scrapped in bilateral talks. The South Korean government welcomed the decision Friday, saying it will maintain the current import ban on fishery products from Fukushima Prefecture and surrounding areas. The ban will remain in place unless it is officially proven that there is no problem with importing fishery products from the areas concerned, Yoon Chang-ryeol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said during a press briefing. The situation will continue to weigh on Japan, which aims to achieve the early reconstruction of areas affected by the March 2011 disasters. The ruling could also have an impact beyond South Korea. At present, 23 countries and regions have import restrictions on Japanese food products. China, which last year started easing its own restrictions on importing Japanese food items, may become more cautious going forward. Taiwan, which has been in a political bind after voters in a referendum last year approved keeping its import ban, will likely feel it has renewed justification to do so despite pressure from Japan. In the wake of the ruling, Tokyo is expected to find it even more difficult to improve its relations with Seoul. The relationship has deteriorated partly due to a series of South Korean court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Koreans requisitioned to work for them during World War II, as well as the issue of “comfort women,” pundits said. The term refers to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during the war. Last year a WTO dispute panel supported Japan, saying South Korea was wrong to keep its initial trade restrictions in place. But Thursday’s ruling overturned several key points of that verdict, saying South Korea’s measures were not overly restrictive and did not unfairly discriminate against Japan. After a powerful earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, South Korea imposed a partial ban on fishery products from Fukushima and seven other prefectures due to fears of radioactive contamination. The other seven are Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. South Korea widened its initial ban on Japanese fishery imports in 2013 to cover all seafood from the eight prefectures, and tightened testing requirements. While dozens of countries imposed some sort of import restrictions on Japanese food products following the Fukushima crisis, Japan argued that the South Korean restrictions were far too strict. After bilateral consultations reached a dead-end, Tokyo filed a complaint with the WTO in August 2015 over the restrictions, which covered 28 species of fish and mollusks. Japan argued that radioactive levels were safe and that a number of other nations, including the United States and Australia, had lifted or eased Fukushima-related restrictions. The dispute settlement panel said in February 2018 that the testing requirements and blanket ban were “more trade-restrictive than necessary” and broke WTO rules barring measures that “arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate” between members. The panel recommended that the restrictions be lifted on the 28 species of fish and mollusks, including Alaska pollock and blue mackerel, as requested by Japan. Seoul appealed the decision in April that year. South Korea imported ¥10.9 billion ($102 million) worth of Japanese seafood in the year to August 2013 before it broadened its restrictions. Those imports fell to ¥8.4 billion the following year, according to the Japanese government.

wto
south korea
seafood
food
fukushima
trade
fukushima no . 1
radiation
nuclear energy
radioactive water


Japan's working ranks are still thinning, despite accelerating growth in foreign population

Abstract: Japan’s working-age population shrank further last year, bringing its ratio to the overall population to a record low as the growth of the foreign population accelerated, government data showed Friday. The annual data release by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry reflects the nation’s deepening labor crunch, which prompted the government to introduce a new visa system this month to bring in more foreign labor mainly for blue-collar jobs. The overall population as of last October declined by 263,000 to 126.44 million, falling for the eighth straight year. The working-age population of those 15 to 64 shrank 512,000 to 75.45 million, or 59.7 percent of the total, tying the low recorded in 1950, when comparable data became available. The number of foreign people increased 167,000 to 2.23 million, growing for the sixth straight year. A different survey by the Justice Ministry showed earlier in the month that the number of foreign residents in Japan has grown due largely to the rise in students and technical trainees. Japan, which has a very stringent immigration policy, now expects to accept up to 345,000 foreign laborers under the new visa program. The data reflect Japan’s rapidly graying population. People 70 or above accounted for 20.7 percent of the population, surpassing 20 percent for the first time. Among countries with a population of more than 40 million, the ratio of people 65 or older in Japan was the highest at 28 percent, while the ratio for people under 15 was the lowest at 12.2 percent, according to the internal affairs ministry. Japan’s population has been on the decline since peaking at 128.08 million in 2008. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicts Japan’s population will fall below 100 million in 2053.

population
jobs
internal affairs ministry
expats


Japan won't consider revising F-35A procurement plans while cause of crash still not known

Abstract: The Defense Ministry is not considering a revision to its plan to procure a total of 105 F-35A stealth fighters despite the crash Wednesday of one of the jets into the sea off Aomori Prefecture, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday. “We don’t know the cause (of the crash) yet, so we are not thinking of revising the procurement plan now,” Iwaya told a news conference Friday morning. Given the depth of the water in the area, it is “probably possible” to recover the jet, which is believed to have sunk to the bottom of the sea, if it is ever found, Iwaya added. “But first we need to confirm the situation.” The F-35A, one of the first 13 jets of this model deployed in Japan, is believed to have crashed into the sea Tuesday night. The pilot, Maj. Akinori Hosomi, who has 3,200 hours of flight experience, including 60 hours in the F-35A, was still missing as of Friday afternoon. The depth of the sea area in question, about 135 kilometers east of the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, is about 1,500 meters, according to the public relations office of the Air Self-Defense Force in Tokyo. The crash of the jet has drawn particular attention from media outlets and military analysts across the globe because it was a first for the F-35A. The Maritime Self-Defense Force has dispatched the Chiyoda, a submarine rescue ship, to search for the wreckage of the stealth fighter, which is made by Lockheed Martin and is full of top-secret military technologies. The Chiyoda is equipped with powerful sonar systems to determine the topography of the ocean floor, as well as two deep-sea probe vessels equipped with a remotely controlled camera. Experts believe China and Russia would be keen to obtain the wreckage of the state-of-the-art stealth jet. “Not only America but also China and Russia must be interested (in the crash) very much,” said former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani during “Prime News” on BS Fuji on Thursday evening. “It’s a race against time. … If ever some technologies are leaked to other countries, its impact would be immeasurable,” Nakatani said. The stealth fighter was jointly developed by nine countries including the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Turkey and Canada. During the news conference, Iwaya said the Self-Defense Forces are staying “on alert 24 hours a day” to monitor the situation in the area of the crash. But the SDF has yet to detect the military presence of any countries other than Japan and the U.S., Iwaya said. In October 2017, a salvage ship hired by the Maritime Self-Defense Force retrieved an SH-60J anti-submarine helicopter from the sea floor off Aomori Prefecture at a depth of about 2,600 meters. The helicopter crashed into the sea, leaving three crew members dead.

takeshi iwaya
misawa air base
china
russia
self defense forces
f35
air accidents


After university loses contact with hundreds of foreign students, Japan plans penalties for schools

Abstract: The government plans to penalize universities with many foreign students whose whereabouts are unknown, it was revealed Thursday. The move is included in a draft of the government’s response to the issue, which came to light following the recent revelation that about 700 foreign students from Tokyo University of Social Welfare have been missing since April 2018. According to the draft, the education ministry will hold hearings with or inspect universities with many dropouts among foreign students, if necessary. If the universities fail to meet its instructions for improvement, the ministry will label them as “lacking the proper management of students.” The education ministry will also report such universities to the Justice Ministry. Following the reports, the Immigration Services Agency will apply tougher standards in screenings of visa applications from the universities’ prospective students. The agency will also consider shortening the length of visas for the universities’ students to one year. Normally student visas are valid for four years and three months. Furthermore, students at the problematic universities will be required to present documents including scholarship and bank balance certificates. The government aims to implement the planned measures at an early date. It is also considering taking measures against students at Japanese language schools, demanding the schools report on their students’ part-time work, which is limited to 28 hours a week or less. The government aims to implement the measures on such students after hearing public comments later this month.

foreign students
students
schools
tokyo university of social welfare
education
immigration
mext


Japan to draft law to tighten control on gene editing of fertilized human eggs

Abstract: Japan plans to create a law to restrict gene editing of fertilized human eggs to basic research and ban such eggs from being returned to the uterus, sources close to the matter said Friday. Deeming that penalties are necessary to prevent abuse of the controversial procedure, the Cabinet Office is expected to propose the legislation at a bioethics panel’s meeting on April 22. The science and health ministries will discuss the specifics before making a decision in the fall, the sources said. The move comes after a Chinese researcher announced in January that a twin had been born with edited genomes, igniting international debate over the ethics of the procedure and calls within Japan for a law restricting use of such technology. Japan had sought to tighten control of the procedure with an ethics guideline introduced on April 1 that allows gene editing of fertilized human eggs for medical purposes but bans their return to the uterus. No penalties for violators are included in the guideline. The Science Council of Japan proposed creating such a law in 2017, but the government had been reluctant to do so, fearing that restricting the move with a law — which takes time to revise — could make it difficult for the nation to cope with advancements in technology. But it decided an additional measure was necessary given that the incident in China took place even though the country had its own guidelines. While gene editing has stirred hopes that it will help people overcome genetic disorders, it is also feared it may pave the way to the creation of “designer babies,” with people selecting or altering the gene makeup of their babies to match their preference, which could also affect later generations in the family. After CRISPR-Cas9, a method for easily cutting, replacing and inserting genes, was developed in 2012, gene editing became widely used in the agricultural and medical sectors, although its application to fertilized human eggs remains controversial and is banned in many countries outside of basic research. Germany and France ban gene-editing research that could lead to the birth of a child, while the United States bans government funding for such studies on fertilized eggs.

gene editing
genetics
pregnancy
in vitro
crispr


Record 35.4% of new hires for Japan's civil service are women, exceeding government target

Abstract: The central government said Friday that women accounted for a record 35.4 percent of newly hired civil servants in fiscal 2019, in line with its target to keep the ratio above 30 percent for the fifth straight year. The government hired a total of 8,123 individuals for fiscal 2019, of whom 2,876 were female. The ratio of women rose 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier and surpassed the previous high of 34.5 percent in fiscal 2016, according to the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs. Of the overall new recruits, 708 were hired as career-track bureaucrats, including 245 women, or 34.6 percent of the total, another record high. By ministry and agency, the Foreign Ministry had the highest proportion of female recruits, at 50.0 percent, followed by the farm ministry at 43.4 percent and the health ministry at 42.5 percent. However, the proportion of female recruits at the land ministry and the National Public Safety Commission was 25.7 percent and 27.0 percent, respectively, falling short of the national goal of 30 percent. “We’d like to provide a working environment friendly to women and continue our efforts to increase female recruits,” said Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, minister in charge of civil service reform. Ministries and agencies have been taking measures to promote female employment, such as offering seminars for job-hunting women, officials of the bureau said.


Japan 'Nuclear Energy Village' website pulled after critics say it plumbed 'new level of insensitive'

Abstract: A website created by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum to educate the next generation on nuclear energy was taken down Friday after drawing criticism on social media, with some Twitter users calling the effort “inappropriate” given that the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear disaster happened “just a few years ago.” The website, published Monday by JAIF, which is a nuclear energy lobby group, was called “Atsumare! Genshiryoku Mura,” which roughly translates to “Come gather! Nuclear Energy Village” and its homepage was adorned with warlords, ghosts and clowns along with a slew of colorful characters and other comical touches. The site came down on Friday, to be replaced by an apology message from JAIF saying the site had been pulled due to “inappropriate language.” The lobby group added, “We apologize for any inconvenience or unpleasantness you may have experienced.” The page featured pop-ups that read “Excuse me, what village?” and an image of a pirate ship being steered by foreign nationals that linked users to interviews with employees from overseas that were taking part in the project. “We understand that various opinions are being expressed,” said a JAIF representative before the site was pulled, adding that the purpose of the website was to “provide support for young people involving themselves in nuclear energy in spite of adversity, and to respond to students who have questions and concerns about it.” It was the JAIF’s decision to use the name “Nuclear Energy Village,” the term which has been used in the past to satirize the industry’s vested interests and lack of transparency, that caused particular discomfort to many who expressed their concern on Twitter. “I’m taken aback,” one user wrote. “I’m not interested in something that seems to mock citizens.” The website contained links to pages with titles like “ rokuhara tandai, ” a name that refers to secret police working under the Kamakura Shogunate in Kyoto during the 14th century, and “ goyoūda !,” a phrase used by police centuries ago that can be roughly translated to “you are under arrest.” Many of the page’s links were broken. The strangeness of it all led some to describe the site as a “complete mystery.” Some users wondered if it was a bad joke while others called it a “new level of insensitive” — pointing to the many evacuees who still haven’t returned to their homes since the Fukushima No.1 nuclear disaster that was caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Before the website was published, the JAIF posted on Twitter that people “should look at the website before criticizing it.” “By just being polite, we’re not reaching our target audience,” the representative said. In October, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. roiled the Twittersphere when it posted a picture of the inside of No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant with a controversial caption. At the time, a flood of users criticized the company, saying it hadn’t taken responsibility for its role in the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

nuclear energy
japan atomic industrial forum
social media
twitter
fukushima
fukushima no . 1


Man takes gun from Yokohama police officer and fires it; no one injured

Abstract: YOKOHAMA - A police officer in Yokohama became the latest officer to have his weapon stolen Friday morning when one of two men involved in a violent dispute disarmed him and fired a shot before being subdued, the police said. No one was injured. Toshitaka Suzuki, 31, was arrested for allegedly obstructing police duties after firing the officer’s pistol at an apartment complex at around 11:30 a.m., they said. The incident took place when two officers responded to an emergency call about someone kicking a vehicle. When the officers arrived, two men were fighting and the officers tried to break it up. A brief struggle ensued, resulting in the suspect grabbing one of the officers’ guns and firing it. He was quickly restrained. It was the latest in a spate of incidents where Japanese police officers either misplaced their guns or had them taken away. In June last year, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces fatally stabbed a senior officer at a police box in Toyama Prefecture before taking his handgun and fatally shooting a security guard at a nearby school. Earlier this year, the National Police Agency said it would introduce new holsters designed to make it more difficult for police officers to be disarmed during hostile situations.


G20 agrees to take 'timely' action to mitigate risks to global economy, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda says

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies on Friday affirmed the need to take “timely” policy action to better cope with downside risks in the global economy, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said. Speaking after a two-day meeting in Washington, Kuroda said each G20 nation “needs to ensure it will take steps to mitigate risks, not to heighten them,” citing such policy uncertainties as an escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China, as well as a deterioration in corporate sentiment. While the G20 broadly agreed the global economy is likely to rebound in the second half of this year from a slowdown that began in the latter half of 2018, Kuroda said, “We shared the recognition that each country needs to take timely policy action depending on their own circumstances.” The BOJ chief led the meeting with Finance Minister Taro Aso. Japan has the presidency of the group for the first time, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will host the G20 leaders summit on June 28 and 29 in Osaka. Aso said the balance of risks to growth “remains skewed to the downside,” alluding to the possible escalation of trade tensions, the U.K.’s potentially disorderly exit from the European Union, and the chance of a sudden sharp tightening of global financial conditions. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors “reaffirmed that all policies choose to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth to be used in a timely fashion,” Aso said at a joint news conference with Kuroda. Aso also said global current account imbalances — a source of trade friction — pose risks to the world economy, and that they should be dealt with multilaterally, rather than bilaterally. “Given the global and macroeconomic nature of this issue, we need to tackle it in a multilateral and macroeconomic context, rather than (through) a bilateral trade perspective,” he said in a veiled counter to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which prefers a bilateral approach. Aso indicated Tokyo wants Washington to shift its focus from bilateral goods trade deficits with Japan, China and other countries to the balance of services trade and returns on overseas investments as part of efforts to address global imbalances. The G20, meanwhile, attributed the expected rebound to easing global financial conditions propelled by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent decision to pause its rate-hike cycle, the effects of stimulus measures by China and other countries, and an improved outlook on the trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, according to Japanese officials. The G20’s forecast was in line with the projected 3.6 percent growth for the world economy in 2020, up from an estimated 3.3 percent in 2019, in the latest outlook released Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund. The 2019 figure was down 0.2 percentage point from the IMF’s estimate in January. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Thursday the global economy is “at a delicate moment,” and the expected rebound to 3.6 percent “is precarious and is subject to downside risks” such as trade tensions and issues involving Brexit. The G20 met on the sidelines of the annual spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank to pave the way for a gathering from June 8 to 9 of the G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Fukuoka.


Tokyo and Washington finally set to kick off trade talks as American farmers fume over poor Japan access

Abstract: This week, negotiators from Japan and the United States will meet in Washington to address something that U.S. President Donald Trump considers to be long overdue: trade negotiations to open the Japanese market to more American goods. Since the 1980s, Trump has argued that Japan greatly benefits from what he says are unfair trade deals and he vocally pledged to start trade talks with Japan during his 2016 presidential campaign. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump met in New York in September and agreed to launch talks on a free trade pact; the negotiations were expected to start as early as January. But the launch has been delayed by the U.S. government shutdown and Washington’s ongoing trade negotiations with Beijing. On Monday and Tuesday, economic and fiscal policy minister Toshimitsu Motegi is finally set to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington to kick off talks on a deal. In the first round, Motegi and Lighthizer are likely to discuss which areas they want to change in general, rather than focus on specifics, a senior Foreign Ministry official said recently. “I don’t think (the two countries) are ready to organize a specific agenda. The two will first decide the scope of the talks,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, said Japan probably arranged the Motegi-Lighthizer meeting ahead of Trump’s planned visit to Japan next month so Abe and Trump won’t directly clash over trade when the summit takes place. Trump is reportedly scheduled to visit Japan from May 26 to 28. “If you want to avoid a situation where Trump might suddenly and strongly start criticizing Japan over trade issues, you need to persuade Trump to leave the matter to ministerial-level talks that have been already launched,” Kiuchi wrote in an analysis published Thursday on NRI’s website. “This tactic is similar to the one Japan adopted in its previous economic dialogue to buy time. At that time, (Japan) had Deputy Prime Minister (Taro) Aso and U.S. Vice President (Mike) Pence discuss trade issues excluding Trump,” he wrote. In the first round, Japan is likely to try to limit the scope of the negotiations to trade in goods, while the U.S. will try to expand that to services, such as those related to the telecoms, financial and intellectual property industries, according to Kiuchi. Washington is also strongly demanding the removal of what U.S. officials call “nontariff barriers” in Japan, Kiuchi said. In the meantime, the Foreign Ministry official said U.S. trade officials have felt pressured to take a tough stance against Japan, given strong demands from U.S. lobby groups in the farm sector, particularly producers of pork and beef. “U.S. farmers have been very frustrated, and it’s clear if you look at their press statements,” the official said. Ironically, industry sources say it was Trump himself who put American farmers at a huge disadvantage in regards to the Japanese market. In January 2017, Trump, who was apparently grandstanding to emphasize his own trade initiatives, declared he would withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a Pacific trade pact that would have greatly lowered Japanese tariffs on agricultural products. For example, under the revised TPP, which was renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the U.S. left it, Japan’s tariff on beef for member countries is set to drop to 9 percent from 38.5 percent in 16 years. Japan recently struck a similar deal with the European Union that locked American farmers out of favorable trade conditions. That FTA took effect on Feb. 1. “U.S. pork producers are losing market share in Japan to international competitors that have recently negotiated more favorable trade terms in our most valuable market,” said David Herring, president of the National Pork Producers Council, which represents 42 affiliated state associations of the U.S. pork industry, in a press statement issued April 1. “Six countries — Canada, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam — have implemented the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and gained more favorable access to Japan,” he said. In the statement, the NPPC cited an estimate from a U.S. economist that said American pork will see exports to Japan grow from $1.6 billion in 2018 to more than $2.2 billion over the next 15 years if the U.S. quickly gains access on a par with its international competitors. The same estimate said that U.S. pork shipments to Japan will drop to $349 million if a trade deal is not quickly reached. “The NPPC welcomed reports that the United States and Japan will commence trade negotiations and urged the Trump administration to expeditiously complete and deliver for ratification to Congress a trade deal that puts U.S. pork producers back on a level playing field in Japan,” the statement read.

donald trump
shinzo abe
free trade
tpp
cptpp


Breaking the internet: New regulations imperil global network

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Is the dream of one global internet still alive? Increasingly, moves by governments to filter and restrict content are threatening to fragment the system created with the promise of connecting the world with a largely unified body of content. China for years has walled off some Western services, and the fragmentation may be accelerating with regulations being imposed elsewhere, say analysts. This is leading to a “splinternet,” a term circulated for a decade or more but gaining more traction in recent months. “The internet is already fragmented in material ways, but each regulator around the world thinks they know how to fix the internet,” said Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. “I think we will see a tsunami of regulations that will lead to a further splintering of the internet.” The massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, livestreamed online, heightened the sense of urgency in some countries, with debates in the U.S. and EU on curbing incitement to violence. A new Australian law could jail social media executives for failing to take down violent extremist content quickly. And a proposal unveiled in Britain could make executives personally liable for harmful content posted on social platforms. Similar ideas have been discussed by lawmakers in Washington. These moves come as Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has called for a “common global framework” of internet rules. But defenders of free speech warn that it would be dangerous to allow governments to regulate online content, even if social media outlets are struggling. The U.K. proposal “is a very bad look for a rights-respecting democracy,” said R. David Edelman, a former White House technology adviser who now heads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s project on technology, the economy and national security. “It would place the U.K. toward the far end of the internet censorship spectrum.” Elsewhere, critics pounced on a bill in Singapore to ban “fake news,” calling it a thinly veiled attempt at censorship. “It is not up to the government to arbitrarily determine what is and is not true,” said Daniel Bastard of the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders. “In its current form, this Orwellian law establishes nothing less than a ‘ministry of truth’ that would be free to silence independent voices and impose the ruling party’s line.” According to human rights watchdog Freedom House, at least 17 countries approved or proposed laws to restrict online media in the name of fighting “fake news” and manipulation, and 13 countries prosecuted internet users for spreading “false” information. Goldman argued that the European Union’s General Protection Data Regulation, aimed at improving online privacy, “has been a major milestone in splintering the internet.” It has led to numerous websites including news sites cut off from Europe, he said. The EU copyright directive approved last month, aimed at protecting creators, could also result in fragmentation of online information, said Danny O’Brien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Whatever internet companies and organizations do to comply with 27 or more national laws — from dropping links to European news sites entirely … will be challenged by one rights-holder faction or another,” O’Brien said in a blog post. The multitude of proposed rules around the world raise the prospect of varying versions of the internet depending on location, with small services potentially blocking out some countries. In addition to online content measures, several countries, including India and Brazil, are enforcing “data localization” requirements that could limit the availability of services such as e-commerce and banking. “More nation-states are trying to territorialize information flows and assert control of those services,” said Milton Mueller, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor and co-founder of the Internet Governance Project of analysts. The fragmentation could have profound consequences both in terms of economics and human rights, according to Mueller. “The bypassing of these national boundaries when the internet got started was what was revolutionary and led to the expansion of new services,” he said. “There is now an assertion of national sovereignty and national control, going against globalization and the ability of people to freely interact with each other.” The “data nationalization” movement gained momentum after the 2013 revelations on surveillance from national security contractor Edward Snowden. This gave some governments “an excuse to impose far greater state control” of their networks, said Edelman. Edelman maintained the Snowden revelations represented a turning point because they “ruptured some of the faith in a global consensus” about the internet. Australia’s efforts to curb content and require access to encrypted devices could prompt some firms to think twice about doing business there, said Edelman. “The potential is there for companies to simply exit the Australian market,” he said. Amy Webb, a New York University professor and founder of the Future Today Institute, said the trend toward Balkanization is growing, posing challenges for online services. “Compliance is going to become more and more difficult for companies who do business in more than one location, which could stifle growth and restrict the flow of meaningful, credible information,” Webb said. Ira Magaziner, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton who helped negotiate deals to bring the internet around the world, said he is optimistic that countries will find ways to keep the internet from fragmenting. “We are going through a period where there are a lot of questions and a lot of forces for disintegration,” Magaziner said, while noting that countries cutting off data will be hurting themselves. “If the advantages are large enough, it will hang together,” he said.

internet
social media
rights
censorship
terrorism
smartphones
computers
mass shootings


Japan Display inks deal for ¥80 billion bailout by Chinese and Taiwanese firms

Abstract: Japan Display Inc. has signed a deal to receive an ¥80 billion ($715 million) capital injection from a group of Chinese and Taiwanese firms, leaving its revival, initially planned under a Japanese government-backed fund, in the hands of foreign companies. Japan Display, a key supplier to Apple Inc., said Friday China’s Silk Road Fund and Harvest Tech Investment Management, as well as Taiwan’s TPK Holdings and Fubon Financial Holdings, will together own 49.8 percent of its shares once the payment, due by Dec. 30, is made. In addition, state-backed INCJ Ltd. will convert part of its commitment lines and other debts in Japan Display to preferred shares, boosting the display-maker’s capital by ¥117 billion in total. The ailing manufacturer, created in 2012 by the government-sponsored merger of the display operations of Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp., has tried to expand with support from INCJ. Japan tried using public funds to support the manufacturer as one of its prominent technology firms, but failed amid fierce price competition with rivals in South Korea and China. While the Tokyo-based company’s delay in developing technologies for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) also dented its competitiveness, it remained vulnerable to changes in market conditions due to its heavy reliance on business with Apple and limited success in nurturing new clients other than smartphone-makers. The company expects to have booked a group net loss for the fifth straight year in fiscal 2018. Among other Japanese display-makers, Sharp Corp. sought help from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. in 2016, becoming the first major Japanese electronics maker to be acquired by a foreign company. Japan Display’s capital injection and refinancing plan still needs to be approved by more than two-thirds of its shareholders at their meeting on June 18, the company said. “Our products have been dependent too much on smartphones, and recently shrinking demand in them hit our business,” Japan Display President Yoshiyuki Tsukizaki said at a Tokyo news conference. Tsukizaki said he aims to build new factories in China to produce OLED displays and will consider closing some production based in Japan. He said no decisions have been made on reviewing its management team. INCJ’s holdings in Japan Display will eventually sink to 12.7 percent from the current 25.3 percent.

japan display
taiwan
china
silk road fund
harvest tech investment management
tpk holdings
fubon financial holdings
incj


Construction defects discovered in Daiwa House homes and apartment buildings

Abstract: Construction defects have been found in some houses and apartment buildings made by Daiwa House Industry Co., the company has said. The major home-builder said Friday the defects include failures to meet fire-resistance standards and foundation work that does not meet government-set specifications. Some 2,000 houses and apartment buildings in 30 prefectures, including Miyagi, Fukushima, Tokyo, Ishikawa, Nagano, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka, are affected by the defects. A total of about 7,000 households are affected. At a news conference Friday in Osaka, Kazuto Tsuchida, senior managing executive officer at Daiwa House, said the defects occurred because the company’s designers did not fully understand changes made to related laws in 2000. The company said an internal investigation led to the discovery of the defects. Among the 2,000 houses and apartment buildings, Daiwa House judged that 73 need work to increase fire resistance. The company said the work is underway and that it will be complete by the end of this month.


Supreme Court rejects appeal from Carlos Ghosn's lawyers over latest detention

Abstract: Japan’s top court has rejected an appeal filed by lawyers for former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn against his detention following his rearrest last week over fresh allegations of financial misconduct, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday. The lawyers made the appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday after the Tokyo District Court rejected their objection to its approval for an initial 10 days’ detention for Ghosn through Sunday. The district court also decided Friday to extend the detention period to April 22, but for two days less than what was requested by prosecutors. The 65-year-old was served a fourth arrest warrant on April 4 following an allegation he misused company funds for personal purposes. His return to detention came after he was released on bail in early March, having been held for 108 days since his initial arrest last November. The former chairman has already been indicted on charges of violating Japan’s financial instruments law by underreporting remuneration to regulators, and aggravated breach of trust in relation to the alleged transfer of private investment losses to Nissan. Ghosn, whose nearly two decades of leadership of the automaker came to a sudden end after his initial arrest, has denied any wrongdoing. The handling of Ghosn’s case has brought Japan’s criminal justice system under international scrutiny, with practices such as detaining a suspect for long periods and conducting interrogations without a lawyer present likened by critics to “hostage justice.”


U.K.'s Daily Star last to drop topless women photos that were hallmark of British tabloids

Abstract: LONDON - Britain’s Daily Star newspaper has stopped showing topless women on page three, becoming the last daily national newspaper to drop the regular soft-core porn feature that for years had been a staple of the country’s tabloid press. The paper’s editor confirmed on Friday the women will remain, but in response to reader feedback, they will no longer be bare-breasted, a change women’s groups hailed as long overdue and which a media expert said reflected a sea change in culture. “Its astonishing that a national newspaper has found space for this dated content for so long,” said Rachel Krys, the co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition. “But the sexualization and objectification of women and girls in the tabloid press continues, in both the images used and the way serious issues affecting women are reported. “Lets hope this is a sign of progress.” The Sun newspaper was the first British title to introduce a daily tradition of topless models on page three in the 1970s, with other tabloid titles following suit. But the feature was gradually dropped by newspapers in the face of increasing scrutiny and criticism by those who argued it was demeaning and encouraged the objectification of women. The Daily Star had been the last British daily newspaper to keep printing topless page three photos after they were quietly ended by the Sun in 2015. “I think it has become an anachronism because we live in different times from when it started,” media commentator Roy Greenslade said. “Women no longer think it is amusing to be objectified and as the #MeToo movement has shown, this is a new world we live in and women are not about to put up with that nonsense.” He noted that when the Sun dropped page three it did not cause any noticeable difference in sales, suggesting the feature may have become “counterproductive” for owners. The growth of digital media also meant those seeking out such images were more likely to turn to the internet, he added. The Daily Star’s online home page still largely consists of women in suggestive poses. The paper’s announcement came months after it was sold by Richard Desmond, who had owned a number of pornographic titles, to Daily Mirror publisher Reach PLC. “The Daily Star is always looking to try new things and improve,” said Daily Star editor Jonathan Clark in a statement. “In that spirit, we’ve listened to reader feedback and are currently trialing a covered-up version of page three.”


M87*? Powehi? There are no rules on naming black holes

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The supermassive black hole featured in a photographic first Wednesday is a beast with no name — at least not an official one. And what happens next could be cosmically confusing. The team of astronomers who created the image called it M87* (the asterisk is silent). A language professor has given it a name from a Hawaiian chant — Powehi — meaning “the adorned fathomless dark creation.” And the international group in charge of handing out astronomical names? It has never named a black hole. The black hole in question is about 53 million light-years away in the center of a galaxy called Messier 87, or M87 for short. On Wednesday, scientists revealed a picture they took of it using eight radio telescopes, the first time humans had actually seen one of the ultramassive celestial objects, which suck in everything near them, even light. The International Astronomical Union usually takes care of names, but only for stuff inside our solar system and stars outside it. It doesn’t have a committee set up to handle other objects, like black holes, galaxies or nebulas. The last time there was a similar situation, poor Pluto somehow got demoted to a dwarf planet, leading to a public outcry, said Williams College astronomer Jay Pasachoff, a member of the star-naming committee. Technically, our own galaxy — the Milky Way — has never been officially named by the IAU, said Rick Fienberg, an astronomer and press officer for the American Astronomical Society. He said, “That’s just a term that came down through history.” “Virtually every object in the sky has more than one designation,” Fienberg said. “The constellations have their official IAU-sanctioned names, but in other cultures they have other names.” When it comes to the black hole in question, University of Hawaii-Hilo Hawaiian professor Larry Kimura stepped up even before the photo was unveiled. Powehi (pronounced poh-veh-hee) is the black hole’s Hawaiian name, not its official name, explained Jessica Dempsey, who helped capture the image as deputy director of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s tallest mountain. Hawaii Gov. David Ige proclaimed April 10 as Powehi Day, she said. “This isn’t astronomers naming this,” she said. “This is coming from a cultural expert and language expert. This is him coming to the table and giving us a gift of this name. It’s a gift from Hawaiian culture and history, not the other way around.” When asked about Kimura’s idea, IAU naming committee member Pasachoff said, “That’s the first I heard of it.” Eric Mamajek, chairman of the IAU working group on star names, called it a “wonderful, thoughtful name.” But Mamajek said his committee may not be the right one to grant the black hole a name. It only does stars. “This is exactly the Pluto situation,” Pasachoff said. In 2006, astronomers at the IAU were discussing naming a large object in our solar system that eventually got called Eris. It wasn’t considered a planet, so it wasn’t the job of the planet committee. But some experts pointed out that it was bigger than Pluto, which added some confusion. The conference decided to reclassify planets, kicked Pluto out of the club of regular planets and made it join the newly established dwarf planets category with Eris, Pasachoff said. The same day the photograph of the black hole was unveiled, the IAU asked the public to choose one of three names for an object astronomers call 2007 OR10. It is an icy planetesimal that circles the sun but gets 100 times farther from our star than Earth does. The three proposed names are Gonggong, a Chinese water god with red hair and a serpent tail; Holle, a European winter goddess of fertility; and Vili, a Nordic deity and brother of Odin. The IAU is trying to bring in more languages and cultures into the naming game, Pasachoff and Fienberg said. And soon the IAU will ask the public to help name 100 planets outside our solar system. As astronomers gaze farther into the cosmos, Pasachoff said, “we will need more names.”


Man hospitalized after lighting jacket on fire outside White House

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A man in a wheelchair-type electric scooter lit his jacket on fire outside the White House fence on Friday and was hospitalized with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, the U.S. Secret Service said. Secret Service officers responded to the incident on the north side of the executive mansion, extinguished the fire and provided first aid, the agency said on Twitter. Daniel Kingery, a 57-year-old voter rights activist, said the man was holding up his burning jacket and recording the incident, which appeared to be a demonstration. “He wasn’t obeying their order to put it down, so it was definitely some sort of a protest,” Kingery said. The Secret Service put out the fire, knocked him out of the scooter, and dragged him to a statue in nearby Lafayette Square where other officials were waiting, he added. The Secret Service closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrian traffic, and a nearby block of 17th Street was closed as well. At least portions of the White House complex were locked down. News video showed emergency medical personnel arriving to tend to a person who police had surrounded on the ground. A CNN reporter on Twitter cited a Secret Service spokeswoman as saying there was no threat to U.S. President Donald Trump. The incident occurred shortly after Trump spoke at the White House about the nation’s 5G network.


U.S. has two months to finalize extradition case against WikiLeaks' Assange

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. prosecutors have just under two months to present British authorities with a final and detailed criminal case to justify the possible extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a U.S. government official said on Friday. The official, who asked for anonymity when discussing the case, said U.S. authorities had already sent Britain a provisional arrest warrant regarding Assange’s extradition to the United States. But within 60 days from Thursday, when British police bundled Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had taken refuge seven years ago, U.S. authorities must submit a formal request outlining all the legal charges Assange would face if he is transferred into U.S. custody. According to a criminal indictment against Assange that prosecutors in Virginia secretly obtained more than a year ago but only unsealed after Assange’s arrest, Assange is charged with conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain unauthorized access to a government computer. The U.S. indictment filed in March 2018 said Assange, in March 2010, engaged in a conspiracy to help Manning crack a password stored on Defense Department computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a U.S. government network used for classified documents and communications. Assange’s contacts with Manning led to one of the biggest ever leaks of classified information as WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of U.S. military reports and diplomatic communications. The U.S. official said that within the 60-day period, U.S. authorities could modify or add to the current charges they have filed against Assange. The official declined to say whether further charges were likely, but legal experts have said they are certainly possible. A witness who prosecutors were seeking to interview and an associate of Assange based in Europe who also requested anonymity said that before his arrest Assange had expressed concern that U.S. prosecutors would also bring charges against him related to WikiLeaks’ publication of CIA computer hacking tools, which the website described as its “Vault 7” cache. U.S. officials have said that as far leaks go, the disclosure of details about the U.S. spy agency’s abilities to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare was potentially far more damaging to U.S. government activities than anything Manning made available to WikiLeaks. In a Friday interview with CNN, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States was “going to bring Julian Assange to justice.” Pence denied that statements by President Donald Trump, in which he praised WikiLeaks during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, were in any way “an endorsement of an organization that we now understand was involved in disseminating classified information.”

wikileaks
julian assange
surveillance
media
censorship
privacy


Want to beat Trump? Do a balancing act, says Hillary Clinton

Abstract: NEW YORK - Presidential hopefuls must walk a fine line to defeat U.S. President Donald Trump, presenting their own views while fending off his attacks, said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in a bitter 2016 race. Speaking on Friday, the fourth anniversary of the day she declared her bid for president, Clinton said in a New York appearance she was “delighted” about the diverse Democratic field, with a record six women, vying to challenge Trump in the 2020 election. Clinton, who is also a former U.S. senator and former first lady, lost to Trump in November 2016 in a stunning upset. The defeat of the heavily favored Clinton, a Democrat, by the Republican Trump was largely unexpected by polls and political observers. Candidates looking to oust Trump next year face a “balancing act,” she said, speaking at a “Women in the World” conference of leaders, activists and others. “You do have to present what you want to do — what is your vision, what is your hope for our country, how do you see the future,” she said. “At the same time, you have to be able to counter and ignore where possible, respond where necessary to the diversion and distraction that we see unfortunately working by the current incumbent in the White House,” she said. With national political sentiment deeply divided under Trump, she urged candidates to aim high and mount positive campaigns. “Anger, resentment, prejudice are not strategies. They stop people from thinking,” she said. “The job of a leader is to appeal to us to be more than we could be on our own.” She described the 2016 race against Trump as “dark” and “negative.” Looking to the 2020 election, the largest Democratic field in the modern U.S. political era is lining up to seek the party’s presidential nomination. The hopefuls include six women as well as black, Hispanic and openly gay candidates who would make history as the nominee. Since losing her presidential bid, Clinton has written a memoir entitled “What Happened.”

hillary clinton
donald trump
elections
u.s .
2016 presidential election


Brexit chaos leaves Scotland on independence tightrope

Abstract: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - With the U.K. tearing its hair out over Brexit confusion, Scotland’s government is biding its time as it prepares for the ultimate prize — independence. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a strong opponent of Brexit, has said she will set out her thinking on independence plans later this month. The issue presents voters and leaders north of the border with another source of dispute, something that this week’s decision to delay Britain’s departure from the European Union has done little to resolve. The government is “absolutely committed to an independent Scotland in the European Union,” Scottish Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development Ben Macpherson said while out campaigning in Leith, east of Edinburgh. But even independence backers are divided over Brexit — five years on from Scotland’s own referendum in which 55 percent opted to remain a part of the U.K. A retiree, enjoying the sunshine in a central Edinburgh park, said he wanted “complete independence.” He said Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party had “done a lot of good but I don’t agree with them on Brexit.” He said he would even consider voting for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party — much to the consternation of his companion. “I’m Scottish first, then European,” she said. Some pro-EU voters who wanted to stay in the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum are now in favor of independence, but the issue risks pushing away those who want a clean break from both London and Brussels. Former SNP deputy leader Jim Fairlie said the government’s policy of independence within the EU was an “oxymoron,” and that tying the two issues together meant “they’re not going to get the votes of traditional nationalists like me.” “All the SNP has to do to keep the independence movement together is to decouple it from membership of the EU,” he added. But over 60 percent of Scots voted to stay in the EU, and some are being won over to the independence cause. “I know quite a lot of people … who voted to stay with the U.K. … who now say because they’re sick of all the Brexit, they’ve changed their minds,” said local resident Mary Cryan amid the hubbub of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, in the shadow of the city’s centuries-old castle. The shifting blocs have largely canceled themselves out so far, with polling stuck at around 55 percent versus 45 percent in favor of staying in the United Kingdom, according to polling expert John Curtice, from the University of Strathclyde. But independence supporters think that the chaos in Westminster could shift the balance. “It certainly makes the democratic case easier because it really does throw into stark relief this democratic deficit problem,” Kevin Pringle, a former director of strategic communications for the SNP, said during an interview in his Edinburgh office. Independence supporters still face a stiff challenge in winning over more conservative voters, who wanted to stay in both the EU and the U.K. “The SNP should concentrate on the day job rather than looking at independence,” a 50-year-old public servant said in the city’s Scots Guards Club, as pipers and other folk musicians played in the background. Complicating the task for the SNP, Brexit has become something of a moving target since the terms of the withdrawal and the date are far from certain. “It’s a bit like a mirage in the desert,” Pringle said. Key to the calculations will be whether U.K. will remain in the European customs union after Brexit or not, which would take any volatile “hard border” debate out of a future independence campaign. Campaigners must also soon find a united position on a raft of economic issues, including what currency an independent Scotland would adopt. Pringle added: “It’s a challenge that can be achieved but I don’t think anybody underestimates the scale of it.”


British lawmakers handed 11-day break to ruminate over ways to break Brexit deadlock

Abstract: LONDON - Britain’s overwrought members of Parliament have been sent home for 11 days, to rest and reflect on how to get the country out of the Brexit deadlock. As they ponder the future of the divorce talks, which now look like dragging on until the end of October, here are some scenarios they will be weighing: Cross-party talks Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has been holding private talks with Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition Labour Party since the start of April, in the hope of finding a Brexit option that both parties can support. In theory, there is a lot of common ground in terms of a desired outcome, but there are strong political incentives for Corbyn not to rescue May and give up his ability to criticize her Brexit policy. Likewise many Conservatives are outraged that May is talking to him at all, and she has little room to give ground. On the other hand, neither party wants to be the unreasonable one that walks away. Indicative votes May’s stated strategy, if the cross-party talks are inconclusive, is to move to a series of votes on different Brexit options. The structure of these will make a big difference to their prospects of success, as will the extent to which the parties try to influence the outcome. The idea of such votes, when they were first floated in the Cabinet last year, was not to find a new solution so much as to demonstrate the unpopularity of alternatives to May’s deal. The problem is that even if they achieve this, MPs are unlikely to feel obliged to follow through and vote for the deal that they have rejected three times already. They could well reveal that there is no outcome that MPs support — that is what the previous rounds of indicative votes showed. Local elections: May 2 This is one date that can’t be avoided. Nearly 9,000 local government seats in England and Northern Ireland are up for election. These council elections are supposed to be about locally controlled services, such as refuse collection, but are often used to register protest at national issues. To further complicate matters, they happen in different places each year. More than half of this year’s seats are currently held by the Conservatives, so even in a calm year, the party would struggle to hold them all. A bad night for the party will inevitably spur calls for May to quit. European elections: May 23 The fight that May didn’t want to have, these elections for the European Parliament are likely to generate far more interest than they usually manage in the U.K. Both supporters and opponents of Brexit will use them as a proxy referendum. That could see the U.K.’s main parties, the Conservatives and Labour, squeezed. The Tories will be challenged by Nigel Farage’s old outfit, the U.K. Independence Party, and his new one, the Brexit Party. Labour, meanwhile, will be accused of being too supportive of Brexit by the Liberal Democrats and Change U.K., the new pro-EU party formed by Labour and Tory defectors. After the vote, both pro- and anti-Brexit campaigners will seek to argue that the result shows the nation is behind them. Meanwhile, the Labour and Conservative leaders will be urged to adopt harder stances for or against the divorce from the EU. New prime minister? May has said that she will go once Brexit is delivered. She could struggle to last that long though. Cabinet members openly undermine her, the government’s central policy is in chaos, and Parliament no longer trusts her. Many see replacing her as essential to breaking the Brexit deadlock. But the paradox of May is that, although she can’t get anything through Parliament, it is hard to see any successor getting anything through, either. They would either continue to pursue her deal, for which there is no support, offer a softer Brexit, which risks outraging Conservatives without winning Labour votes, or go for a harder Brexit, losing those Tories who want a close relationship with the EU. Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Philip Hammond said Friday that May will stay on as prime minister to get Brexit done, even if that means remaining in the job until the end of October. “As far I know she doesn’t have any intention of leaving until that deal is done,” Hammond said in an interview at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. “She’s a person with a strong sense of duty, she’s a person who feels she has an obligation to the British people to deliver Brexit, and she will certainly want to make good on that obligation.” General election? If the problem isn’t the prime minister, maybe the problem is Parliament. Tories would be reluctant to let May fight an election for them, but it is possible a new leader might fancy their chances at getting a public mandate for their position. One possible outcome would be a Conservative majority, which might then be able to deliver Brexit. But recent months have surely dented the public’s confidence in the Conservatives, who have now been in office for nine years. If they lost only three seats, they would be unable to form a government. That would open the way to Prime Minister Corbyn. Second referendum? If a general election doesn’t resolve the problem, then perhaps the question should be sent back to the people to answer in another referendum. The likeliest route to a plebiscite is under a Labour government. Although Corbyn only supports the idea of a referendum on a Conservative Brexit, he could well find himself forced to accept one as Labour policy in an election. Even if he didn’t, a majority of his MPs want one, as would any of the parties he would be likely to form a coalition with. But there is another route to a referendum: It is the one thing May could offer Labour MPs that would definitely make them pass her deal. The only problem is how her own side would react.


Sudan erupts with joy as successor to Omar al-Bashir steps down a day after he was sworn in

Abstract: KHARTOUM - Crowds of Sudanese waving flags and chanting “we toppled two presidents in two days” celebrated in the capital late Friday after the country’s military council chief stepped down a day after he was sworn in. “We have done it, we have done it,” shouted young men and women as they drove across Khartoum after Gen. Awad Ibn Ouf announced his resignation on state television. On Thursday, he was sworn in as the chief of a ruling military council that replaced long-time President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted by the army following months of deadly protests. Before quitting, Ibn Ouf appointed Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as his successor, setting off a wave of jubilation across the city. “I am confident he will steer the ship to safe shores,” he said of Burhan, adding he was stepping aside to “preserve unity” of the armed forces. Burhan was one of the generals who reached out to protesters at a weeklong encampment near the military headquarters, meeting with them face to face, and listening to their views. Car horns sounded on the streets as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes to cheer the departure of Ibn Ouf, considered a regime insider and close aide of Bashir. Chants like “It fell again, it fell again” reverberated across the capital’s squares and neighborhoods, onlookers said. “This was our second uprising, first against Bashir and then against Ibn Ouf,” said Mohamed, a protester, whistling and clapping in an upscale Khartoum neighborhood. Dozens of members of a paramilitary group stood at the sidelines, many atop pick-up vehicles loaded with machine-guns, as cheering crowds drove past, witnesses said. Protest organizers however warned Burhan that if he failed to transfer powers to a civilian transitional government he would face their fury too. They called on Burhan to reverse decisions announced by Ibn Ouf such as canceling the suspension of the constitution and also implored him to end the state of emergency and night-time curfew. Thousands of protesters have massed outside the army headquarters in the capital since April 6. Earlier on Friday, throngs of Sudanese chanting “it will fall again, it will fall again” flocked there to hunker down for a second night defying the curfew, witnesses said. Dressed in white traditional clothes, men and women headed to the military complex to join thousands of others camped there. “We did it once, we can do it again,” said a protester, who had been at the site of the demonstration since Tuesday night. Since the appointment of Ibn Ouf as military council chief, the protesters had turned their anger against him. “We don’t want Ibn Ouf, we don’t want any military government,” said one protester. “This entire group is from Bashir’s regime. We want a civilian leader.” Several soldiers were however seen chatting and mingling with protesters at the complex on Friday, witnesses said. As the evening approached, buses full of protesters headed to the protest site with plans to defy the curfew again, a witness said. A mass of people flooded two bridges that connect the capital with suburbs. At the protest site itself thousands offered Friday prayers earlier in the day. An imam dressed in a white robe with a Sudanese flag draped over his shoulder led the weekly prayer. “This is the first time that I’m coming here in response to calls that today’s prayers will be performed here,” said Hussein Mohamed, an elderly man who came to the site from Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile. Groups of Coptic Christians served food and drinks to worshippers ahead of their prayers. Many offered mats to protesters who had been camping at the site since last night. “Protesters reject the announcement, protesters reject the announcement,” chanted women, raising their hands in the air, after praying under a makeshift tent at the complex. Witnesses said the entire area reverberated with the sound of singing. Protesters were chanting in circles, with one leading the song and others dancing in circles around him repeating it. Groups like this are everywhere, said one demonstrator as behind him musicians played traditional Sudanese and African tunes. Later in the night when Ibn Ouf quit, demonstrators at the complex burst into joy, many kissing photographs of those killed in protests, an onlooker said. Demonstrators chanted “What happened? It fell again,” he said. Protest organizers have called on the demonstrators to continue with the sit-in until their demands are met.

sudan
omar al-bashir
military
protests
rights


U.K. finance chief says Theresa May won't quit until Brexit is delivered

Abstract: LONDON - Theresa May will stay on as U.K. prime minister to get Brexit done, even if that means remaining in the job until the end of October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said Friday. May promised to step aside once the divorce agreement has been passed in Parliament, so a new leader can take charge of the next phase of Brexit talks focusing on the future partnership with the European Union. Many politicians in the ruling Conservative Party want to force her out sooner, but Hammond suggested they’ll be disappointed. “As far I know she doesn’t have any intention of leaving until that deal is done,” Hammond said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. “She’s a person with a strong sense of duty, she’s a person who feels she has an obligation to the British people to deliver Brexit, and she will certainly want to make good on that obligation.” Britain was due to leave the EU on March 29, but has twice had to ask the bloc’s other 27 leaders for an extension. The latest plan, in an agreement finalized this week at a summit in Brussels, is for the U.K. to depart the bloc by Oct. 31. Back in Westminster, May’s government is holding talks with the opposition Labour Party to see if they can agree on a compromise deal that Parliament would support. Hammond said the government is open to discussing a customs union with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as it is one of the party’s key demands. However, he said the government may not back the idea in the end. “We’re prepared to discuss all of these things with them,” he said. “Just because they’ve put it on the table, it doesn’t mean we’re going to accept it or we’re going to do it. But we are prepared to talk about it.” He also said if voters had wanted economic security, they would have chosen to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum; instead they made a political and emotional choice to leave. He said the government was trying to limit the economic fallout of that decision. “This is not an economic debate,” he said. “Bluntly, if we were only driven by economics, the British people would have decided to stay in the European Union. The reason for voting to come out were not economic reasons, they were emotional reasons, political reasons.” In the interview, Hammond also said that Tory leadership rivals are already jockeying for position to succeed May, but that a Conservative Party leadership election before Brexit concludes would be a mistake: “Starting the leadership process before we have resolved the question would not be helpful, it would look self-indulgent.” “It’s a very open question” for the Labour party at the moment about whether they should back a second referendum, Hammond added.


Hoping to help young people, centenarian runs for office in German town

Abstract: KIRCHHEIMBOLANDEN, GERMANY - For most people, reaching 100 would be reason enough to put one’s feet up and take things easy, but Lisel Heise has other ideas. The German centenarian, a former sports teacher, has started a new chapter in her life by running for election to the council in her hometown of Kirchheimbolanden. She is focusing her campaign on reopening the town’s outdoor swimming pool, which closed in 2011. Heise has long been vocal in her efforts to resurrect it — she dislikes its replacement on the outskirts of town — but has found that, as an older woman, her opinions have often been ignored. Now that she has reached three figures, she hopes to turn age to her advantage. “The microphone was often turned off when I started to speak about the swimming pool, and then of course you stop, there’s no point,” she said. “But now that I’m 100, I’m in a different position. Now I have the chance to open my mouth and say something.” The ballot is on May 26 and voters in Kirchheimbolanden, a town of some 8,000 in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, are starting to listen. A well-known figure locally, Heise is running as a candidate for grass-roots group “Wir fuer Kibo” (“Kirchheimbolanden is Us”), which campaigns for sustainable development and more civic engagement. “We’re very happy to have Lisel Heise on board. She’s brought us publicity so we can communicate our goals better and get our message across,” said group board member Helga Buermann. A grandmother and great-grandmother many times over, Heise’s main hope in running for office is that she can “finally do something for young people.” And what of her wider political views? “Brexit should never have been given a platform. And I find it splendid that young people are trying to tackle climate issues. One can only wish them every success in that venture.” Whatever the result next month, Heise has some tips for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps. “To reach the age of 100, I tell everybody: Live healthily when you’re young, do lots of sport, eat well and train your mind,” she said.


Syria's air defenses intercept Israeli missiles near city of Hama

Abstract: CAIRO - Israeli planes targeted a military position near the province of Hama in Syria on Saturday, but Syrian air defences intercepted and downed some of the rockets, Syrian state television said on Saturday. Citing military sources, SANA news agency and Syrian state television said that Israeli aircraft had targeted “one of our military positions towards the city of Masyaf.” “The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA added. Since the civil war started, Israel has carried out scores of military strikes in Syria during against suspected arms transfers and deployments by Iranian forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies which are backing Syrian President Bashar Assad.

syria
bashar assad
conflict
u.s .
vladimir putin
terrorism
russia
syrian civil war
islamic state
donald trump


Jair Bolsonaro says Brazil rainforest reserve may be opened to mining

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday the country could open a vast reserve in the Amazon rainforest to mining, a move that his predecessor attempted before backtracking due to an international outcry by environmentalists. The National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca) occupies roughly 17,800 square miles (46,100 square km), an area slightly larger than Denmark, that is thought to be rich in gold, copper, iron ore and other minerals. “Let’s talk about Renca. Renca is ours,” Bolsonaro said at a televised event in Amapa state, home to part of the reserve. “Let’s use the riches that God gave us for the wellbeing of our population,” Bolsonaro said. “You won’t get any trouble from the Environment Ministry, nor the Mines and Energy Ministry nor any other.” Mining has been off-limits in the Renca, located in the northern states of Para and Amapa, since it was established in 1984 to protect against perceived threats from foreign miners. The reserve was established by a presidential decree and therefore can be revoked by the president without congressional approval. Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, abolished the reserve in 2017, only to reinstate it the following month after global backlash from environmentalists who said it would lead to a spike in deforestation. “Brazil already had the chance to express its views on the opening of Renca to development, and public opinion was not favorable,” said Adriana Ramos, legal and policy adviser at the Brazilian nongovernmental organization Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), in a statement. “But the government prefers to announce controversial and outdated initiatives instead of new ideas for sustainable development in the Amazon,” she said. The Amazon, about 60 percent of which lies in Brazil, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It is a bulwark against global warming and is sometimes called the “lungs of the world” because of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide its trees absorb.

jair bolsonaro
brazil
mining
nature
endangered


Vulture flies home to Syria from Turkey — by plane

Abstract: BELGRADE - A young vulture that got stranded last year in Turkey, more than 2,000 km from her nest, flew home to Serbia on Friday — by plane. Dobrila, a young female griffon vulture, is part of a protected colony of around 70 pairs in western Serbia’s Uvac Gorge. She was found injured and exhausted last year over 2,200 km (1,370 miles) away near the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, where authorities intervened to get her repatriated. She returned to Belgrade to a celebrity welcome, flown back on a Turkish Airlines commercial plane in a special crate and met on arrival by Serbian environmental protection minister Goran Trivan and Turkey’s ambassador, Tanju Bilgic. “I am happy our operation was a success. … Dobrila will now go back to Uvac and if she ever returns to Turkey we would be glad … to take care of her,” Bilgic told reporters. Dobrila (“The Good One” in Serbian) will now undergo health checks before be returned to the Uvac Gorge, where she will be initially placed in a cage to adapt and learn how to feed on her own. Griffon vultures nest on steep cliffs and feed on animal carcasses. The young birds often start wandering until they reach maturity and choose a colony. They can fly great distances, and birds marked in Serbia have been spotted as far away as Israel and near Basra in Iraq, ornithologists say.


North Korea's Kim willing to meet Trump a third time but gives U.S. an end-of-year deadline

Abstract: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is willing to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for a third time for nuclear talks — if Washington comes to the table with the “correct posture” — but laid down a year-end deadline “for a bold decision from the U.S.” In a dispatch carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday, Kim said he wouldn’t welcome a repeat of the Hanoi summit in February, when Trump walked out without securing a nuclear disarmament deal. While hailing his relationship with Trump, Kim also said the U.S. has been making “gangster-like” unilateral demands and should abandon that approach. “If the U.S. adopts a correct posture and comes forward for the third DPRK-U.S. summit with a certain methodology that can be shared with us, we can think of holding one more talks,” Kim said in a speech at North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature, according to the KCNA report. “Anyway, we will wait for a bold decision from the U.S. with patience till the end of this year,” he said, “but I think it will definitely be difficult to get such a good opportunity as the previous summit.” The North Korean leader’s comments suggest he is eager to restart stalled negotiations despite his cryptic threat earlier to explore a “new path” if crippling sanctions remained in place. That threat, as well as warnings by senior North Korean officials after the Hanoi breakdown, stoked fears of a return to missile launches and nuclear tests. Trump, for his part, said Thursday that the door to dialogue remains open and that a summit “could happen,” but he also continued to maintain a hard line on the easing of sanctions and rejected calls to revive economic projects between North and South Korea. Kim also said he wouldn’t necessarily be focused on a summit to obtain sanctions relief and wouldn’t hesitate to reach an agreement if the U.S. brings up an idea that is acceptable to both sides, the report said. But, in an ominous note, Kim also touted his “treasured sword for defending the sovereignty of the country,” an allusion to his nuclear weapons program. “What is clear is that if the U.S. persists in its present political calculation method, the prospect of settling the issues will be gloomy and very dangerous,” Kim said. “Self-reliant national defense capabilities constitute a powerful treasured sword for defending the sovereignty of the country,” he added. “We have to always keep in mind that peace can be ensured only by powerful military capabilities, and firmly maintain the principle of self-defense and keep increasing the defense capabilities of the country.” Kim’s remarks were released just a day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Trump in Washington. At that meeting, Trump said the time was not right for easing sanctions and inter-Korean projects, dealing a blow to a push by Moon, who has gambled much of his political capital on breaking fresh life into the U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks. However, Trump did offer a qualified answer to a question about whether he would be willing to accept “smaller deals” as part of a larger process. “I’d have to see what the deal is,” he said. “There are various smaller deals that maybe could happen. Things could happen. You can work out, step by step, pieces.” But, he added, “at this moment, we’re talking about the big deal. The big deal is we have to get rid of the nuclear weapons.” Despite Moon’s gambit, Kim — who has held three summits with the South Korean leader — blasted Seoul for acting like “an officious ‘mediator’ and ‘booster,'” saying it should instead “be a party advocating the interests of the (Korean) nation with its own spirit and voice.” Asked about Kim’s comments, media reports quoted South Korea’s presidential office as saying Seoul is committed to keeping the atmosphere of dialogue alive and helping negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang resume at an early date. Moon is reportedly seeking to hold another summit soon with Kim, possibly to lay the groundwork for a third meeting of the U.S. and North Korean leaders.

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