Slovak entrepreneur charged with ordering investigative journalist Jan Kuciak's 2018 murder

Abstract: BRATISLAVA - Slovak prosecutors said Thursday they had charged an entrepreneur with ordering the murder of an investigative journalist whose killing during a corruption probe triggered mass protests and toppled the country’s prime minister. Journalist Jan Kuciak had been investigating Marian Kocner’s business activities at the time of his death, one of several stories he had been working on when he was gunned down with his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, at home in February 2018. “The reason for the murder was the journalistic work of the victim,” a special prosecutor, who was left unnamed for security reasons, told reporters. The prosecutor said Kocner, who has a number of property development and investment businesses, was charged on March 8 with “ordering the murder.” Four others have already been charged over the killings. The Kuciak family’s lawyer, Daniel Lipsic, called the news “a very substantial breakthrough.” The International Press Institute also welcomed the move as a step toward “achieving justice for Jan and Martina.” “Authorities and the justice system must preserve the existing momentum,” IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen added in a statement. The Kocner announcement came just two days before the eurozone member’s presidential election and analysts say it could affect the result of the poll. Kuciak’s murder and his last explosive report — published posthumously and unrelated to Kocner — sent shock waves through the country. The investigation alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian Mafia. Tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against and threats to media freedom, piling pressure on then-Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was forced to resign, although he remains the leader of the ruling populist-left Smer-SD party. To mark the first anniversary of Kuciak’s death, around 30,000 people marched in Bratislava on Feb. 25, while thousands of others rallied across Slovakia. Slovaks will vote Saturday in round one of the presidential ballot, which is seen as a crucial test for the Smer-SD before next year’s general election. Presidential front-runner Zuzana Caputova is a vocal government critic who took part in the demonstrations following the double murder. Caputova has vowed to restore public trust in the state, running on a slogan of “Let us stand up to evil.” “People are calling for change,” she told AFP ahead of the March 16 first round vote. Opinion polls give her a double-digit lead over her main rival, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. The career diplomat is running as an independent but has backing from the Smer-SD. Analysts say it is unclear how the Kocner news will affect the presidential ballot. “With this announcement, the authorities may have wanted to show just how effectively the state functions, so it could help Sefcovic gain some points,” Bratislava-based analyst Grigorij Meseznikov told AFP. “On the other hand, this could also be vindication for Caputova, as she is the symbol of change.” Meseznikov said the widespread protests had pressured authorities into conducting a thorough investigation of the murders. Last year, prosecutors charged four suspects in connection with the killings, including a woman identified as Alena Zs. Local media reported that Alena Zs had worked as an interpreter for Kocner, who is believed to have ties to members of Smer-SD. Peter Bardy, Kuciak’s editor-in-chief at the aktuality.sk news website, claimed in September 2017 that Kocner had called Kuciak to threaten him. Kocner had vowed to set up a website publishing information on reporters’ private lives, according to the leading SME daily. The 55-year-old multimillionaire, who owns more than a dozen companies, was detained by police in June on suspicion of fraud. He is still in custody. “It is not excluded that further individuals will be accused of participating in the murder,” the special prosecutor said Thursday. The prosecutor added that “we do not yet have the weapon but we have evidence as to what kind of weapon it was.” Slovakia ranked 27 out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index 2018, falling 10 places in a year.

murder
slovakia
jan kuciak
marian kocner


Russia may leave Council of Europe and European Court of Human Rights

Abstract: MOSCOW - Moscow may soon leave the Council of Europe, depriving Russians of what activists call the last hope for justice and crushing efforts to integrate the country into the international rights framework. Russia has been under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights — overseen by the continent’s top rights organization — for more than 20 years, becoming its biggest purveyor of cases. But after the 2014 annexation of Crimea ties between Moscow and the Council of Europe reached a crisis point, and Russia may quit the rights body or be suspended this year, activists and observers warn. “For Vladimir Putin, Council of Europe membership is certainly seen as being part of the civilized world and an exit has always been considered an unwelcome scenario,” said Tatyana Stanovaya, head of R.Politik, a Paris-based analysis firm. “However there may not be another way out in the current circumstances.” A Russian departure — dubbed “Ruxit” by the council’s secretary general Thorbjorn Jagland — would have far-reaching consequences. Campaigners warn of a potential intensification of a clampdown on civil society, worsening abuse of prisoners, a new wave of emigration, and a possible reinstatement of the death penalty. Ruxit would also weaken the council itself, and create new fault lines in Europe. After Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deprived the Russian delegation of voting and other rights. In retaliation Russia has suspended its annual €33 million ($37 million) payment to the Strasbourg-based council — about 7 percent of its budget — and has not participated in PACE sessions. As a result more than half of ECHR judges, who serve for nonrenewable nine-year terms, and the commissioner for human rights have been elected without Russia. After two years of non-payment of contributions — from June this year — Russia could be suspended from the council. More importantly, Moscow probably will not be able to participate in the June election of the council’s next secretary general, and Russia warns that if this happens it may go. Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy speaker of parliament’s lower house and head of the country’s PACE delegation, said Moscow would take part in the election only if all its rights were restored and if PACE agreed to eliminate a possibility to impose sanctions against national delegations. “If this does not happen, the Russian delegation will not take part in the election,” Tolstoy told AFP. “This brings into question the overall necessity of our participation in this organization.” Russia’s top opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who has filed many complaints with the court on behalf of himself and others, said Moscow may be bluffing. “The Kremlin is relishing the fact that our delegation has been deprived of voting rights,” Navalny told AFP in an interview, noting that the Kremlin uses tensions with Europe to boost its standing at home. “Even though the Russian government really does not like many of the ECHR decisions, they don’t want to withdraw from the Council of Europe, and the Council of Europe does not really want to exclude Russia,” he said, suggesting that rules could be bent to keep Moscow in the organization. Rights attorney Karinna Moskalenko, the first Russian lawyer to win a case at the ECHR, said that even if Moscow was playing a game it was a “very dangerous” one. “They may reach a point of no return,” said Moskalenko. The 47-member council — which is not linked to the European Union — promotes democracy and the rule of law across Europe and also includes Turkey and Ukraine. Were Russia to leave the council, it would only be the second such case in its 70-year history. Greece quit the body under the military junta in 1969 to pre-empt being kicked out, but was re-admitted in 1974. Talks to resolve the crisis are underway but the margin of maneuver is very small, said rights activists, noting the organization may not be in a position to fulfill all Russian demands. Council of Europe spokesman Daniel Holtgen said the organization was hoping to find a solution by May when the council’s decision-making body meets. He stressed Russia took part in all of the council’s bodies except PACE. Late last year more than 60 campaigners and lawyers signed a memorandum calling on both sides to find a compromise, saying Russia’s departure would punish victims of unfair prosecution and trials. They also warned of a potential reinstatement of the death penalty, which must be banned as a prerequisite for council membership. “It is quite obvious that the losses will be huge,” said Yuri Dzhibladze, president of the Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, calling the court “an ultimate hope for justice.” In 2017 alone, the Russian government paid more than 14.5 million euros in “just satisfaction” to victims, compared with €222,667 for Britain and €88,279 for France. Russia has made a point of paying but it often fails to act to root out the cause of problems behind violations, activists say. Tolstoy dismissed campaigners’ worries, saying Russia’s courts and law-enforcement bodies were in line with European standards. “Human rights campaigners simply cannot imagine how they will live without the ECHR, but they will have to live without the ECHR.” Navalny said many Russians lived with the feeling that “somewhere out there, far away in France there is justice” and Moscow’s departure would pose a major problem. “The realization that fair trial will no longer be available — even theoretically — will be the main and most terrible consequence.”

europe
courts
russia
rights
eu
council of europe
echr


Steve Mnuchin says U.S. government would shield Trump tax returns from Congress

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he would shield President Donald Trump’s tax returns from Congress, during remarks that could signal the administration’s approach to an expected request from congressional Democrats. During testimony in the House of Representatives, Mnuchin told the House tax committee that he would follow the law upon receiving a request for tax returns but would also protect Trump’s privacy rights. “I’m not aware if there’s ever been a request for an elected official’s tax return,” Mnuchin said in response to questions from Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “But we will follow the law and we will protect the president as we would protect any individual taxpayer under their rights.” Committee Chairman Richard Neal, the only member of the House authorized by law to request the president’s returns, is expected to ask Mnuchin for the documents. A Democratic member of the committee said earlier this month he believed the panel would ask for Trump’s returns in a few weeks. Democrats view the documents as a potential linchpin for oversight investigations, saying they would show whether the president has complied with U.S. tax law, profited from his own tax cuts, or has conflicts of interest from his vast business holdings. Neal’s committee could seek both his personal and business returns. Trump defied decades of precedent as a presidential candidate by refusing to release his tax documents and has continued to keep them under wraps as president, saying his returns were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has said that Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit. Interest in Trump’s returns has soared since his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen told a House panel on Feb. 27 that the president has altered his value of assets and slashed the wages of his employees to lower his tax bills. Section 6103 of the U.S. tax code allows the chairs of three committees — Neal’s House panel, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation — to request confidential tax returns, and says the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” the documents. But requesting the tax returns of a sitting president is unprecedented. Fearing a lengthy court battle for the documents, Neal’s committee has spent months working to develop a winning legal argument that could base the quest firmly within the panel’s jurisdiction to oversee the U.S. tax system. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is also expected to seek Trump’s taxes if Democrats obtain them. “There’s an awful lot of interest in 6103 today,” Mnuchin said. He said he would not speculate on a specific strategy for handling a request from lawmakers because he has not yet received one.

u.s .
congress
taxes
democrats
donald trump
steve mnuchin
chuck grassley


Brazil city mourns eight victims of school attack

Abstract: SUZANO, BRAZIL - Stunned family members on Thursday prepared to bury the eight victims of a school shooting in Brazil, along with the two attackers who carried out the violence, and grappled to understand why the bloodshed took place. A collective wake for six of the victims was held in a large sports arena in this city on the eastern outskirts of metropolitan Sao Paulo. Lines of mourners snaked outside the building, while inside, grief-stricken family members hugged and cried over caskets holding the teenagers killed. The attack has shocked Brazil, a country with the world’s highest number of murders but where school shootings are relatively rare. The rampage has raised tough questions about just how to deal with a wave of violence that helped pave the way for the election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. A total of 10 people, including the two attackers, were killed Wednesday, Sao Paulo police said. The students who died were boys, mostly between 15 and 16 years old. The assailants were aged 17 and 25, and carried out the attack with one .38 caliber pistol and a crossbow, as well as with hatchets and knives. Another 10 people, mostly schoolchildren, were shot or cut, and several are in serious condition, police said. The two attackers committed suicide as police closed in on them inside the school, authorities said. “This is all too sad. These things happen because of a lack of love, a lack of God,” said mourner Solange Cardoso, as she stood outside the arena. “Suzano is in mourning. I am here to stand with the families, just like many of the people who are out here today.” Investigators said the attack was inspired by the 1999 Columbine massacre in the United States. Before entering the Raul Brasil school in Suzano near Sao Paulo, the two former pupils shot and killed the younger assailant’s uncle, who owned a car rental agency where they stole a vehicle. An amateur video aired by Globo TV showed children screaming, running and begging for their lives as loud shots were heard. Children climbed and jumped over a wall that surrounds the school building, then sprinted down streets, screaming for help, security camera footage from homes nearby showed. The two assailants spent more than a year planning their attack, investigators said. A motive was not yet clear. The school is in a middle-class neighborhood and has about 1,000 students aged 11 to 16. One teacher told police that the younger attacker had been bullied while he was a student there. The last major school shooting in Brazil was in 2011, when 12 children were shot dead by a former pupil in Rio de Janeiro. Gun laws are strict in Brazil, but it is not difficult to illegally purchase a weapon. Bolsonaro made relaxing gun control a cornerstone of his campaign last year.

guns
brazil
schools
mass murder
jair bolsonaro


Senate rebukes Trump on border emergency; president vows 'VETO!'

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump suffered an embarrassing defeat Thursday at the hands of US senators, including fellow Republicans, who voted to terminate his declaration of an emergency on the border with Mexico. Trump’s response was swift and unequivocal: “VETO!” he tweeted after a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the emergency, declared as a way to secure alternative funding for the border wall denied to him by Congress. Opponents had argued that Trump’s emergency amounted to executive overreach, saying a vote to curtail his authority would preserve the constitutionally mandated separation of powers in Washington. Half a dozen Republicans had already spoken out publicly against the February declaration. But on the morning of the vote, the simmering revolt grew to 12 Republicans, and the final tally was a resounding 59 to 41. Trump had made clear he planned to use his veto powers to override any congressional block, after failing to strong-arm enough Republicans into line. “I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country,” he tweeted, following up on his initial one-word response. “I thank all of the Strong Republicans who voted to support Border Security and our desperately needed WALL!” Unless there is a substantial weakening of support for Trump among congressional Republicans on the issue, the first veto of his presidency is expected to stand. The Senate and House of Representatives would each need a two-thirds majority to override a block by the White House, and both parties say the numbers are not likely there. “It won’t be overturned and the legal scholars say it’s totally constitutional,” Trump told reporters of his emergency. Trump argues the move allows him to skirt Congress and repurpose billions of dollars in other government funds, including money earmarked for military facilities. But Democrats and some Republicans point to Congress’s constitutional duty to control government purse strings — and say declaring an emergency to seize more money is an abuse of executive authority. Sen. Mitt Romney, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, opposed Trump on the declaration, saying he cast his vote “for the constitution and for the balance of power that is at its core.” A group of Republicans had sought to limit defections by cutting a deal with the president to rein in emergency declaration powers, but Trump refused. He set the stage for the showdown by using now-familiar pressure tactics, unsuccessfully warning Republicans not to rebuke him on the emergency. “Don’t vote with Pelosi!” he boomed on Twitter early Thursday, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whose Democratic-led chamber had already approved the resolution. Pelosi, who lunched with Trump and the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the U.S. Capitol two hours before the critical Senate vote, had urged the upper chamber to “reject the president’s unconstitutional measure.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed support for Trump as he sought to rally his troops. “The president is operating within existing law, and the crisis on our border is all too real,” McConnell said, citing rising numbers of border detentions. But the chamber’s top Democrat couched it as a power grab by an unrestrained president acting out of “pique.” “It’s our job, here in Congress, to limit executive overreach, to defend our core powers” of controlling how federal dollars are spent, Sen. Chuck Schumer said. “This is not an everyday moment,” he added. “The judgment of history weighs on this vote.” Numerous Senate Republicans, including some who sided with Trump Thursday, have called for a narrowing of parameters of the National Emergencies Act of 1976, under whose authority Trump and other presidents have acted in declaring their emergencies. “I think that law is overly broad and I want to fix it,” Sen. Ben Sasse said. “But at present Nancy Pelosi doesn’t, so I am therefore voting against her politically motivated resolution.” The White House laid out an ambitious 2020 budget proposal Monday which contains $8.6 billion in new wall funding, considerably above the $5.7 billion Trump sought for this year. Lawmakers are unlikely to go along. Congress recently provided just $1.4 billion for construction of 55 miles (90 km) of barriers along the border in Texas. The White House has signaled it will seek to repurpose some $6 billion from military funds, without specifying which Pentagon programs would be slashed. But re-apportioning military money is a prickly undertaking, and several lawmakers from both parties have warned against it. Thursday’s vote was the second bipartisan rebuke of Trump in as many days, after the Senate Wednesday voted to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen. Trump has threatened to veto that measure too.

u.s .
congress
republicans
democrats
nancy pelosi
donald trump
border wall


'We won't do cost plus 50,' Pentagon chief says, denying Trump plan for fivefold hike in Japan base costs

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday denied news reports that Washington is considering demanding that Japan and other allies pay significantly higher costs for the stationing of American troops on their soil. Reports had said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was floating the controversial idea to push allies to pay the full cost of U.S. forces’ presence plus an additional 50 percent in a so-called “cost plus 50” formula. “We won’t do cost plus 50 percent,” Shanahan said at a congressional hearing, calling the reports “erroneous.” “We’re not going to run a business and we’re not going to run a charity,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The important part is that people pay their fair share,” Shanahan said. But he added that compensation comes in many forms, such as providing support for war efforts in Afghanistan, for example. According to multiple reports, the administration is drafting fresh demands that Japan and Germany — and eventually other countries hosting U.S. troops — pay in line with the envisaged formula for the privilege of having them there. The new formula could mean that the United States will be asking such countries to pay at least five times more than they do now, they said. However, some lawmakers from Trump’s Republican Party oppose the idea, saying the United States benefits from cooperation with allies and the foreign bases help ensure freedom, prosperity and security around the world. “The notion that we are somehow now going to change them cost plus 50 is really … it’s wrongheaded and it would be devastating to the security of the nation and our allies,” Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming told an NBC program on Sunday. Cheney said the United States “should not look at this as though somehow we need to charge them rent or for the privilege of having our forces there” because having U.S. troops based in other countries “does us a huge benefit as well.” Speaking to reporters Monday in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan and the United States share the cost of stationing American forces in Japan “appropriately.” “The U.S. government highly values Japan’s share in the stationing cost,” Suga said. As of fiscal 2015, Japan was shouldering 86.4 percent of the cost of stationing American troops in the country, according to Japanese Defense Ministry calculations. Given that the current cost-sharing agreement is valid until March 2021, Suga said the two governments have yet to start negotiations for a new accord.

defense
u.s. military
u.s. bases
donald trump
patrick shanahan


U.K. lawmakers overwhelmingly back Brexit delay, setting stage for new vote on deal next week

Abstract: LONDON - In a stalemate over Brexit, British politicians have chosen to delay it. After weeks of political gridlock, Parliament voted Thursday to seek to postpone the country’s departure from the European Union, a move that will likely avert a chaotic withdrawal on the scheduled exit date of March 29. With Brexit due in 15 days and no divorce deal yet approved, the House of Commons voted 413-202 to ask the bloc to put off Britain’s exit until at least June 30. The vote gives Prime Minister Theresa May some breathing space but is still humbling for a leader who has spent two years telling Britons they were leaving the bloc on March 29. In a historic irony, almost three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, its future is now in the bloc’s hands. Power to approve or reject the extension lies with the EU, which has signaled that it will only allow a delay if Britain either approves a divorce deal or makes a fundamental shift in its approach to Brexit. May is likely to ask EU leaders for an extension at a March 21-22 summit of the bloc in Brussels. The European Commission said the bloc would consider any request, “taking into account the reasons for and duration of a possible extension.” In Tokyo, government officials on Friday expressed concerns over the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union. “The outlook remains uncertain because we don’t know how much the delay will be and whether the European Union will approve it,” industry minister Hiroshige Seko said at a news conference. “Should the deadline not be extended and Britain leave the European Union without a deal, it will have an extremely grave impact on Japanese businesses.” May was forced to consider a Brexit delay after lawmakers twice rejected her EU divorce deal and also ruled out, in principle, leaving the bloc without an agreement. Withdrawing without a deal could mean major disruptions for businesses and people in the U.K. and the 27 remaining countries. By law, Britain will leave the EU on March 29, with or without a deal, unless it cancels Brexit or secures a delay. Thursday could have been worse for May. Lawmakers rejected an attempt to strip her of control over the Brexit agenda. They defeated by the narrowest of margins — 314-312 — an opposition attempt to let Parliament choose an alternative to May’s rejected divorce deal and force the government to negotiate it with the EU. Lawmakers also voted against holding a second Brexit referendum — at least for now. By a decisive 334-85 vote, they defeated a motion that called for another vote by the public on whether to stay in the EU or leave. Campaigners for a new referendum are divided over whether the time is right to push for a second Brexit vote. The vote doesn’t prevent lawmakers from trying again later to get Parliament’s support for another referendum. Despite the rebuffs and the political chaos that have weakened her authority, May has signaled she will try a third time to get backing for her agreement next week. She is seeking to win over Brexit-backing opponents in her own party and its Northern Irish political ally, the Democratic Unionist Party, who fear the deal keeps Britain too closely tied to the EU. Alan Wager, a researcher at the U.K. in a Changing Europe think tank, said May faced a struggle to overturn a 149-vote margin of defeat in Parliament this week. “It’s still really difficult to see how the numbers stack up for Theresa May, but she’s giving it one more go,” he said. If May’s deal is approved, she hopes to use a delay until June 30 to enact legislation needed for Britain’s departure. She has warned Brexit supporters who oppose her deal that if no withdrawal agreement is passed in the coming days, the only option will be to seek a long extension that could mean Brexit never happens. Any delay in the Brexit process would require the unanimous approval of all 27 remaining EU member states — and leaders in the bloc are exasperated at the events in London. They have said they will approve an extension if there is a specific reason, but don’t want to provide more time for political bickering in Britain. “Under no circumstances an extension in the dark!” tweeted the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt. “Unless there is a clear majority in the House of Commons for something precise, there is no reason at all for the European Council to agree on a prolongation.” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the EU needed “more decisions” from London. The EU is also reluctant to postpone Brexit beyond the late May elections for the European Parliament, because that would mean Britain taking part even as it prepares to leave. The bloc is more open to a long delay to allow Britain to radically change course — an idea favored by pro-EU British lawmakers who want to maintain close ties with the EU. European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he will appeal to EU leaders “to be open to a long extension if the U.K. finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus about it.” In another sting for May, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “surprised at how badly” the Brexit negotiations have been handled. Trump, who sees himself as a dealmaker, said he gave May advice but she didn’t listen to him. Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the White House, Trump said Britain’s debate over leaving the EU was “tearing the country apart.” British businesses expressed relief at the prospect of a delay. Many worry that a no-deal Brexit would cause upheaval, with customs checks causing gridlock at U.K. ports, new tariffs triggering sudden price increases and red tape for everyone from truckers to tourists. Josh Hardie, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the vote for an extension showed there was “still some common sense in Westminster.” “But without a radically new approach, business fears this is simply a stay of execution,” he said.


'Large number' of Islamic State fighters and their families surrender after U.S.-backed assault on Syria's Baghouz

Abstract: BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - U.S.-backed Syrian fighters said Thursday a “large number” of Islamic State militants and their families are surrendering a day after intense fighting in the last speck of land the extremists still hold in eastern Syria. At the edge of Baghouz, the village where the militants are still holed up, men, women and children climbed a road that winds along a cliff overlooking what remains of a tent encampment, heading out. Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces said they searched the evacuees as they reached the front lines. Many of the people carried rolls of blankets and clothes but cast them aside as they made their way up the hill. Women carried babies as children slowly made their way up the rocky terrain. Most of the men appeared to be wounded, with many limping or walking with crutches, and they carried little aside from water bottles. Women were weighted down with duffel and plastic bags, and children holding onto their arms or to the black robes they wore. The sound of sporadic gunfire echoed off the cliff and U.S.-led coalition planes flew overhead. SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said after an intensive offensive Wednesday from multiple fronts, “a large number” of IS militants and their families “started to surrender” early Thursday. The U.N. said in a Wednesday report that some 7,000 new evacuees are expected to arrive at an already overpopulated displaced people’s camp to the north over the next few days. The SDF forces said the militants took advantage of dusty and windy conditions a day earlier to launch multiple counterattacks. The U.S.-backed forces fought back, repelling the offensive and apparently triggering the latest evacuation. Windy conditions continued on Thursday, and SDF commanders inspected front-line positions early in the day. A day after heavy bombing and clashes, it was quiet Thursday. By early afternoon, it began drizzling. The battle to retake Baghouz and surrounding villages began in September, but has been paused on a number of occasions to allow civilians out. Some fighters have surrendered in recent weeks, but hard-core militants, including many foreigners, are still holed up in the shrinking space along the eastern banks of the Euphrates River. Since early February, more than 10,000 civilians were evacuated from the IS-held pocket, most of them family members of IS fighters. The capture of Baghouz would be a milestone in the devastating four-year campaign to dismantle the extremist group’s self-declared caliphate, which once covered a vast territory straddling both Syria and Iraq. Wind and dust storms give the extremists a reprieve from airstrikes and aerial reconnaissance. The militants have also burned tires and oil to thicken the air cover above their tent encampment in Baghouz, where an unknown number remain holed up. SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin reported heavy clashes late Wednesday, saying IS sent suicide bombers to blast open gaps in their lines. At one point, IS had a group of SDF fighters encircled, but reinforcements managed to liberate them. The civilians evacuated from the area have been sent to al-Hol, a camp for the displaced. The U.N. Population Fund said Wednesday that more than 53,000 have arrived at the camp since December, mainly women and children. It said the camp’s 67,000 residents are living in “uninhabitable” conditions, with harsh weather, overcrowded tents and lax security. The U.N. said aid groups are overwhelmed and cannot access parts of the camp because of a lack of resources or safety issues. Some 200 people took part in violent protests in the camp earlier this month.

conflict
u.s .
terrorism
syria
islamic state
syrian democratic forces
baghouz


California totally free of drought for the first time in seven years

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - California was declared totally drought-free for the first time in more than seven years on Thursday, following unusually abundant winter rains and snowfall statewide, according to the government’s weekly report on U.S. drought conditions. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest survey reflected an astonishing turnaround — at least for now — from a severe, prolonged dry spell that reduced irrigation supplies to farmers, forced strict household conservation measures and stoked a spate of deadly, devastating wildfires. A relatively small swath of California’s southern-most region, including most of San Diego County, remains labeled “abnormally dry” on the drought map index, as does a tiny patch at the state’s extreme northern end along the Oregon border. But this week marks the first time since mid-December of 2011 that 100 percent of the state has been classified as being free of drought, defined as a moisture deficit severe enough to cause social, environmental or economic ills. Conditions were classified as normal across 93 percent of the state. The current picture marks a major improvement from just one year ago, when nearly 70 percent of California was still classified as suffering from moderate to severe drought. What made the difference was one of the wettest winters on record in California — a series of Pacific storms that have replenished lakes and reservoirs and left the Sierra Nevada mountain snowpack, the state’s largest single source of fresh surface water, well above normal. It was just three years ago when the Sierra snowpack had dwindled to virtually zero. Two years later, in early 2017, then-Governor Jerry Brown rescinded a statewide drought declaration following record rainfall. Experts say swings from drought to deluge, or the reverse, are an illustration of variability in weather extremes that California can be expected to experience in an era of climate change. “Dry conditions can easily creep back in,” Jessica Blunden, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told the Los Angeles Times. Well-above-average precipitation this winter across the wider U.S. West has helped ease drought conditions throughout much of the region, filling reservoirs and restoring sparse snowpacks but also causing avalanche hazards in Colorado, the Drought Monitor summary said. The weekly report is prepared by experts from NOAA, the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, the U.S. Agriculture Department.

california
weather
climate change
drought


China's National People's Congress wraps up annual session amid clampdown on information

Abstract: BEIJING - The annual session of China’s parliament ended Friday with stronger information control and a consideration toward the United States, which has been putting pressure on Beijing to rectify its alleged unfair trade practices. The National People’s Congress kicked off on March 5 at a time when many analysts say President Xi Jinping has faced one of the most challenging years since he came to power in 2013, with a trade dispute with the United States hurting the economy. In a work report mapping out policy direction for this year, the government of the world’s second-largest economy downgraded its gross domestic product growth target to 6.0 to 6.5 percent for 2019 from last year’s target of about 6.5 percent. Recently, some ruling party officials, scholars and journalists in Beijing have started to rap Xi’s China-centered policies for complicating relations with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump and jeopardizing solid economic expansion. Amid mounting fears that foreign media will report news critical of China’s one-party political system, the country’s authorities have stepped up efforts to crack down on internet freedom around the time of the parliamentary session. In a bid to prevent its citizens from seeing and obtaining information that would disadvantage the nation’s ruling Communist Party and government, China has blocked access to many overseas websites like Google search, YouTube and Facebook. Virtual private networks enable internet users in China, especially foreigners, to visit such websites in circumvention of the so-called Great Firewall, which blocks flows of information inconvenient for the country’s authorities. But since earlier this month, VPN connections have apparently stopped working regularly in China, internet users said. “I believe that the last major blocking was in autumn 2017,” said an engineer of Express VPN, one of the most popular VPN providers. In October 2017, the Communist Party held its twice-a-decade congress, where it amended its constitution to enshrine Xi’s political “thought” with his name in order to make his status comparable to Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China. The move was lambasted by democratic and capitalist nations, including the United States and Japan, as fostering a cult of personality and a dictatorship. Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor of politics at International Christian University in Tokyo, warns that China will continue to bolster its internet censorship to “limit Western influences from the outside.” “There is growing insecurity in China associated with a decelerating economy, tangible increases in social control, and perceived shifts towards Mao-like power being accumulated by President Xi,” he said. “The leadership needs not only to control these perceptions to maintain their leadership but also to prevent social unrest and dissatisfaction with the leadership from achieving a critical mass,” added Nagy, a fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. In a separate process, the Communist Party has developed and called on its members to use a new smartphone app, named Xuexi Qiangguo (Study Powerful Country), aiming to raise the profile of Xi’s ideology at home. While “ xuexi ” means “study” in English, the app’s name contains a pun on the president’s surname, implicitly urging users to “study Xi,” a source familiar with the political situation in China said. The leader has actively promoted his “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” Using the app released in January, two months before the National People’s Congress convened, users can get points by watching state-run media news reporting and guessing right on quizzes about Xi’s speeches or movements. With disapproval of his policies growing, “Xi may be jumping at his own shadow,” said a source working at Peking University in Beijing. To consolidate information control, Xi’s leadership also limited access by foreign journalists to ruling party and government officials during the opening of the latest parliamentary session. “We were not allowed to interview Communist Party and government officials at all this year,” one of the journalists said. China, meanwhile, showed its consideration for the United States at the National People’s Congress, with Premier Li Keqiang emphasizing in his speech on the first day that Beijing will proceed with its “reform and opening-up” policy. Li also made no mention of the “Made in China 2025” technology blueprint, under which China has been attempting to create global leaders in advanced technologies at the state’s initiative — one of the causes that prompted the United States to wage a trade war. Trump, who ran his presidential campaign with the “Make America Great Again” slogan, has frowned on the plan, with the U.S. government having targeted Chinese goods containing technology related to it in the tit-for-tat tariff spat. At their summit in Argentina in December, Xi and Trump agreed to a truce in which both promised to refrain from imposing further tariffs on each other’s imports for 90 days while trying to complete trade negotiations. As talks continue, Washington has extended the March 1 deadline, but the world’s two largest economies have remained divided over what Washington calls Beijing’s “unfair” trade practices, such as alleged intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. “China has become very sensitive ahead of a possible summit between Xi and Trump in the not-so-distant future. At the National People’s Congress, Xi was forced to be careful about trade and business issues,” a diplomatic source in Beijing said.


Duterte publicly names 46 officials under investigation over drugs

Abstract: MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday publicly named 46 government officials — including three congressmen — whom he said are involved in illegal drugs, and added that criminal investigations against them are underway. Although critics have warned him against making such public announcements without solid evidence, Duterte said in a peace-and-order meeting shown on nationwide TV that he trusted the government agencies that provided the information. “My decision to unmask these drug personalities was anchored on my trust in the government agencies who had vetted and validated the narco list,” Duterte said. He said the Department of Interior and Local Government has filed administrative complaints against the politicians. The government’s Anti-Money Laundering Council and a presidential anti-corruption commission are both investigating the officials to build criminal cases against them, Duterte said. Many of the officials, including 33 mayors, eight vice mayors and three members of the House of Representatives, are running in midterm elections in May. Duterte said he did not aim to undermine the politicians ahead of the elections but decided to identify them after their involvement in the drug trade was validated by authorities. The officials named by Duterte did not immediately respond. Duterte said other officials were also involved but that he had decided not to name them until their complicity is ascertained. Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs has left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead and has alarmed Western governments and human rights groups. The drug killings have sparked two complaints of mass murder to the International Criminal Court. A prosecutor there is looking into the complaints and is expected to announce soon whether to elevate the inquiry into an investigation. Duterte took steps last year to withdraw the Philippines from the international court, an action that would take effect on March 17. He has often lashed out at the court and the prosecutor examining the allegations against him, saying the court will never acquire jurisdiction over him and threatening the prosecutor with arrest if she travels to the Philippines.


Millions affected in Manila's worst water shortage in years

Abstract: MANILA - Manila has been hit by its worst water shortage in years, leaving bucket-bearing families to wait hours to fill up from tanker trucks and some hospitals to turn away less urgent cases. Taps are dry from four to 20 hours per day in the homes of about half of the Philippine capital’s roughly 12 million people due to rolling outages driven by a dearth of rain and inadequate infrastructure. “I have learned to take a bath using only seven pitchers of water,” Ricardo Bergado told AFP as he lined up with his buckets. “I even save the bath water to flush our toilet.” The shortages started hitting late last week, with some areas in eastern Manila seeing the supplies of water into their homes being completely cut off. However, Manila Water Co., one of the capital’s two suppliers, said it will now use rolling cutoffs spread across the city to share the pain more evenly. Jerry cans and buckets were flying off store shelves and landing in lines where families were spending hours waiting for deliveries by truck. “Instead of doing important things, our time is consumed now by making sure we have enough water,” Bergado, a 57-year-old audio technician told AFP. At least five public hospitals in the capital have started getting supplemental supplies from water tankers, as shortages had led at least one to limit admissions. “This is the worst (water shortage) we have experienced. It almost happened last year but we were saved by heavy rains brought by storms,” Dittie Galang, Manila Water communications manager, told AFP. The disruption could last until July when monsoon rains are typically in full swing and would replenish regional reservoirs, one of which is at a two-decade low. Better known for flooding from its frequent typhoons, the Philippines is experiencing a dry spell that led to reserves being severely depleted. At the same time, the aging pipelines and dams that provide Manila’s water have not kept pace with the growth of the mega-city, which has roughly doubled its population since 1985. The government has admitted that the problem of growing demand for water has long been forecast but they failed to address it due to delays in projects that would expand capacity. “We need an alternative water source and we need it yesterday,” Patrick Ty, chief of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, told ABS-CBN television. Among the main projects in the pipeline is the construction of $355 million Kaliwa Dam, a Chinese-funded project that met resistance from indigenous peoples and church leaders for its feared effects on communities.

philippines manila water utilities drought


After 60 years in exile, Dalai Lama is still an inspiration back home in Tibet and a concern for China

Abstract: TAKTSER, CHINA - It has been six decades since the Dalai Lama fled into exile, but in the isolated mountain hamlet where he was born, he remains very much on the minds of devotees and Chinese authorities alike. Lying on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau in Qinghai province, Taktser is where the Dalai Lama was born in 1935 to parents who farmed buckwheat and barley and is now a magnet to worshippers and foreign tourists — and security personnel. During a recent Reuters visit to Taktser, known in Chinese as Hongya, police armed with automatic weapons blocked the winding road leading into the village of some 60 houses. Police and more than a dozen plain-clothed officials who declined to identify themselves refused Reuters entry, saying the village was not open to the public. Beijing views the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a dangerous separatist and has denounced the 83-year-old spiritual leader as a “wolf in monk’s robes.” The Dalai Lama denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet. Many of China’s more than 6 million Tibetans still venerate the Dalai Lama, despite government prohibitions on displays of his picture or any public display of devotion. This Sunday marks 60 years since the Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, fled the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, after rumors that Chinese troops were planning his abduction or assassination fomented an abortive popular uprising. The Dalai Lama crossed into India two weeks later and has not set foot in Tibet since. Despite the passage of time, during sensitive political anniversaries China’s security apparatus routinely restricts access to the village where the Dalai Lama’s old family is located, behind a pair of wooden doors and high concrete walls. One 29-year-old Tibetan man in the largely ethnic Tibetan town of Rebkong, set in a precipitous valley in Qinghai with a large monastery adorned in rich colors, enthusiastically recounted his pilgrimage to Taktser years ago. He said Tibetans were well aware of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile, even if public commemorations of any sort were banned. “You can only bury it in your heart, we just don’t speak about it,” he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “We have no ability to go against politics, we can only just go with society.” Born Lhamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama was just 2 years old when identified by a search party as the new incarnation of Tibet’s most important spiritual leader and was whisked from the family home to live in Lhasa. The anniversary of his escape over the mountains into exile in India is one of several politically sensitive dates in China this year, including the 30th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in June. At China’s annual meeting of parliament this month, Tibet’s Communist Party chief, Wu Yingjie, said the Tibetan people felt greater affection toward the government than the Dalai Lama, who “hasn’t done a single good thing for the people of Tibet.” As the Dalai Lama ages, many Tibetans fear that Beijing will simply appoint its own replacement. The Dalai Lama has suggested that his incarnation might be found outside Chinese-controlled territory, or that the centuries-old Dalai Lama institution could die with him.

china
religion
history
tibet
dalai lama
nobel prize
anniversaries


A look back at the Dalai Lama's dramatic 1959 escape from China-ruled Tibet

Abstract: PARIS - In March 1959, Tibet’s ruler and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled his homeland amid a deadly Chinese crackdown, escaping to India in a grueling two-week trek. There he formed a government-in-exile and demand autonomy for Tibet, going on to earn international renown and respect while remaining a bete noir for China. Here is an account of his dramatic escape. Tibetans revolt Predominantly Buddhist Tibet, a vast Himalayan area of plateaus and mountains, declared independence from China in the early 20th century. But China took back control in 1951, having sent in thousands of troops. Lhamo Dhondup, chosen at the age of 2 in 1937 as the 14th incarnation of Tibetan Buddhism’s supreme religious leader under the name Tenzin Gyatso, was enthroned as head of state after the Chinese invasion. His co-existence with the Beijing authorities was tense, and when the Chinese authorities summoned him to an event without his bodyguards on March 10, Tibetans feared a trap that could endanger their leader. Thousands assembled at his summer palace to prevent him from leaving, and thousands more demonstrated in Lhasa to demand the Chinese depart, the Dalai Lama would later say. Beijing poured more troops into Tibet. As tensions mounted, they opened fire on March 17, targeting and eventually razing the Dalai Lama’s palace. The revolt was suppressed by March 21, ending in a bloodbath. The government in-exile later claimed the Chinese Army killed tens of thousands. Dalai Lama disappears The outside world was largely unaware of the turmoil engulfing isolated and remote Tibet. Only neighboring India had diplomatic representation there, and rare reports of the unrest trickled out via its media. On March 22, AFP reported from India that there was concern over the fate of the Dalai Lama, then age 23, who seemed to have disappeared. “According to some rumors, the young man could be in his Lhasa palace or under Chinese military guard,” the report said, citing India’s The Statesman newspaper. It later emerged that he had been able to slip past Chinese troops massed around his palace on March 17, another story said. A great escape He left the palace dressed as a soldier and met up with a group of Tibetan resistance fighters 60 kilometers (37 miles) outside of Lhasa, AFP reported, again citing The Statesman. His entourage included his mother, sister, younger brother and several top officials. They traveled for two days and two nights without stopping, on foot and on horseback, AFP later cited a Tibetan official as saying. A month’s supplies were carried by mules. To cross the major Brahmaputra River, they used a single boat made of yak skin, the official said. The group then continued on foot, walking only at night through the harsh Himalayan terrain. They had a head start on Chinese troops, who had not realized the Dalai Lama had disappeared until two days later, only then sending out a ground and air dragnet and combing monasteries where he could be hiding. It was “one of the most fantastic escapes in history,” an AFP story said. Arrival in India On March 31 the Dalai Lama walked across the border into the Indian state of Assam. “The Dalai Lama entered India on March 31 in the evening,” Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced on April 3. In mid-April, an official statement provided details of his escape. “It is thanks to the affectionate support and the loyalty of his people that the Dalai Lama was able to make his way, by an extremely difficult route,” it said. It denied a Chinese claim that he had been forced into exile. “The Dalai Lama wishes to categorically state that he left Lhasa and Tibet and came to India of his own free will and not by force,” it said. Government-in-exile India granted the Tibet leader asylum on April 3 and permission to establish a government-in-exile in the northern hill station of Dharamsala, which already was a sanctuary for thousands of Tibetan exiles fleeing Chinese repression. From there he launched a campaign to reclaim Tibet, gradually easing this into an appeal for greater autonomy. Talks between the two sides failed, China adamantly rejecting any suggestion of Tibetan autonomy and blacklisting the Dalai Lama as a dangerous “separatist.” Beijing continues to be accused of political and religious repression in the region but insists that Tibetans enjoy extensive freedoms and that it has brought economic growth. More than 150 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest against Beijing’s presence in Tibet. The Dalai Lama, who gave up his political role in 2011 but remains based in Dharamsala, has gained worldwide respect for his pacifist approach, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.


Mosque killer's rifles bore white-supremacist references

Abstract: The self-proclaimed racist who attacked a New Zealand mosque conducting Friday prayers during an assault that killed 49 people opened fire with rifles covered in white-supremacist graffiti and listened to a song glorifying a Bosnian Serb war criminal. These details highlight the toxic belief system behind an unprecedented, live-streamed massacre, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” Trying to understand what motivated the slaughter may be difficult, as some of the material posted by the killer resembles the meme-heavy hate speech prominent in dark corners of the internet. He even seemingly randomly referenced a prominent YouTube user before carrying out the attack. However, beneath the online tropes lies a man who matter-of-factly described himself in writing as preparing to conduct a terrorist attack before opening fire on Muslims who simply had gathered to pray on a Friday. Music The shooter’s soundtrack as he drove to the mosque included an upbeat sounding tune that belies its roots in a destructive European nationalist and religious conflict. The nationalist Serb song from the 1992-95 war that tore apart Yugoslavia glorifies Serbian fighters and Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, who is jailed at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for genocide and other war crimes against Bosnian Muslims. A YouTube video for the song shows emaciated Muslim prisoners in Serb-run camps during the war. “Beware Ustashas and Turks,” says the song, using wartime, derogatory terms for Bosnian Croats and Muslims. When the gunman was finished in the mosque and returned to his car, the song “Fire” by English rock band “The Crazy World of Arthur Brown” can be heard blasting from the speakers. The singer bellows, “I am the god of hellfire!” as the man, a 28-year-old Australian, drives away. Symbols At least two rifles used in the shooting mention Ebba Akerlund, an 11-year-old girl killed in an April 2017 truck-ramming attack in Stockholm by Rakhmat Akilov, a 39-year-old Uzbek man. Akerlund’s death is memorialized in the gunman’s apparent manifesto, published online, as an event that led to his decision to wage war against what he perceives as the enemies of Western civilization. The number 14 is also seen on the gunman’s rifles. It may refer to “14 Words,” which according to the Southern Poverty Law Center is a white supremacist slogan linked to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” He also used the symbol of the Schwarze Sonne, or black sun, which “has become synonymous with myriad far-right groups,” according to the center, which monitors hate groups. In photographs from a now deleted Twitter account associated with the suspect that match the weaponry seen in his live-streamed video, there is a reference to “Vienna 1683,” the year the Ottoman Empire suffered a defeat in their siege of the city at the Battle of Kahlenberg. “Acre 1189,” a reference to the Crusades, is also on the guns. The name Charles Martel, who the Southern Poverty Law Center says white supremacists credit “with saving Europe by defeating an invading Muslim force at the Battle of Tours in 734,” was also on the weapons.

terrorism
new zealand
christchurch
racism
mass shooting


New Zealand mosque killings spark global horror

Abstract: PARIS - Attacks on two mosques in New Zealand which left at least 49 people dead on Friday — the Muslim day of prayer — have sparked horror, revulsion and dismay around the world. “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, describing the attacks in the city of Christchurch as “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” Some countries have stepped up patrols around mosques following the rampage. Here is a summary of global reactions. “My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques. 49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and their government against this vicious act of hate,” said his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. “Japan firmly condemns the atrocious shooting carried out in Christchurch,” said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a statement, expressing Japan’s “sincere solidarity with the people of New Zealand.” “Japan is determined to resolutely stand up against terrorism.” “With this attack, hostility towards Islam that the world has been has been idly watching and even encouraging for some time, has gone beyond the boundaries of individual harassment to reach the level of mass killing,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “If measures are not taken right away, news of other disasters will follow this one… I am calling on the world, in particular the West, to take quick measures,” he said. “Murder of people at prayer, in their most holy and sacred place, is a depraved and despicable act. For people of all religions and of none, a red line has been crossed,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin wrote on his official Twitter feed. Official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as describing the shootings as a “horrific and heinous criminal act.” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg urged the international community to combat all forms of extremism after the Christchurch attacks, which revived painful memories of the 2011 mass killings in Norway by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. “It’s obviously very sad. It recalls painful memories of our own experience with July 22, the most difficult moment in the post-war period in Norway.” The mother of a Swedish girl killed in a 2017 jihadist attack condemned the New Zealand massacre, after the attacker claimed in his manifesto that he wanted to avenge the girl’s death. The attack on two mosques on Friday in Christchurch “goes against everything Ebba stood for,” Jeanette Akerlund told Swedish public television SVT. One of the weapons used in the Christchurch massacres was reportedly engraved with the name of Luca Traini, an Italian far-right militant who was jailed for racist shootings last year. Traini’s lawyer Gianluca Giulianelli said on the radio that his client had repented and “firmly dissociates himself” from the New Zealand killer. Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini voiced his “absolute condemnation” of the New Zealand killings, in a statement. British Prime Minister Theresa May offered deepest condolences “after the horrifying terrorist attack in Christchurch. My thoughts are with all of those affected by this sickening act of violence.” Queen Elizabeth II, New Zealand’s head of state, said she and her husband Prince Philip sent condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives and paid tribute to emergency workers and volunteers providing support to the injured. “I have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch… At this tragic time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders.” London’s police service said it was “stepping up reassurance patrols around mosques and increasing engagement with communities of all faith, giving advice on how people and places can protect themselves.” In Australia, police in New South Wales said there were increasing patrols around mosques as a precaution. “There is no ongoing or specific threat to any mosque or place of worship,” police said. Pope Francis assured “all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity,” the Vatican said. The pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and loss of life caused by the senseless acts of violence,” Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said in a telegram. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he hoped New Zealand “will arrest these terrorists and do the necessary under the law of the country.” Indonesian President Joko Widoyo, head of the world’s largest Muslim country, said “we strongly condemn these kind of violent acts.” “Harrowing news from New Zealand overnight” said EU Council president Donald Tusk. “The brutal attack… will never diminish the tolerance and decency that New Zealand is famous for.” “An attack against peaceful people gathering for prayer is shocking in its cruelty and cynicism,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “I hope that those involved will be severely punished,” he said in a message to Arden. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she mourned “with New Zealanders for their fellow citizens who were attacked and murdered out of racist hatred while peacefully praying in their mosques. We stand together against such acts of terrorism.” French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Merkel’s message, condemning an “odious attack” and saying France “stands against any form of extremism.” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the U.S.-led alliance “stands with our friend and partner New Zealand in defence of our open societies and shared values.” Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez said his thoughts were with the victims, families and government of New Zealand after attacks by “fanatics and extremists who want to destroy our societies.”

terrorism
new zealand
christchurch
mosques
religious extremism
mass shooting


As population declines, Fukushima Prefecture to lose 15 of its 96 high schools

Abstract: The Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education will reduce its number of prefecture-run high schools by 15 by the end of fiscal 2023 as the region continues to struggle with a dwindling number of students due to a declining birthrate. The mergers will be implemented over the span of three years from fiscal 2021 and will reduce the number of high schools in the prefecture from 96 to 81. Twenty-five schools will be merged and reorganized into 13 under the plan, which will integrate schools located in close proximity of one another. Each school will retain four to six classes per grade. With the merger, the prefecture’s 88 day schools and seven night schools will be reduced to 74 and six, respectively, by the end of March 2024, according to the education board’s reform plan revealed Feb. 8. Fukushima’s only correspondence school will remain open. Takuya Okazaki and Hideki Yaginuma, who are both in charge of the plan, told a news conference the same day that the integration is necessary to provide a better learning environment for the students. The education board says it will offer briefings to local residents and members of alumni associations affected by the merger. Taking into considering their opinions and concerns, the education board will decide the number of students the affected schools will accept in the academic year of the merger. The names of the integrated schools will also be decided after consultation with relevant parties. In the education board’s plan on prefectural high school reform drafted in May last year, the number of students is estimated to decrease by about 5,300. The education board has also been considering consolidating smaller schools with less than three classes per grade, which face challenges in fostering intense competition and a high level of participation in clubs and extracurricular activities. People in the towns and cities affected by the move expressed a variety of opinions. While some say it’s the inevitable result of a declining birthrate, residents from depopulated areas fear the move will lead to fewer opportunities for students in the classroom. Meanwhile, many schools that survived the cut breathed a sigh of relief. Naganuma High School in the city of Sukagawa — which will merge with Sukagawa High School — celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding in October. The school initially started out as a branch of another high school but became an independent institution in 1978. “I’ve always recommended the school to local children because I wanted it to last,” said Hidenao Kobayashi, 58, president of the school’s alumni association. “I was quite shocked.” Some municipalities, including the town of Hanawa, will no longer have a local high school as a result of the reorganization. Hidetoshi Miyata — the mayor of Hanawa, where Hanawa Technical High School is slated to be consolidated into Shirakawa Jitsugyo High School in the adjacent city — criticized the decision. “I’m certain there will be students that will have a hard time commuting to Shirakawa city,” Miyata said. “It seems like the prefectural board of education made the decision on their own terms and with little knowledge of the local situation.” The mayor of the town of Kawamata, where Kawamata High School survived the cut, said he was relieved. “There are students who say they want to study at Kawamata High School, which has a long history. We will cooperate with the prefecture and the school and provide support,” said Mayor Kanemasa Sato. Haruo Auchi, an associate professor at Fukushima University and an expert in education administration, said that “the entire region will be affected with more people leaving,” adding that the education board needs to thoroughly explain the plan.

fukushima
population
education
schools
high schools


Google team led by Japanese engineer breaks record by calculating pi to the 31.4 trillionth digit

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - Google LLC said Thursday that a team led by engineer Emma Haruka Iwao from Japan has broken a Guinness World Record by calculating pi to the 31.4 trillionth digit, around 9 trillion more than the previous record set in 2016. The accomplishment, announced on the day dubbed “Pi Day” as its first three digits are 3.14, was achieved by using Google Cloud infrastructure, the tech giant said. Iwao became fascinated with pi, an infinitely long number defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, when she was 12 years old. “When I was a kid, I downloaded a program to calculate pi on my computer,” she said in a Google blog post. In college, one of her professors was Daisuke Takahashi of the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture, then the record holder for calculating the most accurate value of pi via a supercomputer. “When I told him I was going to start this project, he shared his advice and some technical strategies with me,” she said. The groundbreaking calculation required 25 virtual Google Cloud machines, 170 terabytes of data and about 121 days to complete. “I’m really happy to be one of the few women in computer science holding the record, and I hope I can show more people who want to work in the industry what’s possible,” Iwao said. According to Google, Iwao calculated 31,415,926,535,897 digits, making it the first time the cloud has been used for a pi calculation of this magnitude.


LDP picks former assemblyman Yanagimoto to take on Osaka Ishin's Ichiro Matsui in mayoral race

Abstract: OSAKA - Former Osaka municipal assemblyman Akira Yanagimoto of the Liberal Democratic Party has been tapped to run against Ichiro Matsui, the governor of Osaka Prefecture and head of Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), in next month’s Osaka mayoral race, with the focus on whether to abolish Osaka’s 24 wards and establish four large semiautonomous districts. Earlier this week, Matsui and current Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura announced their resignations and intention to run for each other’s positions in elections taking place on April 7, the same day as elections for the Osaka municipal and prefectural assemblies. The campaign for Osaka governor kicks off on March 21 and the mayoral campaign starts on March 24. Matsui and Yoshimura called the elections in a bid to drum up public support and quickly decide on a proposal to merge Osaka’s wards and hold a referendum, measures that the LDP, Komeito and all other political parties have long opposed. The merger plan will save money and improve services, according to Osaka Ishin. The opposition, however, says the plan will cost more than advertised, add to local debt and lead to less autonomy. “I’m ready to make all efforts to take back Osaka and guard the people’s autonomy,” Yanagimoto told reporters in Osaka late Thursday evening in announcing his candidacy. He was due to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Friday to solicit his support, as well as with LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and other LDP senior figures. The 45-year-old Yanagimoto is also expected to win the backing of Komeito, which endorsed LDP candidate Tadakazu Konishi, 64, for governor on Friday. Attention now turns to whether other opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, either officially endorse or unofficially support Yanagimoto in an “all anti-Osaka Ishin” campaign. Next month’s mayoral campaign marks the second attempt at the mayor’s chair for Yanagimoto, who ran as an LDP candidate with the support of Komeito and the JCP against Yoshimura in the November 2015 election. But Yoshimura, the handpicked successor to the popular former Mayor Toru Hashimoto, won by a margin of nearly 190,000 votes. Yanagimoto was also the public face of the opposition force during a referendum held in May 2015 regarding the merger of Osaka’s wards. The Osaka Ishin-backed plan was very narrowly voted down, with Matsui and his party vowing in the 2015 elections to try again. Yanagimoto had originally been slated to be a candidate in the Upper House elections in July, where he had hoped to succeed his uncle, 74-year-old Takuji Yanagimoto, who is a member of Nikai’s faction. The elder Yanagimoto said last year that he would not run in the next election and retire. As late as Wednesday, the younger Yanagimoto was denying he would run in the mayoral election. But with the start of the campaign looming, the LDP’s Osaka chapter having just decided on Konishi for the governor’s race and pressure from both Osaka-based LDP and Komeito members for him to run against Matsui in what is expected to be a tough race, he changed his mind.

osaka
elections
ichiro matsui
osaka ishin no kai
akira yanagimoto


Approval rate for Abe's Cabinet sags to 39% in latest survey

Abstract: The Cabinet saw its approval rate this month drop 3.4 points to 39.0 percent and its disapproval rate climb 1.9 points to 36.4 percent, a recent opinion poll shows. The shift in the Jiji Press monthly poll appears to reflect public criticism of the government statistics scandal involving the labor ministry, and the cool response of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration to the Okinawa referendum that rejected the Futenma air base relocation plan late last month. In the latest poll, 2,000 people 18 or over were interviewed nationwide. Of them, 61.2 percent gave valid responses. Of the respondents, 39.5 percent said they expected the Abe administration to make progress on bringing back the citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, but 48.0 percent said they did not. Abe has repeatedly said he is ready to have a face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to settle the long-running issue. Regarding a recent series of child abuse cases in Japan and the government’s plan to prohibit parents from physically punishing their children, 58.0 percent backed the legal revision, while 20.5 percent opposed it. About 21.5 percent said they could not back either position. Of those who approved of Abe’s Cabinet, 20.7 percent said they supported Abe because there was no one else fit to be prime minister, while 9.2 percent praised his leadership skills, and 8.8 percent regarded him as trustworthy. Of those who disapprove of the Cabinet, 22.6 percent said they could not trust Abe, 17.7 percent said they could expect nothing from his Cabinet, and 12.3 percent rejected its policies. The support rate for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party edged up 0.1 point to 25.5 percent. The support rate for the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, climbed 0.9 point to 4.3 percent. Those two parties were followed by Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, which was backed by 2.8 percent, the Japanese Communist Party, backed by 2.3 percent, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), backed by 1.4 percent, and the Democratic Party for the People, which received support from 0.7 percent. Respondents who didn’t support a party accounted for 60.7 percent, down 0.8 point.


Tokyo's biggest train and subway lines to extend operating hours during 2020 Games

Abstract: The biggest train and subway lines in and around Tokyo will adopt extended operating hours for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, games organizers said Friday. For each day during the games, the major lines, including the Yamanote Line that encircles central Tokyo, will run past 2 a.m., about two hours later than normal, to accommodate Olympic spectators. “We are thankful to the train operators for extending their services as we want spectators to be able to enjoy the late-night events no matter what time they finish,” said Toshiro Muto, CEO and Director-General of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee. The organizers and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have asked train and subway companies to cooperate in easing crowding and chaos in train stations. Many of the volleyball games at Ariake Arena near Tokyo Bay are scheduled to finish around 11:30 p.m., for example. In addition, handball games at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo and basketball games at Saitama Super Arena to the north will last until 11 p.m. on certain days. Traffic and transportation remain concerns for the metropolis more than a year away from the sporting spectacle. Lawmakers in June last year said they will shift three national holidays around the opening and closing ceremonies for the Games to reduce congestion caused by all the tourists expected.

railways
tokyo 2020 olympics
mass transport


Yamaguchi court rejects residents' call to halt last Ikata nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture

Abstract: YAMAGUCHI - A district court on Friday rejected a plea by residents to halt a reactor at the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture. The decision by the Iwakuni branch of the Yamaguchi District Court is in line with rulings made by other regional courts and allows the No. 3 reactor to continue operating. The plant is managed by Shikoku Electric Power Co. Unit No. 3, the sole remaining reactor at the plant, passed the state safety screening process that was revamped in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. But concerns remain about its safety, which led residents to turn to the courts to seek an injunction. Of the more than 30 reactors in Japan, excluding those set to be decommissioned, only a few are in operation. A previous order forcing a halt in operations was issued by the Hiroshima High Court in December 2017, citing the risk of an eruption at the caldera of Mount Aso about 130 kilometers away. The decision was overturned in September 2018 and the utility company restarted the unit a month later. The Yamaguchi court considered whether the utility and the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s estimates of risks from eruptions at the volcano in Kumamoto Prefecture were reasonable. It also looked at the potential size of a quake anticipated by scientists in seismically active areas off the central and western coasts, a key factor in a reactor’s quake-resistance, when ruling. In the decision, the presiding judge, Akira Onose, said the possibility that a large eruption might occur during the reactor’s operating life is low and the regulatory authority’s safety standards are adequate. The No. 3 reactor at Ikata began operations in 1994. The plaintiffs pointed out that pyroclastic flows from possible catastrophic eruptions could reach the plant. They also said the utility underestimated the fact that the reactor sits on the median tectonic line, a massive fault zone, as well as the potential damage from a massive earthquake off the Pacific coast of central and western Japan. “We find the decision appropriate. We will ensure safe and stable operation while keeping in mind that there is no end to efforts to improve safety,” Shikoku Electric said in a statement. The Ikata No. 3 reactor was temporarily halted in April 2011 for a periodic inspection and was restarted in August 2016. Separate demands to halt the reactor had been turned down by regional courts in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and Oita.

fukushima
energy
nuclear energy
ehime
yamaguchi
shikoku electric
ikata


Japan to put robotics prowess on show during 2020 Olympics by helping staff and visitors alike

Abstract: Acting on its aim to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics “the most innovative in history,” organizers on Friday unveiled robots that will be deployed to assist spectators and staff during the games. The robots shown to reporters are to be used as part of the Tokyo 2020 Robot Project, as the games’ organizers see the event as a chance to showcase how the country’s robot technology focuses on practicality rather than just entertainment. The Human Support Robot and Delivery Support Robot, developed by Toyota Motor Corp., will be used in tandem to assist visitors using wheelchairs. HSR, a one-armed robot about a meter in height, can hold objects, pick things up off the ground and reach high up. It can move by itself or can be controlled remotely as it attends to people in wheelchairs, guiding them to their seats and helping carry items. When people order food or drinks using a tablet computer, DSR will transport the items in a basket and HSR will then deliver them directly to guests. Sixteen HSRs and eight to 10 DSRs are expected to be used in the stadiums hosting track and field events, according to Toyota. In addition, Atoun Model Y, a wearable robotic suit developed by Panasonic Corp., will be used at venues and other facilities by staff tasked with carrying, loading and unloading heavy objects such as bags of waste or suitcases. Weighing 4.5 kilograms, the wearable suit can reduce the burden of heavy loads on the users’ lower backs by 10 to 40 percent, according to Panasonic. Massaki Komiya, the organizing committee’s director general, said they are aiming to have robots that are “friendly to people for the games and enhance convenience at events, as well as provide the audience with a new experience.” He also hopes the use of robots will become a legacy stretching beyond the 2020 Games. Organizers said details about other robots to be used during the games will be announced at a later date.

olympics
toyota
robots
panasonic
disability
2020 tokyo olympics


JOC head Takeda likely to retire amid probe into Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid corruption, say sources

Abstract: Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda is likely to retire without serving another term at a time when French prosecutors are investigating him for suspected corruption in Japan’s successful bid to host the 2020 Games, sources said Friday. The 71-year-old president is unlikely to extend his term at the JOC’s executive elections slated for June and July, the sources said. Before the corruption scandal surfaced, he had been expected to secure an 11th term. The next JOC board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. The JOC said “nothing has been decided” without providing further details. The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee also declined to comment. French prosecutors have been probing multimillion dollar payments made by the Tokyo bid committee to a Singapore consulting company. The prosecuting judge now suspects Takeda of paying bribes to secure the winning bid, a judicial source said. Takeda, who was president of the 2020 bid committee, was questioned in Paris in December and placed under formal investigation. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying that there was nothing improper with the contracts made between the committee and the consultancy and that they were for legitimate work. The International Olympic Committee’s ethics commission has opened an ethics file on Takeda, who is also an IOC member and chairs its marketing commission. Takeda was also re-elected to his post as vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia earlier this month.

olympics
corruption
joc
scandals
tsunekazu takeda
2020 tokyo olympics


Japan's Prince Hisahito, soon to be second-in-line to throne, graduates from Tokyo elementary school

Abstract: Prince Hisahito, the 12-year-old grandson of Emperor Akihito and soon-to-be second-in-line to the throne, graduated Friday from an elementary school affiliated with Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. The prince will become second-in-line to the Chrysanthemum Throne after the 85-year-old Emperor abdicates at the end of next month, to be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1. Prince Akishino, the younger son of the Emperor and the father of Prince Hisahito, will become first-in-line to the throne. The Imperial House Law states that only males with male lineal descent from emperors can ascend the throne. Prince Hisahito remains the only male of his generation. In a graduation essay, the prince looked back on his years at the school, where he took part in activities such as searching for herbs and trees, as well as conducting research into Tokyo’s municipalities. “We live in the midst of nature,” the prince said in a handwritten message attached to the essay. According to the Imperial Household Agency, the prince was responsible for looking after the school’s rabbits and flower beds in his final years at the institution. He also took part in an overnight school trip to Nagano Prefecture in early March, where he enjoyed activities such as pottery and curling. The prince will continue his education at a junior high school associated with the women’s university. Prince Hisahito, who had attended a kindergarten also associated with Ochanomizu University, enrolled in the elementary school in April 2013. He is the first member of the Imperial family in the postwar period to attend and graduate from a school other than Gakushuin Primary School in Tokyo. Gakushuin University was established in the 19th century as a school for aristocrats. Most imperial family members have attended schools associated with the university.

tokyo
emperor akihito
schools
prince hisahito
imperial family
ochanomizu university


Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange founder Mark Karpeles gets suspended term for falsifying data but is cleared of embezzlement

Abstract: Mark Karpeles, the former head of Mt. Gox — a bitcoin exchange that went bankrupt in 2014 — was found guilty of data manipulation by the Tokyo District Court on Friday and handed a prison sentence of 2½ years that will be suspended for four years. He was found not guilty on a separate charge of embezzling millions of dollars through customer accounts. Karpeles, a 33-year-old Frenchman, was the head of Mt. Gox when the firm filed for bankruptcy protection in 2014 after 850,000 bitcoins — worth an estimated ¥48 billion at the time — disappeared from its digital vaults. Karpeles was arrested in 2015 and accused of embezzling a total of ¥341 million belonging to customers that was kept in a Mt. Gox account. He was alleged to have transferred the money to his own account and to have used the money to live a lavish lifestyle. However the court found that Karpeles transferred roughly $33.5 million to a bank account operated by a bitcoin exchange based in Dallas across 21 transactions made between February and September 2013. He used his personal computer and covered his tracks by falsifying company records. In Friday’s ruling, the court said the issue wasn’t that Karpeles transferred money but that he acted against the company’s interests and beyond his authority when he manipulated company records to conceal the transactions. Prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison sentence, but the court rejected some aspects of their case in handing down the lighter term. Among the issues in question was Karpeles’ decision to use about ¥315 million of the allegedly embezzled money to purchase a 3D printer business, which prosecutors said was unnecessary for Mt. Gox. The court concluded, however, that Mt. Gox used that money to acquire the business as a valuable and a potentially profitable asset, calling the decision reasonable. The court also ruled that it was not possible to determine that Karpeles embezzled funds from Mt. Gox clients because the company did not have a proper accounting system in place for when its executives borrowed money from the company, a common arrangement in small or medium-sized firms or privately owned businesses without accounting units. Presiding Judge Tomoyuki Nakayama said that data manipulation has led to the loss of credibility for cryptocurrency exchange services given the large amount of money involved. The court said that given Karpeles’ expertise in IT engineering and his position of authority, the misuse of the information he possessed was not justifiable. “The defendant’s criminal responsibility cannot be taken lightly,” Nakayama said. But the court decided to suspend the sentence given that Karpeles had no prior criminal record. Throughout the trial, Karpeles maintained his innocence, blaming the financial loss on an external hacking attack. “I swear to god that I am innocent,” he said in Japanese to a panel of judges at a hearing when his trial started in 2017. He apologized to customers for the company’s bankruptcy but denied allegations of data manipulation or embezzlement. Karpeles later recovered about 200,000 of the lost bitcoins in a storage device. At one point, Mt. Gox claimed that it was handling 80 percent of the world’s bitcoin transactions. In the wake of the company’s shutdown in 2014, angry investors began to question the security of cryptocurrencies in general.

courts
bitcoin
mt . gox
mark karpeles
cryptocurrency


In Japan's first case of its kind, 18-year-old sent to prosecutors over ¥15 million cryptocurrency theft

Abstract: An 18-year-old boy was referred to prosecutors Thursday for allegedly stealing about ¥15 million ($134,300) worth of cryptocurrency last year by hacking a digital currency storage website, police said. The case is the first in Japan in which criminal charges have been pursued against a hacker over cryptocurrency losses, the police said. The boy, from the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, allegedly stole the money after hacking Monappy, a website where users can keep the virtual currency monacoin, between Aug. 14 and Sept. 1 last year. He used software called Tor that makes it difficult to identify who is accessing the system, but the police identified him by analyzing communication records left on the website’s server. The police said the boy has admitted to the allegations, quoting him as saying, “I felt like I’d found a trick no one knows and did it as if I were playing a video game.” He took advantage of a weakness in a feature of the website that enables a user to transfer the currency to another user, knowing that the system would malfunction if transfers were repeated over a short period of time. He repeatedly submitted currency transfer requests to himself, overwhelming the system and allowing him to register more money in his account. About 7,700 users were affected and the operator will compensate them. The boy later put the stolen monacoins in an account set up by a different cryptocurrency operator, received payouts in a different cryptocurrency and bought items such as a smartphone, the police said. According to the operator of Monappy, the stolen monacoins were kept using a system with an always-on internet connection, and those kept offline were not stolen. Japan has seen large digital currency heists in recent years amid a boom in people purchasing various currencies. In 2014, ¥48 billion worth of bitcoin was stolen from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox. Then in January last year, about ¥58 billion worth of the digital currency NEM was taken from customers’ accounts at the Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck Inc. In June, the Financial Services Agency, which regulates cryptocurrencies, ordered six virtual currency exchange operators to improve internal controls.

internet hacking teens cybersecurity theft cryptocurrency


Rules issued for firms hiring foreign workers via new system, including pay parity with Japanese

Abstract: The government released Friday a set of ordinances on how to enlist foreign workers under a new visa system that will start from April, including requiring employers to pay wages equivalent to or higher than those of Japanese nationals. The move came as Japan, under its revised immigration control law, is set to ease its restrictions on the entry of foreign workers to address serious labor shortages resulting from the nation’s aging population and falling birthrate. “The government will make sure that everything is in place for the launch of the new system,” Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, who is overseeing it, told a news conference. The government expects hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals to take jobs under the new visa program over the next five years, but concerns remain over whether they could be exploited as cheap labor. Under the decrees, employees should make payments to foreign workers via their bank accounts, with the records to serve as evidence that they are properly paid. If workers cannot finance their travel expenses to return to their countries after their contracts expire, employees should shoulder the cost. Entities that want to hire foreign workers must pass requirements such as not allowing the involvement of brokers who collect large sums from foreign nationals seeking to work in Japan. Companies must also have no recorded violations of immigration law or other labor-related regulations in the past five years. For their part, workers must prove they are in good health in order to qualify for a visa. Companies will need to assign staff to take charge of supporting the daily lives of foreign workers, including helping make arrangements for them to secure accommodation and study the Japanese language. The Diet passed a bill revising the immigration law in December to bring in more workers from abroad into 14 labor-hungry sectors, including construction, farming and nursing care. The decision marked a major policy shift for the country, which had previously effectively granted working visas only to highly skilled professionals such as doctors and lawyers. The new visa system allows foreign workers aged 18 or older to apply for two new residence statuses — Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 for people who will engage in work that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience, and Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 for work that entails higher skill levels. Holders of the No. 1 type status, which can be renewed for up to a total of five years, will not be allowed to bring family members to Japan. For each application, they will be permitted to stay for four months, six months or one year. Those granted the No. 2 status will be allowed to live in Japan with their family members and there will be no limit on the number of times they can renew their visa. For each application, they are permitted to stay for six months, one year or three years. With the new visa system, Japan is planning to accept up to around 345,000 foreign workers over the next five years. Foreign nationals who have gone through Japan’s existing technical intern program for more than three years will be able to obtain the No. 1 visa status without taking tests, and the government expects many interns to apply for the visa. Japan introduced the technical intern program in 1993 with the aim of transferring skills to developing countries. But the scheme has been criticized for providing cover for companies that want to import cheap labor. Many interns have also been found to have been saddled with debts in coming to Japan and end up being exploited.

immigration
jobs
justice ministry
expats
foreign workers
takashi yamashita


ANA has no plans yet to halt purchase of 30 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets despite two deadly crashes

Abstract: All Nippon Airways Co. is not considering whether to suspend an order for 30 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, the same airplane model involved in a deadly crash this week in Ethiopia, a spokesperson said Tuesday. “We are hearing the accident is under investigation by the authorities, so at this point there is nothing new to announce, like suspending the order,” said the spokesperson, who declined to provide a name. The Japanese airline does not currently own the model, the spokesperson added. Other than ANA, Japan Investment Adviser Co., a lease company, bought 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in 2017, according to Boeing’s website. A Japan Investment Adviser spokesperson said it does not have plans to change the order. Airlines and aviation authorities worldwide are scrambling to set out plans after Sunday’s accident, the second involving a 737 Max 8 within six months. Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi plummeted into a field shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people onboard. In October, a Lion Air flight carrying 189 people in a 737 Max 8 crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta. The cockpit data recorder indicated the jet’s airspeed indicator had not functioned properly in prior flights. Following the Ethiopian Airlines’ crash, regulatory authorities in several economies, such as Singapore, Indonesia and China, have reportedly ordered the suspension of 737 Max 8 operations. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has not issued a new guidance. The aircraft manufacturer said in a statement that the model is “a safe airplane.”

airlines
ana
boeing
aviation
ethiopian airlines
boeing 737 max 8