Woman of unknown nationality rescued from sailboat drifting in sea off Hokkaido

Abstract: SAPPORO - A woman has been rescued from a drifting sailboat in waters off Hokkaido, but the local coast guard said Monday it has not been possible to clearly understand her situation due to communication difficulties. The small Israeli-flagged vessel was spotted drifting by a coast guard patrol plane in the Sea of Japan some 35 kilometers from Cape Benkei in the town of Suttsu, on Hokkaido’s western coast, at around 11:50 a.m. on Sunday. The woman onboard, whose nationality is not yet known, was seen trying to attract attention by waving orange and white cloths, according to coast guard officials. The woman, described as likely to be in her 40s, was taken aboard a Japanese patrol vessel. She is not injured and is in good health, they said. Unable to speak Japanese or English, the woman used gestures and drawings to explain that the engine of the sailboat broke down and she was unable to hoist a sail. She has written three pages in what officials believe to be Russian, but it is taking time for the officials to comprehend it, they said. The woman was wearing a life jacket at the time she was rescued and appeared tanned. She ate bread and drank water and juice after she was taken aboard the patrol boat, according to the coast guard.


Japan urges China to guarantee universal values

Abstract: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday urged China to guarantee universal values. “Freedom, respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law are universal values of the international community,” Suga told a news conference. “It is important that these values are guaranteed also in China.” Japan will urge China to make positive moves in this regard, he added. He made the comments the day before the 30th anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.

china
yoshihide suga
protests
politics
tiananmen square


Soviet documents reveal Moscow's view on territory seized from Japan at end of WWII

Abstract: MOSCOW - Top Soviet officials were aware that the lack of a reference in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty to the sovereignty of islands seized from Japan in the closing days of World War II could be exploited in postwar negotiations with Tokyo, declassified documents obtained by Kyodo News have shown. Under the treaty signed by Japan and 48 other nations, Tokyo gave up territories it had seized, such as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and southern Sakhalin. The Soviet Union did not sign the treaty, which was implemented in 1952 to end the Allied postwar occupation of Japan. The documents revealed Sunday refer to the Communist Party’s strategies for negotiations launched in June 1955 with Japan. They show that Moscow decided to demand Tokyo’s recognition of Soviet sovereignty over the seized islands, which are still at the heart of the current Japan-Russia talks toward a peace treaty, because the San Francisco treaty did not back Moscow’s territorial claim. A joint declaration signed by Japan and Russia in 1956 ended the state of war, but a peace treaty has not yet been signed. Russia has continued to demand that Japan accept the outcome of the war and recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the islands off Hokkaido, called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia. Japan maintains that the islands have been illegally occupied by Russia since they were seized by the Soviet Union after Tokyo’s surrender in the war, in 1945. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in November to step up talks on the basis of the 1956 declaration, which mentions the transfer of the smaller two of the four islands following the conclusion of a peace treaty, but little progress has been made since.

wwii
history
russia
disputed islands
northern territories
soviet union
hokkaido
russia-japan relations


Pro-nuclear incumbent Shingo Mimura wins fifth term in Aomori gubernatorial election

Abstract: AOMORI - Shingo Mimura, a pro-nuclear incumbent, won his fifth term in the Aomori gubernatorial election on Sunday, stressing his past achievements and focusing away from the area’s involvement in the country’s nuclear fuel recycling policy during campaigning. Mimura, 63, backed by the local chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, defeated 65-year-old dentist Wakako Sahara, who was supported by opposition parties. The incumbent garnered 329,048 votes, against 105,466 votes collected by Sahara. Voter turnout stood at 40.08 percent. The prefecture hosts a cluster of nuclear facilities, including an incomplete plant in Rokkasho where spent uranium fuel will be reprocessed for recycling. During the 17-day official campaigning, Mimura touted his role in having expanded agricultural exports and promoted administrative reforms, while mostly avoiding discussion of the controversial nuclear policy. Aomori Prefecture received about ¥20 billion in nuclear fuel tax income from nuclear facility operators in fiscal 2017, accounting for about 11 percent of the prefecture’s annual tax revenue. A person involved in Mimura’s campaign said there were many residents in Aomori Prefecture who did not want the nuclear issue to be the focus of the election as they financially benefit from having the fuel recycling facilities there. Sahara, who opposes nuclear power generation, criticized Mimura for promoting the central government’s nuclear power policy, but was unable to gain broad support from voters.

nuclear power
elections
nuclear power plants
rokkasho
shingo mimura


As Abe awaits meeting with Kim Jong Un, observers flag gaps on North Korea policy between Washington and Tokyo

Abstract: SINGAPORE - Japan’s policy on North Korea is under growing scrutiny, particularly since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed willingness to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “without conditions.” Since Pyongyang fired projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on May 4 and 9, Japan has taken a tougher stance against North Korea than the United States, claiming that the missile and nuclear threats remain unchanged in the region. Some Japanese government officials, however, have become concerned that as long as Tokyo continues to present a strong front against Pyongyang, a summit between Abe and Workers’ Party of Korea Chairman Kim will not materialize. Japan has also been at odds with the United States over how to address North Korea’s recent launches of short-range missiles, prompting concern that Abe’s government is not working in tandem with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. “We need to remind ourselves of the undeniable fact that there has been no essential change in North Korea’s nuclear and missile capacities,” Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said in a speech at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday. “North Korea’s launch of short-range ballistic missiles at the beginning of May, which violated relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, is extremely regrettable,” Iwaya added at the gathering, which is known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. His remarks came less than a week after Trump spoke at a joint press conference with Abe in Tokyo late last month. “My people think it could have been a violation, as you know. I view it differently,” Trump said at the press conference. Trump — who has voiced eagerness to continue talks with Kim even after the collapse of their Feb. 27-28 summit in Hanoi — has apparently been trying to put the matter to rest in order to not provoke North Korea, foreign affairs experts say. “I cannot understand why Japan has lambasted North Korea, using relatively strong expressions,” said one diplomatic source. “Does Abe really want to meet with Kim Jong Un?” Abe had previously indicated that a summit with Kim would not be possible without a guarantee of progress. But in early May, he said, “I myself need to face Chairman Kim without conditions” to resolve several bilateral issues. Abe’s government has yet to make any conciliatory gestures toward Pyongyang, while North Korea has shown no sign of rapprochement with Japan. “Anti-Japanese sentiment has been spreading in North Korea. It is difficult to imagine that Abe and Kim will sit at the same table in the near future,” a source familiar with the situation in Pyongyang said. A Japanese government official said, “We know that our hard-line approach to North Korea may lower the possibility of Prime Minister Abe’s meeting with Chairman Kim, but in terms of security, we cannot easily let down our guard against North Korea.” Sounding a note of caution about Trump’s kid-gloves approach to North Korea, another government official said, “It is unclear whether the president and Prime Minister Abe are sharing the same view about the denuclearization issue.” “If the United States really thinks things are OK unless North Korea fires intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the continental U.S., we may have to reconsider how to cooperate with the Trump administration over the North Korea issue,” the official added.

shinzo abe
north korea
kim jong un
abduction
donald trump
takeshi iwaya


Japanese student wins haiku award at U.N. International School in New York

Abstract: NEW YORK - Japanese high school senior Reo Okajima has won an award for a haiku in the Sustainable Development Goals category of a Haiku Festival at the United Nations International School in New York. The award ceremony took place Saturday. The contest was hosted mainly by UNIS and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. The contest saw more than 1,000 entries across various categories split by language and grade level in addition to the SDG category, which was set up this year. Okajima’s haiku, written in English, reads: A lot of garbage white sandy beach I cannot see. “I wrote it in the hope that the sea will be kept clean,” said Okajima, who is from Hokkaido. He wrote the haiku with maritime pollution from plastic bottles, and other materials, in mind.


Automated train in Yokohama crash continued moving 1 meter after slamming into buffer

Abstract: A driverless train that injured 14 people in Yokohama on Saturday after moving in the wrong direction continued moving for 1 meter even after hitting a buffer at a station because of the way the buffer works, the train operator said Monday. Saturday’s accident occurred at Shin-Sugita station on the Kanazawa Seaside Line. Of the 14 passengers hurt, six sustained serious injuries. According to the operator, Yokohama Seaside Line Co., the unmanned train traveled for 25 meters in the wrong direction, hit the buffer, which is designed to absorb any impact, and then continued to move for about a meter. The Japan Transport Safety Board and the operating company are specifically investigating the circumstances of the accident, and believe that the impact was magnified when the moving train hit the buffer. The operating company said the buffer consists of a hydraulic damper that can move a maximum of 1 meter from its usual position. Because the train’s brake system failed to work at the time of the accident, the hydraulic damper is believed to have absorbed the full shock of the impact. Following calculations by technical staff, the operator said that when the crash occurred, there is a possibility that the train was moving at a speed faster than 10 kph. The safety board said its on-site inspection found the coupling apparatus of the car that hit the buffer had buckled due to the force of the impact. The accident occurred on 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The five-car train was supposed to leave Shin-Sugita Station for Namiki-Chuo Station, but instead traveled in the wrong direction. It remains unclear when transportation services will be resumed. On Monday morning shuttle buses were laid on to transport commuters, but many of them found they had to wait in queues at Shin-Sugita Station. A 37-year-old male worker from Hodogaya Ward in Yokohama who was waiting at the end of the line, said, “I left home early but I might be late for work. It seems faster walking.” He then left the line and headed quickly toward his office. A 71-year-old female part-time worker said, “Usually I’m already at work by this hour. I hope train services will resume as soon as possible.”

accidents
rail
yokohama
yokohama seaside line


Osaka police urges officers and staff to install message recorders on fixed phone lines to combat fraud

Abstract: OSAKA - The Osaka Prefectural Police are urging all officers and staff members, totaling some 23,000 people in total, to install special message devices on their fixed-line telephones in an effort to prevent remittance and other kinds of fraud. The devices, which the police developed jointly with a manufacturer, are activated so the caller hears, before the ringtone starts, a warning message lasting about 10 seconds that says the conversation will be recorded automatically. The message is intended to intimidate scammers and, over time, have a deterrent effect on special fraud cases in which perpetrators typically use phones to trick victims into sending money via ATMs or other means. This is the first time in Japan that police officers and staff members have been urged to install such recording devices. The device used in Osaka can record 1,000 messages over a period of 15 hours. A display shows the proportion of calls being terminated while the message plays, to indicate the percentage of calls considered to be potential scam attempts that are being intercepted. Recordings of calls involving fraud tactics will be made public to encourage people to be on alert. The full retail price of the recording devices, manufactured by a company in Nagoya, is set at ¥12,800 each. By purchasing limited-function models in bulk, the Osaka police have been able to allow officers and staff members to buy them at a cheaper price. The officers and staff members have been urged to purchase more than one device so they can be installed in the homes of their parents or other relatives. The police are also considering selling the devices to the general public. In 2018, the number of bank transfer scams and other special fraud cases detected by Osaka police totaled 1,622, and the amount of money stolen in those cases totaled ¥3.5 billion. “With special fraud remaining rampant, we’re facing an urgent need to take measures,” said Yoshikazu Kawabata, head of a police division promoting measures against special fraud. “We want to spread the initiative (of installing phone recorders) from Osaka nationwide.”


Kawasaki knife attack suspect may have checked site four days before

Abstract: YOKOHAMA - The assailant in a knife attack in Kawasaki last week may have scouted the scene four days before he went on the stabbing rampage that left two dead and more than a dozen others injured, investigative sources said Monday. Images of a man who appears to be Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, were captured on the morning of May 24 by security cameras installed around the crime scene, as well as at nearby Noborito Station and Yomiurilandmae Station on the Odakyu Line, which is the closest station to his home in the city’s Asao Ward, the sources said. Police also discovered that Iwasaki bought the 30-centimeter-long knives used in the attack from a mass merchandise retailer in Machida, Tokyo, in February, so they suspect the crime was planned some time earlier. Iwasaki attacked a group of Caritas Elementary School students and their parents at around 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday May 28 with knives in each hand, then killed himself shortly after. The attack, which lasted less than 20 seconds, caused the deaths of Hanako Kuribayashi, an 11-year-old student, and Foreign Ministry official Satoshi Oyama, the 39-year-old father of a student at the school. Iwasaki also injured 18 others, mostly schoolchildren. On May 24, the day Iwasaki is believed to have been caught on camera, was the last regular school day before the attack. Many schoolchildren are believed to have been waiting for school buses near the site on that day, just like the morning when the attack took place. On May 25, a Saturday, the school held a sports event and as a result was closed through the following Monday. The assailant’s motives remain unclear. Police searched his home last week but found no clues. The suspect lived together with his uncle and aunt, both of whom are in their 80s. Though Iwasaki received an allowance from the couple and ate food that was prepared for him and left in the refrigerator, he rarely spoke to them face to face or communicated with them and mostly stayed in his room. Iwasaki apparently did not possess a computer or smartphone, according to police.

murder
kawasaki
mental health
kanagawa
hikikomori
stabbings
police
ryuichi iwasaki
kawasaki attack


Former top farm official says Kawasaki knife attack prompted him to kill his son

Abstract: A former top farm ministry bureaucrat arrested Saturday over the murder of his son has told investigators the mass stabbing in Kawasaki last week prompted the killing, investigative sources said Monday. According to the sources, Hideaki Kumazawa, 76, told investigators that he believed his son could “harm others” after he found out about the stabbing rampage last Tuesday, in which a man said to have become a social recluse allegedly killed two and injured more than a dozen others before taking his own life. Kumazawa was quoted as saying his 44-year-old son, Eiichiro Kumazawa, “tended to be withdrawn from social life and exhibited violent behavior” toward him and his wife, the sources said. A note believed to have been left by the elder Kumazawa, who once served as Japan’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, was found at his home suggesting his murderous intent, the sources said. His son was found with a dozen wounds concentrated in his upper body including chest and abdomen. Kumazawa was sent to prosecutors on Monday on suspicion of murder. According to the sources, the son had been living elsewhere in Tokyo for more than 10 years until returning to his parent’s home in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, in late May at his own request. While the son was living apart from his parents, he was seen arguing with neighbors about methods for garbage disposal. Kumazawa also told investigators that he felt his life was in danger, prompting the police to suspect there was a long-standing feud within the family, the sources said. The two had a verbal dispute several hours before the incident, when the son became angry over noise from a sports day at a nearby elementary school, the sources said. Police suspect Kumazawa was worried, after learning of the Kawasaki attack, that his son would harm children at the school. He was also quoted as saying he was worried his neighbors might be in danger from his son. The incident took place at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Kumazawa called the police shortly after and said he had stabbed his son to death. His son was found collapsed on a futon and confirmed dead after being taken to a hospital.There was a large amount of blood on the futon and a kitchen knife was left nearby, police said. The assailant in the knife attack last Tuesday in Kawasaki is said to have rarely left his home, where he was living with his uncle and aunt, who are in their 80s. The suspect, 51-year-old Ryuichi Iwasaki, took his own life shortly after he attacked a group of Caritas Elementary School students and their parents at around 7:40 a.m. with a 30-centimeter-long knife in each hand. Kumazawa joined the predecessor of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 1967 and became the ministry’s top bureaucrat in 2001. He stepped down the following year amid criticism of the ministry’s handling of an outbreak of mad cow disease. He served as Japan’s ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2005 to 2008. Iwasaki and Eiichiro Kumazawa have been both described as social recluses, referred to as hikikomori in Japanese. Kawasaki municipal officials said during a news conference last Thursday that Iwasaki had a tendency to withdraw from social interaction for long periods. Media outlets then scrambled to report this revelation. Recent media reports suggesting a link between hikikomori and criminal activity are propagating misunderstanding and prejudice against people with the condition, advocates have said. Morito Ishizaki, editor-in-chief at Hikipos, which delivers messages from people who are or were hikikomori, posted an article saying that “if people begin to have an image that hikikomori are likely to commit indiscriminate killing, that’s definitely a prejudice.” Ishizaki, who used to be a recluse himself, said that hikikomori “is a term merely to express a person’s state and that there are various types of hikikomori.” Last Friday, Hikikomori UX Kaigi, a group of former and present hikikomori, issued a statement as well: “If the image of hikikomori continues to be distorted, hikikomori and their families may be driven into a corner and deepen their despair and fears of connecting with the society.” KHJ, a national federation of groups of families of hikikomori, said on Saturday in a statement that “families with a reclusive member would be scared of public attention and feel an intensified sense of isolation if people blame them for leaving the problem alone.” Journalist Masaki Ikegami, who has covered the issue of hikikomori for more than 20 years, said that forcibly pushing hikikomori into society can impose unnecessary pressure on them. “It is rare for hikikomori to commit a crime,” he said. He also called on people with hikikomori family members to contact related groups and gather information.

murder
mental health
hikikomori
stabbings
maff
ryuichi iwasaki
kawasaki attack
hideaki kumazawa


Boeing 737s undergo review for wing parts prone to cracking

Abstract: WASHINGTON/DALLAS - Airlines have begun inspecting 312 of Boeing Co.’s 737 family of aircraft, including some of the grounded 737 Max, because they have wing components that are prone to cracking. The parts must be replaced within 10 days, U.S. regulators said. Boeing informed the Federal Aviation Administration that so-called leading-edge slat tracks may not have been properly manufactured and pose a safety risk, the agency said in an emailed statement Sunday. The parts allow the wing to expand to create more lift during takeoff and landing. U.S. carriers reported few aircraft covered by the warning Monday and said flight schedules wouldn’t be affected. While less critical than the global grounding of its 737 Max since March, Boeing’s latest production issue adds another headache for a management team trying control the fallout from two deadly crashes and get the U.S. manufacturer’s top-selling plane flying again. The head of the International Air Transport Association warned airline CEOs at the industry’s annual gathering this past weekend that the plane-approval process is damaged and the industry is under scrutiny. The FAA plans to issue an order calling for operators of 737 planes worldwide to identify whether the deficient parts were installed and, if found, to replace them. A complete failure wouldn’t lead to a loss of the aircraft, the FAA said, but could cause damage during flight. Boeing has notified operators of the planes about the needed repairs and is sending replacement parts to help minimize the time aircraft are out of service, the company said in a statement. The slat tracks in question were made by a supplier to Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., Boeing said in an email. Shares of the plane maker fell less than 1 percent to $338.89 at the close in New York, while Spirit AeroSystems was little changed at $81.14. Boeing has identified 148 parts made by a subcontractor that are affected. The parts may be on a total of 179 737 Max aircraft and 133 737 NG planes worldwide, including 33 Max and 32 NG aircraft in the U.S., the FAA said. The NG, or Next Generation, 737s are a predecessor to the Max family. Southwest Airlines Co., which had 753 Boeing 737s in its fleet at the end of March, said that while conversations with Boeing were continuing, it appeared that fewer than 10 of its planes are affected. Checks and any needed repairs were not expected to affect operations, Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesman, said in an email. Southwest’s fleet includes 34 grounded Max aircraft. American Airlines Group Inc. said the inspection requirement will not affect its 737 NG fleet, but at least one of its Max planes are among those seen as most likely to have the parts in question, said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the airline. It was still determining if more Max were involved. American has about 300 737-800s in its fleet and 24 Max. Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to inspect and, if found, replace the part Monday night on one 737 NG covered by Boeing’s warning, said Catherine Simmons, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based carrier. Delta was still working with Boeing to see if any other of its 208 NGs need reviews. United Continental Holdings Inc. said none of its 737 NGs have the wing parts and none of its 14 Max aircraft are “high risk.” Alaska Air Group Inc. also has one NG affected. The deficient parts may be on fewer of the identified planes, Boeing said. While the full list of jets must be inspected, 20 Max and 21 NG aircraft are “most likely” to have the suspect parts installed, according to the company. The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 13 after two fatal crashes tied to a malfunction that caused a flight control system to repeatedly drive down the plane’s nose. Boeing is finalizing a software fix along with proposed new training that will be required before the planes fly again.

u.s .
accidents
boeing
faa
aviation
737 max
air accidents


Singapore lifts ban on Japanese poultry imports

Abstract: SINGAPORE - Singapore has lifted an import ban on Japanese poultry and other food items effective this month, enabling Tokyo to renew efforts to boost exports of farm and fishery products to Southeast Asia’s richest economy. The city-state now permits imports of poultry, processed poultry products and egg-related items along with processed foods made from beef and pork from Japan, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Friday. Singapore suspended Japanese poultry imports in 2010 due to a bird flu outbreak in Japan, ministry official Hisako Okura said. Another ministry official, Masatsugu Okita, noted that Japan has been allowed to ship chilled and frozen beef and pork to Singapore, which is diversifying sources of its food imports. The ministry negotiated with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore to remove the poultry ban as Tokyo has been trying to boost agricultural and fishery exports, Okita said. Similar negotiations are ongoing with other foreign markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, he added. Koki Miyoshi, managing director of the Japanese restaurant Kamoshita in Singapore, said Malaysian poultry is commonly used in Singapore, but Japanese poultry and related products are favored as high-quality ingredients. “We can have a wider variety of food products such as instant foods that contain a fairly large amount of meats,” said an employee in charge of fresh food procurements at a Japanese operator of supermarkets in Singapore. The Japan External Trade Organization plans to “host promotional events in Singapore to facilitate Japanese food exports” in response to inquiries about instant curry sauce and noodles that include processed meat ingredients, according to Singapore-based JETRO official Dai Ito. Shipments of poultry products from Japan to Singapore are expected to begin in several months after the Singaporean government accredits Japanese poultry firms and processing facilities, Yoshimitsu Fujii, second secretary at the Japanese Embassy in Singapore, said. Japanese farm and fishery exports almost doubled from 2013 to about ¥907 billion ($8.4 billion) in 2018, with those to Singapore totaling more than ¥28 billion, making it the eighth-largest foreign market, according to the Japanese ministry’s data. The government has set a target of ¥1 trillion in such food exports this year.

agriculture
singapore
south korea
exports
poultry


Brazil halts beef exports to China after 'atypical' case of mad cow disease

Abstract: SAO PAULO - Brazil suspended beef exports to China after a case of mad cow disease was reported in Mato Grosso state, according to a government document seen by Bloomberg, dealing another blow to the nation’s meat exporters. Shipments have been temporarily suspended in compliance with quarantine and sanitary protocols between Brazil and China, the South American nation’s Department of Inspection of Animal Products said in an internal memo that was also sent to beef exporters. Meat cargoes shipped after May 30 must be returned to producers or redirected to other destinations, it said. Meat producer Minerva SA fell as much as 6.2 percent in Sao Paulo while larger rival JBS SA lost 5.4 percent. Brazil’s agriculture ministry declined to comment on the halt in exports to China. The export suspension was first reported by local newspaper Valor Economico. The ministry said late Friday a 17-year-old cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was found in Mato Grosso. The case was considered “atypical” as the animal contracted the neurological disease spontaneously instead of through contaminated meat-and-bone meal. Atypical BSE also differs from the classical variety linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people. The infected cow didn’t enter the food-supply chain, and the sanitary risk status for classical BSE remains “insignificant,” the ministry said. Brazilian meat producers have faced a string of bad news including export bans since a major food-safety scandal broke two years ago. China is the largest destination for the country’s beef, accounting for about 20 percent of total shipments.

china
brazil
bse
beef
mad cow disease
exports


Russia orders Tinder dating app to share user data on demand

Abstract: MOSCOW - Russia said Monday it had added the popular dating app Tinder to a list of entities obliged to hand over user data and messages to law enforcement agencies on demand, including the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecoms and media regulator, said in a statement that Tinder had been added to its special register at the end of last month after providing the requisite information to allow itself to be added. The move, part of a wider Russian drive to regulate the internet, means that Tinder will be obliged to store users’ metadata on servers inside Russia for at least six months as well as their text, audio or video messages. Russia’s law enforcement agencies such as the FSB security service, which took over most of the KGB’s functions, can require companies on the register to hand over data on demand. The Russian state’s increased regulation of the internet has drawn criticism from some opposition politicians and sparked protests from campaigners who are concerned about what they say is creeping Chinese-style control of the online world. Authorities dismiss that as a smear, saying they are protecting themselves legitimately against threats from extremists. Tinder, owned by Match Group Inc., allows users to “swipe left” and “swipe right” in their search for suitable dating partners and has millions of users around the world. Many popular homegrown email, messaging and social media websites are already on the Russian register, including Russia’s VKontakte, and the authorities are starting to turn their attention to foreign services too. Russia tried and failed to block access to the Telegram messenger service after it refused to comply with a similar order to give state security access to its users’ secret messages.

internet
russia
fsb
tinder
user data
roskomnadzor


Japan mandates that automakers improve fuel efficiency 30% by fiscal 2030

Abstract: The government has compiled fuel economy regulations for new vehicles obliging automakers to improve fuel efficiency by 30 percent on average by fiscal 2030 from fiscal 2016 levels. The government is also aiming to raise the proportion of all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles to 20 to 30 percent of new vehicle sales in 2030. The transport and industry ministries jointly submitted the new regulations Monday to a meeting of a related advisory council. The regulations set an average fuel efficiency target of 25.4 kilometers per liter of gasoline for fiscal 2030, an improvement of some 32 percent from the average of 19.2 kilometers in fiscal 2016. The ministries plan to revise relevant ordinances this fiscal year, which ends next March 31. The new regulations are set to cover electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, on top of gasoline vehicles. Makers of electric vehicles will be urged to improve mileage per charge. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids together accounted for only about 1 percent of all new vehicles sold in Japan in 2017.


Japan and U.S. to hold working-level trade talks starting next Monday

Abstract: Japan and the United States will hold working-level talks on a proposed bilateral trade pact in Washington next Monday and Tuesday, economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi said. The Japanese delegation will include bureau directors-general from the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Based on talks between Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in late May, the working-level officials will sort out the points for future discussions regarding agricultural and industrial products. “We judged that it would be helpful to have discussions from professional and technical perspectives,” Motegi told a news conference Tuesday. According to Japanese officials, participants in the working-level meeting will check the two countries’ effective tariff rates and trade volumes for agricultural products, automobiles and other items, and review requests from each side. Before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo on May 27, Motegi and Lighthizer, also meeting in the capital, agreed to speed up the bilateral trade talks. The two sides remain far apart in the negotiations, however, with the United States seeking early opening of Japanese agricultural markets and Japan requesting the removal of U.S. tariffs on automobiles and other items.


Japan's policy guidelines call for more stimulus next year amid concerns over global protectionism

Abstract: Japan should deploy expansive fiscal stimulus “without hesitation” next year if overseas economies pose downside risks to growth, a draft of the government’s annual economic policy road map showed on Tuesday. The government is expected to finalize by the middle of the month the policy road map, which is used to compile the budget for next fiscal year. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government already has plans to roll out tax breaks, shopping vouchers and public works spending to offset the blow expected from a nationwide sales tax increase scheduled for October. Opening the door to even more stimulus spending next year highlights policymakers’ concerns that trade protectionism will continue to weigh on the global economy for some time, requiring additional measures to prop up growth. The draft of the annual policy blueprint made no mention of delaying the sales tax hike, to 10% from 8%, but some ruling party lawmakers and advisers are urging the government to scrap the plan. Japan needs the extra tax revenue to pay for rising welfare costs, but a bruising trade war between the United States and China has shaken policymakers’ confidence in the Japanese economy. The draft, which comes days before a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Japan on the weekend, also called on the group to take pre-emptive measures against economic crises.

consumption tax
trade war
fiscal stimulus


Congress to finally send $19 billion disaster aid bill to Trump

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Congress is finally shipping President Donald Trump a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill, a measure stalled for months by infighting, misjudgment, and a presidential feud with Democrats. The House is approving the measure in the first significant action as it returns from a 10-day recess. It is slated for a Monday evening vote in which Republicans whose home districts have been hit by hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires are set to join with majority Democrats to deliver a big vote for the measure. Conservative Republicans had held up the bill during the recess, objecting on three occasions to efforts by Democratic leaders to pass the bill by a voice vote requiring unanimity. They say the legislation — which reflects an increasingly permissive attitude in Washington on spending to address disasters that sooner or later hit every region of the country — shouldn’t be rushed through without a recorded vote. Along the way, House and Senate old timers have seemed to outmaneuver the White House, though Trump personally prevailed upon Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to drop a bid to free up billions of dollars for dredging and other harbor projects. The Senate passed the bill by a sweeping 85-8 vote on its way out of Washington May 23, a margin that reflected a consensus that the bill is long overdue. The measure was initially held up over a fight between Trump and Democrats over aid to Puerto Rico that seems long settled. But it was then delayed over failed talks on Trump’s $4 billion-plus request to care for thousands of mostly Central American migrants being held at the southern border. The sides narrowed their differences but couldn’t reach agreement in the rush to go on recess but everyone agrees that another bill will be needed almost immediately to refill nearly empty agency accounts to care for migrants. Among the reasons was a demand by House liberals to block the Homeland Security Department from getting information from federal social welfare authorities to help track immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally who take migrant refugee children into their homes. As the measure languished, disasters kept coming — with failed levees in Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri and tornadoes across Ohio just the most recent examples. The measure is supported by the bipartisan party leadership in both House and Senate. The legislation is also being driven by Florida and Georgia lawmakers steaming with frustration over delays in delivering help to farmers, towns, and military bases slammed by hurricanes last fall. Flooding in Iowa and Nebraska this spring added to the coalition behind the measure, which delivers much of its help to regions where Trump supporters dominate. The bill started out as a modest $7.8 billion measure passed in the last days of House GOP control. A $14 billion version advanced in the Pelosi-led chamber in January and ballooned to $19.1 billion by the time it emerged from the floor last month, fed by new funding for community rehabilitation projects, Army Corps of Engineers water and flood protection projects, and rebuilding funds for several military bases, including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Many Republicans opposed funding to mitigate future disasters as part of rebuilding projects when Superstorm Sandy funding passed in 2013 only to embrace it now that areas such as suburban Houston need it. Democrats, for their part, held firm for what ended up as roughly $1.4 billion for Puerto Rico, letting Trump feud with the U.S. territory’s Democratic officials for weeks and deflecting political blame for stalling the bill.

u.s .
congress
storms
aid
puerto rico
donald trump


Tough at the top: Girls believe female leaders suffer widespread harassment, survey shows

Abstract: LONDON - Girls worldwide hope to become leaders, but they expect to face sexism and harassment when they get there, a global child rights organization said in a report released Tuesday. More than 9 in 10 girls and young women said female bosses can expect unwanted physical contact and unfair treatment, according to a survey of nearly 10,000 across 19 countries by Plan International. “For girls and women globally, being a leader means discrimination and harassment,” said the organization’s chief executive, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen. “The findings show, if something isn’t done urgently, generations of girls will continue missing out on their ambition to become leaders and to have an influence on the areas of society, work, politics, community and family life.” Researchers surveyed girls between the ages of 15 and 24 in countries including the United States, Canada, Denmark, India, Japan, Peru, South Sudan and Uganda for the study, and carried out several hundred in-depth interviews. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said they aspired to become a leader, even though most thought their gender would make it harder to succeed and gain respect. Young women with experience of taking a leadership role were even more likely to expect gender discrimination than those with no such experience, according to the report released at the Women Deliver 2019 conference in Vancouver. “In Japan, there is still prejudice and men are more likely to become a leader and reach a higher rank,” said one girl interviewed by the charity’s researchers. “Everyone should be eligible to pursue a higher rank, but if it’s a girl who has a dream or ambition to become a leader, people start criticizing.” The report called for action to cultivate future female leaders in homes, schools and communities and to challenge stereotypes of what it means to be a leader, which can disadvantage girls.

human rights
women
sexual harassment
workplace


Japan to streamline farm export procedures starting next spring

Abstract: The government decided Tuesday to centralize aspects of the agricultural product export process, including food safety management and the farm ministry’s negotiations with importers, starting next spring in an effort to streamline operations. The move is aimed at cutting down export processing times by making clear which government body manages the system. At present, the agricultural ministry oversees negotiations on conditions set by importers, while the health ministry drives efforts to obtain an international food safety management certification. Certification under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system, which manages food hygiene and safety procedures, is required when exporting agricultural products such as beef to Europe and the United States. “We hope to prevent any delay of high-potential farm exports caused by the sluggish administrative process as soon as possible,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday at a ministerial meeting on Japan’s farm exports. The government has set a farm export target of ¥1 trillion for this year. Proposed changes include the government sharing the details of businesses wishing to export farm products with local municipalities that certify the products’ safety and origin so documentation can be issued faster. Private sector institutions will also be permitted to perform food safety inspections. The government aims to submit a bill on the new farm export policy to the Diet during an extraordinary legislative session expected to be convened this fall. In 2018, Japan’s agricultural exports amounted to a record ¥906.8 billion, with Hong Kong remaining the largest buyer of Japanese farm produce. China and the United States were second and third, respectively. However, 23 countries and regions continue to restrict food imports from Fukushima Prefecture and surrounding areas following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.


Apple previews new software as it diversifies beyond iPhones

Abstract: SAN FRANCISCO - Apple will preview upcoming changes to its phone and computer software Monday as it diversifies to offset eroding sales of its bedrock product, the iPhone. Many of the software updates are expected to be tailored for digital services such as video streaming that Apple is rolling out to lessen its iPhone dependence. The software showcase is an annual rite. This year, however, Apple is grappling with its biggest challenge since its visionary co-founder, Steve Jobs, died nearly eight years ago. Although it’s still popular, the iPhone is no longer reliably driving Apple’s profits the way it has for the past decade. Sales have fallen sharply for the past two quarters, and could suffer another blow if China’s government targets the iPhone in retaliation for the trade war being waged by President Donald Trump. Another potential problem looms. Regulatory complaints and a consumer lawsuit both question whether Apple has been abusing the power of its iPhone app store to thwart competition and gouge smaller technology companies that rely on it to attract users and sell their services. Apple is trying to adapt by squeezing money from digital services tailored for the more than 900 million iPhones currently in use. As part of that effort, Apple is supplementing its music streaming service with a video gaming bundle and a Netflix-like video streaming service scheduled to debut this fall. The Monday event is expected to usher out the iTunes software that Apple rolled out 16 years ago to sell and manage digital music for the iPod, which paved the way for the iPhone. Apple has already phased out the iTunes from the iPhone and iPad, but now it’s expected to do the same on the Mac and other personal computers. Instead of iTunes, separate apps for music, video and podcasts are expected to be offered for computers, mirroring how Apple already handles those services on mobile devices. Apple also is expected to provide a glimpse at a separate app store for its smartwatch to lessen its dependence on the iPhone. It is also likely to show off updates to a wide range of built-in iPhone apps for maps, books, messaging and finding missing devices. More features are also expected for Apple’s 2-year-old toolkit for creating augmented reality apps, which project digital fabrications into the real world. Although augmented reality remains a small niche, Apple is hoping the concept will catch on, potentially setting the stage for a new headset that analysts expect within the next few years. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been promoting the promise of augmented reality, but hasn’t publicly confirmed that Apple is working on an AR headset.

china
apple
iphone
apps
itunes
donald trump
trade war


Dollar falls to around ¥108 in Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar eased to levels around ¥108 in Tokyo trading Tuesday, while investors were sitting on the fences to wait for a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥108.04-04, down from ¥108.25-25 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1262-1262, up from $1.1172-1173, and at ¥121.69-69, up from ¥120.94-95. Dollar selling vis-a-vis the yen accelerated after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard suggested the possibility of an interest rate cut in a speech Monday and U.S. long-term interest rates dropped. The U.S. currency traded mostly below ¥108 before firming slightly in late Tokyo trading. “The Bullard remarks have provoked great interest in the Fed chairman’s speech” in Chicago on Tuesday, a currency broker said. Meanwhile, a think tank official pointed out that as long as worries over an escalation in trade conflicts involving the United Sates persist, the dollar is unlikely to regain its firmness.


Nikkei drops slightly to extend losing streak

Abstract: The Nikkei 225 average finished marginally lower Tuesday, extending its losing streak to a fifth market day. The benchmark index dropped 2.34 points, or 0.01 percent, to end at 20,408.54 after losing 190.31 points Monday. Meanwhile, the Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 0.13 of a point, or 0.01 percent, higher at 1,499.09 to mark the first rise in five sessions. It sagged 13.32 points Monday. The market opened moderately higher as investors moved to hunt bargains in the wake of recent drops, brokers said. But this soon lost its vigor, with sentiment dampened by weaker Shanghai shares and the dollar’s fall below ¥108, sending both the Nikkei and Topix into negative territory, brokers said. In the afternoon, stocks pared their losses thanks to a pause in the yen’s strengthening and accelerated buybacks of beaten-down issues, they said. “The afternoon resilience could also be attributed to what appeared to be purchases of exchange-traded funds by the Bank of Japan,” said Ryuta Otsuka, strategist at the investment information department of Toyo Securities Co. “Stocks were free from downward pressure from the Twitter feed by U.S. President Donald Trump, now on a trip to Britain,” said a major brokerage house official. But upward momentum was absent as well amid players keeping a vigilant eye on developments associated with trade friction between the United States and other economies, Otsuka noted. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,515 to 576 in the first section, while 50 issues were unchanged. Volume inched up to 1.239 billion shares from 1.228 billion Monday. Transport companies met with marked selling, with railway operators Keio down 3.43 percent and JR Tokai down 1.57 percent. Beverage producer Ito En dropped after its group operating profit projection for the year to April 2020 failed to beat a market consensus, brokers said. Among other losers were technology investor SoftBank Group, mobile phone carrier KDDI and job information service firm Recruit Holdings. Meanwhile, chipmaking gear manufacturer Tokyo Electron, industrial robot producer Fanuc, automaker Honda and other export-oriented issues attracted repurchases. Casio jumped on its own share buyback plan. Also on the positive side were drugmaker Astellas and Kobe Steel.


Japan's pension system inadequate in aging society, council warns

Abstract: The public pension system won’t be enough to sustain people’s standard of living in a rapidly aging society, according to a government report. A council at the Financial Services Agency estimates that a couple who will live until 95 years old will need at least ¥20 million more than what their pension benefits will provide. The council acknowledged that the public pension serves as the main source of income during the post-retirement years, but it is calling on members of the public to take greater charge of their finances to plan for their retirement by proactively managing and investing their assets. The report, released Monday, admits the limits of the public pension system. It calls on individuals to take on more risk than in the past when planning their financial future, but careful selection of financial products will be necessary due to a potential loss of principal when investing. For example, a couple with a man aged 65 or older and a woman aged 60 or older will face a monthly deficit of ¥50,000 if they depend only on their pensions, according to the report. If the couple live another 20 years, they will be short by ¥13 million, and if they live 30 more years, they will be short by ¥20 million. The report also says there is a possibility that lump sum or periodic retirement payments from companies will decrease over time. In recent years, retirement money for those with college degrees averaged around ¥20 million, a drop by 30 to 40 percent from its peak. A large number of elderly people are living in poverty in the world’s third-biggest economy, reflecting a decrease in lifetime employment and as the age to start receiving pension payments is rising from 60, eventually reaching 65 for all men in fiscal 2025 and for all women in fiscal 2030. The government has also floated the possibility of raising the age further to 68. The relative poverty rate in Japan has stayed higher than the average rate in industrialized nations by more than 6 percentage points. The decreasing birthrate is projected to have an impact on the pension benefits, with the shortfall expected to further widen in the future. The report also cautions that elder care and medical costs are expected to be higher in the post-retirement period. The report advises people to make adequate preparations for retirement before their cognitive capacity dwindles, such as sharing the location of bankbooks and financial asset information with someone trustworthy. The number of people with dementia is projected to increase by 8.3 million people by 2030 and by 11.45 million people by 2060. One out of 3 people aged 65 or older will possibly develop dementia. Family units are shrinking these days, and it is increasingly becoming difficult for elderly women in their 60s to live without financial support from their family members, as one-time payouts from retirement no longer cover the prolonged life spans. Of the 19.4 percent of the elderly who are in poverty, there are 14 percent more single women than single men.

yen retirement stocks money aging elderly


Renault expected to enter formal merger talks with Fiat Chrysler

Abstract: PARIS - The board of French car giant Renault is expected to decide Tuesday to begin merger talks with Fiat Chrysler, possibly leading to the creation of a new global giant spanning the United States, Europe and Japan. U.S.-Italian group Fiat Chrysler proposed a “merger of equals” with Renault last week, which has been welcomed by financial markets and has been given a conditional green light by the French government. A merger would be “a real opportunity for the French auto industry,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday of a tie-up that would bring together the flagship brands as well as Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Maserati, Dacia and Lada. After preliminary talks over the last week, Renault directors are set to meet Tuesday and decide whether to enter into formal discussions, which most observers expect it to do. If combined, the two firms would produce 8.7 million vehicles a year, creating an industry powerhouse with an expected market value of some €36 billion (¥4.38 trillion). But Renault already has an alliance with Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and the combined mega-group would be by far the world’s biggest, selling some 15 million vehicles, surpassing Volkswagen and Toyota, which sell around 10.6 million each. Nissan, a long-time Renault partner, fears being sidelined by the deal and its chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, warned Monday that a merger “would significantly alter the structure of our partner.” Any new combination would require a “fundamental review” of their relationship, said the boss of Nissan, whose 15 percent stake in Renault would be diluted to 7.5 percent under the proposed deal. Behind the scenes at the Yokohama-based firm, some executives believe the merger talks could further strain relations with Renault, which have been hit by the arrest in Japan of former CEO Carlos Ghosn, the architect of their alliance. “It’s an ill thought-out and badly conceived plan,” one source close to Nissan said last week on condition of anonymity. Renault board Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard traveled to Tokyo last week to attempt to smooth over ties in what has been a sometimes tricky marriage between the two partners over the last two decades. But others believe there could be synergies between a combined mega-group because of Chrysler’s strong presence in the North American market, where Renault and the Japanese firms are relatively weak. In return, Fiat Chrysler hopes to benefit from Renault and Nissan’s cutting-edge technology for electric cars, which has made them a world leader. Analysts see plenty of potential stumbling blocks, however, not least of which would be the weight and ultimate influence of Renault and Fiat Chrysler in what would supposedly be a “merger of equals.” The French state, the biggest shareholder in Renault with a 15 percent stake, will be a key player in any negotiations. Le Maire has set four conditions for a merger, including that no plants will be closed as part of the tie-up and that the Renault-Nissan alliance continues. The government also wants the merged group to guarantee that it will take in a new EU-backed initiative to develop battery technology, part of efforts to compete with Chinese dominance in the sector. It also wants “balanced corporate governance” at the future group, meaning that Renault is adequately represented on the board of the combined group. Media reports have suggested that Fiat Chairman John Elkann, a grandson of Fiat’s emblematic former President Gianni Agnelli, would be chairman after a merger, while Renault’s Thierry Bollore would be chief executive. The new group would be headquartered in the Netherlands and its shares would be traded in Paris, Milan and New York.

toyota
nissan
mitsubishi motors
renault
volkswagen
mergers
fiat chrysler


Hitachi to spend ¥1.2 trillion on research and development over three years

Abstract: Major electronics and machinery-maker Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it will spend ¥1.2 trillion on research and development activities over the three years to fiscal 2021, up about 20 percent from the level in fiscal 2016-2018. The company plans to use up to ¥2.5 trillion for growth investment in fiscal 2019-2021, including business acquisitions, up from ¥500 billion in the previous three years. “We’ll invest intensively in the information technology field to globalize our operations,” Hitachi President Toshiaki Higashihara said at a meeting with investors held in Tokyo, explaining its new three-year business program. He also said Hitachi will promote structural reforms at business divisions with low operating margins, including auto parts, medical equipment and home appliances. In fiscal 2021, Hitachi aims to generate ¥2.6 trillion in sales in the IT sector, up from ¥2.1 trillion in fiscal 2018, and ¥1.7 trillion at the energy sector, up sharply from ¥423.5 billion. In the IT sector, Hitachi will use ¥1 trillion for growth investment over the three years, mainly for projects related to its Lumada digital solutions that are designed to improve efficiency in train operations and electricity supply systems.

hitachi
information technology
research and development


Japan's Mizuho bank to allow employees to take side jobs by next March

Abstract: Mizuho Financial Group Inc. plans to change its personnel policy to allow employees to hold side jobs by the end of next March, the first such move by a mega-bank. By helping employees seek new challenges and opportunities, Mizuho hopes they will use the experience and ideas they acquire outside of the group to create new financial services at Mizuho, President Tatsufumi Sakai said in a recent interview. “I want everyone to refine their skills through a diverse range of challenges so that they can all be specialists in their fields,” he said. The 59-year-old chief executive hopes new job opportunities will encourage employees to make use of their experiences in startups, manufacturing companies and other industries to create new business ideas for Mizuho. The initiative is expected to be introduced in the second half of fiscal 2019, after rules on labor and information management are worked out. Although employees are currently prohibited from holding other jobs, such activities will be permitted as long as employees abide by rules on confidentiality and company approval, Sakai said. Mizuho has already started allowing an employee to work at a major manufacturing company once a week on a trial basis, he said. The government is trying to prompt more companies to allow side jobs as part of labor reform to help address Japan’s worker shortage. SoftBank Corp. and baby and child care product maker Unicharm Corp., among other companies, have recently introduced personnel programs to allow employees to take side jobs. Sakai said the aim at Mizuho is allowing employees to break free from the inward-looking nature of in-house competition and acquire skills that can be used inside and outside the group. “If young people work at innovative companies and come back after learning cutting-edge and novel ideas, it would lead to better business for Mizuho,” he said. On the risk of employees leaving Mizuho for other companies, he said “it’d be fine if they don’t come back” as this would still create more outside connections for the group. The Mizuho group is seeking to accelerate its transition to providing next-generation financial services under a new five-year business plan. Under the strategy, Mizuho Bank, a core unit of the group, started in May offering loan services to small companies, in addition to individuals, using artificial intelligence to screen loan applications. The bank has teamed up with local banks to create a smartphone-based payment service while preparing to establish a new bank with messaging app provider Line Corp. “We will provide services, including those outside of the field of finance, to meet demands in the era of 100-year lives,” Sakai said on the topic of digitization for an aging society.


Memorial honors Jamal Khashoggi, other journalists slain in 2018

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Twenty-two journalists killed in 2018 had their names added to a Washington memorial Monday as media rights defenders warned of growing threats to freedom of the press around the world. Among the names added to the Journalist Memorial at the Newseum were Jamal Khashoggi, the exiled Saudi dissident killed in Turkey, and AFP photographer Shah Marai, among 25 people killed in a Kabul bomb attack in April 2018. “The memorial and this annual rededication event remind us all every day that the world is an increasingly dangerous place for those who gather and report the news,” said Gene Policinski, president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. The peril for journalists, he noted, can come just as much from “the inherent dangers of reporting from the battlefield or the storm front” as “from being targeted by criminals, terrorists or repressive governments.” Columnist Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post, where Khashoggi was a contributor, stressed the need to seek justice for his slain colleague. “If he can be murdered with impunity no journalist is safe,” Hiatt told the ceremony. “If the crime can be committed inside a diplomatic mission … then no location is safe.” Khashoggi, a royal insider, was killed and dismembered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in what Riyadh claimed was a “rogue” operation, but the CIA has reportedly said the murder was likely ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The memorial now carries the names of 2,344 journalists killed since 1837, just a fraction of those who have lost their lives gathering and delivering news — an estimated 54 last year alone. “This ceremony and the memorial represents the opportunity to remember what happens with them and the opportunity to not forget,” said Yadira Aguagallo, the partner of Paul Rivas, a photographer for Ecuador’s El Comercio killed last year along with journalist Javier Ortega and their driver, Efrain Segarra. The team were captured and killed by former Colombian rebels during a reporting assignment on drug trafficking on the border between the two countries. Others whose names were added included Mike McCormick and Philip Aaron Smeltzer, members of a television crew killed reporting on a tropical storm in South Carolina. “It means that Mike and Phil aren’t forgotten,” said Mandy Nottingham, a former colleague of the pair at WYFF television. “Their work continues because we don’t let it die with them.”

media
u.s .
murder
saudi arabia
rights
newseum
jamal khashoggi


Lawyers call EU migrant policy a crime against humanity, urge ICC action

Abstract: PARIS - More than 40,000 people have been intercepted in the Mediterranean and taken to detention camps and torture houses under a European migration policy that is responsible for crimes against humanity, according to a legal document asking the International Criminal Court to take the case Monday. The request filed with the ICC alleges that European Union officials are knowingly responsible for deaths of migrants at land and sea, and their widespread rape and torture at the hands of a Libyan coast guard funded and trained at the expense of European taxpayers. It names no EU official but cites an ongoing ICC investigation into the fate of migrants in Libya. Officials with the European Commission, Germany and Spain defended EU policy and efforts to help migrants in Libya. France dismissed the accusations as “senseless” and lacking “any legal foundations.” The legal document cites public EU documents, statements from the French president, the German chancellor and other top officials from the bloc. “We leave it to the prosecutor, if he dares, if she dares, to go into the structures of power and to investigate at the heart of Brussels, of Paris, of Berlin and Rome and to see by searching in the archives of the meetings of the negotiations who was really behind the scenes trying to push for these policies that triggered the death of more than 14,000 people,” said Juan Branco, a lawyer who co-wrote the report and shared it with The Associated Press. The ICC is a court of last resort that handles cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide when other countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute. It is up to the prosecutor, who receives many such requests, to decide whether to investigate and ultimately bring a case. The EU spokeswoman in charge of migration, Natasha Bertaud, declined comment directly on the court filing, but she and Germany’s government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, each placed blame for deaths at sea firmly on smugglers. “The EU’s track record on saving lives in the Mediterranean speaks for itself, saving lives has been our top priority and we have been working relentlessly to this end,” Bertaud said. The first crime, according to the document, was the decision to end the Mare Nostrum rescue operation near the end of 2014. In one year, the operation rescued 150,810 migrants in the Mediterranean as hundreds of thousands crossed the sea. The operation cost more than €9 million a month, nearly all paid for by Italy. It was replaced by an operation named Triton, financed by all 28 EU nations at a fraction of the cost. But unlike the earlier operation, Triton ships didn’t patrol directly off the Libyan coast, the origin of most of the flimsy smuggling boats that were taking off for Europe. Deaths in the Mediterranean then soared. In 2014, around 3,200 migrants died in the sea. The following year, it rose to over 4,000, and in 2016 peaked at over 5,100 deaths and disappearances, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration. “The objective of this new policy was to sacrifice the lives of many in order to impact the behavior of more,” according to the complaint. “It also failed. Crossings did not decrease as predicted, because the risk had little deterrent effect on those who have little to lose to begin with.” Bertaud said the EU quickly realized its mistake in ending the Mare Nostrum operation and tripled its rescue capacity in 2015, helping save the lives of 730,000 since that year. But EU countries leaned heavily on the Libyan coast guard to do so, sending money and boats and a degree of training to units of the loosely organized force linked to various factions of Libya’s militias. For Alpha Kaba, a Guinean detained in slave-like conditions in Libya before ultimately making the crossing in 2016, that decision is a travesty. Kaba was rescued by a ship operated by humanitarian organizations. Those are all but gone now from the Mediterranean, after Italy, Malta and other countries repeatedly refused to allow them to dock with migrants on board. And in the past two years migration has dropped considerably to Europe. The total for the first four months of 2019 was around 24,200 for irregular migration, 27 percent lower than a year ago, according to Frontex, the EU’s border agency. “Yes, there’s no more migration, but where are all those young people that they picked up? They’re in the prisons. They’re in Libya and in prisons, and they’re being tortured over there. If they aren’t allowed in Europe, then let them go back to their countries quickly and under good conditions,” said Kaba, who has received asylum in France. “There are no more entrances or exits.” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Libya’s migrant holding cells “cannot be referred to as torture detention centers.” Borrell, who is maneuvering to become the EU’s next foreign policy chief, told reporters in Morocco, “We are trying all means to help Libya provide migrants with the best possible conditions.” Libya’s role in the migrant crisis is already on the radar of the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. In a statement to the Security Council in May 2017, she said that her investigators were studying the issue, adding: “I am deeply alarmed by reports that thousands of vulnerable migrants, including women and children, are being held in detention centers across Libya in often inhumane conditions. Crimes, including killings, rapes and torture, are alleged to be commonplace.” The court receives many similar requests every year for formal investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The more detailed the communication, the more likely the prosecutor will take it seriously,” said Dov Jacobs, a defense lawyer at the ICC who is not connected to the 243-page request. Branco said he believed the details in the report, co-written with lawyer Omer Shatz, would leave the court little choice. “(European officials) pretended that this was a tragedy that nothing could be done against it that they had no role in it,” he said. “And we demonstrate very carefully that, on the contrary, they triggered this so-called tragedy.”

rape
eu
libya
torture
icc
migrants
maritime accidents


Hundreds of Islamic State relatives leave camp in northeast Syria

Abstract: BEIRUT - Scores of women and children related to fighters of the Islamic State group carried their belongings and boarded buses and trucks Monday, leaving an overcrowded camp in the country’s northeast to return to their homes. A total of 800 Syrian women and children left al-Hol camp in Hasakeh province Monday afternoon, according to Syrian Kurdish official Badran Ciya Kurd and witnesses. The departure is the largest since the IS group’s territorial defeat in Syria in March, when the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured Baghouz, the last village controlled by the militants near the Iraqi border. The SDF-controlled al-Hol camp in Hasakeh, which was initially built to house up to 10,000 displaced people, is now home to over 73,000. Ninety-two percent of them are women and children and 15 percent, or at least 11,000, are foreign nationals, according to the United Nations. Reducing the population of al-Hol will help ease the burden on aid groups that have been overwhelmed with the flow of people in the past months. At the height of their power, IS controlled nearly a third of Syria and large parts of Iraq, an area where millions of people had lived and the group imposed its self-declared caliphate. At a conference in early May in northern Syria, tribal leaders called for the release of those being detained in the camps who have no blood on their hands. Tribal leaders have promised to hand over any person of those who left in the camp if they carry out any IS-related activities. The conference coincided with tensions that had been on the rise in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour between the local Arab population and the Kurdish-led SDF. Early Monday, the women and children gathered while waiting for Kurdish officials and tribal leaders to come later in the day to witness their departure. They headed to their homes in the northern city of Raqqa, once the de facto capital of IS, and its suburbs and the nearby town of Tabqa. The Kurdish ANHA news agency said the 800 women and children consisted of 217 families adding that they were all civilians. Also Monday, Kurdish authorities handed over to a Norwegian envoy five children of IS members who were killed in Syria. The five orphans are expected to be taken back home. “We now look forward to bringing the five children back to Norway and we will forever remember the assistance provided by the local authorities,” Norwegian Foreign Ministry official Kristen Netland told reporters in northeastern Syria.

conflict
terrorism
syria
refugees
iraq
ethnicity
islamic state


Canadian inquiry calls deaths of indigenous women 'genocide'

Abstract: OTTAWA - The deaths in Canada of more than a thousand aboriginal women and girls in recent decades was a national genocide, a government inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women concluded in a report on Monday. The 1,200-page report, which resulted from an inquiry launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in 2016, blamed the violence on long-standing discrimination against indigenous people and Canada’s failure to protect them. It also made sweeping recommendations to prevent future violence against indigenous women. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed in 2014 that 1,017 aboriginal women had been murdered between 1980 and 2012. The inquiry, which was beset by delays and staff resignations, opened painful wounds as it heard testimony from 468 family members of missing or murdered women. “This colonialism, this discrimination and this genocide explains the high rates of violence against indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA people,” Marion Buller, the chief commissioner of the inquiry, said at a ceremony held to present the report. The 2SLGBTQQIA group refers to two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual people. “An absolute paradigm shift is required to dismantle colonialism in Canadian society. And this paradigm shift must come from all levels of government and public institutions,” Buller said. The final report, called “Reclaiming Power and Place,” was presented during an often emotional ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, near the Canadian capital, and was attended by some of the hundreds of family members of those missing or murdered, and by government officials including Trudeau. While aboriginal people account for only about 4 percent of Canada’s population, they on average suffer from higher rates of crime, poverty and addiction. Trudeau made Canada’s reconciliation for its colonial past a major plank of his 2015 campaign, and he has apologized for some of the country’s historical wrongs since taking office. Last month, he posthumously exonerated a Cree chief unjustly imprisoned for treason more than 130 years ago. “To the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls of Canada, to their families, and to survivors — we have failed you. But we will fail you no longer,” Trudeau said, promising a national action plan to address the violence going forward. “To the survivors and families here today, and to those watching or listening at home, I want you to know that this report is not the end,” he added.

canada
genocide
justin trudeau
lgbtq
indigenous peoples


Mutation that protects against HIV raises death rate, study into gene-tinkering finds

Abstract: NEW YORK - People with a DNA mutation that reduces their chance of HIV infection may die sooner, according to a study that suggests tinkering with a gene to try to fix one problem may cause others. The study authors cited the case of the Chinese researcher who tried to produce this mutation in twin girls before their birth, to reduce their risk for HIV. His work, which produced the first gene-edited babies, was widely condemned as unethical and risky, and the new paper illustrates one reason for concern. “You should consider all the effects of mutations you induce,” said Rasmus Nielsen of the University of California, Berkeley, senior author of the paper, released Monday by the journal Nature Medicine. Nielsen acknowledged that his result cannot be applied directly to the two girls in China. For one thing, his study focused on a sample of people in the United Kingdom who may have different genetic backgrounds than the Chinese girls. In addition, the people he studied had inherited a specific mutation. The Chinese scientist tried to create the same mutation, but failed. The girls now carry different alterations in the same gene. The gene is called CCR5. When it is working normally, it lets certain cells of the immune system display a protein on their surfaces. HIV has co-opted that protein to use as a doorway to infect those cells. The mutation prevents that protein from appearing, and so sharply reduces the risk of HIV infection. Past studies have suggested that carrying the mutation has some drawbacks, including a heightened risk of death from flu. Nielsen and Xinzhu Wei, also at UC Berkeley, studied data on about 400,000 people who’d signed up between 2006 and 2010 for the UK Biobank, which collected extensive information on them and is following their health. They compared people who carry the mutation in both copies of their CCR5 gene to those who carry it in just one copy or neither, and looked for deaths recorded through February 2016. About 4,000 participants carried the mutation in both copies, of whom 151 were dead. Analysis focused on deaths between ages 41 and 76. The study found that participants with the mutation in both copies had a death rate about 20 percent higher than that of the others. A second analysis showed that at the time participants signed up for the databank, when their average age was about 57, there were fewer people with the mutation in both copies of the gene than one would expect. That’s another sign of a higher death rate. The researchers were unable to get information on the causes of deaths, so they have no firm explanation for the difference in mortality, Nielsen said. But the heightened risk of death from flu may have played an important role, he said. He also said the size of the difference would probably differ in other groups of people. Dr. Philip Murphy, an immunologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, said the work provided the first peek at the mutation’s effect on mortality from all causes over a wide swath of the lifespan. “That’s a big deal,” he said. Nielsen said the study does not apply to a form of gene therapy that differs from what the Chinese researcher did. Some scientists have been inactivating CCR5 in blood cells of people already infected with HIV, to help keep the virus under control. In that situation, having the disabled gene is probably an advantage, Nielsen said. James Riley, who studies that strategy at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. Riley said his work affects only a tiny fraction of blood cells, while people in Nielsen’s study with the higher death rate had CCR5 shut off in every cell of the body. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the NIAID, said the new study did not apply broadly to gene editing experiments underway now. Researchers are mainly focused on replacing a defective gene with a working one, or eliminating a harmful one. In contrast, the people in Nielsen’s study were living without a normal, working version of a gene, a condition the Chinese researcher sought to produce. Fauci said the work is more a lesson that genetic protection against one thing can raise vulnerability to something else.


Democrats launch hearings to keep public's focus on Mueller report

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Democrats are trying to keep the public’s focus on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Monday that his panel will hold a series of hearings on “the alleged crimes and other misconduct” in Mueller’s report, starting with a hearing June 10 on whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice. The hearing will feature John Dean, who was White House counsel for President Richard Nixon, and former U.S. attorneys. The hearings will serve as a stand-in of sorts for Mueller himself, who made clear in public comments last week that he does not want to appear before Congress and would not elaborate on the contents of his report if he were forced to testify. Democrats have suggested they will compel Mueller’s appearance if necessary, but it’s unclear when — or if — that will happen. Negotiations over Mueller’s testimony are ongoing. In the meantime, Democrats are searching for ways to keep the spotlight fixed on Mueller’s investigation — a challenge compounded by the White House’s refusal to comply with request for documents and testimony related to the report, which has stymied their investigations. Mueller investigated whether Trump tried to obstruct his probe, but the report reached no conclusion on whether the president acted illegally. Nadler said in a statement that Mueller “has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.” Mueller said as much in his brief comments last week. The special counsel reiterated that, bound by Justice Department policy, charging a sitting president with a crime was “not an option.” But he also stressed he could not exonerate Trump. Instead, he said, “The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system” — a clear nod to the oversight powers of Congress. More than 40 House Democrats have called on Nadler to open an impeachment inquiry, which would make it easier for them to compel document production and testimony. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far rejected that option, preferring a slower, more methodical approach to investigating the president. Republicans criticized the decision to hold hearings, with North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows calling the move “another openly desperate move to resuscitate a dead collusion conspiracy.” Mueller’s report did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor. But Democrats have said they will continue to investigate some of Trump’s Russian contacts. “Thank goodness the Democrats are calling ‘Watergate Star’ John Dean to testify,” Meadows tweeted sarcastically. Dean ultimately cooperated with prosecutors and helped bring down Nixon’s presidency, though he served a prison term for obstruction of justice.

u.s .
congress
robert mueller
democrats
impeachment
donald trump
russia probe
jerrold nadler


German politician who in 2015 spoke out in support of refugees gunned down at his home

Abstract: BERLIN - A local politician from the German city of Kassel was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, police said Monday, adding that no weapon was found at the scene. “We are looking for a perpetrator,” said chief prosecutor Horst Streiff after the death of city administrative chief Walter Luebcke, who was 65. Streiff stressed that there was no evidence pointing to suicide. Luebcke, of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU party, was found around 0:30 a.m. local time Sunday (2230 GMT Saturday) on the terrace of his home in Wolfhagen, near Kassel in the central state of Hesse. He had been shot in the head at close range with a handgun, police said. His CDU party said in a statement that Luebcke, a married father of two, had “never been afraid to speak his mind. Germany’s top-selling daily Bild pointed out that Luebcke had in 2015, during a mass influx of migrants to Germany, strongly spoke out for the rights of refugees, drawing anger from far-right activists. Hesse state criminal police chief Sabine Thurau said, however, that currently there was no evidence of a link between those comments and his death, and that a 20-officer investigation team was searching for a possible motive and a suspect.

murder
angela merkel
germany
refugees
cdu
hesse
walter luebcke


Trump promises May 'very substantial' trade deal after Brexit, jokes that she should 'stick around'

Abstract: LONDON - U.S. President Donald Trump touted a “very, very substantial trade deal” between the United States and the U.K. after Brexit as he met Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday for fraught talks held amid street protests. He joked to the outgoing British leader that she should “stick around” and reach a much stronger economic alliance with the United States once her country finally leaves the European Union. “I think we will have a very, very substantial trade deal. It will be a very fair deal,” he told her at a meeting with business leaders and ministers, adding: “We’re going to get it done.” Despite having repeatedly criticized May’s Brexit strategy, Trump said she had done “a fantastic job.” Nearby, left-wing activists inflated an orange blimp of a baby Trump dressed in a diaper at a rally outside Parliament that brought morning rush hour traffic to a halt. It signalled the start of what are expected to be large protests against the president on the second day of his three-day state visit. “Trump baby is just a mascot for a massive movement against Trump’s hateful and divisive politics,” organizer Leo Murray said. The president’s visit is technically centred around Wednesday’s D-Day 75th anniversary commemorations on the south shore of England. But it comes at an especially chaotic time for Britain. May will step down as Conservative Party leader on Friday over her inability to deliver Brexit despite focusing on little else in almost three years in office. She will stay on as prime minister until her successor is found among 13 contenders who must make some difficult choices before the twice-delayed Brexit deadline on October 31. Before he arrived, Trump urged Britain to walk away from the EU without an agreement. He also suggested that Brexit-backing former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson would be an “excellent” leader to get it done. He appeared to try to make amends for his diplomatic faux pas on Tuesday. “I’d just like to congratulate you on having done a fantastic job on behalf of the people of the United States and its an honor to have worked with you,” Trump told May. But the “special relationship” between the two sides is being tested over different approaches to Iran, climate change and China. Talks are likely to cover Britain’s possible use of Chinese firm Huawei’s technology in building its 5G network. A senior U.K. government official told The Times newspaper that May would make “no apologies” over her reported decision to let Huawei build some nonessential parts of the next-generation mobile service. The U.S. administration has strongly hinted that this may limit its ability to share intelligence with Britain. May told the business breakfast that Britain will strive to strike a “wider economic partnership” with its closest trading partner outside the EU. “It is a great partnership, but I think it’s a partnership that we can take even further,” she said. She will give Trump a copy of one of the most significant documents in the transatlantic “special relationship” — a framed copy of Winston Churchill’s personal draft of the 1941 Atlantic Charter that which defined the Allied goals post-World War II. The two will later have a private tour of the Churchill War Rooms from which the prime minister ran his operations. Their talks are set to be accompanied by “noise protests” from thousands of anti-Trump activists. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn promised to speak at the rally after skipping a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Monday in protest at Trump’s policies. Trump’s day will be rounded off with dinner at the U.S. ambassador’s residence. The heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla, will attend on behalf of the queen. “The Queen and the entire royal family have been fantastic,” Trump tweeted on Monday.

u.s .
trade
u.k .
donald trump
brexit
theresa may


Netanyahu setback and remarks by Kushner and Pompeo dim hopes for U.S. Mideast peace plan

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Already low hopes for a U.S. peace plan in the Middle East dimmed further Monday as President Donald Trump acknowledged widespread doubts and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, suggested Palestinians weren’t ready to govern themselves. The Trump administration, which has staunchly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has seen a surprise bump in its rollout after the right-wing prime minister failed to form a coalition, triggering new elections. The United States will lay out an economic component of the plan on June 25-26 in Bahrain but has said that the political plan will come out only “when the timing is right.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a closed-door meeting last week with Jewish leaders that was leaked to The Washington Post, frankly acknowledged obstacles to the peace plan. “It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, ‘It’s not particularly original, it doesn’t particularly work for me,’ that is, ‘It’s got two good things and nine bad things, I’m out,’ ” he said, according to the newspaper, which said it heard a recording. Asked about his remarks in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Pompeo again conceded that observers could look at Trump’s track record and perceive that the plan will be “fundamentally one-sided” toward Israel. But, he said: “It is just simply not true.” “I think there will be things in this plan that lots of people like,” he said. Trump, asked about Pompeo’s doubts on the plan gaining traction, said: “He may be right. “I think we have a good chance, but we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters. Trump, who has repeatedly sought to boost Netanyahu’s political prospects, said that Israel was “all messed up” and that it was “ridiculous” that the Jewish state is heading to its second election this year. The Bahrain conference is expected to see pledges to boost the troubled Palestinian economy from Gulf Arabs — who, despite not recognizing Israel, have formed an indirect alliance due to shared hostility toward Iran. In turn, the political plan is expected to avoid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state — the key goal of decades of sometimes intense U.S. diplomacy. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser who is spearheading the plan, in an interview with news site Axios said that the Palestinians “should have self-determination” but suggested they were not ready for a full state. “The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing,” Kushner, who has close family ties to Netanyahu, said when asked if he believes the Palestinians can govern themselves without Israeli interference. Kushner said the Palestinians “need to have a fair judicial system … freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions” before the Palestinian territories can become “investable.” The Palestinians have rejected U.S. mediation and are boycotting the Bahrain conference, saying Trump is not an honest broker. Trump, whose evangelical Christian base strongly backs Israel, has broken precedent by recognizing both Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the Jewish state’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Trump administration likely would have presented the economic and political plans together if it were more confident of success. “The decision of the administration to split them into two, which hasn’t gotten as much attention, is very telling. It says that the economics are less controversial and there is more skepticism about resolving these core issues that often seem zero-sum — if one side has it, the other does not,” he said. “In a strange tactical sense, the Israeli election is actually good news for the administration because it gives them a public rationale when talking to the media to say, well, we can’t do it now because there is a new Israeli election,” he said. But he questioned how much Arab donors would commit without prospects for a peace deal on the core political issues. And he said the Israeli vote presented another potential sticking point — by the time a government is formed, it could be October or November, when the United States itself will be heading into election season.

conflict
israel
middle east
benjamin netanyahu
palestinians
donald trump
jared kushner
mike pompeo


Islamic State takes credit as Kabul blast targets government bus, kills at least four

Abstract: KABUL - At least four people were killed Monday when a bomb tore through a bus in Kabul, an official said, marking the second day straight that attackers have targeted a bus. The vehicle was taking workers home from a government watchdog agency ahead of the Eid holidays marking the end of Ramadan when the bomb exploded. Farid Ahmad, a spokesman for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), told AFP the bomb had been concealed on a bicycle along the side of the road. “Unfortunately, we have lost four colleagues, nine have been wounded,” Ahmad said. Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi put the toll at five dead and 10 wounded — all of them civilians. He said the explosion had been caused by a sticky bomb, a common threat in Kabul where criminals and insurgents slap explosives under vehicles. The Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate later claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast comes one day after two people were killed and dozens more wounded in Kabul as a wave of bombings hit civilian targets — including a university school bus — across the Afghan capital. The IS group also claimed responsibility for those bombings. Buses carrying government employees have remained a constant target of militant attacks during the rush hour in Kabul. The IARCSC was established in 2002 with the aim of providing oversight to the notoriously corrupt Afghan civil service.

terrorism
afghanistan
kabul
islamic state


Alleged 80-meter-deep Hezbollah attack tunnel from Lebanon to Israel revealed

Abstract: ZARIT, ISRAEL - The Israeli army on Monday showed the inside of a sophisticated tunnel passing deep underground from Lebanon into northern Israel, saying it was intended for use by Lebanese Hezbollah militants. The tunnel was rigged with electrical wiring, fuse boxes and communications equipment. An army spokesman said it began almost a kilometer (mile) away inside Lebanon and reached depths of some 80 meters (265 feet) — about the height of a 22-story building — as it crossed into Israel, near the town of Zarit. It came to light earlier this year during an army operation in which a number of attack tunnels dug by Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah were discovered and sealed off, the military said. Hezbollah’s leader, in response to Israel’s tunnel operation, said in January that his group has been able to enter Israel for years. But he stopped short of acknowledging that the tunnels were the handiwork of Hezbollah, citing the heavily armed group’s policy of “ambiguity” on military matters and a desire to deny Israel a pretext to attack. Israel and Hezbollah last fought a war in 2006. While they have at times traded blows within Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Israel-Lebanon border has mostly been quiet. Israel regards Iran as its biggest foe and Hezbollah as the main threat on its borders. It has waged an increasingly open campaign of military strikes against them both in Syria, where they have fought on the government side in the civil war.


Last known survivor of Sobibor Nazi death camp dies at 96

Abstract: JERUSALEM - Semion Rosenfeld, the “last known survivor” of the Nazi death camp Sobibor, has died aged 96, the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency said Monday. The head of the Jewish Agency, Isaac Herzog, said he was “very sad” about the death of Rosenfeld, who he described as a “true hero. “Semion fought the Nazis as part of the Red Army and was then sent to the Sobibor death camp as a prisoner of war, where he encountered death every day until the famous rebellion,” Herzog said in a statement. Rosenfeld had been a resident of Jewish Agency-supported assisted living for the past 20 years, Herzog said. Born in Ukraine, the Jewish soldier was one of over 50 camp prisoners who survived World War II, according to Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center. Some 250,000 Jews mainly from eastern Poland but also from the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia died in Sobibor camp, which was in Nazi-occupied Poland, between May 1942 and the summer of 1943. Rosenfeld managed to escape death even though his entire family was murdered by the Nazis, according to media reports. In the most famous revolt from a Nazi camp, nearly 300 Sobibor captives, including Rosenfeld, escaped through the camp’s barbed wire in October 1943. “I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t have time to think about it. I wanted to survive,” Rosenfeld said later of the escape. Nearly 170 of the escaped prisoners were captured and shot, while Rosenfeld remained hidden in the woods until the spring of 1944, when he returned to the Red Army to fight the Nazis from its ranks. Rosenfeld went back to live in Ukraine after the war and immigrated to Israel in 1990. The Nazis demolished Sobibor to destroy any trace of the camp. About 50 detainees from the camp survived after the war, according to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. “With the last witnesses disappearing, it is our responsibility to tell their heroic deeds,” Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences to Rosenfeld’s family. “Rosenfeld fought in the Red Army, was taken prisoner by the Nazis, managed to escape the death camp and continued to fight Nazism. May his memory be blessed,” he said, according to the public broadcaster KAN. Rosenfeld, who leaves behind two sons and five grandchildren, was to be buried on Tuesday in the central town of Bnei Ayish, according to Israeli media. More than 6 million predominantly European Jews were killed during the Nazi genocide in World War II, many of them by poisonous gas. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said in 2017 that more than 212,000 people living in Israel were Holocaust survivors, in a country with a population of 8.7 million.

israel
poland
jews
nazis
holocaust
sobibor
semion rosenfeld