U.S. hands Chicago car bomb plotter 16-year prison sentence

Abstract: CHICAGO - A U.S. judge on Monday sentenced a 25-year-old who was arrested as a teenager for an attempted car bombing in Chicago to 16 years in prison. Adel Daoud was 18 years old when he was arrested in 2012 for attempting to engage in “violent jihad” by blowing up a bar in the Midwestern city’s downtown. Daoud thought he had a car bomb, but undercover agents had in fact given him a dummy device and arrested him after he attempted to detonate it. Daoud, a U.S. citizen who lived in the Chicago suburb of Hillside, entered a guilty plea in November, in an unusual arrangement where he did not admit wrongdoing. A federal judge’s sentence Monday, which included 45 years of supervised release, was less than the 40 years imprisonment prosecutors were seeking. Daoud was to be credited the seven years he has already spent behind bars. According to an affidavit in the case, two undercover FBI agents contacted Daoud in response to material he posted online and began exchanging messages with him. “During these communications, Daoud expressed an interest in engaging in violent jihad, either in the United States or overseas, referred to his ongoing efforts to recruit other individuals to engage in violent jihad and mentioned that he had discussed plans for an attack with ‘trusted brothers,'” read the affidavit. Daoud sought guidance on carrying out a terrorist attack, was eventually given a phony bomb in a Jeep by an undercover agent, and attempted to detonate it in front of a bar. Daoud’s lawyers had raised questions about his mental health over apparent delusions such as claiming the government, judge and attorneys were all part of a vast conspiracy and members of the Illuminati. In a separate case, Daoud had also pleaded guilty to trying to solicit the murder of an FBI undercover agent and attacking another inmate while in jail.

terrorism
chicago
fbi
car bombing
adel daoud


At least eight dead as cops raid Rio slum amid sharp rise in killings by police

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO - At least eight people died when police raided a drug-scarred Rio de Janeiro neighborhood on Monday, amid a sharp jump in police killing of suspected criminals in the state that underlines the tough new security measures favored by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The raid began around 11 a.m., according to local media reports, and triggered a massive shootout between police and suspected gangsters. TV images showed a police helicopter hovering overhead as the gun battle emptied out local schools, with pupils fleeing through the streets. In a statement, Rio’s civil police said the operation was aimed at detaining Thomaz Jhayson Vieira Gomes, known as “3N,” a suspected drug baron. “There was resistance from the criminals and eight suspected traffickers were shot and killed in the confrontation,” the statement said. “Three others were taken to the police station, including one of 3N’s personal security guards and 3N’s wife.” The number of people in Rio state killed by police hit a quarterly record of 434 during the first three months of 2019, up 18 percent compared with the same period last year. The first-quarter tally was the highest since state records began in 1998, and comes as the number of statewide murders has fallen. Rio Gov. Wilson Witzel, who took office on Jan. 1, has urged police to take no prisoners in the battle against drug gangs and even suggested during the campaign using helicopters with snipers to take out gang bosses. Over the weekend, Witzel tweeted a video of himself onboard a police helicopter during a police raid on gangs in the city of Angra dos Reis, south of Rio. Witzel’s views echo those of Bolsonaro, a former army captain and federal lawmaker who represented Rio state for nearly 30 years. Bolsonaro has long advocated tough measures to kneecap violent gangs and quickly moved to loosen gun laws after he took office at the start of the year. Nonetheless, his flagship crime-fighting bill languishes in Congress. Violence in Brazil continued its downward march during Bolsonaro’s first three months in office. The number of homicides in Brazil, which hit a world record in 2017, fell more than 27 percent compared with the first quarter of 2018, according to preliminary state data compiled by Reuters. The fall in murders is attributed to the growing nationwide dominance of the First Capital Command gang, better state policing methods and the deployment of federal security agents to some of the country’s most violent states.

brazil
rio de janeiro
favelas
drug gangs
police shootings
jair bolsonaro


Trump would have faced obstruction charge if he was not president, nearly 400 ex-prosecutors say

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Nearly 400 former federal prosecutors said in a joint letter Monday that the evidence in the Mueller report would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges against Donald Trump — were he not the president. The letter says that the evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation indicating that obstruction was committed is “overwhelming.” Currently, Department of Justice policy forbids the indictment of a sitting president. But the letter appeared likely to add impetus to efforts by Democrats in Congress to hold hearings on Trump’s behavior and possibly even launch impeachment proceedings against the Republican leader. “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would… result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the prosecutors said. “The Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process, as to which the evidence of corrupt intent and connection to pending proceedings is overwhelming.” Earlier Monday, the House Judiciary Committee said it was preparing to declare Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt for not supplying them an unedited version of the Mueller report together with underlying evidence. Mueller’s 448-page report on the nearly two-year investigation into Russia election meddling, completed in late March, mapped out multiple instances where Trump appeared to try to obstruct the probe. But Mueller, noting the Justice Department policy that a sitting president could not be indicted, opted not to rule on whether a crime was committed. “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,” his report said. “Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment.” That permitted the Trump-appointed Barr to declare the evidence insufficient and clear Trump — a move that sparked confusion and controversy, and apparently left Mueller himself dissatisfied. While not naming Barr, the prosecutors said in their letter that his view of the evidence being too weak “runs counter to logic and our experience.” If not for the Justice Department policy on indicting presidents, they said, “We believe strongly that . . . the overwhelming weight of professional judgment would come down in favor of prosecution for the conduct outlined in the Mueller Report.”

u.s. congress
robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe
obstruction of justice
william barr


Guaido backers 'failed to follow through' in abortive uprising, Venezuelan opposition leader says

Abstract: CARACAS - Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido said Monday that people who had pledged support for his abortive uprising last week had “failed to follow through” to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro. “There were people who failed to follow through,” Guaido said in an interview in Caracas, adding that “it doesn’t mean that they won’t do it soon.” Guaido, recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, said it was “obvious today, there is widespread discontent from which the armed forces aren’t immune.” “We are very close to achieving change in Venezuela,” he said. National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its already grave economic woes. But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the powerful armed forces.

venezuela
nicolas maduro
afp
juan guaido


Top U.S. diplomat says Russian and Chinese actions in Arctic must be watched closely

Abstract: RAVANIEMI, FINLAND - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that Russia is behaving aggressively in the Arctic and China’s actions there had to be watched closely as well, amid growing divisions in the polar region over global warming and access to minerals. Speaking as he arrived in northern Finland for a meeting of nations with territory in the Arctic, Pompeo said China appeared to have national security aims there, and Russia’s activities, including plans for new shipping channels from Asia to Northern Europe, deserved a closer look. “The United States and Arctic nations welcome transparent Chinese investment that reflect economic interests, not national security ambitions,” Pompeo said in a speech. Countries have been scrambling to claim territory or, like China, boost their presence in the region as thawing ice raises the possibility of exploiting much of the world’s remaining undiscovered reserves of oil and gas, plus huge deposits of minerals such as zinc, iron and rare earth metals. Pompeo said all were welcome to share in the Arctic’s wealth, but raised doubts about the aims of Russia and China, both of which have been increasing their presence in the region. “The Pentagon warned just last week that China could use its civilian research presence in the Arctic to strengthen its military presence, including by deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks,” he told delegates at the conference in Rovaniemi, Finland. “We need to examine these activities closely, and keep the experience of other nations in mind. China’s pattern of aggressive behavior elsewhere will inform how it treats the Arctic.” Russia has also been boosting its presence, reopening military bases closed after the Cold War and modernizing its powerful Northern Fleet to safeguard its interests. “In the Northern Sea Route, Moscow already illegally demands that other nations request permission to pass, requires Russian maritime pilots to be aboard foreign ships, and threatens to use military force to sink any that fail to comply,” Pompeo said. “These provocative actions are part of a pattern of aggressive Russian behavior in the Arctic.” The Arctic Council is made up of the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The region’s indigenous populations are also represented. The Arctic Council’s remit excludes military matters, but participants have already clashed, with the Washington Post reporting that the United States had refused to sign a final declaration, disagreeing with the wording on climate change. ( wapo.st/2VI80L4 ) “There are different tones with which different countries want to approach climate change,” Finland Arctic Ambassador Aleksi Harkonen said. “It’s not about whether climate change can be mentioned or not. It will be there in the final declaration.” Surface air in the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, and the ocean could be ice-free in the summer months within 25 years, according to some researchers. That may profoundly affect the world’s weather and wildlife and indigenous populations in the polar region. President Donald Trump has frequently expressed skepticism about whether global warming is a result of human activity and has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate accord. Pompeo’s warnings about Russian and Chinese behavior in the Arctic come amid trade tensions with Beijing and Moscow’s backing for Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro.

china
u.s .
russia
arctic
donald trump
mike pompeo
arctic council
sea route


May's uneasy courtship of Jeremy Corbyn puts Brexit deal on knife edge

Abstract: LONDON - As the gray dawn came up over London on the morning of June 9, 2017, Theresa May had one urgent mission: to stop Jeremy Corbyn from becoming prime minister. May was hunkered down inside her Conservative Party’s headquarters with her closest aides, trying to make sense of the shocking failure of her campaign to win a snap general election. By 4:30 a.m. it was clear she’d lost her majority, and the socialist Labour Party leader was within striking distance of replacing her in government. May held on — just — and has battled for 23 months at the head of a minority government. But the core policy she’s been fighting to implement — an orderly divorce from the European Union — now rests in the hands of the man she fought to keep from power. Desperate for Labour votes to help her Brexit deal pass in the House of Commons, May set out to woo Corbyn in April, giving the opposition leader the chance to dictate the terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the bloc. Based on accounts from people familiar with both sides of the negotiations, the political courtship has been uncomfortable and uneasy. It’s set to reach crunch point in a meeting on Tuesday and the outcome could be momentous for the fate of Brexit. If the talks fail, the chances of another referendum or even an emergency election will rise, while May herself could be forced out and ultimately replaced with a Brexit hardliner who is happy to leave the EU without any deal at all. In recent days officials on both sides have privately sounded optimistic about the prospects of an agreement. In part, that’s because of the generally positive atmosphere in which at least some of the discussions have taken place. Critically for the Tory side, Seumas Milne, Corbyn’s chief strategist, is said to be fully engaged and serious in the meetings that have taken place, asking detailed questions about the government’s position and the offers on the table, in a sign he’s interested in doing a deal. The discussions on how to ensure workers’ rights remain protected after Brexit have gone well. Business Secretary Greg Clark and his shadow, Rebecca Long-Bailey, produced successful results which are likely to be taken forward even if no wider deal is possible. Likewise, pro-Brexit Environment Secretary Michael Gove has sat down for constructive talks with his Labour counterpart, Sue Hayman, on securing ongoing standards of environmental protections. May’s aides have even gone as far as drafting a media plan for how to handle the publicity around the announcement, in preparation for an agreement being signed. Yet the tensions pulling the two sides apart are arguably stronger than the temptation to do a deal. Some pro-Brexit Cabinet ministers, including Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, are deeply skeptical of the whole process. He seems far less engaged in the meetings than others, according to people familiar with the situation. There remains an abiding wariness and suspicion on both sides. Government officials have written down May’s offers and handed them out on pieces of paper to the Labour team to read in the meetings. At the end of those meetings, the government side collects those papers back again to stop Corbyn’s team taking them away and leaking the details. On Sunday, May appealed to Corbyn to “do a deal” but Labour’s finance spokesman, John McDonnell, declared he did not trust her after details of her offer were leaked to the press. The two party leaders have met twice in person and are not expected to meet again unless a deal is ready to be signed. The major focus of the talks is on future customs arrangements between Britain and the EU. May is under pressure to compromise and abandon her promise to keep the U.K. out of a formal customs union with the bloc. She’s willing to give ground on this issue but it’s not yet clear whether the offer she has in mind will go far enough to win over Corbyn. A temporary customs arrangement, alongside alignment with EU market regulations, would give certainty over the future until the next general election scheduled for 2022. Whoever wins that vote will be able to pursue softer or harder forms of Brexit. According to one of May’s most senior colleagues, the goal for the talks is to reach compromise positions on both the longer term U.K.-EU customs regime and the prospects of a second referendum that both Labour and the Tories can live with. There is some sympathy for Corbyn at the very top of May’s team. One of her most senior aides acknowledged that he has an extremely difficult calculation to make on a second referendum. Many Labour politicians want a so-called people’s vote on the terms of any Brexit deal but Labour is reluctant to promise one, in part over fears that this will alienate pro-Leave voters in the party’s northern English heartlands. If the talks break down, the focus will switch to whether Labour and the government can agree on a way to put alternative options to a series of so-called indicative votes in Parliament, allowing rank-and-file politicians to choose the way forward. Previous attempts to find a majority in Parliament have failed. Even if both leaders can agree to a blueprint for the divorce, questions will remain over how many members of their own parties will support it. Tory member of Parliament Lee Rowley’s message to May about the negotiations with Corbyn was succinct. “Stop this madness,” he wrote on Twitter, saying his views are supported by voters. “People didn’t vote for you to do a deal with a Marxist.”

eu
u.k .
conservatives
labour
brexit
theresa may
jeremy corbyn


Hundreds protest Bolsonaro's public education funding cuts

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO - Hundreds of students and professors protested against public education funding cuts outside a military high school in Brazil on Monday where far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was attending a ceremony. Bolsonaro’s ultraconservative government sparked outrage last week when it revealed at least 30 percent cuts to the annual budgets of federally funded high schools and universities. Holding posters warning the reductions would leave Latin America’s biggest country “rich in ignorance,” protesters crowded outside the main entrance to the state-run Military College of Rio de Janeiro, forcing Bolsonaro to leave by a side exit. “This will greatly jeopardize Brazil’s science and technology for an entire generation,” Katia Barbosa, a 57-year-old professor at the Fluminense Federal University, told AFP. Some former students of the military school made a heart sign with their hands as they paraded past the president, who was flanked by Vice President Hamilton Mourao — an ex-alumnus — Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Wilson Witzel and Mayor Marcelo Crivella. But others gave Bolsonaro the thumbs-down signal in an apparent show of solidarity with the protesters outside. Public education was under “attack” and the cuts would “freeze public education, research and technical education,” Maurilio Torres, a university student, told AFP. State-run military colleges would not be affected by the funding cuts because they come under the defense ministry, not education, G1 news site said. Bolsonaro said previously his government had been considering cutting public funds allocated to philosophy and sociology departments in universities. “The goal is to focus on streams that generate an immediate return to the taxpayer, such as veterinary, engineering or medical studies,” he said. Since assuming the presidency in January, Bolsonaro has been on an ideological campaign to promote his ultraconservative ideas and values, and to erase any trace of the 2003-2016 leftwing government Brazil had.

brazil
education
rio de janeiro
funds
jair bolsonaro


All 14 aboard reported killed when private jet from Las Vegas crashes en route to Mexico

Abstract: MEXICO CITY - The remains of a plane that disappeared en route from the U.S. city of Las Vegas to Monterrey in northern Mexico have been found, a state government official said on Monday, with local media reporting that all 14 on board had died. Mexican newspaper Reforma said the private plane had 11 passengers and three crew members on board. The wreckage of the plane was found via aerial surveillance some 129 miles (208 km) northwest of the northern city of Monclova in the border state of Coahuila, said Fernando Orta of the state’s emergency services department. Officials had not yet arrived to inspect the site, he added. “The land is rather mountainous … so they’re going to take a while longer to arrive,” Orta said. FlightAware, an online flight tracking service, said the plane was a Challenger business jet made by Canada’s Bombardier Inc. The company was not immediately available for comment. A photograph published on local television network Milenio showed what it said were the burnt remnants of the plane, broken into pieces, spread over charred earth. A Mexican transport ministry spokesman could not say whether there had been any survivors. Local broadcaster Televisa reported the small twin-engine jet lost contact on Sunday with air traffic controllers sometime after 5:20 p.m. local time (2220 GMT) as the pilot descended to avoid a storm.

mexico
las vegas
aircraft accidents
challenger
monterrey
bombardier


Pilot says lightning caused deadly Aeroflot crash during emergency landing

Abstract: MOSCOW - The pilot of a Russian passenger plane that erupted in a ball of fire on the runway of Moscow’s busiest airport, killing 41 people, said lightning led to the emergency landing. Investigators were on Monday working to understand the causes of the blaze after the Sukhoi Superjet-100 had to return to Sheremetyevo airport shortly after takeoff Sunday evening. Pilot Denis Yevdokimov told Russian media the aircraft lost communication and needed to switch to emergency control mode “because of lightning” on the Aeroflot flight to the Arctic city of Murmansk. He did not specify if the plane was struck directly. “We managed to restore communication through the emergency frequency on our radio connection. But the link was only for a short time and kept cutting out … it was possible to say only a few words,” he told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Videos on social media showed the plane crash on landing and then speeding along the runway with flames pouring from its fuselage. People could be seen leaping onto an inflatable slide at the front and running from the blazing plane as columns of black smoke billowed into the sky. Another video shot inside the cabin showed roaring flames outside the window and passengers crying out in panic. Yevdokimov said he believed the plane burst into flames on landing, most likely because of full fuel tanks. Aside from the dead, nine people were hospitalized, three of them seriously injured, authorities said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a U.S. citizen died as he expressed “sincere condolences” to the families of those killed or injured. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the victims’ loved ones and said the investigation into the disaster “should be as thorough as possible”. The jet — carrying 73 passengers and five crew members — took off from Sheremetyevo at 6:02 p.m. (1502 GMT) and the crew issued a distress signal shortly afterward, officials said. Flight tracking site Flightradar24 showed the plane circling near the capital before landing. The aircraft’s black boxes have been found and handed over to investigators, a source in the Russian emergency services told news agencies. Transport Minister Yevgeny Dietrich said there were no plans to ground the Superjet-100 model. The charred aircraft could still be seen from the runway surrounded by vehicles, according to an AFP journalist at the scene on Monday afternoon. Several of the 78 people on board said they believed lightning was the cause of the tragedy, which came at the end of several days of public holidays following Workers’ Day on May 1. Passenger Pyotr Yegorov told media: “We had just taken off when the plane was hit by lightning … the landing was very hard, we almost passed out from fear. “The plane bounced on the tarmac like a grasshopper and burst into flames on the ground.” “We had taken off, we were in a cloud, there was heavy hail,” flight attendant Tatyana Kasatkina told the Rossiya 24 news channel. “Then it was like a slap, a flash, like electricity. It all happened very fast.” Vladimir Yevmenkov, a passenger from the city of Severomorsk, near Murmansk, told TV news he saw lightning striking the right engine of the plane twice from his seat after takeoff. “There were two very loud bangs and two flashes, but the engine did not catch fire.” Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot was once notorious for a poor safety record but in recent years its image has improved and it has not had a fatal accident in more than a decade. The Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100, however, has been dogged with problems since its launch in 2011. In 2012, a Superjet performing at an Indonesian air show slammed into a volcano, killing all 45 people on board. Indonesia blamed the crash on pilot error. Technical problems with the plane have been reported in recent years and Russia has struggled to convince foreign carriers to purchase it. The government offered subsidies to encourage Russian airlines to buy the Superjet and Aeroflot has became its main operator. In 2018, it announced a record order of 100 Superjet-100s. Russian regional airline Yamal said Monday it had canceled an order for 10 of the jets but said this was to do with servicing costs rather than the crash. The Murmansk region — where many of those killed or injured are believed to be from — went into a three-day period of mourning from Monday.

moscow
aeroflot
aircraft accidents
sheremetyevo
sukhoi superjet-100
lightniing
superjet


All directly involved in Sri Lanka attacks dead or arrested: police

Abstract: COLOMBO - Two bomb experts were among the suicide attackers who struck churches and hotels on April 21 in Sri Lanka and all those directly involved in the bombings are either dead or under arrest, police said. Acting police Chief C.D. Wickramaratne also said in a statement late Monday that explosives the Islamic State-linked group stacked for use in more attacks have been seized. The bombings killed 257 people and wounded hundreds at three churches and three hotels. Seven suicide bombers died at their targets while another exploded his device later at a guesthouse after his device failed at a leading tourist hotel. A ninth killed herself to avoid capture by police at her home. Police have detained 73 suspects for investigations since the bombings and have seized stocks of explosives, improvised explosives devices and hundreds of swords. They have also found $140,000 in cash in bank accounts connected to the group and another $40 million worth of assets in land, houses, vehicles and jewelry. Authorities had repeatedly said another attack from the extremist group was possible. Sri Lanka’s Catholic church hierarchy closed churches for a second weekend on Sunday as the faithful celebrated Mass from home via television. But on Tuesday, one of the churches targeted in the attacks, St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, opened a section of the church to the public for the first time since the bombing, enabling devotees to pray in the church as was customary every Tuesday. Catholic schools remain closed until further notice after reports said two of their locations were to be attacked last weekend. Government-run schools reopened for students of higher classes Monday but fewer students attended out of fear. Army Cmdr. Mahesh Senanayake on Monday urged the public to resume normal activities and trust the security forces. “I ask the people not to fear unnecessarily, not to believe rumors … believe in the tri-forces and police that defeated one of deadliest terrorist organizations in the world,” he said of the ethnic Tamil separatists who fought a 26-year civil war. The conflict ended 10 years ago.

religion
christianity
terrorism
islam
sri lanka
islamic state
sri lanka attacks


Weapons tested by Pyongyang could strike deep into South Korea

Abstract: SEOUL - The weapons North Korea launched over the weekend traveled into the stratosphere and flew at a distance long enough to strike deep into South Korean territory, according to a South Korean assessment. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not indicate what was fired off of North Korea’s east coast on Saturday and into the sea, but experts believe at least one ballistic missile was launched and the testing may indicate that North Korea has improved its capabilities to strike the South. The multiple short-range projectiles were fired on Saturday from 9:06 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. and reached altitudes of between 20-60 kilometers (12-37 miles). They covered a distance of about 70 to 240 kilometers (45 to 150 miles), Kim Joon-rak, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a briefing. That means the weapons could strike a region stretching from the Seoul area — accounting for about half of the country’s population — to the central city of Daejeon. Neither the U.S. nor South Korea have confirmed North Korea fired a ballistic missile, which would be in violation of international agreements and complicate their current detente with Pyongyang. Rather than condemn the move, U.S. and South Korean officials played down the threat, a move analysts said that could keep the door open for nuclear negotiations but also signal to Kim Jong Un that he has the green light to do more short-range testing. The weapons test indicates that North Korea may be looking to thwart U.S. missile interceptors, according to Kim Ki-ho, a defense professor at Kyonggi University in Seoul and former army colonel. The U.S. operates a system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, also called THAAD, which can intercept missiles flying at an altitude of 40 kilometers or more. Low-altitude missiles can be defended by the Patriot missile defense system. The latest North Korean weapons appeared to fly “too low to be intercepted by the THAAD” and “too fast” to be intercepted by the Patriot system, he said. “The latest tactical guided weapons could incapacitate those system.” When asked about the interceptor-evasion possibility, South Korea’s defense ministry said separately in a statement that “comprehensive reviews are underway, including such matters.” U.S. Forces Korea did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Based on a photo Pyongyang released in its state media, a satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. showing what appeared to be a single missile contrail at the exercise site and the missile’s trajectory, North Korea appears to have fired a new solid-fuel ballistic missile similar to a Russian Iskander, said Melissa Hanham, a nonproliferation expert and director of the One Earth Future Foundation’s Datayo Project. North Korea had unveiled a similar weapon, which could be stored while fueled, deployed and fired with less detection time, during a military parade in February 2018. The last time North Korea fired a ballistic missile was in November 2017, at the height of tensions with the U.S.

u.s .
north korea
kim jong un
weapons
missiles
south korea


Beijing military vows to stay 'on high alert' after U.S. warships sail near man-made islets in South China Sea

Abstract: A Chinese military spokesman has said the People’s Liberation Army will remain “on high alert and take all necessary measures” to protect what it claims is its “national sovereignty” after the U.S. Navy sent two warships near two Chinese-held man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea. Senior Col. Li Huamin, a spokesperson for the PLA’s Southern Theater Command, said the military had sent warships and aircraft to warn off the guided-missile destroyers USS Preble and USS Chung Hoon after the two vessels conducted what the U.S. calls “freedom of navigation operations” (FONOP) Monday near two islets in the South China Sea’s Spratly island chain. China’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed the operation, saying that the sailings had “violated China’s sovereignty and undermined peace, security and healthy order in the relevant sea areas.” The U.S. military confirmed the FONOP, offering up rare details of the operation. “Preble and Chung Hoon sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Gaven and Johnson Reefs in order to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law,” Cmdr. Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, said in a statement. “U.S. forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea,” he added. “All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. That is true in the South China Sea as in other places around the globe.” Doss said that the FONOPs were “routine and regular” and “are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements.” Washington and Beijing have frequently jousted over the militarization of the South China Sea, where China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims. China has constructed man-made islands, some of which are home to military-grade airfields and advanced weaponry, in the strategic waterway. The U.S. fears those outposts could be used to restrict free movement in the waterway — which includes vital sea lanes through which about $3 trillion in global trade passes each year — and regularly conducts FONOPs in the area. The back-and-forth between the two powers came as the U.S. said China had backtracked on substantial commitments it made during trade talks with the United States, prompting President Donald Trump to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods slated to go into effect Friday. That move abruptly ended a five-month truce in a trade war that has cost the two countries billions of dollars and slowed global growth. It also came just days after the Pentagon released its latest report on China’s military power. That report said that last year, “China continued militarization in the South China Sea by placing anti-ship cruise missiles and long-range surface-to-air missiles on outposts in the Spratly Islands, violating a 2015 pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping that ‘China does not intend to pursue militarization’ of the Spratly Islands.”

china
u.s .
military
disputed islands
south china sea


U.S. says it's 'gravely concerned' over human rights in North Korea, days after Trump praises Kim

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department said Monday it was “gravely concerned” about human rights in North Korea, including its detention of an estimated 100,000 people in political prison camps, two days after President Donald Trump again praised leader Kim Jong Un. Trump is seeking a potentially landmark accord with North Korea on ending its nuclear program, with human rights on the backburner during his two summits with Kim. But in a statement to mark an annual week of advocacy in Washington over North Korea’s rights record, the State Department hailed defectors and other activists who “shine a light on the dire human rights situation” in the totalitarian state. “We remain gravely concerned and deeply troubled by these abuses,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. “We continue to work with the international community to raise awareness, highlight abuses and violations, enhance access to independent information and promote respect for human rights in North Korea,” she said. She estimated that 100,000 North Koreans are jailed in political prison camps, including family members of those accused of violations, and said that those who tried to flee “are often tortured or killed” when caught. Trump on Saturday defended Kim and his own diplomacy as North Korea said that Kim oversaw a test of a rocket and “tactical guided weapons.” Trump tweeted that Kim knew of the “great economic potential” of North Korea — a prospect dangled by the United States as it looks to make a deal. “He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!” Trump tweeted. Trump has repeatedly boasted that his diplomacy has stopped North Korea from testing missiles. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also played down the latest test by saying that the rockets did not cross any international boundary.

u.s .
north korea
human rights
kim jong un
donald trump
mike pompeo


From camps to factories: Muslim detainees say China using forced labor in Xinjiang

Abstract: ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN - As Gulzira Auelkhan toiled to stitch gloves in a factory in China’s troubled Xinjiang region, her managers made no secret of where her production would be sold. “They told us openly that the gloves will be sold abroad, so we should do a good job,” Auelkhan recalled of a labor stint she says was enforced by Chinese “re-education” officials. Auelkhan, a 39-year-old Chinese citizen of Kazakh descent, says she was part of a network of mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang who pass from what China calls “vocational training centers” to factories where they are forced to work for far less than the local minimum wage. China says the education centers are part of its efforts to fight terrorism and separatism in Xinjiang — a region populated by mostly Muslim minority groups — and denies any use of forced labor. But rights groups, and former workers like Auelkhan, say the practice used against Chinese minorities is widespread and at least one foreign company has dropped its Chinese supplier over the concerns. Auelkhan says she was transferred to the glove factory at the Jiafang industrial estate in Xinjiang’s Yining county after spending 15 months in two different “re-education” facilities. More than a million people from Muslim minorities — mostly ethnic Uighurs, but also Kazakhs like Auelkhan, Kyrgyz and Hui — are being held in internment centers across Xinjiang, according to a United Nations panel of experts. Auelkhan has residency rights in Kazakhstan but had traveled to China to see family when she was detained and put into a re-education center. She said life in the camps was brutal, with residents struck over the head with electrified batons for spending more than two minutes in the bathroom. So even though they were not free to leave, it was an improvement when she and hundreds of other camp inmates were transferred to work at the factory, Auelkhan said in an interview in Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Almaty. “Every day we were taken to and from a dormitory three kilometers from the factory,” she said, hugging the five-year-old daughter she didn’t see for nearly two years. “When we were studying at the camp they told us we would be taught a trade and work for three months,” Auelkhan said. Auelkhan said she was paid only 320 yuan ($48) for close to two months’ work before her time at the factory was curtailed in December and she was allowed to return to her family in Kazakhstan. Xinjiang’s average minimum wage ranges between 820 yuan and 1,460 yuan per month, according to official statistics. Beijing and officials in the region have fiercely denied any connection between the camps and underpaid labor. A representative of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Government Press Office said by email that there was “no labor contract between Education and Training Centers and enterprises” and “no enterprise obtains labor from training centers.” But rights groups insist the connection exists and some companies have started taking notice. In January, Badger Sportswear, a firm based in the U.S. state of North Carolina, announced it would stop sourcing clothing from its Xinjiang supplier Hetian Taida over concerns it was using forced labor linked to the “re-education” campaign. Auelkhan believes she was only released from forced labor because of a public campaign launched by her husband and supported by a Xinjiang-focused rights group in Almaty. Originally, re-education officials had told her and other center residents that they would be “at (their) disposal” for at least six months, she said. Oil-rich Kazakhstan’s government is a Beijing ally that positions itself as “the buckle” in China’s trillion-dollar “Belt and Road” trade and investment agenda, a strategy for infrastructure and development projects throughout Asia, Europe and Africa. Kazakh diplomats have entered into a dialogue with Beijing over Xinjiang, without publicly mentioning the re-education centers or criticizing China’s policies. In December a representative of Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said during a briefing that China had allowed more than 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to travel to Kazakhstan as “a kind gesture.” The ministry refused repeated requests to clarify the remarks, which lent hope to many in Kazakhstan that they would be able to bring Xinjiang-based relatives over the border to safety. For most, however, this has been a crushing false dawn. During a recent visit to the Almaty office of the Ata Jurt rights group dedicated to supporting relatives of the Xinjiang missing, AFP spoke to several Kazakhs who claim their relatives have merely swapped “re-education” for other forms of confinement. One of them, Aibota Janibek, 34, said her sister Kunikei Janibek telephoned her from Xinjiang in January after months without contact to confirm she had been “assigned a job” by the state at a carpet factory in Shawan county. Aibota Janibek has since lost touch with her sister, but heard from other relatives that she was transferred from the carpet factory to another position. “A relative told me she is now at a factory that makes paper towels for airplanes,” Janibek said.

china
rights
ethnicity
uighurs
xinjiang
forced labor


As world cheers Reuters reporters' release, advocates call for sweeping reforms of Myanmar's 'suffocating' press freedom

Abstract: YANGON - Media freedom advocates praised the surprise release of Reuters reporters in Myanmar but stressed the pair should never have been jailed in the first place and called for sweeping reforms of paralyzing press laws. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters walked free from Yangon’s Insein prison Tuesday after more than 500 days behind bars as part of a large presidential amnesty following a global campaign calling for their release. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in prison under the draconian Official Secrets Act last year after probing a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. The killings occurred in the conflict-wracked region of Myanmar that has been largely off-limits to journalists since an army crackdown forced some 740,000 members of the stateless Rohingya minority to flee to Bangladesh. But as the world cheered the sudden release Tuesday, media watchdogs cautioned against celebrating the move as a new chapter for Myanmar’s tainted press freedom record. Nicholas Bequelin of Amnesty International called the case against the Reuters reporters “a travesty of justice from start to finish.” He said there were still “a range of repressive laws used to detain journalists, activists and any perceived critic” in place. “Until these laws are repealed, journalists and activists remain under a permanent threat of detention and arrest.” The United Nations on Tuesday echoed Amnesty’s fears after welcoming the pair’s release. “The situation for freedom of expression (in Myanmar) is dire,” U.N. human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva. She added that “no positive progress has been observed” since the rights office issued a set of recommendations last year aimed at improving free speech in Myanmar. Myanmar is ranked 138 out of 180 countries for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders, and critics say it employs colonial-era legislation to target journalists and activists. That includes a roster of legislation such as the State Secrets Act and laws on unlawful association and incitement. A telecommunications law passed in 2013 has also been used to target reporters and government critics. There are currently almost 130 prisoners behind bars in Myanmar either convicted or awaiting trial for politically motivated reasons, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Yangon. The Reuters saga is not the first time Myanmar has courted unwanted attention for press freedom issues. On June 2017 three journalists from two independent news outlets — the Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma — were arrested by the military at a checkpoint after reporting from an ethnic armed group-controlled area. They were charged with unlawful association and held for 10 weeks before the military dropped the case. Another journalist Swe Win faces an ongoing case of online defamation that has dragged on for almost two years and which requires him to make frequent trips to another city hours away to attend hearings. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s release does little to change Myanmar’s “suffocating media environment,” said Matthew Bugher of Article 19, a freedom of expression organization. “If the government was serious about media freedom, it could start by reforming the repressive colonial-era law that was used to charge the two men, as well as a whole host of other laws that stifle independent journalism and free speech,” he added. Bugher said the pair’s release was a “face-saving response to persistent international pressure and bad publicity.” Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, once considered a democracy icon, faced intense scrutiny for not intervening to secure the reporter’s freedom. Her party swept to power in 2015 elections, the first polls in decades, after spending a combined 15 years under house arrest during the military regime. She is currently in an uneasy power-sharing agreement with Myanmar generals, and she has been stripped of several honors internationally over her failure to speak up for the Rohingya. Suu Kyi has also refused to lend her voice in defence of the Reuters pair despite evidence revealed in court that they had been set up in a sting. A government spokesman said Tuesday that the reporters were released for the “long-term interest” of the country. Reuters lawyer U Khin Maung Zaw thanked President Win Myint on Tuesday after his clients were freed and called for more protections for the country’s journalists. “We really need an effective law that protects the journalists from going to prison when doing their job,” he said.

myanmar
press freedom
aung san suu kyi
wa lone
kyaw soe oo
reuters reporters
_asia


Two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar freed after more than 500 days

Abstract: YANGON - Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar after they were convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act walked free from a prison on the outskirts of Yangon on Tuesday after spending more than 500 days behind bars. The two reporters, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, had been convicted in September and sentenced to seven years in jail, in a case that raised questions about Myanmar’s progress toward democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates. President Win Myint has pardoned thousands of other prisoners in mass amnesties since last month. It is customary in Myanmar for authorities to free prisoners across the country around the time of the traditional New Year, which began on April 17. Reuters has said the two men did not commit any crime and had called for their release. Swamped by media and well-wishers as they walked through the gates of Insein Prison, a grinning Wa Lone gave a thumbs up and said he was grateful for the international efforts to secure their freedom. “I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom,” he said. Kyaw Soe Oo smiled and waved to reporters. Before their arrest in December 2017, the two had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August 2017. The operation sent more than 730,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, according to U.N. estimates. The report the two men authored, featuring testimony from perpetrators, witnesses and families of the victims, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in May, adding to a number of accolades received by the pair for their journalism. Calls to a spokesman for the Myanmar government were not immediately answered. Japan welcomed the pair’s release, with Foreign Minister Taro Kono saying in a tweet later Tuesday that Japan “hopes Myanmar will further develop as a democratic state.” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said he was thrilled with the news. “We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. Since their arrests 511 days ago, they have become symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world. We welcome their return,” Adler said. Myanmar’s Supreme Court had rejected the journalists’ final appeal in April. They had petitioned the country’s top court, citing evidence of a police setup and lack of proof of a crime, after the Yangon High Court dismissed an earlier appeal in January. The reporters’ wives wrote a letter to the government in April pleading for a pardon, not, they said, because their husbands had done anything wrong, but because it would allow them to be released from prison and reunited with their families. The Reuters journalists were released at the prison to Lord Ara Darzi, a British surgeon and health care expert who has served as a member of an advisory group to Myanmar’s government on reforms in Rakhine State, and a Reuters representative. “This outcome shows that dialogue works, even in the most difficult of circumstances,” Darzi said. In a statement, Darzi said discussions about the pardon for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had involved the Myanmar government, Reuters, the United Nations and representatives of other governments but did not provide more details. Darzi had informed Reuters this year of his efforts to secure the release of the two and the company was grateful for his role in making it happen, a Reuters spokesman said. Darzi has been a member of an advisory commission that was formed to see through the advice from a panel headed by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan on solving the long-running conflict in Myanmar’s western region in the state of Rakhine. Rakhine State, on the Bay of Bengal, was the home to most Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown on the region in 2017.

media censorship courts myanmar military rights prisons


Flight data recorder from Japan's crashed F-35A retrieved, but key data still missing

Abstract: The Defense Ministry has retrieved part of the flight data recorder from a F-35A stealth fighter that went missing last month, but it was heavily damaged and also did not include a storage device to record speed and altitude data, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters Tuesday. The discovery on the sea floor, the exact location of which has been withheld for security reasons, is therefore unlikely to help determine the cause of the crash. What looked like some parts of the stealth fighter — which cost more than ¥10 billion — were also spotted on the sea floor, about 1,500 meters below the surface. The Defense Ministry plans to salvage them, said a public relations officer with the Air Self-Defense Force in Tokyo. The F-35A stealth fighter went missing on April 9 about 135 kilometers east of Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, during a combat exercise together with other three F-35As. The pilot, Maj. Akinori Hosomi, has yet to be found. The crash of the F-35A, which was made by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin and assembled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Ltd., is believed to have been the first in the world for that particular model, drawing much attention from military analysts around the world as a result. The stealth jet is packed with top-class military technologies that are highly confidential, and as such the Defense Ministry is continuing its search for the wreck. Japan currently plans to procure a total of 147 F-35 fighter jets, 105 of which are expected to be F-35A models. The rest will be F-35Bs, which are set to be deployed on two Izumo-class warships that the Defense Ministry plans to convert into multipurpose aircraft carriers. The jet fighter that crashed in April was the first of nine F-35As to have been assembled and checked prior to delivery by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. The remaining four were assembled and checked in the U.S.

u.s .
accidents
military
self defense forces
lockheed martin
mitsubishi heavy industries
f-35a


Top official hopeful Japan's space activities will take off after observation rocket success

Abstract: Takuya Hirai, minister for space policy, expressed hope Tuesday over the expansion of the country’s space activities following the successful liftoff of a small observation rocket by a startup. “It was good that the third time was the charm” for the rocket, Momo-3, whose successful blastoff came after the launches of its two preceding models ended in failure, Hirai told a news conference. “The creation of a business of launching small, low-cost rockets by private-sector companies will help upgrade and vitalize Japan’s space activities as a whole,” he added. Hirai also said the government will support the activities of space venture companies as much as it can. On Saturday, Interstellar Technologies Inc., based in Taiki, Hokkaido, launched Momo-3 in the first successful liftoff of a rocket developed single-handedly by a private-sector company in Japan. The single-stage rocket, which is 10 meters in height and 50 centimeters in diameter, uses ethanol as fuel.

space
astronomy
interstellar technologies inc .
momo-3


Deaths in Japan from truck accidents rose in 2017, the first increase in five years

Abstract: The number of people who died in truck accidents in Japan totaled 298 in 2017, up 11 from the previous year for the first increase in five years, according to the transport ministry and the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis. Regarding casualties, truck accidents accounted for the most in incidents involving vehicles for business purposes, such as taxis and buses. The ministry has set a goal of reducing the figure to 200 by 2020. “The number of fatalities is dropping in the long run. We’ll move forward with measures to achieve the goal,” a ministry official said. In 2017, truck accidents saw the greatest number of deaths per 100 million kilometers traveled, at 0.46, among those by business vehicles, compared with 0.4 for taxis and 0.35 for passenger buses. The figure for private passenger vehicles stood at 0.38. Fatal truck accidents occurred most frequently when pedestrians were crossing the road, totaling 68, followed by trucks hitting other vehicles, at 41, and collisions caused when trucks passed each other, at 40. The number of accidents in which trucks struck objects such as guardrails and utility poles increased 50 percent to 45. Among accidents involving small trucks, many were caused by drivers neglecting to stop when they should have or not paying due attention to the road ahead. Accidents caused by midsize trucks were mainly due to drivers exceeding legal speed limits at night, misjudging the speed of oncoming vehicles when turning right, and not paying enough attention to the presence of pedestrians. As for accidents involving large trucks, many stemmed from drivers failing to concentrate, misjudging the speed of oncoming vehicles, and lack of attention to pedestrians. The number of truck accidents has been decreasing every year since 2011, totaling 17,986 in 2017. The ministry has set a goal of reducing the figure to 12,500 in 2020. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from accidents involving taxis dropped by 13 from the preceding year to 39, while that of passenger bus accidents increased by five to 11. Accidents involving taxis were mainly caused by driver inattention to the road ahead while looking for customers, according to informed sources. Fatal passenger bus accidents were chiefly due to collisions with cyclists and drivers’ lack of attention to safety when the vehicle had no customers.

accidents
trucks
fatalities
transport ministry


Emperor Naruhito conducts first regular duties at Imperial Palace

Abstract: Emperor Naruhito carried out his first regular duties in his new role at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, the Imperial Household Agency said. The emperor signed and sealed documents related to a Cabinet meeting. They were his first duties at the palace, except for rituals for his accession on May 1. The agency released photographs of him working in his office the same day. The emperor currently lives at an imperial residence in Akasaka Estate near the palace with his family. He will continue commuting to the palace until Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko move to their temporary residence in Tokyo, and renovation work is completed. The former emperor and empress will eventually move to a new residence being prepared at Akasaka Estate.

royalty
imperial family
imperial palace
emperor naruhito


Abe and Trump discuss North Korea's projectile drill in phone call

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump “completely” agreed Monday that, following Pyongyang’s firing of projectiles into the Sea of Japan late last week, their countries will seek a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by coordinating bilateral efforts. Speaking to reporters after his phone conversation with Trump, Abe said Japanese and U.S. experts will analyze the nature of the projectiles, and that he is still willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “without conditions” despite the latest development. “President Trump and I completely agreed on every aspect of how we should deal with North Korea,” Abe said. “We are completely on the same page that we will seek to have the agreement between the United States and North Korea (on denuclearization) implemented swiftly.” The White House said the two leaders reaffirmed their unity on how to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, and also discussed Trump’s state visit to Japan in late May as well as regional and bilateral trade issues. Trump emphasized his “strong support” for American farmers, the White House said, a sign that he may have urged Abe to reduce tariffs on American agricultural products. North Korea launched the projectiles between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. Saturday from an area around the Hodo Peninsula, near Wonsan, and they traveled between 70 and 200 kilometers to the northeast before falling into the sea, South Korea’s military said earlier. South Korea’s Defense Ministry has said the projectiles included a new tactical guided weapon, while some U.S. and South Korean military experts believe they were short-range ballistic missiles. North Korea is prohibited from conducting ballistic missile launches under U.N. Security Council resolutions, and no such tests by the country have been confirmed since November 2017. The launches followed a lack of substantive progress on the denuclearization of North Korea despite two high-profile summits between Trump and Kim. The launch, seen as a sign of Pyongyang’s frustration with Washington, came as Kim has stepped up diplomacy through face-to-face meetings with his foreign counterparts including Russian President Vladimir Putin. After speaking with Trump, Abe expressed his willingness to meet with Kim to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, a top priority for him. “To resolve the abduction issue, I myself need to face Chairman Kim without conditions,” Abe told reporters after talking to Trump, adding that he will seize “every opportunity available” to settle the long-standing issue, which has prevented the two countries from normalizing relations. Abe’s previous stance had been that he would meet with Kim only if there was a guarantee progress would be made toward resolving the issue of abductees. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday that Abe’s willingness to hold an unconditional summit with Kim demonstrates his determination to find a resolution to the abductions and other outstanding issues. “The prime minister has said he will end mutual distrust and meet with Chairman Kim to resolve North Korea’s nuclear, missile, and most importantly, abduction issues. His alluding to a summit without conditions reflects that determination more clearly,” Suga said at a news briefing. Asked if the Japanese government has changed its policy toward North Korea, Suga said pledges made in a bilateral declaration signed in 2002 are still valid. In the declaration, the two countries agreed to seek a comprehensive settlement of the nuclear, missile and abduction issues, as well as a normalization of bilateral relations. Abe has yet to meet with Kim, who has had face-to-face meetings with other world leaders such as Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

shinzo abe
north korea
military
kim jong un
donald trump


Back to the grind: Workers in Japan return after extended Golden Week holiday

Abstract: The nation went back to work following this year’s unprecedented 10-day Golden Week holiday on Tuesday — the first working day of the Reiwa Era. Naoto Tokunaga, 24, showed up at his office near Tokyo Station 30 minutes earlier than usual because he was impatient to get there. “Due to work, I could only take about half the holidays off,” he said. Even during his trip to Amami Oshima island with his girlfriend, he could not stop thinking about work, he said. Now that the holiday is over, he said he “will work hard” to deal with backlogs. Some parents had little time to rest over Golden Week, which was extended to 10 days because of Emperor Naruhito’s ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. A 37-year-old worker in Tokyo said her husband went on a business trip during the second half of the holidays, so she had to look after her two children — a first-grader and a two-year-old — by herself. Because the children’s activity center her kids attend was closed during the holidays, the mother said she had to take her children to a park every day. “The 10 consecutive days off were too long. I’m relieved that it’s over,” she said. Health experts have warned that the unusually long Golden Week could prompt new students and employees who enrolled at schools or joined a company in April to suffer from gogatsubyō , literally translated as May disease, when the holidays end. Symptoms include depression and strong anxiety often developed as a result of being unable to adapt to a new environment after a long holiday. ChildLine, which offers a free help line providing mental health advice, among other things, for children 18 years old and under, made the service available in all prefectures daily between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. during Golden Week. Because of the long break, banks had been concerned over possible problems with their systems and long queues at branches because credit card payments and other transactions were likely to be concentrated on Tuesday. An official of a major bank said there have so far been no reports of system glitches nor congestion at counters. Internet-based Rakuten Bank said that its clients are experiencing difficulty logging in to their accounts on its website. The bank was looking into possible causes, including a potential system failure, but said a spike in traffic could be to blame. It said it is not experiencing any issues with transactions made at its ATMs. At Osaka’s Chuo Ward office, more than 10 people were waiting in line before it opened at 9 a.m. Takara Tanaka, 65, said he returned to Japan in late April from Malaysia, where he had been transferred for work, and was at a loss because he could not create an insurance card during Golden Week. Official documents featuring the new era name were issued at government offices. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, an official said it would take a while for him to get used to seeing administrative documents printed with Reiwa.

holidays
golden week
abdication
reiwa
emperor naruhito


Sports federation chiefs voice concerns over Tokyo 2020 preparation

Abstract: GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - With less than 15 months until next year’s Tokyo Games, international sports federations voiced concerns Tuesday about event logistics including athlete services and venue presentation. During an international sports meeting in the Gold Coast, Australia, officials from the Japanese organizing committee for the 2020 Olympics pledged to do their utmost to address the anxieties. “We’re extremely concerned with the service levels that are being proposed for athletes at venues,” World Sailing chief executive Andy Hunt told the general assembly at the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. “For example at sailing, no hot food for athletes at the venue, lack of athlete shade and water provision, medical services not matching athlete needs. These matters need to be urgently addressed and rethought, as they really are very basic athlete services.” While organizers are optimistic that the games will be a success, reports of further budget cuts have left many federations concerned. “I know there is a budget constraint, but we understand that athletes are first,” Koji Murofushi, sports director of the Tokyo committee, said in response to Hunt’s questions. Murofushi, the men’s hammer throw gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, acknowledged the issues were “very, very important” and vowed to provide athlete services that were to the sporting federations’ satisfaction. Several bodies, including the International Judo Federation, also voiced worries about the budget allocated to venue presentation during the meeting, which was part of the SportAccord Summit. “We have events in Tokyo every year. The venue looks much better than what we are being proposed now,” said Larisa Kiss, a senior official from the International Judo Federation. “This would be a pity, to have a yearly IJF (competition) look better than the Olympics,” she said. Hidemasa Nakamura, games delivery officer of the committee, said he would discuss the issue with the financial backers of the games, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the International Olympic Committee. “We understand it’s not just decoration but a very important part of the games,” Nakamura said.


Drone flights reported again near Imperial Palace in Tokyo in wake of ascension

Abstract: Police are investigating witness reports of a drone being flown Monday evening near the Imperial Palace and other downtown Tokyo areas, after a number of similar sightings were noted last week following the ascension of Emperor Naruhito. The flying of drones is banned in central Tokyo. Riot police observed what they thought was a drone flying over the Kitanomaru Garden located just north of the palace at around 7:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Further reports were made later saying a drone had been spotted flying over Tokyo’s Nagatacho district, where the country’s Diet and the Prime Minister’s Office are located, as well as in the Yotsuya and Roppongi areas of the city, according to the police. The police searched the areas but failed to track down the pilot. The drone had multiple rotors and flashing lights, they said. On Thursday night, the police received multiple reports of drones flying near the Imperial Palace and the Akasaka Estate, currently home to Emperor Naruhito and a few other members of the imperial family. The emperor ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. A drone was also witnessed Thursday flying near the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in the city of Hachioji on the outskirts of Tokyo, where imperial family members including the great-grandfather and grandfather of Emperor Naruhito are buried. It is illegal to fly drones in densely populated areas or near airports. Flying drones anywhere at night without permission is also prohibited.

tokyo
drones
imperial palace
abdication
emperor naruhito


Teen girl in Ibaraki takes her own life after leaving note accusing school club coach of verbal abuse

Abstract: MITO, IBARAKI PREF. - A 15-year-old junior high school girl killed herself last week after leaving a note accusing a male coach at her table tennis club of verbal abuse, a local education board said Monday. In the note left at her home, the site of her death on April 30, she wrote that the coach, who is also a teacher at her school, had called students “idiots” and told them, “I will kill you.” He also made physical contact with several club members, according to the board of education in the city of Takahagi, Ibaraki Prefecture. The teacher is a veteran table tennis coach and the club has a track record of sending players to compete in national tournaments. He largely admitted to the girl’s allegations, saying, “the coaching had gone too far,” the board said. In a questionnaire distributed last September by her school, the name of which the girl’s family has requested be withheld, the girl wrote, “I enjoy going to school but club activities are boring. I get frustrated when I participate.” She continued to attend the school but stopped going to the table tennis club from March 15, the board said. In March, the education board received an anonymous phone call about the teacher, prompting the school to give him a verbal warning and to begin monitoring him during club activities. The teacher was also seen slamming a paddle on the floor when he became very angry, the board said. “I’ve heard that the student was cheerful and energetic, and saw things through to the end once she decided to do them,” said Tomio Ouchi, head of the education board. “Responsibilities of the school and the education board are very grave. We apologize deeply.” Though the school principal and others had warned the teacher after receiving complaints about his coaching, they failed to extend sufficient care to students, the board said. The board said it will set up a third-party panel involving a lawyer to investigate the cause of her suicide and to study measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring again. It will also offer counseling to students. Meanwhile, one of the girl’s friends said she had also been stressed about her relationship with her family before her death. Yuji Sunaga, deputy leader of a nonprofit group tackling child suicide, said, “It is necessary to examine how the school responded after exploring the cause of her suicide from various perspectives, including her relationship with teammates and concerns about her family.”

suicide bullying abuse schools ibaraki takahagi


Nagano mountain hut owner hopes emperor will not give up passion for trekking

Abstract: The owner of a hut on the Yatsugatake mountain range hopes newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito will not give up his passion for trekking. The 59-year-old emperor, who ascended the throne Wednesday, is known to be very fond of outdoor activities including skiing and jogging, but might be forced to quit most, if not all, of them because of a significant increase in his imperial duties. His father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, for example, gave up horse riding when he was enthroned in 1989, saying any injury resulting from his long-loved hobby could interfere with his duties. Masatoshi Yonekawa, 77, who runs the Kuroyuri Hyutte hut for trekkers in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, accompanied then-Crown Prince Naruhito as a guide during a September 2017 hike up 2,646-meter Mount Tengu and realized the prince did not have much freedom even during private visits because he is always followed by escorts and bound by a precise schedule. Yonekawa surmised that he enjoyed “having a greater sense of solitude than usual” during his time on the mountain range, which is on the border of Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. During his stay at the hut, he was accompanied by about 50 people, including police officers, Yonekawa said. Places to rest, take pictures and fix his hair were precisely set in advance. His stay came after his father made a rare video message aired in August 2016 hinting at his desire to abdicate. When Yonekawa invited the then-crown prince to come back with his wife to see the mountain range covered in snow, he replied that it would be “a little difficult,” Yonekawa said. “I wondered then if he thought it was going to be his last opportunity to climb a mountain,” he recalled. Yonekawa later heard that the crown prince, a member of the Japanese Alpine Club, told a club official he wanted his membership to remain as it is when the club offered to make him an honorary member. “I then figured he just meant he could not come during a snowy season,” Yonekawa said. “I truly hope he will manage the restrictions he has (as emperor) and continue to enjoy the mountains.”

imperial family
abdication
trekking
emperor naruhito


Annual pilgrimage to Manzanar internment camp for Japanese-Americans still resonates

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - After he was expelled from college for “inciting a riot” while fighting for African Americans’ civil rights and protesting the Vietnam War, Warren Furutani decided it was time to galvanize a Japanese American community that had experienced mass incarceration two decades earlier. Just 22 years old at the time of his first pilgrimage to the Manzanar internment camp site in 1969, Furutani, now 71, said recently from his home in Gardena, California, “As Japanese Americans and Asian Americans, we were looking for an issue that would bring people together around civil rights or human rights.” On April 27, Furutani took part in the 50th pilgrimage to Manzanar, where an annual interfaith service pays homage to the 10,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly taken to the site. Furutani’s parents, both born in California, were among approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent who were forced from their homes and incarcerated in camps across the U.S. West and Midwest as “protection against espionage and against sabotage” after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. For last month’s pilgrimage, they gathered at the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, one of 10 similar facilities in the country. “We knew there was a thing called a ‘camp.’ We knew it was important because people would always talk about it, but sort of in whispers,” said Furutani. “But as sansei (third-generation Japanese Americans), yonsei (fourth-generation), we didn’t know anything about it because our parents didn’t talk about it.” When exclusion based on race became a pivotal American issue in the 1950s and 1960s, Furutani and fellow Los Angeles-area activist Victor Shibata decided to drive to investigate Manzanar, the nearest World War II-era internment camp, three hours north of Los Angeles near Death Valley National Park. At the time, the mass internment was “like a forgotten chapter of American history” — not depicted in Hollywood movies, documentaries or history textbooks, Furutani said. What the two young men found at Manzanar was an “archaeological treasure.” With limited knowledge of Japanese kanji, Shibata realized they had stumbled on Manzanar’s cemetery. Nearby, they found a pile of trash, old cans and U.S. Army-issued ceramic dinner plates. “It was like it was buried in a shallow grave and the wind blew the top surface off to reveal what was underneath,” said Furutani. “That was like the (internment) experience — it was something that had been buried by our community, that people didn’t talk about very much, but over time the wind blew the top surface, and now it was starting to reveal itself. Sansei, yonsei, we were the ones to sort of rediscover this.” Afterward, Furutani and Shibata pledged to return with other community members to educate themselves on the internment experience. In December 1969, 150 Japanese Americans made the first pilgrimage to Manzanar. Shibata “came up with the word ‘pilgrimage’ — coming back to a very important, sacred place,” said Furutani. “And that’s what it’s turned out to be: a pilgrimage.” After Sue Embrey, a second-generation Japanese American who had worked on Manzanar’s newspaper, shared her “camp” experience, other internees opened up to the younger generations. “It became very healthy for them to talk about this traumatic experience, and stories started to come out and people started to write books,” said Furutani, who acknowledged that he and his friends experienced a backlash from some people who resented their efforts to reopen old wounds. “That’s when we started to redefine the Japanese American community,” he said. Shortly after making the first pilgrimage, former Manzanar internee Robert Nakamura released a documentary on his internment experience in 1972. A year later, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston published her memoir, “Farewell to Manzanar.” “Over these 50 years of the pilgrimage, we’ve gone through redress reparations, we’ve gotten an apology from the president of the United States,” said Furutani, who has taken part in every Manzanar pilgrimage since 1969. “There’s been a lot of healing, a lot of history, but what political activists like myself have learned early on is we didn’t want this to just be nostalgia, or a history lesson — a critically important history lesson. It had to be relevant to today.” In 2017, months after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ill-fated executive order — widely referred to as the “travel ban” — that temporarily barred people from seven Muslim-majority nations from visiting the United States, 150 Muslim-Americans joined the pilgrimage to Manzanar. After Trump signed the order, organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League pledged support for Muslim-Americans, stating that an exclusionary presidential act similar to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans should not be repeated. “There’s this continuity of political policy in America where if you run into a group of people who are in the way, or you need someone to blame problems on, you take them and you move them out of the way,” Furutani said. “If the issue was just historical, reminiscing, remembering old times, that would be one thing. But it’s not, it has a contemporary application.”

wwii
u.s .
history
california
internment
japanese-americans
manzanar


Rugby Australia boss to Japan: Prepare to host a different kind of fan at World Cup

Abstract: SYDNEY - The CEO of Rugby Australia on Monday warned organizers of this year’s World Cup to be prepared to deal with spectators that can be more a little more exuberant than the typical Japanese fan. Speaking with a group of Japanese media outlets at Rugby Australia headquarters in Sydney, Raelene Castle said Japanese are known for being orderly, lining up nicely and being calm and patient. “That is not true of international rugby fans who are coming from all around the world,” she warned. A large number of that boisterous foreign contingent will be Australia, according to World Rugby, with fans from that country purchasing 90,000 of the 1.8 million tickets sold for the Sept. 20-Nov. 2 tournament to be played across 12 Japanese cities. Traditionally, English fans, well known for their loud singing voices and ubiquitous all-white jerseys, make up the largest World Cup traveling contingent. Australians make up the next biggest group. Castle said, however, that Japan has already passed one test, with the third Bledisloe Cup match between Australia and New Zealand played in Yokohama last October proving a “very good practice game” for the Rugby World Cup organizing committee. With a little over four months before the event kicks off, World Rugby has also endorsed Japan’s preparations, saying the country is on track in its efforts to deliver rugby’s biggest show in Asia for the first time. When questioned about what Japan can learn from Australia in promoting the sport locally, Castle said the “very proud” Brave Blossoms have a unique and exciting style, but that there is room for improvement on the field. “It would be very beneficial for Rugby Australia and Southern Hemisphere rugby if Japan were stronger and … more consistent on the world stage,” the 48-year-old Castle said, adding Rugby Australia has held talks with the Japanese Rugby Football Union about assisting with player development. While pointing out that it is difficult to speak about another nation’s rugby setup, Castle said Japan must do everything it can to ensure more Japanese are playing for Japan. “You need to develop your own Japanese players. Use the experience of other international players to help them grow and develop, but you need Japanese players playing for Japan,” she said. While the Brave Blossoms do have a large number of foreign-born players, most notably captain Michael Leitch, who moved to Japan from New Zealand when he was 15, the situation is very similar for the Wallabies and many other rugby powers. Several of the players that started for the Wallabies in that Bledisloe Cup game in Yokohama hail from outside of Australia, including Papua New Guinea-born scrumhalf Will Genia, Fiji-born backs Sefa Naivalu and Marika Koroibete, and former captain David Pocock, who was born and grew up in Zimbabwe. “I think the development of that Top League competition that they’ve got, anything they can do to support that having more Japanese players play in it (is positive),” said Castle. She added that Rugby Australia would do “whatever we can to help them grow and be more consistent … so that they can be really competitive against the other Southern Hemisphere countries.”

australia
2019 rugby world cup
raelene castle


Hong Kong court sentences Japanese turtle smuggler to one year in prison

Abstract: HONG KONG - A 43-year-old Japanese man was sentenced to one year in prison by a Hong Kong court Tuesday for smuggling 60 endangered turtles from Japan last year. Naoki Hiraguchi was caught with 60 live Ryukyu black-breasted turtles that were placed in two boxes inside his checked-in suitcase as he arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on Oct. 26. Hiraguchi in a hearing on Friday last week pleaded guilty to importing an endangered species without a permit. He claimed that he was helping a friend in Okinawa bring the turtles into Hong Kong for breeding purposes. He was scheduled to testify on the claim Tuesday but decided against it at the last minute. Deputy District Court Judge Emily Cheung ruled that the trafficking of the turtles was for commercial gain and the fact that they had to endure several hours inside the luggage compartment of the airplane during the flight exposed them to risk of death “It’s purely out of luck rather than good management that all 60 turtles survived … the journey,” Cheung said. “I do not accept that the defendant was only doing a favor for his friend and I am satisfied that the 60 turtles were (brought) for commercial purpose.” One of the turtles later died “by natural causes,” the court heard, while the rest were returned to Japan in March. They were estimated to have a total market value of between 510,000 Hong Kong dollars ($65,000) and HK$2.4 million. The 12-month prison sentence includes time served before the trial. Hiraguchi appeared calm and nodded when the ruling was announced. His defense lawyer said they have not decided whether to file for appeal. Japan listed the turtles as endangered species in 2000. The Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle is found only on three islands of Okinawa Prefecture where it has been designated as a “natural monument” since 1975. There has been concern among biologists over illegal capture and changes in its habitat.


Japan's tourist hubs struggle to find polite ways to stop people eating while walking

Abstract: KYOTO - Tourist destinations are struggling for ways to ask tourists to stop eating while walking without offending them. One such place is Nishiki Market, which for over 400 years has been known as the kitchen of Kyoto. The municipal government estimates that around 30 percent of all foreign tourists in Kyoto in 2017 visited the market and its more than 120 stores selling kyōyasai (heirloom vegetables), fresh fish or pickled vegetables. In recent years, many shops have been selling foods that are easy to eat while walking, such as fried food on skewers, in line with the increase in foreign travelers, according to the market association. However, litter has now become common on the narrow street. Also, concern has grown that in crowded conditions pedestrians risk getting injured by sharp food sticks carried by others. In a bid to address these problems, the association has asked stores since last October to display signs saying “No eating while walking” in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. Since the market association doesn’t want to drive tourists away, for now it is asking them to cooperate rather than outright banning the practice. On its website, the association calls on people to eat their food at the shop where it was purchased. A recent visitor, Karen Choi, 39, of Canada, appeared surprised at how crowded the market was. She expressed understanding toward the association’s efforts. Michelle Wang, 30, visiting from China, defended eating and walking, saying it helps people enjoy the market’s atmosphere. “We want to keep protecting the traditions of the market while showing care for foreign travelers. We want visitors to return home without any trouble,” said Katsumi Utsu, 81, president of the association. Another area where this has been a concern is Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its Komachi-dori, a 360-meter-long street lined with eateries and shops, is visited by 50,000 to 60,000 tourists a day. The city introduced an ordinance in April aimed at improving street manners. While stopping short of stipulating penalties, the ordinance describes eating while walking in crowded areas as a public nuisance that can ruin other peoples’ clothes. “We can’t ban the act of eating while walking,” as this is one of the ways to enjoy sightseeing, said Norikazu Takahashi, 76, president of the store association . “We want to make the street a place where both travelers and residents can feel good.”


GM will sell Lordstown plant and invest in Ohio, says Trump

Abstract: WASHINGTON/TORONTO - General Motors Co. moved to solve two major political headaches on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump announced the Detroit automaker will sell its Lordstown, Ohio, plant to a company to build electric trucks, while GM said it would maintain some operations at a Canadian plant. The decision came after GM faced months of criticism over its plan announced in November to close five North American plants and cut 15,000 jobs. GM’s decision to close the small-car Ohio assembly plant in a key state in the 2020 election had already become fodder for several Democratic presidential candidates. GM did not immediately comment but said it planned to make an announcement later in the day. Trump, in a tweet, said the sale of the Ohio plant to Workhorse Group Inc. will require the approval of the United Auto Workers union. Trump said GM will invest $700 million in three other Ohio facilities and add 450 jobs. A person briefed on the matter said GM will make investments in its Toledo, Parma and Lorain operations. Workhorse shares jumped nearly 70 percent on Trump’s tweet and were briefly halted. They were recently up about 40 percent. The UAW did not immediately comment. Separately, GM and the largest union representing Canada’s auto workers have reached a deal to partly rescue an Ontario carmaking plant slated to close this year by turning it into a parts-making facility, the automaker said in a statement. The transformation of GM’s Oshawa site, which would also be used to conduct advanced vehicle testing, would save 300 jobs and have “the potential to grow and generate significant additional jobs in the coming years, as the business attracts new customers,” the U.S. automaker said in a statement. Unifor, which had fiercely opposed the shutting of the plant’s doors, had previously said the closure was contrary to a contract that stipulates there would be no plant closure.

u.s .
canada
jobs
gm
ohio
democrats
donald trump
lordstown
workhorse group


Australia's central bank admits 'responsibilty' for typo in millions of bank notes

Abstract: SYDNEY - Millions of 50 Australian dollar bank notes, each worth around ¥3,800, have an embarrassing typographical error that was overlooked by the country’s central bank before they were printed and circulated. The goof first became known Thursday when a listener on radio outlet Triple M sent the station a magnified photo of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) new AU$50 note highlighting the word “responsibility” misspelled as “responsibilty” three times. The AU$50 currency is the most widely circulated in Australia and accounts for nearly half the total value of other bank notes in use, according to the RBA. The note came into circulation on Oct. 18 last year, with new security features designed to deter counterfeiting and with tactile elements for the visually impaired. It sports a headshot of Edith Cowan, who served from 1921 to 1924 as the first woman elected to an Australian legislature. The typo appears in an excerpt of Cowan’s maiden speech to Western Australia’s parliament, which features several times on the note and reads: “It is a great responsibilty to be the only woman here and I want to emphasize the necessity which exists for other women being here.” The spelling “responsibilty” instead of “responsibility” in the quote is as the note reads. A bank spokeswoman wrote in an emailed statement that it “is aware of it and the spelling will be corrected at the next print run.” The bank said in its latest annual report that its note printing subsidiary delivered 227 million Australian bank notes in 2017-18, including around 184 million new series AU$50 bank notes. The RBA did not immediately respond to questions on exactly how many of the new notes are in circulation, or whether they would be withdrawn as a result of the spelling error.

australia
banks
currency
gaffes
reserve bank of australia


Uber and Lyft drivers set to strike in cities across the U.S. and Europe

Abstract: NEW YORK - Drivers for ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are turning off their apps, to protest what they say are declining wages at a time when both companies are raking in billions of dollars from investors. Organizers planned demonstrations in 10 U.S. cities Wednesday, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, as well as some European locations like London. The protests come just ahead of Uber’s initial public stock offering, which is planned for Friday. Uber hopes to raise $9 billion and is expected to be valued at up to $91.5 billion. It’s not the first time drivers for ride-hailing apps have staged protests. Strikes were planned in several cities ahead of Lyft’s IPO last month, although the disruption to riders appeared to be minimal. More cities are participating in Wednesday’s protest, however. “Drivers built these billion dollar companies and it is just plain wrong that so many continue to be paid poverty wages while Silicon Valley investors get rich off their labor,” said Brendan Sexton, executive director of the Independent Drivers Guild, in a statement. “All drivers deserve fair pay.” In New York, striking drivers shut down their services at 7 a.m. and planned to remain inactive until 9 a.m., though it was still easy to locate a driver during rush hour near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. Drivers in Los Angeles were planning a 24-hour strike and picket line at Los Angeles International Airport. In a prepared statement Wednesday, Uber said it is constantly working to improve the working environment for drivers. “Drivers are at the heart of our service … we can’t succeed without them … and thousands of people come into work at Uber every day focused on how to make their experience better, on and off the road.” Lyft said its drivers’ hourly earnings have increased over the last two years, that 75 percent of its drivers work less than 10 hours per week to supplement existing jobs and that on average the company’s drivers earn over $20 an hour. “We know that access to flexible, extra income makes a big difference for millions of people, and we’re constantly working to improve how we can best serve our driver community,” Lyft said. In New York, striking drivers were planning to proceed in a caravan across the Brooklyn Bridge and then hold a rally outside Uber and Lyft offices in Queens. Strikes were also planned in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego and Stamford, Connecticut.

strike
business
wages
labor issues
uber
ride-hailing
lyftm


Once opposed by Republicans, U.S. Senate OKs EXIM Bank nominees and restores lending powers

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Donald Trump’s choice of three new board members of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, filling vacancies that had long prevented the agency from financing large sales of exports such as commercial aircraft. The Senate voted to confirm Kimberly Reed as the new president of EXIM and board member Judith Pryor for terms that expire Jan. 20, 2021. It also approved a board seat for Spencer Bachus, a former Alabama congressman, for a term ending in January 2023. Each candidate won more than 70 votes, indicating bipartisan support for the 85-year-old institution. The vote restores a quorum to the EXIM board that allows the agency to resume financing and loan guarantees for sales and projects over $10 million for the first time since July 2015, when conservative Republicans in Congress waged a battle to shut down the bank. It was a victory for U.S. manufacturing giants, including Boeing Co. Caterpillar Inc. and General Electric Co., which have been unable to offer overseas customers government-backed export financing for aircraft and large equipment orders. EXIM acting president Jeffrey Gerrish said in a statement that the bank has nearly $40 billion worth of export deals in the pipeline waiting for approval that can now proceed. “The Senate’s bipartisan votes today renew opportunities for U.S. exporters to compete on a level playing field in markets and industries where China and other nations are aggressively supporting their exporters,” said Gerrish, who also serves as deputy U.S. Trade Representative. He said U.S. exporters would have a “fighting chance” to win export sales on quality and price rather than the availability of government-backed financing. The 85-year-old bank had become a popular target for conservatives, who branded it as a provider of “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism” in 2015 when they sought to block renewal of its charter. That effort failed, but conservatives could again try to kill EXIM this year, as its charter must be renewed by Sept. 30. But President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have voiced strong support for the bank as a tool to boost exports, grow manufacturing jobs and compete more effectively for international projects with China, whose state-backed financing dwarfs that provided by the United States.

china
u.s .
congress
boeing
trade
republicans
donald trump
exim bank


Nomura experts see only slim chance of comprehensive China-U.S. trade deal this week

Abstract: LONDON/BEIJING - Nomura analysts see a high likelihood that further negotiations between the United States and China will be needed before a final trade deal is reached, dragging out a dispute between the world’s two biggest economies that has kept investors on edge. “At this point, we think that both the Trump administration and the Chinese government will have a hard time backing down from the negotiating positions they have laid out in the last few days,” analysts at the bank said. Nomura sees a 10 percent possibility of the U.S. and China coming to an agreement on a comprehensive trade deal this week, and a 5 percent chance that negotiations “completely break down.” The bank said there is a 45 percent chance new tariffs on Chinese imports threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump will go into effect Friday and negotiations will continue thereafter, and a 40 percent chance the U.S. postpones the tariffs and talks continue. Ratcheting up pressure just hours ahead of talks in Washington, China vowed Thursday to retaliate if Trump goes ahead with more tariff hikes in the dispute over trade and technology. Beijing will be forced to impose “necessary countermeasures” if the increases take effect Friday as planned, the Commerce Ministry said. It gave no details of possible penalties. Trump threw global financial markets into turmoil with his threat Sunday to raise import duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods, from 10 percent to 25 percent. The U.S. president complained talks were moving too slowly, and said that Beijing was trying to backtrack on earlier agreements. “China deeply regrets that if the U.S. tariff measures are carried out, China will have to take necessary countermeasures,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement. Stock markets fell for a third day Thursday after the volley of threats reignited jitters about global economic growth. The Nikkei 225 stock average extended declines Thursday, falling 0.9 percent to mark its lowest close in about six weeks. If talks break down and the tariff hikes go ahead, “risks of a financial market collapse, extreme risk aversion and sharp slowdown in global growth will spike,” Philip Wee of DBS Group said in a report. Before this week’s acrimony both sides had said negotiations were making progress, which had helped to stabilize financial markets. But economists warned a deal might be further away than investors hoped.

china
u.s .
trade
economy
tariffs
nomura
trade war