Finance Ministry panel turns to the public for ideas about how to restore Japan's fiscal health

Abstract: A Finance Ministry panel has decided to seek public opinion on fiscal administration for the first time, in a move that reflects the panel’s sense of urgency in restoring the country’s fiscal health. The Fiscal System Council, which advises the finance minister, will seek opinions from the public until April 5, in written form within 1,000 characters, a subcommittee of the council decided at a meeting Monday. Last November, the Fiscal System Council criticized fiscal administration during the Heisei Era for inflicting a severe situation on future generations by continuing to issue government bonds. The 30-year Heisei Era will end on April 30 with Emperor Akihito’s abdication. By inviting opinion, the council hopes to share with the public a strong sense of urgency and the need to steadily restore fiscal health. The opinions will be used as a reference in the panel’s discussions and may be reflected in its future proposals. “As Japan’s fiscal situation becomes increasingly complicated, it is important to promote efforts that allow the people to take center stage again,” Hiroya Masuda, acting chairman of the council subcommittee, said at a news conference after Monday’s meeting. Also during the subcommittee meeting, many panel members called for an immediate improvement to the issue of survey data flaws at the labor ministry. “If the economic outlook becomes inaccurate because of the survey data flaw, people will begin to lose faith in the grounds for policymaking,” one member stressed.


Australia finds a ready Japan market for 'pest' sea urchin

Abstract: ELECTRONA, AUSTRALIA - The island of Tasmania has long been renowned for producing some of Australia’s tastiest seafood. But when warming seas allowed a foreign species of sea urchin to move farther south, devastating valuable fisheries, local businesses tried to innovate and ended up fostering a new industry whose products are popular overseas, including in Japan. Located about 30 minutes south of Hobart, the state capital, Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood began processing sea urchins in 2017 as an experiment when wild abalone stocks were declining due to an infestation of long-spined sea urchins. The company, which always focused on exporting abalone taken from the wild, is now the only exporter of Tasmanian long-spined sea urchin roe. “Over the past 15 years, populations of long-spined sea urchins have started to destroy the environment up and down the east coast of Tasmania. That’s impacted not only the abalone industry but also the rock lobster industry as well,” said sea urchin processing manager Simon Leonard. Now running at full capacity, Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood processes 15 to 20 tons of sea urchin a week, which is then sold to buyers in Japan, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as domestically at the Sydney fish markets and to high-end restaurants. “Basically, we see it as an opportunity to not only do something to help the environment, but also turn a pest into profit,” Leonard, 38, said. Long-spined sea urchins — not to be confused with the short-spined variety, which is native to Tasmania — arrived in Tasmania from the Australian mainland via the East Australian Current. “Over the last 40 years our winter water temperatures have gone up a couple of degrees and it’s passed the threshold where the (sea urchin) larvae develop, which is 12 degrees” Celsius, said John Keane of the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. The research fellow explained that Tasmanian water temperatures in the winter have risen to 13 degrees, from 11 degrees, creating conditions where sea urchin larvae are able to develop into adults. Keane said the long-spined sea urchin was first sighted in Tasmania in 1978 but started to have a severe impact on local ecosystems about 15 years ago. He said that as of December there were an estimated 18 million long-spined sea urchins in Tasmania. The urchins graze on kelp, and in their large numbers they turn healthy reef ecosystems into “barrens,” or large areas of rock stripped of vegetation and other wildlife. “Now on the east coast of Tasmania, 15 percent of our reefs are sea urchin barren and that is increasing,” Keane said. Encouraging commercial fishing operations of sea urchins is part of the government’s multipronged approach to keeping long-spined sea urchin numbers in check and protecting the state’s abalone industry, which is worth 300 million Australian dollar (¥24 billion) a year. However, as urchin roe is not often found on Australian dinner plates, Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood has focused its efforts on exports; particularly on breaking into the Japanese market, where sea urchin roe is a popular delicacy in sushi bars. To meet Japan’s high standards for product presentation, the company hired an urchin roe technician from Japan to teach local staff how to select and pack the product. Affectionately called “Big Mumma” by her Australian co-workers, 42-year-old Nobuko Honzana has 24 years of experience in the industry and leads a 12-person packing team. Tokyo-based importer Jian Wen Bao said she is impressed with the flavor and quality of Tasmanian sea urchin. “It’s delicious,” the president of Shinkou Trading said on her first visit to the processing factory. “It has a strong flavor and there is a good amount of fat,” she said, comparing the flavor to Japanese murasaki uni , a type of sea urchin popular in Japan. Once in Japan, the Tasmanian product is sold at the new Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, where it is primarily bought by operators of conveyer-belt sushi restaurants. However, staff at Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood admit they have a long way to go before they can say they have a comfortable foothold in the Japanese market. “Our understanding of where it is being consumed in Japan and why it’s being consumed is still lacking,” said David Hogg, chairman of RTS Pauaco, the parent company of Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood. “Today we could move all of our stock to China without any problem, but the key value driver for this industry will always be the (Tokyo) fresh market, and that is where we have to establish our credentials,” he said. “You don’t do that overnight with a bunch of people who are used to processing abalone.” Hogg admits a culture change is required for Australian workers to understand and accept Japanese market standards, but he’s confident that Tasmanian sea urchin will one day be a “very high value product, only going to high value markets.” In the meantime, Leonard’s message to consumers is simple. “Eat up! We enjoy producing it, and we want to continue to produce it to enable the sustainability of our fisheries.”


Nissin to raise prices by 4-8% from June, hiking Cup Noodle to ¥208

Abstract: Nissin Food Products Co. said Tuesday that it will raise the prices of 160 items including its mainstay Cup Noodles by 4 to 8 percent, beginning with shipments on June 1. The price hikes reflect higher labor, materials and logistics costs, according to the unit of Nissin Foods Holdings Co. It will be the first time Nissin has raised prices since January 2015. The price of the regular-size Cup Noodle product will rise to ¥208 from ¥194 including tax and that of Chicken Ramen instant noodles to ¥599 from ¥567 for five packs.


Russian economy outpaced expectations in 2018, rising 2.3%

Abstract: MOSCOW - Russia’s economy expanded 2.3 percent last year, growing more quickly than the government and the IMF had predicted, according to state statistics published Monday. Russia’s growth rate accelerated from 1.6 percent in 2017 and exceeded the economy ministry’s prediction of 1.8 percent as well as the International Monetary Fund’s forecast of 1.7 percent. The country’s economy only returned to growth in 2017 after two years of recession in 2015 and 2016. Russia’s Rosstat statistics agency said that GDP last year was 103.6 trillion rubles ($1.578 trillion, €1.38 trillion), with growth in sectors such as hotels and restaurants boosted by hosting the World Cup. The economy ministry had initially predicted 2.1 percent growth before revising this down to 1.8 percent, taking into account the impact of U.S. sanctions on the ruble. Strong growth in the construction sector of 5.3 percent was one of the factors that pushed the year’s figures higher than expected. This was due to large construction projects such as oil and gas facilities and Novatek’s new liquefied natural gas plant in the north of Siberia, the economy ministry said. Novatek is one of Russia’s largest natural gas producers. The latest figures show that Russia “has made significant upwards revisions” to its quarterly growth figures for the first half of last year, said the London-based Capital Economics research group. It said the figures suggest that Russia’s growth has already peaked and “will average two percent over 2019 and 1.3 percent in 2020.” While Russia has turned the corner after the worst recession during Vladimir Putin’s time in power since 2000, the figures are still much lower than the economic goals declared by the Kremlin. Last year Putin said he wanted his latest four-year term as president from 2018 to 2024 to see four-percent annual growth. During his election campaign for a fourth term last year, Putin said he wanted to halve the number of people living in poverty and increase GDP per head by 50 percent by 2025, which would require four-percent annual growth. Russia’s central bank has predicted annual growth of between 1.5 and two percent for the period between 2018 and 2020, calling for structural reforms to diversify the economy.

vladimir putin
russia
economy
oil
growth
gdp
recession
u.s. sanctions


White House's Kevin Hassett says wage growth will exceed 4% this year

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s chief economist predicted wage growth in the U.S. will accelerate past 4 percent this year amid a strong labor market, more capital investment and rising productivity. “What we’re seeing is basically a really strong economy with solid wage growth that I think is going to improve this year,” Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview Monday on Bloomberg Television. As companies invest more after tax cuts and the job market tightens, he said the administration “very much” expects year-over-year nominal wage growth that’s currently just above 3 percent to exceed 4 percent in 2019, he said. Most analysts have expected wage gains to remain close to 3 percent this year, according to Bloomberg surveys. Hassett also said the White House is “definitely seeing productivity go up” and that’s one reason the pay gains don’t necessarily have to be inflationary, he said. Adjusted for inflation, wages rose 1.3 percent in December from a year earlier. The most recent figures show productivity rose in the third quarter at a 2.3 percent annualized rate, which is above average for this expansion. Weighing on the U.S. economic outlook is uncertainty about the U.S. trade war with China, but Hassett said concerns should diminish as talks yield progress toward a resolution. “Uncertainty can be a negative for the economy,” he said. “Whatever the uncertainty effects are, they would’ve had to have been a lot bigger last year than they’re going to be this year. We’re moving things forward, we’ve had a lot of productive conversations. The hope is, especially if the deal with China comes through, that there will be a lot of positive resolution of uncertainty. Last year you just had uncertainty.” With economic growth last year of about 3 percent even amid trade uncertainty, he said the easing of uncertainty this year poses an “upside risk.”


Takayama looks to conquer the world with wagyu exports

Abstract: TAKAYAMA, GIFU PREF. - In a lush field in the heart of the mountains, a herd of glossy black cows roam happily — prime examples of the area’s Hida brand of wagyu beef. With consumption of the famed meat known for its melt-in-the-mouth tenderness and marbled fat on the decline in Japan, producers are looking overseas to boost sales instead. The Hida brand might not yet have the recognition of famed Kobe beef, but overall the international profile of wagyu is on the rise. The value of exports has risen more than 200 percent in the past five years — Hong Kong is currently the largest market. About an hour from Takayama, a town that attracts tourists with its traditional thatched wooden houses, dozens of cows owned by different farmers have free range across a 250-hectare plot leased by the municipality. They spend the warm summer months in the tranquil greenery and return to the warmth of the stables when winter arrives. There they give birth to calves that are the product of carefully organized breeding to protect the “purity” of each cow’s bloodline. A cattle rancher with his prized animal prior to a livestock competition for wagyu cattle in Takayama. | AFP-JIJI “It’s important to preserve the bloodline, because good genes guarantee good quality meat,” explains Koichi Maruyama, an official in charge of the cattle rearing department. “The quality also comes from the feed,” he adds. For cows bred for wagyu beef, that means 10 kg (22 pounds) of rice straw a day, to ensure the intramuscular marbling that gives the meat its characteristic look, and taste. Each cow spends the 30 months of its life pampered and reared stress-free and under constant medical watch. They are tagged electronically, in a system described as unique in the world, and every cow’s family tree can be traced back at least to its grandparents, if not further. Some farmers pamper their cows by covering them in coats during the winter, feeding them beer and even playing them classical music. Producers in Takayama don’t go that far but that doesn’t mean there is much room for error. “We never rest, we’re looking after them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” says Shuichi Mizobata, on the sidelines of a locally organized wagyu competition. Cows parade in front of judges and are weighed and measured to determine which will compete at a national faceoff that takes place every five years. Ranchers and their prized cattle take part in a livestock competition for wagyu cattle in Takayama | AFP-JIJI A Takayama cow won in 2002, in a victory that still sparks pride for the young Hida brand. Wagyu cultivation dates back only a few decades, with most Japanese black cattle — the breed that dominates wagyu — derived from a single bull born 80 years ago. “After the liberalization of beef import rules, we decided to put the focus on very high quality wagyu beef to differentiate our products from imported ones,” says Sota Kamihiro, an official with the agriculture ministry. Producers have also struggled with the decline in beef consumption that started around 2000 over fears linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, and a shrinking number of farmers, with existing producers aging and leaving behind no heirs. In 2013, the agriculture ministry set new export targets with the goal of reaching ¥25 billion ($228 million) in beef sales abroad by this year. The goal looks achievable, with sales already at ¥24.7 billion in 2018, a massive increase from ¥5 billion when the strategy was put in place. And the explosion in exports comes despite the eye-watering expense of the product — the most prized portions of wagyu go for around ¥13,700 per kg. In Takayama, exports only accounted for 5 percent, or 43 tons, of the beef sold by producers in 2017, but that was already double the previous year. The town has an abattoir that observes stringent rules and is one of just four in Japan certified to handle meat for export to the European Union. An employee slices wagyu beef to be served at a restaurant in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, on Oct. 13. | AFP-JIJI Increasingly, producers are also securing halal certification for slaughterhouses — which number around 200 across Japan — so they can export to Muslim countries. After slaughter, the beef is put up for auction, with the carcasses displayed behind glass alongside cards ranking them according to a precise system based on the meat’s marbling, color, texture, and the quality of the fat, according to director Mitsushi Kobayashi. “The Japanese seek above all to reduce the blood and muscle in the animal, and to develop the fat, the opposite of us,” says French chef Lionel Beccat, who has a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo. “The meat is sublime, it melts in the mouth, there are different notes depending on the cows, some are floral, others nutty, others spicy,” he added. “So the meat can be appreciated as it is, you just grill it and that’s it. It’s very Japanese, like sashimi.” Prime cuts of wagyu beef served at a restaurant in Takayama | AFP-JIJI


New York beats out San Francisco to be world's best tech city

Abstract: NEW YORK - Amazon.com Inc. might have the right idea: A new study shows New York City is the best place on the planet for technology. New York ranked first in an index measuring 30 global tech-heavy cities analyzed by real estate brokerage Savills PLC, with San Francisco in second place and London third. New York pulled ahead thanks to its volume of venture capital cash, large pool of talent — both homegrown and people attracted to the city — and the opportunities that exist for them. “So much of it is talent,” Paul Tostevin, author of the report, said from London. “New York can keep generating its own talent and, I think more importantly, recruiting it from around the world.” Amazon in November unveiled plans to build an office hub in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens to accommodate 25,000 new employees. In its announcement, the internet retailer pointed to its desire for big populations of skilled workers to hire from. Google and Apple Inc. are also expanding in the city. “Scale is something New York can offer when you’re employing so many people, so there’s a real advantage there for large tech companies,” said Tostevin, associate director of world research for the brokerage. “There’s that work-and-life balance that’s so important, and that New York can offer that is quite advantageous.” It’s the first time in the report’s three iterations that New York came out on top. Austin, Texas, and San Francisco took the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, in both the 2015 and 2017 studies. The Savills index scores cities on the costs of living and doing business, investment opportunities, real estate prices and access to transit, among other things. New York got points for its venture capital investment, which was billions of dollars greater than in San Francisco over the past three years, according to the report. That and plentiful transportation options helped offset the city’s poor score for real estate costs, Tostevin said. New York’s rents for offices — including co-working space — and housing are among the highest, according to Savills.

tech
amazon
san francisco
london
savills


Merkel says in Japan that safeguards needed to ensure Chinese firms don't hand data to Beijing

Abstract: German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Tuesday for safeguards to ensure that Chinese firms don’t hand over private data to Beijing amid mounting security concerns over equipment made by telecom giant Huawei. Speaking at Keio University in Tokyo, Merkel said there is a “big debate” in Germany about using Huawei equipment, with growing calls to prevent the firm from building 5G networks around the world. Germany has taken a prudent approach so far, with the country’s IT watchdog saying it has seen no evidence Huawei could use its equipment to spy for Beijing. But Merkel said it is necessary to talk to Beijing “to make sure that the company does not simply give up all data that is used to the Chinese state, but that there are safeguards.” Merkel also said safeguards need to be put in place to ensure that “when you are working in Germany, that the Chinese state cannot access the data on all Chinese products.” Huawei has quietly become a leading supplier of the backbone equipment for mobile networks, particularly in developing markets, thanks to cheaper prices. But a growing number of Western states are turning their back on Huawei, fearful that its equipment could be a Trojan horse for Beijing’s security apparatus as Chinese laws require its firms to cooperate with intelligence services. Huawei strenuously denies its equipment could be used for espionage. “This will continue to be debated and discussed and it is also part of the discussion with the United States,” Merkel said. The chancellor also said China’s growing economic clout means it has a “growing responsibility for a peaceful world order.” She said Beijing will have to step up its place in the world order — for example in participating in United Nations missions — as its clout increases. Merkel was on a two-day visit to Japan. She met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito, and was scheduled to hold talks with Japanese and German business leaders later Tuesday.

china
angela merkel
germany
personal information
keio university
huawei


Japan and EU could gain while U.S. and China feel the pain in trade war, says U.N. report

Abstract: GENEVA - Neither protagonist in the U.S.-China trade war stands to benefit from their standoff, the U.N. said Monday, suggesting others could cash in instead, with the EU possibly winning big. In a report, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) examined the repercussions of the tariff tit for tat already underway between the two trade giants, as well as the expected impact of a significant tariff hike scheduled to take effect March 1. The report, titled “The Trade Wars: The Pain and the Gain,” says that “bilateral tariffs alter global competitiveness to the advantage of firms operating in countries not directly affected by them.” It predicts that the European Union will be the biggest winner, taking home some $70 billion in additional trade thanks to the trade war. Japan, Mexico and Canada will meanwhile each capture more than $20 billion in additional trade thanks to the tariff war, the study found. Last year, Washington and Beijing imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, after Trump initiated the trade war because of complaints over unfair trade practices. The two countries hailed “progress” in talks in Washington last week aimed at avoiding an escalation of the conflict. But if no deal is reached by March 1, U.S. duty rates on $200 billion in Chinese goods are due to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent. “Our analysis shows that while bilateral tariffs are not very effective in protecting domestic firms, they are very valid instruments to limit trade from the targeted country,” Pamela Coke-Hamilton, head of UNCTAD’s international trade division, said in a statement. “The effect of U.S.-China tariffs would be mainly distortionary. U.S.-China bilateral trade will decline and (be) replaced by trade originating in other countries,” she said. The study estimates that out of the $250 billion in Chinese exports subject to U.S. tariffs, some 80 percent would be captured by firms in other countries, while 12 percent would be retained by Chinese firms and only 6 percent would be captured by U.S. firms. A similar scenario would apply to the $85 billion in U.S. exports hit by Chinese tariffs, the report says, estimating that 85 percent would go to companies in other countries, 10 percent would remain in the U.S. and only about 5 percent would go to Chinese firms. “Countries that are expected to benefit themost from U.S.-China tensions are those which are more competitive and have the economic capacity to replace U.S. and Chinese firms,” UNCTAD said. The report indicates that the EU stands to benefit the most, with companies in the bloc likely to capture around $50 billion of Chinese exports to the U.S. and about $20 billion of U.S. exports to China. Australia, Brazil, India, the Philippines and Pakistan will also notice “substantial effects relative to the size of their exports,” it says. But the trade war will also have a number of negative effects on global trade, especially within certain markets. The UNCTAD study points to the soybean market, where the tit-for-tat tariffs have resulted in “trade distortionary effects” that have benefited Brazil in particular, since the country has suddenly become the main soybean supplier to China. “But because the magnitude and duration of tariffs is unclear, Brazilian producers have been reluctant to make investment decisions that may turn out to be unprofitable if the tariffs are revoked,” the U.N. agency said. Brazilian companies that purchase soybeans, meanwhile, stand to lose out amid inevitable price hikes, it added. The study also says the positive effects for some countries will likely be outweighed by the negative global effects. A major concern, the report authors said, is the impact the trade dispute will have on a still-fragile global economy. This is especially worrying if trade tensions spiral into currency wars, which would threaten the ability of people and companies around the world to pay off dollar-denominated debt, they said.


Nikkei snaps three-day winning streak, dragged down by major stocks

Abstract: The Nikkei 225 average fell for the first time in four sessions Tuesday, dampened by mainstay issues’ poor performances. The key index lost 39.32 points, or 0.19 percent, to end at 20,844.45 after rising 95.38 points Monday. Meanwhile, the Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rose 1.55 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 1,582.88. It climbed 16.70 points Monday. Although stocks surged after the opening bell in the wake of Wall Street’s continued advance, the market’s topside soon grew heavy due to a dearth of strong buying incentives, brokers said. The Topix remained on the sunny side almost throughout the day. But the Nikkei sank into negative territory after fluctuating around the previous day’s closing level until midafternoon. The key price gauge was forced to snap its three-day winning streak by falls in major issues, particularly Fast Retailing, its heavily weighted component issue, brokers said. Fast Retailing alone pushed the Nikkei lower by over 50 points, they pointed out. “Active trading was held in check ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co. Investors were also waiting for upcoming earning reports, he added. The yen’s weakening against the dollar and receding concerns over the course of the U.S. economy have been providing support to the market lately, brokers said. But given the patchy earnings situations reported by major firms so far, it won’t be easy for the Nikkei to retake 21,000 this week, a market source said. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,325 to 730 in the first section, while 72 issues were unchanged. Volume decreased to 1.228 billion shares from 1.328 billion Monday. Kao gained 2.78 percent on a rosy operating profit forecast for the year to next December. Itochu jumped 5.02 percent after announcing a share buyback plan. Other major winners included Fanuc and Shiseido. Fast Retailing slumped 2.85 percent due to a decline in same-store sales at its Uniqlo clothing chain in January. Panasonic turned down 2.45 percent after lowering its earnings forecasts for the current business year to March. Astellas and KDDI were also shunned.

stocks
nikkei
tokyo stock exchange
topix


Dollar slightly firmer below ¥109.90 in late Tokyo trading

Abstract: The dollar paired earlier gains to trade slightly below ¥109.90 in late Tokyo trading Tuesday. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥109.86-86, up from ¥109.83-83 at the same time Monday. The euro was at $1.1424-1424, down from $1.1442-1442, and at ¥125.50-50, down from ¥125.68-68. After moving between ¥109.80 and ¥109.90 in the early morning, the dollar topped ¥110 for the first time in around a month toward noon amid receding worries about the course of the U.S. economy, an official at a major brokerage firm said. But the greenback lost steam with a lack of powerful follow-through buying due to the Nikkei 225’s sluggish moves after an initial surge, a currency broker pointed out. Investors grew cautious ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, traders said. Players were also focusing on a key U.S. nonmanufacturing industry activity index due out Tuesday. If the index, to be released by the Institute of Supply Management, turns out to be much worse than a market consensus, risk-off selling of the dollars vis-a-vis the yen may gain ground, an official at a foreign exchange margin trading service firm said.


U.S. trade hawks quietly seethe as fears grow of Trump falling short in row with China

Abstract: WASHINGTON - One of Donald Trump’s most persistent economic promises as president has been to rewrite the U.S. relationship with China. Yet as he approaches a potential deal, some of the very hawks who have cheered on his trade war already fear he may end up falling short. With less than a month before a March 1 deadline for either a deal or an increase in U.S. tariffs, hard-liners inside and outside the administration fret Trump is being outplayed by President Xi Jinping and seduced by what they see as empty promises. After Trump hosted Vice Premier Liu He at the White House last week, one administration official privately likened the direction of negotiations to the president’s caving to Democrats in the shutdown battle over funding for a border wall. Another person close to the talks said Trump appeared determined to turn a pile of crumbs offered by China into what at best might turn out to be a slice of bread. Trump is likely to hail his own trade fight with China in his State of the Union address Tuesday. But the concerns are driven by what some aides and others see as the president’s appetite to strike a deal to calm financial markets. They are also — as seems to almost always be the case with the China trade conflict — embodied by soybeans. During his meeting with Liu, Trump hailed a Chinese offer to buy 5 million tons of soybeans that was the most tangible outcome of two days of talks. “That’s going to make our farmers very happy,” Trump said. “That’s a lot of soybeans.” The thing is, what Trump saw as an extraordinary mountain of beans was little more than what once would have been an ordinary foothill. It also did nothing to remove the underlying cause — Chinese retaliatory tariffs — of last year’s collapse in U.S. soy exports to China. In a normal year China buys about 35 million tons of soybeans from the U.S. So far this year China’s purchases have been 20 percent of what they were in the last marketing year, according to John Newton, chief economist at the American Farm Bureau. So even with the new purchases a vast gap remains, as does plenty of uncertainty for farmers going into a planting season with silos around the country holding a record stockpile. The Chinese soybean offer was reserved for the meeting with Trump. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters he learned about it only shortly before the meeting with Liu and U.S. officials were initially confused about how large the offer was. The fact it contained no commitment to drop China’s retaliatory tariffs left one person close to the talks grumbling the offer embodied how China is maintaining its leverage over Trump. Another participant called the soybean purchase the only meaningful agriculture commitment China made during last week’s negotiations. The oilseed saga is also an example of why some believe Trump’s transactional approach to trade talks is unwinding years of careful U.S. diplomacy. Nathan Sheets, who negotiated with the Chinese as a Treasury official in the Obama administration and is now chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income, said China regularly offered to buy more U.S. commodities during his time in office. But the Obama administration and others before it, Sheets said, declined the offers of state-directed purchases in favor of urging China to move “away from central planning.” Trump has repeatedly denigrated past presidents’ efforts to deal with China. He vowed last week to negotiate a “comprehensive” trade deal that would include meaningful changes in economic policy and bring an end to the theft of U.S. intellectual property. But there are also questions over the form any agreement will take and how enduring it may be. Full-fledged trade pacts are detailed and binding treaties that can run thousands of pages. Lighthizer has said any China deal would likely take the form of little more than a memorandum of understanding between Trump and Xi. One administration official said that approach was emblematic of Trump’s pragmatic take on trade and the disdain Lighthizer and others in the administration share for traditional deals. What comes of any deal will depend on the political will of future presidents to use the same tariffs Trump has employed to enforce it, the official said. Whatever form it takes, many experts remain skeptical any pact will alter the arc of history or substantially reconfigure the relationship of the world’s two largest economies. “China is still going to emerge as the largest economy in the world probably within 10 years,” said David Dollar, a former U.S. Treasury representative in Beijing now at the Brookings Institution. Other China experts argue it’s worth reserving judgment, particularly ahead of the next leg of negotiations due to take place in Beijing in mid-February. “A real deal still has to take shape,” said Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.”Everything between now and when the U.S. delegation goes to Beijing is 100 percent noise.”


With new Kinto firm, Toyota gears up for more leasing as car ownership in Japan goes into reverse

Abstract: Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has set up a new company with a Sumitomo Corp. affiliate to launch auto-leasing services to individual customers, in response to consumers who are shifting away from owning cars. The new company, Kinto Co., is capitalized at ¥1.8 billion. The automaker’s wholly owned unit, Toyota Financial Services Co., holds a 66.6 percent stake of Kinto, with the rest being held by Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Co. Starting this week, it will offer customers in Japan the chance to drive one Toyota-brand vehicle for three years for ¥46,100 to ¥99,000 per month, excluding tax, or to drive up to six Lexus-brand vehicles over the same period for ¥180,000 a month. The Lexus service will start Wednesday and the Toyota option on March 1. The services will initially be available in the Tokyo metropolitan area. They will be expanded nationwide this summer. Monthly fees will include insurance, vehicle tax, registration charges and regular maintenance fees, Toyota said.


Nissan to freeze remuneration payments to former Chairman Carlos Ghosn

Abstract: Nissan Motor Co. plans to freeze remuneration payments to its former Chairman Carlos Ghosn totaling ¥9 billion ($82 million) which the automaker alleges are illegal, a source close to the matter said Tuesday. Tokyo prosecutors have already indicted Ghosn over the understatement of his remuneration by that amount in Nissan’s securities reports over the eight years through last March. Nissan as a company has also been indicted on the charge. The automaker plans to book ¥9 billion in additional pay to Ghosn in its earnings report to be released next Tuesday without actually disbursing it, the source said, though Ghosn has told investigators the unstated pay has not been finalized and did not need to be shown in the securities reports. Nissan is also considering filing a damages suit against the former boss over separate financial misdeeds, including purchases of luxury homes, the source said. Nissan dismissed Ghosn as chairman shortly after he was arrested on Nov. 19 and as its own internal investigation, triggered by a whistleblower report, found the former boss to be engaged in financial misconduct. The company said Tuesday it will hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on April 8 to seek approval to dismiss Ghosn and his close aide as directors and appoint alliance partner Renault SA’s chairman as a new board member. Nissan’s board decided to nominate Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as its new member, while removing Ghosn and Greg Kelly, who was also arrested for alleged conspiracy in the financial misdeeds at Nissan. Ghosn and Kelly have been stripped of their roles as chairman and representative director, respectively, but remain board members.

corruption
scandals
nissan
carmakers
carlos ghosn


Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2100, study warns

Abstract: KATHMANDU - Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers, the world’s “Third Pole,” could melt by 2100 if global emissions are not sharply reduced, scientists warned in a major new study issued Monday. Even if the most ambitious Paris climate agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is achieved, one-third of the glaciers would go, according to the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment. Glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region are a critical water source for some 250 million people in the mountains as well as to 1.65 billion others in the river valleys below, the report said. The glaciers feed 10 of the world’s most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income. Impacts on people from their melting will range from worsened air pollution to more extreme weather. Lower pre-monsoon river flows will throw urban water systems and food and energy production off-kilter, the study warned. Five years in the making, the 650-page report was published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal, one of eight countries on the front line. More than 350 researchers and policy experts, 185 organizations, 210 authors, 20 editors and 125 external reviewers contributed to its completion. “Global warming is on track to transform the frigid, glacier-covered mountain peaks … cutting across eight countries to bare rocks in a little less than a century,” Philippus Wester of ICIMOD said in a statement. “This is the climate crisis you haven’t heard of.” The 2015 Paris climate accord vowed to cap global warming “well below” two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In December, the U.N. climate forum agreed on a common rule book to implement the accord, but failed to deliver fresh commitments to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gases. Voluntary pledges currently in place would see the Earth heat up by more than 3 C, a recipe for widespread human misery, say scientists. The new report notes that a 1.5 C increase in global temperatures would mean a rise of at least 2.1 C in the Himalayas region. If emissions continue unabated, the roof of the world would warm by an unlivable 5 C. “This is a landmark piece of work,” commented Jemma Wadham, a professor of glaciology at the University of Bristol in England who did not contribute to the report. “The discovery that a third of the Himalayan glaciers could disappear signals potentially disastrous consequences for river flows, pollution and managing natural hazards associated with extreme events for more than 1 billion people.” The Himalayan glaciers, which formed some 70 million years ago, are highly sensitive to changing temperatures. Since the 1970s, they have thinned and retreated, and the area covered by snow and snowfall has sharply decreased. As the glaciers shrink, hundreds of risky glacial lakes can burst and unleash floods. Satellite data shows that numbers of such lakes in the region grew to 4,260 in a decade from 3,350 in 1990. “Emerging hazards — in particular glacial lake development and increasingly unstable rock and ice faces — will become a major concern,” said Duncan Quincey, an associate professor at the University of Leeds’ school of geography. Air pollution from the Indo-Gangetic Plains — one of the world’s most polluted regions — also deposits black carbon and dust on the glaciers, hastening melting and changing monsoon circulation, the ICIMOD study said. The region would require up to $4.6 billion per year by 2030 to adapt to climate change, rising to as much as $7.8 billion per year by 2050, according to an estimate in the report. “Without the ice reserve in the mountains to top up the rivers through the melt season, droughts will be harsher on those living downstream,” noted Hamish Pritchard, an expert on ice dynamics at the British Antarctic Survey, commenting on the findings.

pollution
global warming
climate change
paris agreement
himalayan glaciers
global emissions


Obesity-linked cancers on the rise among young adults in U.S.

Abstract: PARIS - A sharp increase in obesity-linked cancers among young adults in the United States could foreshadow a reversal in the overall decline in cancer mortality, researchers warned Monday. In a sweeping study covering two-thirds of the U.S. population, they showed that half a dozen cancers for which obesity is a known risk factor became more frequent from 1995 to 2015 among women and men under 50. The younger the age bracket, the more quickly these cancers gained ground, they reported in The Lancet, the medical journal. During the period examined, the incidence of pancreatic cancer, for example, increased by about one percent per year for adults aged 45 to 49. Among 30 to 34-year-olds, the average annual increase was more than twice that. Among 25 to 29-year-olds, the rate jumped by 4.4 percent per year. Comparing five-year age brackets from 25 to 80, the annual hike was similarly highest among the 25 to 29 cohort for four other obesity-linked cancers: kidney (6.23 percent), gallbladder (3.71 percent), uterine (3.35 percent) and colon (2.41 percent). “Our findings expose a recent change that could serve as a warning of an increased burden of obesity-related cancers to come in older adults,” said co-author Ahmedin Jemal of the American Cancer Society, USA. Obesity has more than doubled in the United States over the last four decades. It has also risen sharply in other rich nations and, more recently, the developing world. Today, some 2 billion people are overweight or obese. With few exceptions, cancer has been seen as a disease of aging. Indeed, the researchers note that the number of new cancer cases reported remains much higher in older age brackets, even if the rate of increase is now fastest among young adults. Two pancreatic cancer cases, for example, were diagnosed among every 100,000 24 to 49-year-olds from 2010 to 2014, compared with 37 cases for every 100,000 people aged 50 to 84. Overall, the number of people in the United States who succumb to cancer has declined. From 1980 to 2014 — when cancer claimed some 20 million lives — mortality dropped by 20 percent, from 240 to 192 deaths per 100,000 people, due in part to reduced tobacco use. “But in the future, obesity could reverse that progress,” co-author Jemal cautioned. “Obesity is now one of the most preventable causes of cancer in the U.S. and U.K. — around 1 in 12 cases in the U.S. are caused by excess weight, and more than 1 in 20 in the U.K.” Building on earlier research suggesting a link between obesity and more frequent colon cancers in young adults, Jamel and colleagues analyzed all cancer cases from 1995 to 2015 in 25 U.S. states home to 67 percent of the population. The data covered 30 types of cancer, 12 of which had previously been linked to obesity. For 5 of the 12, the rate of increase for new cases was highest in the youngest age group, and for a sixth — a form of bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma — the biggest jump was among adults in their early 30s. Of the other 18 types of cancer, only two showed a similar trend, with the others either stable or — for those related to smoking and infection — in decline. “This study should be a wake-up call to all Americans, young and old alike,” the American Society of Clinical Oncology said in a statement. “Obesity is set to overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable cancer-related death, and there is an alarming lack of awareness among the American public of the link between obesity and cancer.” Still unexplained, however, is why the six other forms of cancer classified by the U.N.’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as related to obesity did not also show similar rates of increase among younger adults. The authors called for more aggressive screening for obesity by front-line doctors, and called on them to warn patients about the cancer risk of being seriously overweight. Currently, less than half of primary care physicians in the U.S. regularly measure the body-mass index (BMI) of their patients. “The quality of the American diet has worsened in recent decades,” said lead author Hyuna Sung, also of the American Cancer Society. More than half of 20- to 49-year-olds eat for too little fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and too much salt, fast food and sugary drinks, she said.

u.s .
teens
u.n .
u.k .
obesity
cancer
the lancet


Norway's Arctic islands at risk of 'devastating' warming, report says

Abstract: OSLO - Icy Arctic islands north of Norway are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth and more avalanches, rain and mud may cause “devastating” changes by 2100, a Norwegian report said on Monday. The thaw on the remote Svalbard islands, home to 2,300 people and where the main village of Longyearbyen is 1,300 km (800 miles) from the North Pole, highlights risks in other parts of the Arctic from Alaska to Siberia. Average temperatures on Svalbard have leaped between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius (5.4-9.0 Fahrenheit) since the early 1970s and could rise by a total of 10 C (18F) by 2100 if world greenhouse gas emissions keep climbing, the study said. Almost 200 governments promised in the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit a rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2 C (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times by 2100. Worldwide, temperatures are up about 1 C (1.8 F). On Svalbard, the envisaged rise in temperatures would thaw the frozen ground underpinning many buildings, roads and airports, cause more avalanches, “slushflows” and landslides, melt glaciers and threaten wildlife such as polar bears and seals that rely on sea ice to hunt. “A 10 degree warming, with the implications for Arctic nature, ice-dependent species, will be devastating,” Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen told Reuters. Norway will have to increase investment to relocate buildings from avalanche paths and drill deeper infrastructure foundations as permafrost thaws, the report said. Two people died in 2015 when an avalanche destroyed 10 houses in Longyearbyen. Many other parts of the Arctic, especially its islands, are also warming far quicker than the world average as the retreat of snow and sea ice exposes darker water and ground that soaks up ever more of the sun’s heat. Temperatures on Svalbard would stay around current levels only if governments make unprecedented cuts in global emissions, the report said. “No one is doing enough” to limit greenhouse gas emissions, Elvestuen said of government actions. “We have to do more. … The use of oil and gas has to go down.” Norway is Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas exporter. Inger Hanssen-Bauer, head of the Norwegian Centre for Climate Services, which produced the report, said the findings were a warning for the rest of the Arctic. “The main message is that these changes are happening so fast,” she told Reuters. Ketil Isaksen, a lead author at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, urged researchers to pay more attention to landslides as the permafrost melts. “There is now a lot of focus on snow avalanches, but landslides in summer should be taken more into account,” he said.

emissions
climate change
norway
arctic
environment
alaska
siberia


Judge clears courtroom to hear sealed U.S. evidence in Paul Manafort case

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The federal judge who must decide whether Paul Manafort lied to investigators after pledging to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe began a hearing Monday in a sealed courtroom to discuss secret evidence gathered by the government. A court officer cleared the Washington courtroom before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson took the bench. Mueller’s arguments to support his claims that President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman breached a plea deal were heavily redacted in publicly filed documents. Thick loose-leaf binders could be seen near lawyers for the government and Manafort before the courtroom was sealed. Manafort, who is being held in jail following his conviction for fraud and other crimes, wasn’t in the courtroom when reporters were ejected. Jackson, who held a brief hearing on the matter last month, is set to sentence Manafort on March 5 for two conspiracy counts. Her decision on the alleged deal breach could influence how harshly she sentences him.

u.s .
robert mueller
donald trump
paul manafort
russia probe


Chinese communities worldwide welcome Year of the Pig with prayers, feasts and shopping

Abstract: HONG KONG - Chinese communities around the world welcomed the Year of the Pig on Tuesday, ushering in the Lunar New Year with prayers, family feasts and shopping sprees. In mainland China over the past week, hundreds of millions of people have crammed into trains, buses, cars and planes to reach family and friends in the world’s largest annual migration, emptying the country’s megacities of much of the migrant workforce. Celebrations will take place across the globe, from Southeast Asia’s centuries-old Chinese communities to the more recently established Chinatowns of Sydney, London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Yokohama and beyond. The most important holiday of the Chinese calendar marks the New Year with a fortnight of festivities, as reunited families wrap dumplings together and exchange gifts and red envelopes stuffed with money. Pigs symbolize good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture and this year’s holiday brings a proliferation of porcine merchandise, greetings and decorations. During the Spring Festival season — a 40-day period known as “Chunyun” — China’s masses will be on the move, chalking up some 3 billion journeys according to Chinese state media. Streets and busy thoroughfares were uncharacteristically empty Monday in Beijing, with many shops and restaurants closed until next week. A growing number of Chinese are also choosing to travel abroad, booking family trips to Thailand, Japan, and other top destinations. An estimated 7 million Chinese tourists will head overseas through the Spring Festival this year, according to official news agency Xinhua, citing numbers from Chinese travel agency Ctrip. Researchers have also traced the origins of the zodiac animal. Chinese archeologists found that China was one of the earliest places in the world to domesticate pigs about 9,000 years ago — around the time when ancient Turkey began similar domestication practices — based on research on pig bones excavated at Jiahu in Henan province, Xinhua also reported. In Hong Kong, flower markets were filled with residents picking out orchids, mandarins and peach blossoms to decorate their homes — with stalls also boasting a dizzying array of pig-themed pillows, tote bags and stuffed toys. Thousands of incense-carrying petitioners, some dressed in pig costumes, crammed into the city’s famous Wong Tai Sin temple overnight, a popular location to mark the first prayers of the New Year. In Shanghai, on the mainland, crowds packed into the Longhua temple to pray for good fortune. In Malaysia — where 60 percent of the population is Muslim, and a quarter ethnic Chinese — some shopping centers chose not to display pig decorations, while some shops kept them inside. But shoppers and traders said that was usual in a country where the Muslim majority are sensitive about an animal considered unclean in Islam, and overall there had been little controversy this year. Next door in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country which also has a sizeable ethnic Chinese population, the Lunar New Year is a public holiday. Events such as traditional lion dances are held in decorated public spaces while supermarkets stock up on mooncakes and tangerines. In Japan, the capital’s famous Tokyo Tower was turned red Monday in celebration of the New Year — a first for the city. It is also the most important holiday in Vietnam, where it is celebrated as Tet. Parades and lion dances in Western cities such as New York and London were expected to draw large crowds. Beijing-friendly figures such as Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen extended New Year greetings to China. Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen used her social media accounts to deliver a political sideswipe at Beijing, with a message highlighting the island’s democratic credentials and linguistic pluralism. “In Taiwan we are able to maintain our cultural traditions,” she said, in a video in which she delivered the traditional New Year greeting in five Chinese languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, Teochew and Cantonese. Mainland authorities have long been accused by critics and minorities of pushing Mandarin at the expense of other languages. China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949. Relations between Taipei and Beijing have had a rocky start to 2019 after Xi Jinping delivered a bellicose speech last month describing the island’s unification with the mainland as “inevitable.”

china
hong kong
chinese new year
lunar new year


Guaido bolstered by Europe's backing as Venezuela leader amid mounting calls for polls

Abstract: CARACAS - International clamor for snap elections in Venezuela intensified Monday as European powers recognized opposition chief Juan Guaido as interim leader after President Nicolas Maduro rejected their ultimatum to call presidential polls. Spain, Britain and France were among 15 EU nations to side with Guaido on Monday. But key Maduro ally Russia slammed European “interference” in the oil-rich but impoverished Latin American country, saying it was an attempt “to legitimize usurped power.” Guaido thanked each EU country in turn on Twitter “for supporting all Venezuelans in this struggle we undertake to rescue our nation’s democracy, freedom and justice.” Claiming his legitimacy from the constitution, the 35-year-old National Assembly leader shocked the world when he proclaimed himself interim president on Jan. 23, setting up a tense standoff with Maduro. Both men headed rival massive street rallies in Caracas on Saturday. Despite Guaido’s pleas for their support, the armed forces — the country’s key power — have remained loyal to Maduro. The opposition leader has expressed confidence he will win the backing of senior officers after a top air force general publicly sided with him on Saturday. Guaido is trying to force from power the socialist leader — labeled a dictator by the West and his Latin American neighbors after presiding over Venezuela’s economic collapse — aiming to set up a transitional government and hold new presidential elections. “We want freedom and democracy to return to Venezuela ASAP,” said Stef Blok, foreign minsiter of the Netherlands, which was among the EU states to recognize Guaido. “Last chance for the corrupt Maduro regime to choose the path of democracy,” Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen tweeted. After announcing Madrid’s recognition of Guaido, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he wanted Spain to spearhead a plan of humanitarian aid for Venezuela in the European Union and United Nations. A defiant Maduro reserved particular anger for Sanchez. “No-one puts an ultimatum on Venezuela, neither you Mr. Pedro Sanchez nor anyone else in the world.” He said the Spanish leader was “a wimp who puts himself at the service of Washington’s warmongering.” France, Germany, Britain, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg also recognized Guaido. Ten EU countries have yet to announce their position. The cascade of support from EU countries came after the passing of a Sunday deadline initially set by seven EU states for Maduro to call presidential elections or they would recognize Guaido. Maduro flatly rejected the election demands in an interview with Spanish television, insisting he would not be “cornered” by ultimatums or “cave in to pressure” from those calling for his departure. Venezuela’s foreign ministry hit back on Monday, saying it would “review” its diplomatic relations with EU states over their recognition of Gauido, saying they were effectively supporting plans for a coup. Maduro began a new term in office last month after 2018 elections that were branded invalid by the opposition. He has said he is only willing to call new elections to the opposition-held National Assembly. However, he supported plans for a meeting of Latin American and EU states in a “Contact Group” in Montevideo on Thursday. At the beginning of a week of intense diplomacy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged $40 million in humanitarian aid for Venezuelans as he hosted a meeting of the Lima Group of nations in Ottawa. The U.S. and other countries have also pledged humanitarian aid for Guaido’s administration, though it remains to be seen where and how it can enter the country without the military’s support. Maduro has rejected all offers of aid, dismissing it as the thin edge of a wedge of U.S. military involvement. Over the weekend, Guaido called on the army to allow in humanitarian aid from the United States via neighboring Colombia and Brazil. He says up to 300,000 people are “at risk of death” in Venezuela for want of humanitarian assistance. Under Maduro’s stewardship, oil-dependent Venezuela has plunged into an economic crisis, suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. On Monday, oil prices rose to their highest level yet this year on European markets on the back of the crisis in Venezuela. U.S. President Donald Trump warned that military intervention remains “an option” for dealing with the crisis in Venezuela. On Sunday, Maduro addressed troops on military exercises, calling on them for “maximum cohesion. Tens of thousands of people turned out Saturday for competing shows of support for Guaido and for Maduro. Guaido has called for a new demonstration on Feb. 12 and another protest to push for the entry of aid. Forty people were killed in clashes with security forces in a week of protests coinciding with Guaido’s self-proclamation as acting leader, with hundreds more arrested, according to the United Nations.

u.s .
venezuela
eu
canada
nicolas maduro
donald trump
justin trudeau
juan guaido


Young gun U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez begins to sketch out details of 'Green New Deal'

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Environmental legislation dubbed a Green New Deal championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has drawn widespread attention — despite the fact that no one really knows for sure what it is. Now, as Ocasio-Cortez prepares to release a blueprint, details are emerging. “Next week, we plan to release a resolution that outlines the scope and scale of the Green New Deal,” according to a letter the New York Democrat sent to colleagues. “In it, we call for a national, social, industrial and economic mobilization at a scale not seen since World War II.” Goals laid out in the letter include reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions “through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers,” creating millions of “good, high-wage jobs” while ensuring prosperity and economic security for all, and investment in infrastructure and industry. The resolution will also call for clean air and water, climate resiliency, healthy food, access to nature and “a sustainable environment for all for generations to come,” according to the letter. Lastly, the Green New Deal will “promote justice and equity by preventing current and repairing historic oppression to frontline and vulnerable communities.” She said the goals will be accomplished through a 10-year plan of industrial and infrastructure projects. So far the Green New Deal has drawn the support of more than 40 progressive lawmakers as well as Democratic 2020 presidential candidates, but has yet to elicit full-throat support from Democratic moderates including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While the Green New Deal would certainly never pass muster with coal-state Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump, some of the plan’s backers believe it’s important to show it has the blessing of the House Democrats in advance of the 2020 presidential elections. Conservative lawmakers have seized on the plan as a product of out-of-touch liberals, with some price estimates ranging as high as $7 trillion. “Americans deserve better than to foot the bill for the Green New Deal’s reckless, expensive, and unattainable goals,” said Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin. “The Green New Deal, just like proposals for free college or Medicaid for all, is nothing but an empty promise that leaves American taxpayers on the hook.” The House resolution has nine co-sponsors and climate champion Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts will introduce companion legislation in the Senate, according to the letter. Markey issued a statement Monday saying he has invited Varshini Prakash, co-founder of Sunrise, a group that supports the Green New Deal, as his guest to the State of the Union on Tuesday.

u.s .
congress
jobs
climate change
democrats
alexandria ocasio-cortez
green new deal


'Executive time': Leak of Trump's daily schedule, of mainly idle hours, prompts White House fury

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Donald Trump’s typical day starts late and is spent mostly watching TV, browsing newspapers and tweeting, according to a leak of the president’s confidential schedule. The weekend report on news site axios.com angered the White House, which did not deny the details of what appears to be a rather easy typical day at the office for the world’s most powerful man. Most days, Trump has no official work before 11:00 a.m., according to the daily guidance given to the media by the press office. That usually begins with the president receiving his intelligence briefing. According to detailed private schedules published by Axios, things don’t get much more hectic after that. Sixty percent of the president’s work life is categorized as “executive time,” meaning unstructured time to make phone calls, read newspapers, tweet and watch television. Trump’s personal secretary, Madeleine Westerhout, was not amused by the embarrassing report. “What a disgraceful breach of trust to leak schedules,” she tweeted, adding that the leaked documents in Axios don’t show “the hundreds of calls and meetings @realDonaldTrump takes everyday.” “This POTUS is working harder for the American people than anyone in recent history,” she tweeted. Monday’s official schedule, released by the press office, indicated business as usual. Trump, who spent the weekend at his Florida golf club, was due to have his intelligence briefing at 11:45, followed by lunch with Vice President Mike Pence at 12:45. No other events were listed.

white house
leaks
donald trump
axios.com


Federal prosecutors subpoena Trump's inaugural committee in probe of ‘donations for favors’

Abstract: NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors in New York issued a subpoena Monday seeking documents from Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, furthering a federal inquiry into a fund that has faced mounting scrutiny into how it raised and spent its money. A spokeswoman said that the committee had received the subpoena and was still reviewing it, adding “it is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry.” She did not say which documents prosecutors had requested. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which issued the subpoena, declined to comment. Citing a copy of the subpoena, The Wall Street Journal reported that prosecutors asked for “all documents” related to the committee’s donors and vendors, as well as records relating to “benefits” donors received after making contributions. The newspaper reported late last year that federal prosecutors were investigating whether committee donors made contributions in exchange for political favors — a potential violation of federal corruption laws. It said the inquiry was also focused on whether the inauguration misspent the $107 million it raised to stage events celebrating Trump’s inauguration. The subpoena also requested documents relating to donations “made by or on behalf of foreign nationals, including but not limited to any communications regarding or relating to the possibility of donations by foreign nationals,” the Journal reported. The New York Times reported late last year that federal prosecutors were examining whether anyone from Qatar, Saudi Arabia or other Middle Eastern countries made illegal payments to the committee and a pro-Trump super political action committee. Foreign contributions to inaugural funds and PACs are prohibited under federal law. The head of the inaugural committee, Tom Barrack, confirmed that he was questioned by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, in 2017. He told AP that he was not a target of the Mueller investigation, which is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

corruption
investigation
politics
donald trump
inaugural committee
federal prosecutors


Billionaire Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tests EU's new conflict of interest law

Abstract: PRAGUE - Facing conflict of interest proceedings under tightened EU rules, billionaire Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis may soon become the first European politician found in violation of the bloc’s new law. Babis, the second wealthiest Czech, is suspected of still owning the sprawling Agrofert chemicals, food and media group despite having formally transferred ownership to trust funds to comply with the law. Separate proceedings sparked by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International and the opposition Pirate Party show that Babis has reason to worry. “Agrofert gets EU subsidies, Czech subsidies, and takes part in public procurement,” said David Ondracka, head of the Czech branch of Transparency International. “Babis is in a conflict of interest in all these segments and they all should be suspended.” Last September, Transparency and the Pirates asked the European Commission whether Agrofert was entitled to receive billions in EU agricultural subsidies if Babis still controls it. They also sent a complaint to the town hall in Cernosice, responsible for Babis’s place of residence near Prague, alleging that he violated a Czech conflict of interest law by owning media. Both the European Commission and Cernosice have suggested that they are inclined to believe the allegations. Babis has flatly denied any involvement in Agrofert’s activities during his time as prime minister, labeling the Pirates as “informers.” “You have squealed on me in Brussels, you have squealed on me in Cernosice,” he said in Parliament last week. The Cernosice town hall said in January that it had made its decision but refused to make it public. Only Babis knows the details. “I definitely disagree (with the decision). It’s become a political thing. I will definitely file an appeal,” Babis said in response. “I can’t see how clerks who deal with traffic misdemeanor can take a decision on a complex legal problem like this. They’re wrong.” In a leaked document, EU lawyers said Babis’s dual role as premier and tycoon “qualifies as a conflict of interest” since public officials should not decide on EU payouts for companies they ultimately control. The Commission halted subsidies to Agrofert and sent auditors to check Babis’s business pending a final verdict expected by April. It is also looking into subsidies Agrofert received from 2014 when the Slovak-born ex-Communist Babis became finance minister in the previous coalition government led by the Social Democrats. Babis, whose meteoric rise in politics has been dogged by controversy since he founded the populist ANO movement in 2011, also faces criminal charges at home over alleged EU subsidy fraud from 2007 valued at some €2 million ($2 million). He has also been hit by allegations that he served as a secret police agent in the 1980s when the former Czechoslovakia was under Moscow’s rule. Ondracka said Transparency had used information from beneficial ownership registers introduced across the EU last year as part of the bloc’s drive against money laundering. A legal term, “beneficial owner” defines specific property rights in equity belonging to a person even though the legal title of the property belongs to someone else. As the Czech register is not fully public, they used the Slovak one which yields 37 companies sheltered by Agrofert with Babis listed as the beneficial owner and 28 listing his wife Monika who also sits on the boards of both trust funds in charge of Agrofert. In 2017, Agrofert received EU subsidies worth 2.1 billion koruna (€82 million, $94 million), according to Czech media. “Babis is in a unique position as a prime minister who is also a dominant recipient of EU subsidies,” Ondracka told AFP. “One could say the EU is co-financing an oligarch who wins more and more elections in one member country,” he said, adding that Babis now had three options. “Declare that Agrofert, which he still controls, won’t get any public money, sell Agrofert — but not to his wife — or quit politics,” he said. The European Commission is expected to pass its verdict in April at the latest. Independent political analyst Jiri Pehe said the outcome would be important for the EU as “this is the first big case after the directive tightening the conflict of interest rules took effect.” “Babis is a first test for the Commission, so to speak. I think they will want to do a good job.”

eu
corruption
czech republic
andrej babis


Cryptocurrency exchange CEO dies holding only passwords that can unlock millions in customer coins

Abstract: TORONTO - Digital-asset exchange Quadriga CX has a $200 million problem with no obvious solution — just the latest cautionary tale in the unregulated world of cryptocurrencies. The online startup can’t retrieve about 190 million Canadian dollars ($145 million) in bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and other digital tokens held for its customers, according to court documents filed Jan. 31 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nor can Vancouver-based Quadriga CX pay the CA$70 million in cash they’re owed. Access to Quadriga CX’s digital “wallets” — an application that stores the keys to send and receive cryptocurrencies — appears to have been lost with the passing of Quadriga CX Chief Executive Officer Gerald Cotten, who died Dec. 9 in India from complications of Crohn’s disease. He was 30. Cotten was always conscious about security — the laptop, email addresses and messaging system he used to run the 5-year-old business were encrypted, according to an affidavit from his widow, Jennifer Robertson. He took sole responsibility for the handling of funds and coins and the banking and accounting side of the business and, to avoid being hacked, moved the “majority” of digital coins into cold storage. His security measures are understandable. Virtual currency exchanges suffered at least five major attacks last year. Japan, home to some of the world’s most active digital-asset exchanges, has also hosted two of the biggest known crypto hacks: the Mt. Gox debacle of 2014 and the theft of nearly $500 million in digital tokens from Coincheck Inc. last January. The problem is, Robertson said she can’t find his passwords or any business records for the company. Experts brought in to try to hack into Cotten’s other computers and mobile phone met with only “limited success” and attempts to circumvent an encrypted USB key have been foiled, his widow, who lives a suburb of Halifax, said in the court filing. “After Gerry’s death, Quadriga’s inventory of cryptocurrency has become unavailable and some of it may be lost,” Robertson said, adding that the company’s access to currency has been “severely compromised” and the firm has been unable to negotiate bank drafts provided by different payment processors. Quadriga CX’s directors posted a notice on the firm’s website on Jan. 31 that it was asking the Nova Scotia court for creditor protection while they address “significant financial issues” affecting their ability to serve customers. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, and Ernst & Young has been chosen as a proposed monitor. “For the past weeks, we have worked extensively to address our liquidity issues, which include attempting to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets, and that are required to satisfy customer cryptocurrency balances on deposit, as well as sourcing a financial institution to accept the bank drafts that are to be transferred to us,” the firm said. “Unfortunately, these efforts have not been successful.” As is often the case with crypto, the episode has raised speculation on Reddit’s online forums, where posters are wondering aloud if the business was a scam, calling for class-action lawsuits and even concocting conspiracy theories that call into question whether the CEO is even deceased. The latest online speculation suggests that Quadriga CX funds have been moving — even though the firm claims they can’t get access.

canada
encryption
bitcoin
cryptocurrencies
quadriga cx
litecoin


Somalia port boss assassinated and car bomb leaves nine dead in al-Shabab attacks

Abstract: MOGADISHU - Somalia’s Al-Shabaab militants shot dead the Maltese manager of a major northern port and detonated a car bomb in the capital on Monday, killing nine people, in a deadly day for the restive nation. A gunman shot Maltese national Paul Anthony Formosa at the Bossasso port, in semi-autonomous Puntland state, while he was at work for P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the Dubai-based global operator DP World. Soon after nine people were killed as a result of a powerful explosion from a car bomb that rocked the busy Hamarweyne market in the capital Mogadishu, in the latest attack by the al-Qaida affiliate plaguing the country. “An armed man shot and killed Paul Anthony Formosa, who was the construction project manager for DP World. He was killed inside the port and the security forces also shot the killer on the spot,” local security official, Mohamed Dahir, told AFP. A witness, Abdukadir Weheliye, said he heard several shots coming from inside the port and then saw the body of a white man being taken away in an ambulance. The Dubai government confirmed the death in a statement on Twitter and said the circumstances of the incident were being investigated. “Three other employees have been injured in this morning’s incident, and all are currently receiving medical treatment,” read the statement. The attack was claimed by al-Shabab, which said in a statement it was “part of broader operations targeting the mercenary companies that loot the Somali resources. The DP World subsidiary in 2017 signed a 30-year concession contract for the management and development of the port, strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, more than 1,300 km (800 miles) north of Mogadishu. The Dubai-based ports company has sparked friction with Mogadishu over its development of ports in Berbera in breakaway Somaliland — whose independence is not recognized — as well as Puntland. Many of Somalia’s federal states have aligned with the United Arab Emirates, while the central government is perceived as pro-Qatar, in the Gulf crisis pitting Arab powers against each other. Shabab also claimed responsibility for the car bomb in Mogadishu, via a statement on a pro-Shabaab website. “The blast occurred close to Mogadishu mall and it has caused death and destruction. Nine civilians were confirmed dead and several others are wounded,” police officer Ahmed Moalin Ali said. “The terrorists parked a vehicle loaded with explosives in the vicinity of the mall to kill the innocent civilians.” He said some of the victims died in a building that collapsed as a result of the blast in the Hamarweyne market. “I saw the dead bodies of four people recovered from the debris of a collapsed building and three others were strewn dead outside after the blast had blown them,” said shopper Munira Abdukadir. “I was not far away from the blast location, but I was lucky to have survived, several people were wounded and some were screaming before the ambulances arrived,” said another witness, Abdulahi Mohamed. Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in decades of chaos — including an insurrection by the Shabab since 2006. The group once held sway over large swathes of countryside and the capital, however they were chased out of Mogadishu by the 22,000-strong African Union peace-enforcement mission, AMISOM in 2011, and have since abandoned many strongholds. They nevertheless control vast rural areas and remain a key threat to peace in Somalia and the region, with the capacity to stage significant attacks. In October 2017, a truck bombing in a busy neighborhood of Mogadishu killed over 500 people in the deadliest attack in Somalia to date. On Jan. 15, Shabab gunmen — and the first-ever suicide bomber in Kenya — attacked the Dusit hotel and office complex in Nairobi, leaving 21 people dead and prompting police and the U.S. Embassy to urge caution in public spaces.

terrorism somalia al-qaida al-shabab mogadishu


U.S. envoy to hold talks in North Korea in preparation for upcoming Trump-Kim summit

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. special envoy for North Korea will meet with his North Korean counterpart on Wednesday in Pyongyang to prepare for a summit later this month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. State Department said Monday. U.S. envoy Stephen Biegun said last week he aimed in working-level negotiations with his new North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol to map out “a set of concrete deliverables” for the second summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un. Biegun said he would be aiming for “a road map of negotiations and declarations going forward, and a shared understanding of the desired outcomes of our joint efforts.” An unprecedented first summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un last June in Singapore yielded a vague commitment by Kim to work toward “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” where U.S. troops have been stationed since the 1950-53 Korean War. In the U.S. view, Pyongyang has yet to take concrete steps to give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States, while North Korea has complained that Washington has done little to reciprocate its freezing of nuclear and missile testing and dismantling of some nuclear facilities. Pyongyang has repeatedly urged a lifting of punishing U.S.-led sanctions, a formal end to the war, and security guarantees. On Thursday, Biegun said Kim Jong Un had committed during an October visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the dismantling and destruction of his country’s plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities in return for “corresponding measures” from the United States. Biegun said such corresponding steps would be the subject of this week’s talks and Washington was willing to discuss “many actions” to improve ties and entice Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. At the same time, he set out an extensive list of demands, including a full disclosure of North Korea’s arms program. Biegun held talks with South Korean officials in Seoul on Sunday and Monday. Trump on Thursday hailed “tremendous progress” in his dealings with North Korea and said the date and location of a second summit would be announced “early next week” — probably during his State of the Union speech Tuesday. Vietnam’s central resort town of Danang has been seen as the most likely location. The director of U.S. national intelligence, Dan Coats, told Congress on Tuesday that North Korea was unlikely to give up all its nuclear weapons and has continued activity inconsistent with pledges to denuclearize.

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


Learning to talk again: Two-week blackout gives Tonga taste of life without internet

Abstract: NUKU'ALOFA - A two-week cyber blackout caused financial headache and social heartache in remote Tonga, but it also forced residents of the Pacific island kingdom to rediscover the art of offline communication. The sudden internet outage on Jan. 20 brought an abrupt halt to many businesses and cut access to social media — the community’s lifeline to the outside world. “We had to learn how to talk to each other without internet messaging,” Joshua Savieti, who works in the creative arts, said of the involuntary digital detox. “We didn’t know anything, what was going on, anything on the news, (or) if there was a cyclone coming.” It took 13 days to find the fault — a severed undersea cable — and reconnect Tonga, which lies nearly 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) northeast of New Zealand. During the blackout, a small, locally operated satellite service helped maintain limited service, but the speed was a throwback to dial-up days. To conserve capacity officials filtered out social media, cutting families off from relatives and friends overseas and dealing a blow to companies which operate through Facebook. For many of Tonga’s 110,000 residents, it was a wake-up call to how much they have come to rely on the internet in just half a decade since the 827-kilometer (513-mile) fiber-optic cable from Fiji was put into service. Some queued for hours to access the satellite service, while others pottered about in their gardens or went out socializing. “I actually felt that it was pretty good to be forced off the internet and talk to people again, go outside and see what everyone’s up to,” Savieti said. “There were a lot of people going out during that time, going to the bars … it was so full.” But the outage did not come as a welcome break for everyone. Lives were at stake as medicine stocks reached dangerously low levels, and Health Ministry chief Siale ‘Akau’ola lost contact with government outposts on Tonga’s outer islands. “There are areas that are critical and most of them need confirmation of supplies and when the goods are arriving. So things were kind of in the dark and (some stocks were) dangerously low,” ‘Akau’ola said. “Definitely there had to be an impact on various operations.” For Tonga, which relies heavily on international links for daily supplies and vital tourism income, no internet meant serious problems with making and confirming transactions. Banks could not process money transfers, hitting families reliant on income from relatives working overseas. Sam Vea, Tonga agent for global freight giant DHL, said the first week of the outage created “major issues” for the company. “We could not send our shipments because we have to upload documents before they are put onto the plane,” he said. “We really need that connection. That was the scary part, and we didn’t know how long it was going to be out.” Several small businesses which use Facebook to publicize their services could no longer take bookings online. In the capital Nuku’alofa, guesthouse operator Taiatu ‘Ata’ata estimated she lost bookings “worth thousands of dollars.” And Lee Latu was trying to run a hotel in Vava’u “with no idea if I have bookings needing to be picked up.” Accountant Caryl Jones said he was unable to file monthly tax returns for his many clients. “I have clients that email me information, so they were unable to do so. And I have clients who have accounting in the cloud and they couldn’t access their accounting system in order to do it.” When the cable — which joins up with the Southern Cross cable linking Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the continental United States — was repaired, it caused fresh problems as people rushed to re-establish contact with family, friends and clients. At a murder trial in Nuku’alofa, judge Charles Cato had to remind the jury what they were there for, telling them that just because the internet had been restored it did not mean they could use social media while evidence was being heard. The cause of the break in the cable has not been determined but it is suspected it was cut by a ship dragging its anchor along the seabed.

internet
social media
tonga
pacific ocean


North Korea trying to protect nuclear and missile capabilities from military strikes, confidential U.N. report says

Abstract: UNITED NATIONS - North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs remain intact and the country is working to make sure those capabilities cannot be destroyed by any military strikes, according to a confidential report by U.N. sanctions monitors. The report to a 15-member U.N. Security Council sanctions committee, seen by Reuters on Monday, comes ahead of a second planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this month. They initially met in June 2018 and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization. While Trump has hailed “tremendous progress” in his dealings with North Korea, the U.N. report found that Pyongyang “is using civilian facilities, including airports, for ballistic missile assembly and testing with the goal of effectively preventing ‘decapitation’ strikes” on a smaller number of identified nuclear and missile assembly and manufacturing sites.” The report said it “found evidence of a consistent trend on the part of the DPRK to disperse its assembly, storage and testing locations.” DPRK us the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The North Korean mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the 317-page U.N. report, which was submitted to Security Council members Friday. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. “The country continues to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal,” the sanctions monitors found. “These violations render the latest U.N. sanctions ineffective.” The monitors said they had evidence of one unprecedented prohibited petroleum product transfer of more than 57,600 barrels, worth more than $5.7 million. They said the case highlighted “new sanctions evasion techniques that defeated the due diligence efforts of the region’s leading commodity trader, as well as the U.S. and Singaporean banks that facilitated the fuel payments and a leading U.K. insurer that provided protection and indemnity cover to one of the vessels involved.” The report accused North Korea of also violating a U.N. arms embargo and attempting “to sell a wide range of military equipment to armed groups and governments in the Middle East and Africa,” as well as small arms and light weapons to Libya, Sudan and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The U.N. monitors also noted “a trend in the DPRK’s evasion of financial sanctions using cyber attacks to illegally force the transfer of funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges.” North Korea is subject to a ban on luxury goods and the monitors said they are investigating the public appearance of a relatively new Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine in Pyongyang on Oct. 7 last year, which usually sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Russia and China suggested the Security Council discuss easing sanctions after Trump and Kim met for the first time. But the United States and other council members have said there must be strict enforcement of sanctions until Pyongyang acts.

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


Acid attack survivors say Cambodia is illegally denying them care

Abstract: PHNOM PENH - For Moung Sreymom, survival comes down to accessing doctors that will treat her wounds for free. As the target of an acid attack in Cambodia, the law entitles Sreymom to free medical care at state hospitals. But she — and many others like her — are yet to receive any. “Nobody can help me. I have been treated unjustly,” she said. In late 2014, the now-single mother’s life changed course when a rival vendor poured flesh-eating acid over her head as she worked her market stall in rural Cambodia. Her daughter, aged two at the time, was splashed across the face. They have since moved to Phnom Penh to be close to two charities that provide treatment, and Sreymom lives with wounds under her arms that reopen when she works. “I can’t bear to talk about it — I just want to forget,” she said. About 1,500 acid attacks are reported globally each year, most of them against women, according to Acid Survivors Trust International, a London-based charity. The attacks are usually carried out as revenge, sometimes for suspected infidelity, and can leave their targets severely disfigured — and in need of ongoing treatment — for life. Sreymom is one of 17 Cambodians profiled by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a new report that accuses Phnom Penh of failing to enforce a law passed in 2012 to curb acid attacks and provide legal and medical support to victims. The report, “‘What Hell Feels Like’: Acid Violence in Cambodia,” said while the number of attacks had fallen, not a single survivor had received treatment free of charge at a public hospital. “Instead, survivors face the full range of problems anyone in need of emergency and other serious medical treatment faces in Cambodia, including denial of treatment until they show proof that they can pay or provide out-of-pocket payments,” it said. Cambodia’s health sector is beset by allegations of corruption and informal payments, with the health of patients often held to ransom. But health ministry spokesman Ly Sovan said the government was holding up its end of the bargain with regard to acid attack victims, contrary to HRW’s findings. “We would like to deny the accusation. We have the law, and we provide the service for free,” he said, referring further questions to a second spokesman who did not respond. Survivors of acid attacks in Cambodia describe feeling helpless and alone in their fight for justice and health care — and not just because of official inaction. One woman profiled by HRW described how she was doused in a crowded market where shoppers cheered for her attacker to escape as acid ate through her face and upper body. Only after she convinced them that she was the wife — and not the mistress — of the attacker did they come to her aid. “There is a general perception in Cambodia that somehow the attack was deserved, they were in an extramarital affair, it was their karma, etc.” said Erin Bourgois, former head of the shuttered Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, or CASC. CASC was the only charity dedicated to acid violence in Cambodia and a key driver behind implementation of the acid law. It ran support groups and aftercare shelters; educated medical professionals, local police and government officials; and provided aftercare for survivors, both physical and psychological. Between 2010 and 2014, it measured an 83 percent decrease in acid attacks. Then, in 2015 with about 50 survivors on its books, CASC phased out and handed over responsibility to the government. “There was an expectation that the Royal Government of Cambodia would fulfill its end of the bargain by providing these free services to survivors as prescribed in the law,” Bourgois said. But Sun Nov, a garment worker who has required regular treatment since her jealous husband doused her in acid in 2016, said she’d seen nothing of it. “There is no free treatment,” she said. “I’ve never heard of this policy.


U.S. and South Korea agree 'in principle' on sharing troop costs, State Department says

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The United States and South Korea have reached an agreement “in principle” on sharing the cost of stationing U.S. troops in the Asian country, the State Department said Monday, in a move likely to have implications for Japan. “The United States and the Republic of Korea have reached an agreement in principle on a new Special Measures Agreement,” a spokeswoman said. “Both sides are committed to working out remaining technical issues as quickly as possible.” CNN quoted an State Department official as saying that under the revised agreement, South Korea would boost its financial contribution to nearly $1 billion. The 2014 deal that expired last year required Seoul to pay about 960 billion won ($848 million) a year for keeping some 28,500 U.S. troops in the South Korea. The allies had appeared unable to strike an accord to renew the deal despite 10 rounds of talks since March. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that South Korea, where the United States has stationed soldiers since the 1950-53 Korean War, should bear more of the cost. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency had earlier quoted a diplomatic source in Seoul as saying that Washington appeared set to accept South Korea’s request to contribute under $1 billion in 2019, and that the agreement would run for a year as opposed to a previous five-year deal. Yonhap said the two sides were expected to seal the deal as early this week. Its source attributed the compromise to the allies’ efforts to focus on diplomacy with North Korea ahead of a second U.S.-North Korea summit planned for later this month. South Korean officials have said Seoul had sought to limit its share to 1 trillion won ($891 million) and make the agreement valid for at least three years. A senior legislator in South Korea’s ruling party said last month that negotiations were deadlocked after the United States made a “sudden, unacceptable” demand that South Korea pay more than 1.4 trillion won ($1.25 billion) per year. About 70 percent of Seoul’s contribution covers the salaries of some 8,700 South Korean employees who provide administrative, technical and other services for the U.S. military. The U.S. military warned Korean workers on its bases they might be put on leave from mid-April if no deal was reached. Trump announced a halt to joint exercises with South Korea in June after his first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying they were expensive and paid for mostly by the United States. Major joint exercises have been suspended, which Washington said would expedite talks aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear program, but some small-scale drills have continued. Trump also has a history of lambasting Tokyo for not paying what he says is its fair share of U.S. costs for defending Japan. At a meeting last February with U.S. lawmakers and Cabinet members focusing on trade, Trump noted that the United States has backed the economic growth of many countries, including Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. “We defend” Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, but “they pay us a fraction of what it costs,” he said. “We’re talking to all of those countries about that because it’s not fair that we defend them.” Trump said this was a “separate argument” from trade, but a “real problem. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, Trump said that he would ask Japan to cover all the costs for stationing U.S. troops in the country, a position that he appeared to cede after Tokyo said it would purchase more American-made military equipment. However, with a potential row over the two countries’ trade deficit looming in the background, fears in Tokyo remain that Trump could raise the issue of U.S. troop costs in any future trade negotiations.

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north korea
military
nuclear weapons
south korea
budgets
u.s.-japan relations
donald trump