Trump ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to testify in public hearing: attorney

Abstract: NEW YORK - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, will testify in a public hearing before Congress where he plans to talk about why he decided he could no longer defend the actions of his former boss, Cohen’s attorney said on Wednesday. In addition to appearing in public before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, Cohen will also testify to the Senate and House intelligence committees in closed sessions, the attorney, Lanny Davis, confirmed to Reuters. All three appearances will happen before Cohen reports to prison on March 6, Davis said. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump in violation of campaign laws before the 2016 election. The announcement sets the stage for what is expected to be one of the most high profile congressional testimonies in history, although Cohen will not talk about matters related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe or an ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, Davis said. “Mr. Cohen will only talk about personal experiences and anecdotes over his 10 years working for Mr. Trump,” Davis said, adding that his client would speak to why he can “no longer defend” Trump and sees him as a threat to the country. Davis did not provide a date for the House Oversight and Senate Intelligence appearances. His testimony in front of the House intelligence committee is set for Feb. 28. The disclosure by Davis comes a day after Sen. Richard Burr criticized Cohen for postponing his planned testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Burr is the Republican chairman of the committee. Cohen postponed the appearance because he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

congress
robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe
michael cohen
lanny davis


FBI charges ex-U.S. Air Force intel officer who defected with spying for Iran, revealing secrets

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran despite warnings from the FBI has been charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government, including the code name and secret mission of a Pentagon program, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Justice Department also accused Monica Elfriede Witt, 39, of betraying former colleagues in the U.S. intelligence community by feeding details about their personal and professional lives to Iran. Four hackers linked to the Iranian government, charged in the same indictment, used that information to target the intelligence workers online, prosecutors said. Witt had been on the FBI’s radar at least a year before she defected after she attended an Iranian conference and appeared in anti-American videos. She was warned about her activities, but reassured agents that she would not provide sensitive information about her work if she returned to Iran. She was not arrested. “Once a holder of a top secret security clearance, Monica Witt actively sought opportunities to undermine the United States and support the government of Iran — a country which poses a serious threat to our national security,” said FBI executive assistant director Jay Tabb, the bureau’s top national security official. Tabb said “she provided information that could cause serious damage to national security,” though he did not provide specifics. Witt remains at large in Iran, as do the four hackers, who prosecutors say were acting on behalf of the government-linked Iranian Revolutionary Guard, prosecutors said. That group has been designated by the U.S. government as promoting terrorism. The hackers, using imposter Facebook personas, then targeted those same officials and were even able at one point to join a private Facebook group composed primarily of retired government workers, the indictment says. The hackers sent the targets messages and emails that purported to be legitimate but instead contained malicious software that, if opened, would have given them access to the officials’ computer and network. The Texas native served in the Air Force between 1997 and 2008, where she was trained in Farsi — the predominant language of Iran — and was deployed overseas on classified counterintelligence missions, including to the Middle East. She then found work as a Defense Department contractor. She defected to Iran in 2013 after being invited to two all-expense-paid conferences in the country that the Justice Department says promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American moral standards. She was a Defense Department contractor at the time. The Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned the New Horizon Organization, which sponsored the conferences Witt attended. American officials say the conferences, which promote Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories, serve as a platform for Iran to recruit and collect intelligence. Witt first traveled to a “Hollywoodism” conference in 2012, when she appeared in Iranian television videos in which she identified herself as a former U.S. service member with. She was warned that May by FBI agents that she was a potential target for recruitment by Iranian intelligence. “She chose not to heed our warning that travel to Iran could potentially make her susceptible to recruitment,” Tabb said. “She continued to travel.” She attended the same conference the following year and was hired by an unnamed individual to assist in the filming of an anti-American propaganda commercial. Given free housing and computer equipment, she went to work for the Iranians, turning over information about a classified Defense Department program and assembling into “target packages” research she conducted into the family lives, locations and missions of former colleagues. The indictment includes snippets of dialogue between Witt and the person who recruited her her, identified only as Individual 1. In 2012, for instance, the person wrote her, “should i thank the sec of defense…u were well trained. Witt replied with a smiley emoticon, “LOL thank the sec of defense? For me? Well, I loved the work, and I am endeavoring to put the training I received to good use instead of evil. ?? Thanks for giving me the opportunity,” according to the indictment. Using a typed smiley-face, she later told the same, unnamed person, “If all else fails, I just may go public with a program and do like Snowden.” That’s a reference to Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who leaked classified U.S. information. “Our intelligence professionals swear an oath to protect our country, and we trust them to uphold their oath. With good reason,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division. “But every great while, one of these trusted people fails us.” Officials would not elaborate on why the indictment was brought six years after her detection, except to say that they had to move classified intelligence into an unclassified format to be used in a pending criminal proceeding. The Justice Department officials would not say whether Witt’s prosecution was connected to an American-born Iranian television anchorwoman who was recently released after being detained by the FBI as a material witness in an undisclosed U.S. case. Marzieh Hashemi works for the Press TV network’s English-language service. She has not been charged with any crimes. Federal law allows judges to order witnesses to be detained if the government can prove that their testimony has extraordinary value for a criminal case and that they would be a flight risk and unlikely to respond to a subpoena. The statute generally requires those witnesses to be promptly released once they are deposed.

u.s .
iran
espionage
fbi
monica elfriede witt


Paul Manafort claims he didn't break plea deal with U.S. by lying, challenges Robert Mueller to prove otherwise

Abstract: WASHINGTON/NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - Paul Manafort says he didn’t lie and special counsel Robert Mueller can’t prove he did. Mueller claims Manafort lied to investigators and the FBI while he was supposed to be cooperating with a probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. As a result, Manafort violated his plea deal, Mueller claims. Manafort’s filing on Wednesday came just hours before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is scheduled to hold a closed-door hearing when she plans to announce her findings on the issue first raised by Mueller’s office in November. Jackson heard arguments in a sealed proceeding on Feb. 4. The judge’s rulings will shape how harshly she punishes Manafort on March 13. Prosecutors claim the longtime international political consultant and strategist lied about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a translator with whom Manafort worked in Ukraine and who Mueller claims has ties to Russian intelligence. In heavily redacted court filings and a transcript of the Feb. 4 hearing, prosecutors argued Manafort lied about his communications with Kilimnik. Both men met with Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates, on Aug. 2, 2016, in Manhattan, before each left separately. Manafort’s attorneys say that the meeting in the Grand Havana Room involved a matter involving Ukraine. The filing disclosed that an FBI summary of the meeting that said: “Kilimnik talked for about 15 minutes. Manafort told Kilimnik that the idea was crazy and the discussion ended.” “This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the special counsel’s office is investigating,” prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told Jackson during the sealed hearing. Manafort’s lawyers say prosecutors have no evidence to show that he sought to hide later meetings with Kilimnik about the Ukrainian matter. About two weeks after the Grand Havana meeting, Manafort quit the Trump campaign. He was later indicted on felony counts including money laundering, illegal lobbying and bank fraud. An Alexandria, Virginia, federal court jury convicted him on bank and tax-fraud charges in August. Weeks later, he made his deal with prosecutors to avoid a second trial before Jackson in Washington. ‘Mr. Manafort did not lie,’ his lawyers told the judge in their submission Wednesday. ‘Despite the considerable efforts of the Office of the Special Counsel, it cannot prove what did not happen.’ Click here to read the filing in full. The case is U.S. v. Manafort, 17-cr-201, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

ukraine
robert mueller
donald trump
paul manafort
russia probe
konstantin kilimnik


Germany sees 'frightening' rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes

Abstract: BERLIN - Anti-Semitic offences rose almost 10 percent in Germany last year, and violent attacks were up more than 60 percent, crime statistics showed Wednesday, sparking alarm in the Jewish community. Police recorded 1,646 offenses motivated by hatred against Jews, the highest level in a decade, said a government answer to a request by far-left Die Linke party lawmaker Petra Pau. Among these were 62 violent offenses that left 43 people injured, up from 37 physical attacks the previous year, according to the preliminary police data. The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, said the statistics reflected a “frightening trend” and confirmed what was already a “subjective impression among Jews. “Considering that acts below the threshold for criminal liability are not included, the picture darkens further,” he said, urging “a stronger commitment against anti-Semitism by politicians, the police and the judiciary. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer, stressed that “there is no place for anti-Semitism in Germany” and that Jewish life in Germany must be allowed to “develop freely and safely.” Germany, like other western countries, has watched with alarm as anti-Semitic and other racist hate speech and violence have increased in recent years as the political climate has coarsened and grown more polarized. In France, President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemned an “unacceptable increase” in anti-Semitic hate speech, amid outrage over anti-Jewish graffiti and vandalism in and around Paris last weekend. A mass influx of mostly Muslim refugees and migrants to Germany from 2015 drove the rise of the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which since late 2017 is the biggest opposition group in parliament. Leading AfD members, aside from railing against Islam and multiculturalism, have also made comments that play down the Holocaust. Party co-leader Alexander Gauland has described Nazi Germany’s industrial-scale murder of Jews and other minorities as a mere “speck of bird poo in over 1,000 years of successful German history. Another leading AfD politician, the nationalist Bjoern Hoecke, has criticized Berlin’s sprawling Holocaust memorial as a “monument of shame.” At the same time, Germany has also witnessed a rise in anti-Semitic attacks committed by migrants from Arab states. In one prominent case last year, a 19-year-old Syrian man was convicted for assault after lashing out with his belt at an Israeli man wearing a Jewish kippa skullcap while shouting “yahudi,” Jew in Arabic. A video of the street assault, filmed by the victim on his smartphone, had sparked widespread public revulsion as it spread on social media, and triggered street rallies in solidarity with Jews. News of the belt attack coincided with another public outcry, over a rap duo who made light of Nazi death camp prisoners but went on to win the music industry’s sales-based Echo award, which was subsequently axed. Days after the belt assault, some 2,000 people rallied at a “Berlin Wears Kippa” solidarity demonstration, matched by smaller events in several other German cities. However, most anti-Semitic offenses were committed by far-right perpetrators, the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel reported in an article on the new crime statistics. Pau in her statement charged that “we are seeing that militant right-wing extremists can openly call for the desecration of Jewish institutions and attacks against Jewish people.” A rising number of people and groups in the “gray zone between conservatism and right-wing extremism are denying the Holocaust and engaging in anti-Semitic agitation,” she said.

france
germany
anti-semitism
jews
migrants
hate crimes
afd


Putin, Belarus leader ski, discuss 'integration' but Kremlin denies unification bid

Abstract: SOCHI, RUSSIA - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko arrived on Wednesday for three days of talks and skiing with Russian President Vladimir Putin — their third meeting since Dec. 25. Meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi — the 2014 Winter Olympic Games host city — the leaders discussed closer integration of their ex-Soviet countries before hitting the slopes. The talks focused on bilateral issues and “the prospects of integration processes,” the Kremlin said. Speculation has been swirling in recent months that Moscow is pressuring Belarus into closer integration with a view to establishing a unified state — and possibly extending Putin’s stay in power at its helm. In remarks released to the media, the two leaders sought to praise their nations’ tight ties and dismiss reports of recent tensions. “We have a big program — today and in the next two days,” Putin told Lukashenko, calling Belarus Russia’s “most important strategic partner.” “I know there are hiccups and there are problems, just the way it happens between friends. I hope these problems will get solved in the future just like they were in the past,” the Russian leader said. Lukashenko responded in kind. “The ties between Belarus and Russia are unshakeable, no matter what someone writes or says,” he said. In December, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow was ready for closer integration with Belarus — including a common currency, shared customs services and courts — in line with a 1999 agreement to create a “union state.” Moscow denies talk of outright unification, however. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has dismissed suggestions the Kremlin was looking for a way to prolong Putin’s time in power when his fourth presidential term ends in 2024 by making him the head of a new, “unified” state. The outspoken Belarussian leader has been more blunt, saying last month unification “was not on the agenda.” Russia is Belarus’s closest ally and the two have formed a nominal “union” with close trade and military cooperation. But the countries have bickered for years over a multitude of issues including energy prices and import duties. Moscow’s takeover of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine in 2014 sent shivers through Belarus. Talks of Moscow pressure intensified after a recent oil tax change by Russia that could cost Belarus more than $10 billion by 2024. Lukashenko has accused Russia of seeking to blackmail Belarus into deeper integration. The Belarus leader said in December that Moscow’s approach is: “Listen, here’s your oil, but you destroy your country and become part of Russia.”

vladimir putin
russia
belarus
alexander lukashenko


Nigeria in battle against fake news, sometimes lethal, ahead of elections

Abstract: ABUJA - In Nigeria fake news can be so outlandish, yet widely believed, that the president recently felt compelled to declare that he had not died and been replaced by a Sudanese body double. “It’s (the) real me, I assure you,” President Muhammadu Buhari said late last year, to dispel the story that was viewed more than 500,000 times on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Nigeria’s fake news can also be lethal. The stakes are high in Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s presidential vote marked by widespread discontent over unemployment, poverty and insecurity in some parts of the country. Officials warn that fake or outdated pictures depicting communal violence trigger retaliatory killings. Many were killed in reprisal killings sparked by horrific, but false, photos purporting to depict deaths in the conflict between herdsmen and farmers in central Nigeria last year, said Tolu Ogunlesi, a media assistant to Nigeria’s president. “Fake news kills people. We have seen a lot of things like that,” he said. “Some of the deadly clashes in Nigeria were sparked off by fake news.” He suggested that “the naming and shaming of members that peddle fake news” could stem the problem. Africa’s most populous country is so awash in falsehoods posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube that 16 media outlets have been collaborating on a fact-checking initiative, CrossCheck Nigeria, to research suspect election claims circulating online. Some of the stories CrossCheck Nigeria recently discredited include allegations the first lady wants Nigerians to vote against her husband, as well as a suggestion that U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. Such allegations almost always appear on social media and sometimes are published by news websites. The project is similar to Africa Check, which calls itself the continent’s first fact-checking organization and has operated since 2012. In the United States the term ‘fake news’ became frequently used after the 2016 election, which was marked by a Russian misinformation campaign. But in Africa fake news has long been a contentious matter, fueled in part by illiteracy and government secrecy even as the continent’s 1.2 billion people rapidly acquire mobile handsets and gain internet access. The issue is now urgent: more than 24 percent of people on the continent were online last year, the strongest growth in the world, according to the U.N. agency International Telecommunication Union. Some African governments want to make publishing fake news a crime, a step too far for journalists in countries where the press already is censored and reporters can be jailed for critical stories. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta last year signed a cybercrimes bill that calls for fines and prison sentences for people convicted of spreading fake news. The law followed a disputed 2017 presidential election marred by online misinformation campaigns that raised political tensions in a country known for deadly post-vote violence along ethnic lines. In Uganda, where there has been a surge in false news seen as portraying the government negatively, authorities warn that perpetrators face charges under a 2011 law prescribing criminal penalties for the misuse of a computer. But activists warn that countering misinformation with legislation could be used to censor the press. The Committee to Protect Journalists opposed Kenya’s law over concerns it would stifle press freedom. In Uganda there also has been resistance from the courts. A Ugandan opposition activist was jailed last year on charges that he falsely accused the government of trying to kill pop star and politician Bobi Wine. A magistrate ordered the activist, Moses Bigirwa, freed in January, ruling that publishing fake news was not a crime. Some governments in Africa have been accused of spreading misinformation themselves or maligning reports that were true. Authorities in Nigeria frequently challenge the veracity of reports of alleged abuses by military officers during campaigns against militants. They also have fiercely disagreed when human rights watchdogs, citing witnesses on the ground, report higher death tolls than the government’s official ones. Reports by Amnesty International’s Nigeria office on the conduct of Nigerian troops fighting Islamic extremist group Boko Haram have created conflicts with the military, which has accused the local branch of the human rights group of publishing false accounts. “Fake news has become like a cliche and ticket for demonizing the journalist, the media and the NGOs,” Amnesty International Nigeria spokesman Isa Sanusi said, noting that false news spreads quickly in Nigeria because public officials often are not open with government information. “The only thing that is fueling it is the fact that information is not available,” he said. “The solution to stopping fake news in Nigeria is transparency, particularly from the side of the authorities.” False reports spread on social media so fast and frequently that some people who are the subjects of it simply have to laugh. Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said during a BBC-hosted conference on the spread of false news in Nigeria that he enjoyed reading the regular obituaries of his death. Underscoring the severity of the problem, however, Soyinka warned that “if we are not careful, World War III will be started by fake news, and that fake news will probably be generated by a Nigerian.”

elections
nigeria
kenya
muhammadu buhari
fake news
factcheck nigeria


'Baghouz pocket': Islamic State fighters defend last Syria redoubt as family members flee, jihadis among them

Abstract: NEAR BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - Jihadi fighters made a desperate last stand in eastern Syria on Wednesday, while their wives and children fled the final, blood-soaked implosion of the Islamic State group’s “caliphate.” The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday launched a final push to expel IS fighters from the sole remaining morsel of the proto-state they declared in 2014 across parts of Syria and Iraq. Thousands of people have flooded out of the “Baghouz pocket” near the Iraqi border in recent days — mostly women and children, but also suspected jihadis. Several dozen people fled Baghouz on Wednesday afternoon, walking to an SDF-held position 4 km (2 miles) away from the village. As they approached, the SDF rushed down to filter out the men. They separated 15, all with long beards, and took them one by one behind a rock to search them. Afterward, they loaded them into a truck to take them to a gathering point where coalition troops were present. In an open field serving as the main civilian reception location, about 300 women and children, almost all of them Iraqi, sat in small groups. After fleeing Baghouz on foot on Tuesday afternoon, most had spent the night out in the open. “I tried to go get a blanket for my kids but there weren’t enough,” said Umm Ayham, a young Syrian woman from the northern province of Raqa. “Some people had lit a fire, burning plastic they found on the ground and baby diapers, so I went by it to get warm.” Hundreds of people fled the IS holdout in the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said. Inside on Wednesday, the Kurdish-led SDF fighters were advancing slowly against hundreds of jihadists. “We have retaken positions lost in a counterattack launched two days ago by IS. We have progressed and taken new positions,” Bali said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the SDF fighters were making painstaking progress. “There are mines throughout the sector,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based war monitor. “The SDF are firing rockets,” he said, and both sides were locked in heavy clashes on the edges of Baghouz village. Since December, more than 38,000 people, mostly wives and children of IS fighters, have fled into SDF-held areas, the Observatory says. That figure includes around 3,500 suspected jihadis detained by the SDF, according to the monitor. In SDF-held territory earlier Wednesday, two dozen members of the coalition forces searched men who had escaped. About five waited in line to be patted down, including one man in a rickety wheelchair. A coalition force member led one of the younger men to a subsequent point for a retina scan. Further on, those that had been searched were kneeling on the ground with coalition troops circling around them. The alliance launched a military offensive to expel IS from the eastern banks of the Euphrates in the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor in September. Since then, more than 1,300 jihadis as well as 650 SDF fighters have been killed, while more than 400 civilians have lost their lives, the Observatory says. SDF spokesman Bali said over the weekend that up to 600 jihadis could remain inside the pocket, most of them foreigners. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said the coalition may declare victory over IS in Syria within days. A victory in Baghouz would allow the United States to withdraw all its 2,000 troops from Syria, as announced by Trump in December. The pullout announcement shocked Washington’s allies, as well as U.S. military commanders. In a report last week, the US Department of Defense warned that without sustained counterterrorism pressure, IS could resurge within months. Syria’s Kurds hold hundreds of suspected foreign IS fighters and have long urged their home countries to take them back, but these have been reluctant. Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan on Tuesday made an unannounced visit to Baghdad. A senior Pentagon official told reporters traveling with Shanahan that Washington was pressing its allies to repatriate their nationals. “We think coalition members need to take responsibility for their citizens who are fighters. It’s been a message we’ve delivered time and time again. And we are seeing hopeful progress,” he said. Syria’s civil war has killed 360,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. It has since spiraled into a complex conflict involving world powers and jihadists.

conflict
terrorism
syria
refugees
islamic state
u.s.-led coalition
syrian democratic forces
baghouz


Islamic State says it attacked Nigerian governor's convoy, leaving 42 dead

Abstract: MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on the convoy of a state governor who was headed to a rally in northeastern Nigeria ahead of Saturday’s presidential election. The group said in a statement on its Aamaq news agency that 42 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack on Borno state’s governor. Official sources told Reuters earlier on Wednesday between three and 10 people were killed, and that some of them may have been beheaded. Boko Haram has waged a decade-long insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast which has killed around 30,000 people and forced about 2 million to leave their homes. Islamic State West Africa Province, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, has carried out a series of attack on military targets in the last few months. Security sources said earlier on Wednesday the gunmen opened fire on the motorcade transporting Borno’s state governor, Kashim Shettima, on his way from state capital Maiduguri to the market town of Gamboru for a rally. Two security sources said three people died. A government and a separate security source said as many as 10 people were killed. Some of those killed may have been beheaded, they said. There was no indication of how Shettima, a government politician, was affected by the attack. His spokesman could not be reached for comment. A security source said the convoy had returned to Maiduguri. Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram, has been the state worst hit by Islamist insurgents. Incumbent Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term in office in Saturday’s elections in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest democracy. He faces a tight contest against his main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president.

conflict
terrorism
boko haram
nigeria
islamic state
maiduguri


'Tinder for cows' matches livestock in the mood for love

Abstract: PETERSFIELD, ENGLAND - A Tinder-inspired app is helping farmers match up potential partners for their cattle. Called “Tudder” — a mix of dating app Tinder and udder — it lets farmers swipe right on cattle they like the look of. They are then directed to a page on the SellMyLivestock website where they can browse more pictures and data about the animals before deciding whether to buy. Valuable information is available on matters like milk yield and protein content, or calving potential, explained Doug Bairner, CEO of Hectare Agritech which runs SellMyLivestock (SML) and Graindex, a U.K.-based online agritech trading platform. “Matching livestock online is even easier than it is to match humans because there’s a huge amount of data that sits behind these wonderful animals that predicts what their offspring will be,” he said. Launching just in time for Valentine’s Day, the makers believer Tudder is the first ever matchmaking app for livestock. As with the human equivalent, farmers use smartphones to first choose whether they are looking for a male or female, swiping through photos — right for yes and left for no — until they find a match. Putting data at their fingertips connects farmers from all over the country, making trading easier. Cattle farmer and Tudder user James Bridger said it eases transport stress for animals and may rival traditional markets. “You’ve got all this data of its background and everything which if you’re at a market you might not have had the time to go through for every single random animal,” he said in an interview in the southern English county of Hampshire. “There’s nothing better than seeing an animal in its home, its natural habitat, rather than putting it on a lorry … if someone rings up and wants to come and have a look, or even getting it from the picture, it’s ideal really from that respect, and they’re happier for it.” SellMyLivestock has listed over £50 million ($64 million) of livestock, feed and bedding to sell in the last year, dispelling notions that farmers are stuck in the past, Bairner said. “Despite the rest of the world’s view of farming, it’s actually very technologically driven,” he said, citing precision spraying, automated dairy units and genetic science.

agriculture
animals
u.k .
valentine 's day
apps
tinder


Potatoes on the menu at cooking contest in chronically food-starved North Korean

Abstract: PYONGYANG - Lined up in cavernous rooms at a state restaurant in Pyongyang, North Korean chefs carefully assemble their dishes, watched by crowds of onlookers at a cooking competition in a country that suffers chronic food shortages. From samsaek gaepitok , or three-color stuffed rice cake — delicately formed green and white parcels of red bean paste — to yak kwa , fried wheat biscuit glazed with honey, or courgette stuffed with meat, attention to detail is key to catching the judges’ eyes. Around 300 cooks are competing in 40 dishes over three days at North Korea’s national cooking competition, with the winners receiving cookbooks and equipment as well as diplomas and medals. Onlookers — mostly women in warm winter coats — gathered around each station in the unheated venue, some of them filming the contestants at work on their mobile phones for future inspiration. “The reason why Korean food is excellent is that it is characterized by its clear and fresh flavor, without any mixed feelings,” said judge Han Jong Guk, a pastry chef by trade. “For example, fish dishes taste of real fish and chicken tastes like real chicken. This is the main characteristic of Korean food,” he added. But the reality is that beyond the restaurant’s granite columns and the privileged lifestyles of the capital’s residents, North Korea is unable to feed itself. Ahead of his second summit with leader Kim Jong Un, due in Vietnam at the end of the month, U.S. President Donald Trump has dangled the prospect of the isolated country becoming an economic powerhouse if a deal can be reached over its nuclear weapons. While the 1990s famine known as the Arduous March — when hundreds of thousands of people died — is in the past, North Korean agricultural yields are well below global averages, and the population remains severely undernourished. “Chronic food insecurity and malnutrition is extensive,” the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization said in its 2019 Needs and Priorities document this week. No less than 43 percent of the population — 10.9 million people — are affected by food insecurity, it said; one-third of children do not receive the minimum acceptable diet and 1 in 5 suffer from stunting caused by chronic malnutrition. “Each year, the domestic food production does not meet needs by approximately 1 million tons,” it added. As well as the shortage of arable land — the North is largely mountainous — and periodic natural disasters, the North lacks modern agricultural techniques and fertilizers. Kim’s answer is: potatoes. Unlike rice paddies inundated with water, potatoes do not have to be grown on flat land, and Pyongyang is pushing the humble spud as a staple food. Kim has visited a potato powder factory several times, pictured on one occasion last year lying back with officials on a mountain of tubers, the underground stems of potatoes. According to the official KCNA news agency, Kim said that North Koreans should be told about the product’s “advantages and effectiveness … and the methods of making various potato powder foods should be widely propagandized to them.” The Pyongyang cooking competition is part of the recipe. In one room, groaning tables were laden with dishes made from potato powder — pizzas, dumplings, noodles, even chocolate cake. Competition organizer Kim Kum Hun, of the central committee of the Korea Cooks Association — who says his favorite food is steak — is an enthusiast. “Of course, rice is our main food, but bread and potato powder can be our staple food too,” he said. Potatoes, he explained, yield 20 tons per hectare, while rice produces less than 10 tons. The tubers are also far more profitable once refined into powder, offering both growers and processors a financial incentive as Kim introduces more market forces into the economy, still impoverished after decades of mismanagement. Pyongyang has also been subjected to multiple sets of sanctions over its atomic weapon and ballistic missile programs. But the North has long prided itself on its self-sufficiency — something that may limit the appeal of Trump’s blandishments. And culinary official Kim dismissed concerns over a country affected by food shortages holding a cooking competition, insisting on the inevitable victory of socialism. “Those who are surprised to see a cooking festival here say that because they don’t know our people well,” Kim said. “Even if we are under sanctions or not given rice, our lives are not affected. We can live by the might of self-reliance.”


In time of chaos, Thai politicians turn to clairvoyants

Abstract: BANGKOK - A hand-drawn map of constellations and planetary orbits shows Thailand in the throes of a “gateway” year of change, says astrologer Pinyo Pongcharoen — one of a legion of fortune tellers sought out by politicians in chaotic and unpredictable times. “The stars are all in place,” the president of Thailand’s International Astrological Association said. “There will be a big change, a big confrontation, a big negotiation.” His forecast might lack precision but it carries weight for Thais, who have long turned to fortune tellers for a hint of what lies in store at school, in business, love and politics. And politics is currently dominating conversations, following a series of dramatic events which have lit up the political landscape ahead of elections set for March 24. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday slapped down the unprecedented prime ministerial candidacy of his sister Princess Ubolratana, which brought the revered monarchy into frontline politics, as a “highly inappropriate” move. She was proposed for premier by the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is aligned with the powerful Shinawatra clan and is now waiting to see if it will be censured for the bold, perhaps foolish, move. The upheaval triggered rumors of a possible counter-coup to oust junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, speculation he denies. Pinyo — who has read the fortune of a former prime minister, though he declined to say who — refused to be drawn into unpicking what it all means, saying only that there will be a showdown between “liberal and conservative” forces. “It’s a fight between the people who have a new thinking and the people who keep the old way of thinking,” he said cryptically. Thailand’s history is steeped in astrology, with every twist in the country’s volatile history of coups, protests and short-lived civilian governments informed by the stars, said Edoardo Siani, a cultural anthropologist of Thailand at Kyoto University. It is common for Thais to discern meaning in everyday symbolism and they are conscious of auspicious dates, places and colors. Politicians capitalize on this fluency, he added. Thai Raksa Chart, the party which proposed the princess’ ill-fated bid for prime minister, announced her candidacy at 9:10 a.m. last Friday — with the timing rumored to symbolize her connection with her father, the late King Rama IX, and her brother, current King Rama X. “It is about aligning the individual with the greater cosmos,” said Siani. Uncertainty in politics feeds the fortune-telling industry as people are unable to discuss rival sides openly because of legal controls and the country’s sharp divisions. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, so you become interested in prophecies and it gives you answers that you can’t even ask about,” Siani said. While astrology is often favored by the elite, tarot cards have gained popularity among ordinary people. They provide more definitive answers than complex astrological maps. Dao Dao, a fortune teller in a central Bangkok district, flips over a tarot card featuring “The Wheel of Fortune.” “Yes, (junta leader Prayuth) will come back as prime minister,” she said. Her premonition of Prayuth’s evolution from junta chief to civilian leader matches the prediction of Warin Buaviratlerd, a renowned army astrologer who has known the gruff former general for 20 years. “The group of people who are serving the country now will come back and serve again,” Warin said, adding that he believes the Shinawatra clan is done. Thai politics has revolved around billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra for almost two decades, and his party and its proxies have won every election since 2001. But analysts say the recent upheaval linked to Ubolratana’s fleeting tilt for office has seriously undercut Thaksin’s position, and if Thai Raksa Chart is dissolved, it would deal a serious blow to his affiliated parties’ electoral chances. “Their time is up,” said the astrologer. Fongsanan Chamornchan, a former journalist who switched to fortune-telling a year ago, is less certain about Thailand’s political fate. Many politicians have sought her out because of her previous job, she said, and the number one question asked is whether elections will be held this year. Despite recent rumors of an impending coup — Thai generals have a penchant for coups and have grabbed power 12 times since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 — Fongsanan remained steadfast. “No coup,” she said. “We are headed to an election and coronation.” But the presence of “Uranus in Aries” means the details of who will come out on top remain in flux. “I can’t dare to predict who will be prime minister. … All I know is that the results of the election will stun us.”

thailand
king maha vajiralongkorn
_asia
princess ubolratana
tarot
fortune tellers


Joint Korean 2032 Olympic bid faces hurdles of sanctions, cultural differences and state of war

Abstract: SEOUL/BERLIN - If North and South Korea succeed in their long-shot bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, any athletic feats may be overshadowed by the political achievements needed to make the games happen. Buoyed by the role the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics played in easing tensions last year, South and North Korean officials are to meet on Friday with the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland to discuss what would be the first-ever bid by two countries. To make Olympic history, experts say the bid would need to overcome international sanctions against North Korea, decades of mistrust between Seoul and Pyongyang, and wide political and economic differences between two countries still officially at war. The Switzerland meeting comes ahead of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam, which will be key to the future of reclusive North Korea’s relations with the world. Since the Olympic bid was announced after a summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang in September, South Korean officials have been pushing forward with plans despite the obstacles. On Monday, Seoul was named as the city that would make the South Korean bid. In a statement, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said officials would soon seek to establish a line of communication with Pyongyang and “make all-out efforts” to co-host with North Korea and make the 2032 Olympics the “last stop to establish the peace.” The IOC said in a statement it “welcomes very much” the two Koreas’ intention to jointly host the 2032 games, as “sport could once more make a contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula and the world.” “From a political perspective it would be huge,” said one senior IOC member who spoke on condition of anonymity, “because we can say that the IOC brought peace in that area a year ago during the games in Pyeongchang, and it is a huge achievement for the IOC and President Thomas Bach.” Privately, IOC members also expressed skepticism. “We have not really spoken about it yet,” another member said. “Any discussions today are more an exercise in political marketing than real details of such games.” Last year’s games in Pyeongchang may have left warm feelings in Seoul and Pyongyang, but the two Koreas share an older, darker Olympic history. After Seoul was selected to host the 1988 Summer Olympics, North Korea proposed that it be allowed to co-host the games. Those talks went nowhere. Just months before the Olympics opened, North Korean agents bombed a South Korean airliner, killing 115 people. The one surviving agent said the attack was aimed at disrupting the games. Later, North Korea pursued its programs on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, earning the ire of South Korea and the international community, which imposed stifling sanctions on Pyongyang. North Korea also faces international sanctions over human rights abuses, including prison camps and repressive control over much of the population. “At this very moment it is difficult to imagine it without some huge political changes,” one senior IOC member said, comparing the idea to East and West Germany trying to co-host the Olympics at the height of the Cold War. “Is it possible or realistic to have games in two countries with such different political, economic and infrastructure systems?” Advocates see the Olympics as precisely the vehicle to bridge many of the gaps between the two Koreas. “The fact that North Korea is pursuing hosting an Olympic games is a statement of their intent to denuclearize, to become part of the international community and to open their doors,” said the chairman of South Korea’s parliamentary sports committee, An Min-suk. A joint bid could be welcomed under the IOC’s Agenda 2020 and New Norm reforms of recent years, which aim to reduce the size of the games and the burden on the host city or country. Among a long list of potential bidders mentioned for the 2032 games are Mumbai, Shanghai, Melbourne, Johannesburg and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. South Korea has made a positive impression both times it hosted the Olympics, the second IOC member said. “The level of organization is fantastic,” the member said. “It means they have the skills for such events.” The North Koreans have long made athletics a major part of their international outreach and have poured significant amounts of their limited resources into building sports infrastructure as part of Kim’s drive to become a “sports power.” For example, they tout Pyongyang’s May Day stadium as one of the largest in the world. It already sports Olympic rings and a cauldron for an Olympic flame. This was not lost on international visitors who attended the opening of the “mass games” performances there in September. “This looks like an audition for an Olympics opening ceremony,” Gianni Merlo, the head of the International Sports Press Association, told Reuters at the event. Other countries have pitched multicity Olympics, including an Italian bid that is one of the finalists of the 2026 Winter Games. But North Korea will pose more challenges. Current sanctions against North Korea bar or limit a whole spectrum of activities including financial transactions, oil imports and joint ventures. Due to sanctions, during the Pyeongchang Olympics North Korean athletes could not be given the Galaxy Note 8 smartphones that sponsor Samsung Electronics gave to all other athletes. “A North-South Korea joint Olympic hosting will fit the Olympic spirit to a T — promoting peace, reducing war and building relationships,” said Kim Yeon-chul, director of Korea Institute for National Unification. “But in order for it to happen, everything has to go together — resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, the U.S.-North Korea relations, and the acceptance of the international community.”

north korea
olympics
south korea
north korea nuclear crisis
2018 pyeongchang olympics
2018 pyeongchang paralympics
kim-trump summit


Japanese bone marrow bank flooded with inquiries after Rikako Ikee's leukemia revelation

Abstract: The Japan Marrow Donor Program has been flooded with donation inquiries since star swimmer Rikako Ikee, 18, revealed Tuesday that she has leukemia. “We are still very short of donors. We are waiting for your cooperation,” the organization said on Twitter. According to the JMDP, the average daily number of requests for information via its official website stood at 5.6 prior to Ikee’s announcement. A total of 270 such requests were recorded Tuesday. “We increased the capacity in a hurry” in response to a surge in traffic to the website, a JMDP official said. Leukemia is mainly treated with anti-cancer agents. In some cases, however, patients need transplants of hematopoietic stem cells, which exist in bone marrow. Those wishing to be donors can register with the marrow bank after filling in an application form and providing a 2 milliliter blood sample. Some 3,000 patients are currently registered with the bank and waiting for bone marrow donors. “Currently, the proportion of patients who find matching donors and receive transplants stands at only 60 percent,” the official said. “We hope to gain cooperation from more and more people.” Ikee expressed gratitude Wednesday for the messages of encouragement she received following her announcement the day before. “Thank you for the many messages since yesterday,” she wrote on Twitter. Ikee, who at the 2018 Asian Games became the first female athlete to be named MVP, said she was heartened by the many comments she received from those who said they had registered at bone-marrow banks or had donated their blood. “I think these (messages) give hope not only to me but also to those who are going through something difficult like me,” she said.


Gender-neutral Canadian activist shows solidarity with Japan's LGBT communities

Abstract: Gemma Hickey entered Japan this week with something no Japanese national can obtain — a gender-neutral passport in which the gender category shows neither female nor male, but an “X.” The 42-year-old Canadian, who became one of the first in the country to receive such a passport, made their first visit to Japan with the passport on Monday to screen the documentary “Just be Gemma,” which tells the story of Hickey’s gender transition. “I’m here in solidarity with the activists from Japan,” said Hickey during a media briefing session held at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday, in a show of support for the 13 LGBT couples who filed lawsuits against the Japanese government on Thursday seeking damages for not allowing them to marry. “I hope that sharing my experiences and challenges will build on good works that activists in Japan are doing.” Hickey, who does not identify as a female or male and instead uses the pronoun “they,” was born and raised as a female and thought of themselves as gay during their teenage years — Hickey was not familiar with the word “transgender” at the time. Later, Hickey came out as transgender and underwent surgery and hormone treatment. “But, I never really felt like I could fit into this binary of male or female,” said Hickey. Hickey’s home province of Newfoundland and Labrador handled Hickey’s request to change their birth certificate to “X” after the case was brought to the Supreme Court in 2017. In the same year, the Canadian government officially started implementing the “X” gender designation in legal documents such as passports, joining a few other countries across the globe including Denmark, Germany and Australia. After receiving a gender-neutral passport, Hickey felt liberated when they were not stopped by airport staff to question why Hickey’s masculine appearance did not match the gender specified in their passport. “I was often stopped by the security and had to stand aside. It was embarrassing as I was traveling with my mother,” said Hickey. “With a nonbinary passport, such troubles have never happened so far.” Issuances of nonbinary passports seem to be a distant goal for activists in Japan, where same-sex marriages are not legally recognized. But Mika Yakushi, a representative director of the nonprofit organization ReBit, which studies LGBT issues, has noted that a similar trend is slowly spreading at the municipal level. “There are many municipalities that have begun erasing questions related to gender in documents when it is not necessary,” Yakushi said during an interview with The Japan Times on Wednesday. Hickey, a longtime activist who helped change the legal landscape of Canada, said that by traveling to countries with a nonbinary passport, they hope to make a positive international impact. “There are many things I can learn from the cleanest and most organized city, Tokyo, and I hope I can leave some positive impacts in Japanese society,” Hickey said.


Japan to ease restrictions on types of facilities conducting prenatal tests

Abstract: The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has drafted a plan to ease restrictions on the types of medical facilities that can provide noninvasive prenatal testing to detect genetic abnormalities in unborn babies. The draft plan, drawn up by the ethics committee of the society, is expected to be adopted at a board meeting in March. The expansion of the availability of prenatal testing, which examines fetal DNA in the mother’s blood, has drawn criticism out of concern that it may lead to an increase in abortions. The testing began in Japan in 2013 as clinical research. Under the current guidelines, facilities that can perform the tests are limited to those satisfying strict conditions, such as employing a full-time genetics expert who can provide counseling to pregnant women. The revised guidelines will designate those facilities as key institutions while introducing the concept of affiliated institutions that will be newly allowed to conduct the tests. Facilities with obstetrics and gynecology specialists trained in counseling will be designated as affiliates. If a pregnant woman takes a prenatal test at an affiliated institution and is diagnosed as having a baby with a possible genetic abnormality, she will receive counseling at a key institution. Last year, the society set up a panel of experts in genetics and pediatrics, as well as patient group members, for discussions to revise the guidelines. The revisions are aimed at increasing the number of qualified institutions to prevent patients from receiving testing by uncertified facilities, which tend to provide inadequate counseling. The society will ask related academic societies for advice on the revisions. But some members of the related societies have voiced opposition. In Japan, more than 65,000 pregnant women have taken noninvasive prenatal tests over the five and a half years since they started. More than 90 percent of those diagnosed as having babies with chromosomal abnormalities had abortions.

pregnancy
women
prenatal testing
abortions


Tokushima woman on zero-waste quest gets an audience with Davos

Abstract: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - With leaders from around the world as her audience, a young Japanese woman from Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, spoke about her small town’s “zero waste” initiatives, urging the globally influential audience to act to change society. “Our population is only 1,500, and more than half is 65 years and older. But what is unique about our town is that we are the first municipality or government that declared an ambitious goal to become zero waste by 2020,” Akira Sakano, chair of the board at Zero Waste Academy in Japan, a nonprofit organization working to reduce waste in society, told the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, late last month. “It is the policy and initiative to make no waste out of our community,” Sakano said, adding that her town enrolled every resident and asked all of them to bring their waste to a collection center to separate into 45 categories for recycling. This year, Sakano was selected as one of seven co-chairs to represent the WEF conference, which ran from Jan. 22 to 25. Unlike previous co-chairs, who had hailed from big corporations and international organizations, this year’s contingent was mainly composed of young leaders who have blazed trails in fields ranging from environmental protection to humanitarian relief and social entrepreneurship. Only one was a bigwig — Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella. “When I received an email saying the WEF is inviting me to Davos as the meeting’s co-chair, I thought it was spam,” Sakano, 30, said in a recent interview with The Japan Times. “We all share the same value, which is ‘not to leave anyone behind.’ But how can we do it? We have to think about not just humans, but also about climate change and ways to preserve biodiversity on the Earth,” Sakano stressed. In 2003, Kamikatsu, situated in a forested mountainous area in Tokushima, announced that by 2020 it will stop generating waste that needs to be incinerated or buried. Thanks to the rigorous program by Zero Waste Academy and Hibigatani Waste Station, a facility the NPO operates, 81 percent of the town’s waste is either recycled, reused or composted. Though Sakano is leading the initiative, she is not originally from the town. The native of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, spent time in Mongolia while she was a student at Kwansei Gakuin University. Upon graduation, she worked for DHL Global Forwarding in the Philippines for two years, hoping to learn how big companies operate. After returning to Japan in 2014, she went to Kamikatsu, following in the footsteps of her close friend, a native of the town who was running a cafe there. Sakano’s initial plan was to stay for half a year before moving on to a graduate school overseas. But both ended up joining Zero Waste Academy instead because it was looking for someone to lead its projects. “I thought Kamikatsu’s case would be a good example of how a municipality implements a zero-waste policy. It would be great to experience a real case first-hand,” Sakano recalled. So she shelved her plan to go to graduate school and eventually took the helm of the NPO in 2015. The town’s efforts aren’t limited only to the waste collection center. The organization runs multiple projects to reduce waste, including a Kurukuru shop and a Kurukuru craft center. The Kurukuru shop is a place where residents can drop off items they no longer use and take home anything they want for free. At the craft center, elderly women help recycle clothes, such as by making jackets and bags out of old koinobori (carp streamers) or kimono. Kamikatsu also gives “cloth diaper start kits” to local families with babies under 1 year old. Unlike disposable diapers made of paper, cloth diapers can be washed and reused. The NPO also works with businesses, offering consulting and accreditation to companies aspiring to achieve zero waste status. With the support of local restaurants, the organization launched a project to sell spices as well. “If you bring your own container, you can directly purchase spice from the restaurant,” she said, adding that such direct sales will do away with unnecessary containers used for distribution. Although such efforts have raised the town’s profile internationally, Sakano admits that she and her team are facing an even bigger problem there — aging and depopulation. The town’s population of 6,265 in 1955 stood at just 1,582 in 2018. “Every year, the town loses 50 people,” she said. “The foundation of the town is people. No matter how much we work to create a zero-waste society, the town will not be sustainable unless people are there to think about the next generation and work for it.” She also feels that the town’s initiatives alone will not lead to its goal of becoming a zero-waste society, and that companies must develop recyclable designs for their products. “People often ask me about what we will do about the remaining 20 percent (of the town’s waste) . But unless the products themselves change, it is not possible to achieve this,” Sakano said. Sakano will continue to face challenges. Still, her participation in the Davos conference was a rare opportunity for the young leader to let global leaders know what a small town like Kamikatsu can do. “A systemic change on a broader scale involving businesses is necessary to do more. I think I could convey the message that those people who gathered at Davos must act to change,” she said. “Everyone asks me if it is possible to achieve zero waste by 2020. I would say yes, but only if we get everyone on board.”

world economic forum
tokushima
akira sakano
entrepreuner


Campaign kicks off for Okinawa referendum on U.S. base relocation plan

Abstract: OSAKA - Okinawa Prefecture’s campaign for the Feb. 24 referendum on the central government’s relocation plan for a U.S. air base kicked off Thursday, with the results and voter turnout rate likely to be key in indicating how Tokyo will deal with the outcome of the vote from a political standpoint. The referendum offers three choices, asking voters if they support, oppose, or neither support nor oppose moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated area of Ginowan to a new facility under construction in the Henoko coastal district of Nago. But with the central government under no legal obligation to follow the results of the referendum and questions about whether the three choices might produce a muddled result, it’s unclear what impact the referendum will have on the long-delayed Henoko plan. Originally, those who pushed for a referendum wanted only the choices of “support” or “oppose” on the ballot. But after conservative mayors and city assemblies in five Okinawa cities and towns indicated last month they would not participate in a referendum with just those two choices, the “neither” option was added. The municipalities that initially refused to participate in the referendum included Okinawa, Uruma, Miyakojima, Ishigaki and Ginowan. These municipal governments are closer than many others to either Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration or the national chapters of the ruling parties, which support the Henoko project. All 41 municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture are now participating in the referendum. “Although there is the choice of neither supporting nor opposing the relocation, I think most voters who cast a vote in the referendum will be doing so in order to show whether they support or oppose the Henoko plan,” said Jinshiro Motoyama, who represents a civil group in Okinawa Prefecture that has pushed efforts to realize a referendum. In Tokyo on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a regular news briefing that the central government, which has long pushed for the Henoko relocation, would not comment on a local referendum. Land reclamation work for the facility, after being delayed for years due to local opposition, began in December. Suga, however, said that Futenma air station has been called the “world’s most dangerous airport” and stressed that it was critical that it be closed and the land returned to Japan as quickly as possible. He added that the government’s position on Henoko had not changed and that it was not thinking about halting construction between now and the Feb. 24 referendum. The voter turnout rate is crucial to how the results of the referendum will be perceived in Tokyo and Washington. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki was elected last year on a platform opposing the Henoko plan and supporting the referendum. The election had a voter turnout rate of 63 percent. Under the law, a governor must “respect” the outcome of a referendum if it’s approved by at least a quarter of eligible voters. Whether the final referendum turnout rate is higher or lower than that, and whether the final percentage of voters who support or oppose Henoko’s relocation is more than half the total number of votes cast, could determine the post-referendum approach by Tokyo and Okinawa toward the Henoko plan. “At this point, we’re making all efforts to get everyone out to vote. The Feb. 24 referendum is a real test of local democracy, and something that has to be respected by the central government” said Osamu Toguchi, a prefectural assemblyman from the Japanese Communist Party who is a senior leader of a local group opposed to Henoko. Base-related referendums in Okinawa have been held before. In 1996, a prefectural referendum on reviewing the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement with the intent of giving Okinawa more authority over incidents involving U.S. forces took place. Voter turnout was about 60 percent, with nearly 90 percent voting in favor of a review. While the U.S. and Japan have made voluntary adjustments to the agreement since 1996, it has not been formally amended since going into force in 1960. In August 2018, the National Governors’ Association, which includes all 47 prefectural governors, called on the central government to fully revise the agreement.


Japan to make unauthorized downloads of all copyrighted work illegal

Abstract: Steps will be taken to make it illegal to download without the permission of copyright holders all works including manga, computer games, books and other writings after a government panel adopted the policy Wednesday. In a report to the Cultural Affairs Agency, the panel called for broadening the scope of illegal downloads, currently restricted to videos and music, to all copyrighted materials. However, to what extent the actions will be punished was left open for future discussions, as concerns grew over restraints on internet users. The report also proposed punishing operators of “leech sites” that list hyperlinks to piracy websites. The agency plans to submit a bill to amend the copyright law to the ongoing regular Diet session. The panel indicated the need to crack down on piracy websites, as damage to copyright holders has been on the rise. But it sought a cautious approach in penalizing unauthorized downloads in view of adverse effects on people’s lives and freedom of expression. A panel member has suggested some images, such as those containing texts, are sometimes collected as part of research work. Another member said it is difficult to discern the difference between legal and illegal content available online. The report said only serious offenses should be punished, such as copying the whole work and repeating illegal downloads. It recommended that violators should face imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to ¥2 million, or both, and perpetrators could be indicted only if criminal complaints are filed by victims. As for leech sites, the paper called for making it a criminal offense to operate the websites and provide hyperlinks to pirated materials. Damage caused to publishers by a Japanese piracy site called Mangamura, which became inaccessible last April, was estimated at about ¥300 billion. The website, which once had over 100 million hits a month, hosted unauthorized copies of popular manga titles, including “Attack on Titan” and “One Piece.”

games
manga
copyright
illegal downloads
writings


Fatal crashes involving elderly drivers on the rise in Japan

Abstract: The nation saw a rise in the number of fatal crashes caused by drivers aged 75 and over in 2018, police data showed Thursday, highlighting the country’s need to take further steps to curb such incidents amid the aging of its population. Elderly drivers caused a record 14.8 percent of all 3,099 fatal collisions nationwide last year, according to the National Police Agency. The number of fatal crashes caused by elderly drivers, at 460, was up 42 from the previous year for the first increase in six years. Among the fatal incidents, cases where vehicles hit utility poles and other objects ranked first with 94, followed by collisions at intersections at 85 and head-on collisions at 70. In terms of fatal accidents per 100,000 drivers, the figure for the elderly rose from 7.7 to 8.2. In contrast, the figure for drivers aged under 75 dropped to 3.4. As of the end of last year, Japan had 5.63 million drivers aged 75 and over, and the number is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. “We need to take more preventive measures” as baby boomers join the ranks of the elderly, an NPA official said. While Japan has already revised its road traffic law to toughen cognitive tests for elderly drivers, a panel at the agency is now considering introducing a conditional driver’s license, which restricts holders to drive only certain vehicles or in designated areas. The number of all crashes in 2018 stood at 430,601, with 3,532 fatalities, both down from the previous year. The number of deaths marked a record low since comparable data became available in 1948. The police data also showed a twofold increase in the number of drivers caught not keeping a proper distance from other vehicles. The rise in the number of such cases, to 11,793 from 6,139 in 2017, apparently reflects increased efforts by the police to tackle dangerous driving practices, such as tailgating, following fatal road-rage incidents. In June 2017, a couple died and their two daughters were injured on an expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture after a man overtook the family’s vehicle and forced it to stop in the passing lane, where they were hit from behind by a truck. With a series of other road rage incidents following suit, the NPA instructed police forces nationwide in January last year to utilize all laws and regulations applicable to rein in dangerous driving.


Chiba father held over death of daughter served fresh arrest warrant for earlier alleged assault

Abstract: CHIBA - A man held on suspicion of assaulting his 10-year-old daughter just before she died in late January was served a fresh arrest warrant Thursday for allegedly assaulting her on another occasion about a month earlier, investigative sources said. Yuichiro Kurihara, 41, was initially arrested on Jan. 25, the day after his daughter Mia, a fourth-grader, was found dead in the bathroom of their home in Noda, Chiba Prefecture. Kurihara is newly suspected of hitting Mia’s face against the bathroom floor and holding her down at their home, probably between Dec. 30 and Jan. 3, police said. The daughter is believed to have sustained broken bones in the assault. The police did not reveal whether Kurihara admitted to the charge. He told investigators after the initial arrest he did not believe his actions had been wrong, because they were intended to “discipline” her. Investigators said they have analyzed video footage and photo images that showed Mia with bruises, crying, and forced to stand for long periods of time. As part of the alleged assault on Jan. 24 he is suspected of having dowsed his daughter repeatedly with cold water. An autopsy was unable to determine the cause of the girl’s death, but it found several bruises and internal bleeding, according to the police. Mia’s mother, Nagisa Kurihara, 32, was also arrested earlier this month for allegedly failing to stop her husband from assaulting their daughter. She has told police that she was aware of her husband’s violence. Police will investigate to what extent the mother was involved in the latest alleged assault.

child abuse
chiba
yuichiro kurihara
mia kurihara


In a first, LGBT couples sue Japan over constitutionality of not recognizing same-sex marriage

Abstract: Claiming that it is unconstitutional for Japan to not recognize same-sex marriage, 13 lesbian and gay couples on Thursday filed lawsuits against the government. In the first legal challenge of its kind in Japan, couples of various age groups, from their 20s to 50s, simultaneously brought suits to district courts in Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo on Valentine’s Day. They are each demanding ¥1 million in compensation with an additional holdback worth 5 percent of the damages sought until the payment is complete, as well as funds to cover litigation costs incurred during the process. “We’re not demanding anything special; we just want to have a chance to stand at the same starting line in our lives,” said one of the plaintiffs, 40-year-old Kenji Aiba from Saitama Prefecture, during a news conference held Thursday in Tokyo. “I hope this lawsuit will let us share the hardships of sexual minorities with all people in Japan and that it will help other LGBT people,” Aiba said. The plaintiffs argue that ignoring same-sex marriages and practices where officers in charge of issuing marital licenses reject applications from same-sex couples is in violation of the Constitution. This has caused the plaintiffs emotional distress, they said in their claim. “In our lawsuit we want to point out the status quo is in violation of Article 24 of the Constitution that guarantees the freedom to marry — it states that ‘Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes’,” said Makiko Terahara, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs. Technically no laws in Japan prohibit same-sex marriage. But past governments have interpreted the Constitution to mean that same-sex marriages are illegal, leading municipalities that actually handle administrative documents to reject such applications. Terahara stressed that the Constitution doesn’t state that marriage is a union between opposite sexes. She also said that denial of equal marriage rights violates Article 14 of the supreme code, which states that “all of the people are equal under the law.” The practice is discriminatory in political, economic or social relations, she explained. Haru Ono, in her 40s, said she faced problems with access to medical services when she was undergoing breast cancer treatment three years ago and her same-sex partner couldn’t sign a consent form for a surgery. Currently, 10 municipalities in Japan issue same-sex partnership certificates. Worldwide, 25 countries including South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, Canada and Australia recognize same-sex marriages. Ono and her partner, Asami Nishikawa, live in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, one of Japan’s first municipalities to introduce same-sex partnership certificates to ease difficulties in areas such as hospital visitation rights or housing. The couple, who have been together for 14 years, have a partnership certificate, but earlier this month their marriage application to the ward office was rejected. Another plaintiff Ikuo Sato, 59, who is going through treatment for HIV, said there are cases where hospitals only allow family members to visit, meaning his same-sex partner may not be able to see him if something happens. “When I die, I’d like to hold hands with the love of my life but now only a family member would be able to access my hospital room,” Sato said. He added that the absence of his partner at the news conference “proves that Japan is still struggling with discrimination and prejudices.” Sato said that his partner has yet to come out to his family or colleagues knowing that his relationship may not be accepted. He refused to disclose his partner’s name to the media. On Thursday, supporters of the initiative also launched a crowdfunding campaign in the hopes of raising ¥5 million to cover some of their legal expenses.


South Korea plaintiffs eye liquidating assets seized over wartime labor case

Abstract: SEOUL - A lawyer for South Korean plaintiffs who won a wartime forced labor case against Japanese steel-maker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. last year indicated Thursday they will soon begin the process of liquidating the company’s seized assets, possibly by the end of February, to secure compensation if it continues refusing to hold talks with them. The lawyer also indicated that plaintiffs who recently won similar cases against Japanese machinery manufacturer Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. may file for seizure of the company’s assets as a provisional measure. The plaintiffs’ representatives plan to visit the head offices of Nippon Steel, Nachi-Fujikoshi and another company in Tokyo on Friday to press for negotiations before taking the actions. The Japanese government takes the position that the issue of claims arising from Japan’s 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula has been settled under a bilateral accord signed alongside a 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties. The government has called on Japanese firms not to agree to compensate the plaintiffs, in addition to requesting that Seoul come up with measures to protect the business activities of Japanese companies in South Korea. It has also asked South Korea to hold talks but South Korea has not made its stance clear over the proposed talks. On Thursday, Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga expressed grave concerns on the plan to liquidate the seized assets of the Japanese steel-maker. “We take the situation extremely seriously as the plaintiffs’ move advances while the South Korean government has still not taken concrete steps to correct the state of violating the bilateral accord,” Suga said at a news conference in Tokyo. South Korean courts have in recent months awarded compensation to plaintiffs in wartime labor cases involving Japanese firms. In Nippon Steel’s case, the Supreme Court in October upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the company to pay four South Koreans 100 million won ($89,000) each. Following the top court ruling, the plaintiffs in the Nippon Steel case moved to seize the company’s assets in South Korea, leading a court to approve the seizure of shares it held in a joint venture with South Korean steel-maker POSCO. After appeals court rulings against it, Nachi-Fujikoshi appealed them to the Supreme Court, where the cases are pending. But now that precedents have been clearly set, the rulings are unlikely to be overturned by the top court. Kim Se-eun, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, alluded to the planned measures at a rally organized by civic groups that took place in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. She told reporters that the plaintiffs in Nippon Steel’s case feel they have no choice but to act after months had passed with nothing done since the ruling. “The plaintiffs are still waiting, and as they are really old, they could become unhealthy sooner or later,” the lawyer said, adding that if Nippon Steel refuses to engage in talks, “we will start taking steps as soon as we come back.” At the gathering, participants called on Nippon Steel and other companies that have lost in conscripted labor cases to comply with the rulings and compensate plaintiffs. The rulings and subsequent developments have chilled ties between Japan and South Korea. Speculation is rife that if Nippon Steel’s seized assets are liquidated, Japan may retaliate, such as by imposing higher tariffs on imports from South Korea.

south korea
nippon steel & sumitomo metal corp .
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations


Japan-EU EPA won't apply to U.K. under no-deal Brexit; EU expects May to request three-month delay

Abstract: LONDON/BRUSSELS - The economic partnership agreement between Japan and the European Union will cease to apply to the U.K. if it exits the EU at the end of March without a deal, the U.K. government revealed Thursday. If the U.K. strikes a Brexit agreement with the EU, the EPA could continue to apply to the country. “Leaving the EU with a deal remains the government’s top priority,” the U.K. government said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his British counterpart, Theresa May, last month agreed to conclude a free trade agreement between their countries, based on the assumption that the U.K. will leave the EU with a deal. After the prospect of a “no-deal” Brexit grew, Japan and the U.K. held talks to sign a continuity agreement to preserve the terms of the EPA, but the talks failed. This means Japanese firms would lose the benefits they enjoy from the Japan-EU EPA arrangements when trading with the U.K. only two months after the EPA took effect on Feb. 1. According to the BBC, the U.K. has so far concluded new trade deals with only about 10 percent of the some 70 countries that have an EPA with the EU. If the U.K. exits from the EU without any transition period, tariffs would instantly be raised sharply, which could cause considerable economic harm. The U.K. is now trying to conclude new free trade deals that would take effect after exiting from the EU without a deal. London also has said it is considering joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact that took effect on Dec. 30, of which Japan is a member. Meanwhile, the EU expects May to be forced to request a three-month delay to Brexit, two EU officials said. Discussions between the two sides suggest May will ask for an extension to the two-year negotiating period if Parliament backs the Brexit deal but it isn’t signed off until an EU summit on March 21 and 22. That is emerging as the EU’s current plan. The EU sees this as a “technical extension” to give Parliament time to pass necessary legislation related to its departure from the bloc. Anything longer than three months would put the U.K. under pressure to take part in European elections on May 23 to 26, something that both sides are keen to avoid. May is racing against the clock to change a controversial part of her deal, known as the “backstop,” in a way that would be acceptable to both Parliament and the EU. However, with just five weeks to go until the U.K.’s scheduled departure from the EU and talks at an impasse, ministers and lawmakers in her own party are threatening to vote against her next week to give Parliament control of the process. The prime minister has repeatedly spoken out against a delay, saying she wants to take the U.K. out of the EU as scheduled at the end of March. She’s never completely ruled it out, however. Any postponement would have to be requested by the U.K. and accepted by all the remaining 27 EU governments. EU officials say the three-month extension would happen under their most optimistic scenario. The risk remains that the U.K. could leave the bloc on March 29 without a deal. Alternatively, May could be forced to contemplate a longer delay if she can’t get backing for the agreement, according to one official. Finance minister Philip Hammond issued another veiled threat Thursday to quit the government if the U.K. ends up hurtling into a no-deal Brexit, while 100 moderate lawmakers in May’s Tory Party signed a letter, warning they’d vote against her to force her to delay Brexit and take no deal off the table, according to The Telegraph. The prime minister was also reported to have been put on notice by four cabinet ministers that they’re prepared to vote for a motion to effectively prevent a no-deal departure, according to the Daily Mail. U.K. and EU negotiators are continuing talks in Brussels to find a legal guarantee that the backstop arrangement preventing a hard Irish border, contained in the divorce deal, would apply only temporarily. The EU signaled Thursday that talks between Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier didn’t reach a breakthrough. May needs at least some proof of progress by next week, when members of Parliament are threatening to take control of the Brexit process. In their letter, the 100 lawmakers said they were considering backing a move coordinated by the Labour Party’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Oliver Letwin to force a delay to Brexit if there isn’t an agreement. They are expected to put forward an amendment to May’s motion in an attempt to extend the U.K.’s EU membership beyond the end of March.


Hong Kong central banker Norman Chan to step down after a decade as China clouds outlook

Abstract: HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s de facto central bank is bidding farewell to its chief after a decade, starting the search for a successor at a time when the city faces an outlook made uncertain by the slowing Chinese economy and the trade war with the U.S. Norman Chan, who has been the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority since 2009, will retire on Oct. 1 at the end of his second five-year term, the government announced Thursday. The HKMA’s main task is defending the city’s currency peg to the U.S. dollar, meaning the former British colony’s monetary policy is imported from Washington even as its status as a center for trading in China’s currency, the yuan, grows. Chan took office as Hong Kong was being buffeted by the global financial crisis and leaves it amid increasing vulnerability due to record property prices and the protectionist threat to the open trade that the city thrives on. “Norman has been leading the HKMA since 2009 and has worked tirelessly over the years to strengthen the city’s monetary and banking systems and promote Hong Kong’s position as an international financial center in Asia,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a statement. The financial secretary will chair a selection panel to identify the next chief executive, the government said. Chan, 64, is one of the world’s best-paid central bankers, despite his institution’s limited role in setting policy. He earned 10.8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.4 million) in 2017, including HK$2.6 million in performance-linked variable pay and HK$1 million in benefits such as life insurance. His total remuneration was more than four times that of Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s, about 40 percent above Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney’s and more than seven times that of the Federal Reserve chairman. The HKMA chief has acted as a determined advocate of the Hong Kong dollar peg, once referencing his memories of long queues and empty shelves in supermarkets due to currency instability. In 1983, the local currency slid sharply against the greenback as China and the U.K. negotiated Hong Kong’s return to mainland rule. “On my way home from work I saw a long queue of people outside a large supermarket, waiting to snatch whatever goods they could for fear of further devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar,” Chan recalled in a blog post in 2013. Calm was restored after the city pegged its currency to the greenback at a rate of about HK$7.80. During the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Hong Kong used $15 billion of reserves to defend the link from a speculative attack. Throughout the years, Chan, along with other senior Hong Kong officials, repeatedly said the peg has served well as an anchor to the economy and is here to stay, even with the increasing importance of the yuan as a global currency. “The Linked Exchange Rate System is entirely rule-based and there is no room for discretion on how the HKMA manages the exchange rate,” said Ines Lam, an economist at CLSA Ltd. “There is more human input in the financial regulation sphere but overall we expect a continuation in policy with Mr. Chan’s retirement.” Hong Kong’s borrowing costs also move in lockstep with those of the Fed. As a result, the ultra-low interest rates in the past decade have sent Hong Kong housing prices to levels so high that they’re now the least affordable in the world. Soon after taking office, Chan oversaw measures attempting to quell the city’s red hot property market. He introduced more stringent stress tests on home buyers and less generous mortgages. However, these haven’t stopped Hong Kong property prices from more than doubling in the past decade. Chan has also presided over the boom of Hong Kong’s offshore yuan market. Yuan savings have shed almost 40 percent from the peak, however, as the currency weakened. It was a rocky start when Chan looked for jobs after college graduation. He failed to get a single interview after sending job applications to 40 companies. The sociology graduate ended up joining the government as an administrative officer in 1976. After almost 30 years as a public official, he briefly jumped into the commercial world and became a regional vice chairman of Standard Chartered Plc. He rejoined the HKMA in 2009 as its second chief executive in history. “In the international policy arena, Mr. Chan’s articulation of the emerging market economy perspective means that the HKMA, as a small central bank, often punches above its weight,” said Chang Shu, chief Asia economist for Bloomberg Economics, who formerly worked for the HKMA. She said “the search party may not need to travel far for a successor” as the authority has several capable deputy governors. The three deputies are: Arthur Yuen, who’s in charge of banking regulation, Howard Lee for financial infrastructure and HKMA’s fintech facilitation office, and Eddie Yue, who’s responsible for reserves management, external affairs as well as research.

china
hong kong
trade war
norman chan
hkma


Nike in damage control after basketball star's shoe shreds in marquee game

Abstract: NEW YORK - Nike was in damage control mode on Thursday after US college basketball phenomenon Zion Williamson suffered a knee injury when his shoe shredded during a marquee game attended among others by Barack Obama and Spike Lee. The Duke University forward, expected to be the top player taken in June’s NBA draft, was injured just 36 seconds into Wednesday night’s rivalry game against the University of North Carolina. The 18-year-old Williamson, who has been averaging 22.4 points per game, was dribbling near the free throw line on his team’s first possession when he planted his left foot and his shoe blew apart. Williamson dropped to the floor grimacing in pain and holding his right knee. He limped off the court and was removed from the game, which was being broadcast nationally on ESPN. There was initial concern that Williamson may have suffered a serious knee injury but Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game that it was a “mild knee sprain.” “I’ve seen guys bust through shoes but not sprain their knee,” Krzyzewski said. “We don’t know how long he’ll be out.” Duke, which was the top-ranked team in college basketball going into the game, ended up losing 88-72 to eighth-ranked North Carolina. The 6-foot 7-inch (2.01-meter) Williamson has been the most sensational player of this year’s NCAA season, thrilling fans with thunderous dunks and displaying incredible agility and leaping ability for a player who weighs 285 pounds (129 kg). Nike, whose shares were down 1 percent in early trading in New York, said it was trying to figure out what had happened. “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery,” the sports apparel giant said in a statement. “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. “While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue,” Nike said. Among those sending their best wishes to Williamson was NBA superstar LeBron James, a Nike client, and Obama, who was among the celebrities attending the sold-out game between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. “Hope young fella is ok!” James tweeted. “Literally blew thru his (shoe).” “Zion Williamson seems like an outstanding young man as well as an outstanding basketball player,” Obama said. “Wishing him a speedy recovery.” Also at the game was Spike Lee, the movie director whose television commercials with former NBA great Michael Jordan helped send Nike soaring. Nike, which has a 12-year exclusive contract to supply Duke with shoes and other gear, is engaged in an ongoing battle with rivals Adidas and Under Armour for the loyalty of top sports stars. Adidas recently managed to sign a contract with NBA leading scorer James Harden of the Houston Rockets, last year’s Most Valuable Player. The incident with Williamson’s shoe is not the first with Nike products. Nike replaced Adidas in 2017 as the official supplier of basketball jerseys to the NBA and there have been some complaints about the shirts ripping. Nike has also been facing a boycott campaign after signing a contract with Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and social injustice. The boycott does not appear to have had a significant impact on Nike sales, however, and Kaepernick tweeted on Thursday that a tribute “True to 7” jersey to him had sold out.

barack obama
basketball
nike
sponsorship
duke university
zion williamson


Russia charges top U.S. investor Michael Calvey with fraud; Washington hits denial of access

Abstract: MOSCOW - Russian state prosecutors on Thursday formally charged top U.S. investor Michael Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok private equity group, with fraud, hours before Washington accused Moscow of denying its diplomats access to him. Calvey was first detained last week along with three other executives from his fund after investigators accused him and others of embezzling 2.5 billion roubles ($38.17 million). Calvey denies the allegations against him, saying the case is being used to apply pressure on him in a business dispute over a Russian bank in which he is a shareholder. The case has raised concerns among some foreign investors in Russia who are worried about the business climate. In a sign those concerns are being taken seriously in some circles, the head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund and its biggest state bank have spoken out in Calvey’s favor. RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev on Thursday requested via his lawyers that a Moscow court free Calvey from a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow and put him under house arrest instead. Hours after Calvey was charged on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Russia was denying its diplomats access to him. It said it had asked to visit Calvey multiple times, but had not been granted access, something it said flouted consular rules between the two countries. “We insist on access now,” the embassy said in a statement. Calvey is being held in a cell with seven other people and is experiencing back pain, Ivan Melnikov, a member of a public commission for the rights of inmates, told Reuters. Melnikov, who visited Calvey in custody on Wednesday, said the U.S. national was sharing a cell with people being held over noneconomic crimes in contravention of prison regulations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Calvey’s case was in the political spotlight. “The question lies at the center of a very lively political discussion. And I think that all the circumstances of the case will be taken into account when the legal hearings take place soon,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “As far as I understand he was not a very visible person in the public realm. But of course I’ve heard what people whom I deeply respect have said about him, and I think many people have heard this,” Lavrov said. Calvey is due to appeal his arrest next week.

u.s .
russia
banks
embezzlement
michael calvey
baring vostok


Google moves to fix YouTube 'wormhole' glitch exploited for child porn, takes ad hit

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Google-owned YouTube said Thursday it was taking action to close a loophole that enabled users to share comments and links about child pornography over the video-sharing service. The response came after a YouTube creator this week revealed what he called a “wormhole” that allowed comments and connections on child porn alongside innocuous videos. “Any content — including comments — that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube,” a spokesman said in an email. “We took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels, reporting illegal activity to authorities and disabling comments on tens of millions of videos that include minors. There’s more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly.” The move came after Matt Watson, a YouTube creator with some 26,000 subscribers, revealed the workings of what he termed a “wormhole” leading to a pedophile ring that allowed users to trade social media contacts and links to child porn in YouTube comments. Watson, who uses the name MattsWhatItIs, added that YouTube’s recommendation algorithm “due to some kind of glitch is actually facilitating this.” Because ads automatically appear with many YouTube videos, Watson said the actions of the company amounted to “monetizing” the exploitation. Watson’s post sparked a series of news reports, and according to some media, boycotts of YouTube ads from major firms including Nestle and Disney. Epic Games, known for its popular online game Fortnite, said it was suspending ads on YouTube following the news. “We have paused all pre-roll advertising” on YouTube, a company spokesman said. “Through our advertising agency, we have reached out to Google/YouTube to determine actions they’ll take to eliminate this type of content from their service.” The glitch appeared to allow some users to circumvent bans on child porn imposed by Google and other internet platforms. The incident raised fears of a fresh “brand safety” crisis for YouTube, which lost advertisers last year following revelations that messages appeared on channels promoting conspiracy theories, white nationalism and other objectionable content.

google
youtube
child porn
white supremacism
advertisers


Huawei will provide 'global and comprehensive' plan to address British security fears in first half: exec

Abstract: LONDON - Huawei will present a plan to address British security concerns about its equipment by the end of the first half of this year, a senior company executive said Thursday, following criticism the Chinese firm has not moved fast enough to fix the issues. British intelligence officials said on Wednesday they had not yet seen a “credible” plan by Huawei to resolve issues raised in a critical government report last year, which found that technical and supply-chain problems with the company’s equipment had exposed national telecom networks to new security risks. Huawei previously said the problems will take three to five years to resolve, and Ryan Ding, head of Huawei’s carrier business group, told reporters Thursday a “global and comprehensive” plan was expected to be approved internally by the end of March. “In Q2 we will talk to all our stakeholders, including U.K. stakeholders, about such a plan and hopefully by the end of the first half of this year we will complete the high level design of such (a) plan,” he said, speaking through a translator. Britain has emerged as a key battleground for Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecom equipment, in its efforts to resist U.S. calls for allies to ditch its equipment over fears that it could be used by Beijing for spying. No evidence for such claims has been produced publicly and Huawei has repeatedly denied them, but the espionage allegations have led several Western countries to restrict the company’s access to their markets. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday the United States, which is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group alongside Britain, would not be able to share information with countries that decide to use Huawei equipment due to the security implications. Ding said Huawei was committed to achieving “trustworthiness” in eight key areas, including software and hardware engineering, management of third-party components and company culture. Huawei will also spend more than the $2 billion originally earmarked globally for the effort, he said. Huawei’s spending pledge, announced in December, followed a series of strained meetings with officials at the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre who raised the security issues in the government report last July. A new British report is expected in the coming weeks. People with knowledge of the matter said it will likely further criticize Huawei’s perceived slow response to the U.K.’s concerns. Ding said he believed assurances by the NCSC — part of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency — that its findings were not politically influenced. Asked whether he was worried that political pressure would prevent Huawei from being used in the U.K.’s next-generation 5G networks, Ding said it was for operators to decide which equipment vendors they used but excluding Huawei would be like barring top-flight teams from English soccer. “I believe that a 5G market without Huawei is just like the English Premier League without Manchester United,” he said.