U.S. man held for extradition to Spain over North Korean Embassy attack

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A former U.S. Marine who allegedly took part in an attack on North Korea’s embassy in Spain has been ordered by a judge to be held without bail pending extradition. Documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles late Tuesday said Christopher Ahn was wanted by Spain for breaking into Pyongyang’s embassy in Madrid, stealing items and causing injuries in the Feb. 22 raid by a group of anti-North Korea activists. Ahn, 37, from Chino, California, was arrested in California on April 18 on an extradition request from Spain. He allegedly belonged to a group calling itself “Cheollima Civil Defense,” which undertook the commando-style assault on the embassy compound. Wielding knives and fake guns, the attackers tied up embassy occupants and stole computers and other materials. The group, which seeks the ouster of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was led by Mexican national Adrian Hong Chang. Hong, who spent much of his life in the United States as a consultant and activist, fled to the U.S. after the raid where he met with FBI officials in New York and Los Angeles. Since then his whereabouts has been unknown. Lee Wolosky, a lawyer associated with the group, suggested to CNN that he had gone into hiding after authorities tried to arrest him.

north korea
kim jong un
spain
madrid
cheollima civil defense
christopher ahn


U.S. white supremacist convicted in horrific black man's 1998 lynching set for execution

Abstract: WASHINGTON - An avowed white supremacist convicted of a notorious racist murder — chaining a black man to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death — is to be executed on Wednesday in Texas. John William King, 44, one of three men convicted of the brutal June 1998 killing of James Byrd Jr., filed a last-minute request to halt his execution with the Supreme Court. Unless the nation’s highest court grants his plea for a stay of execution, King is to be put to death by lethal injection at 6:00 p.m. Central Time (2300 GMT) at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. King was one of three white men convicted of carrying out one of the most gruesome racist murders in recent U.S. history. Lawrence Brewer was executed in 2011 while Shawn Berry — who cooperated with investigators — was given life in prison. Berry testified during his trial that he and the two others were out drinking beer and cruising in a 1982 Ford pickup truck when they picked up Byrd, who was hitchhiking, and drove him to a remote country road. The men severely beat the 49-year-old Byrd before chaining him by his ankles to the back of the truck. Byrd was alive for some 2 miles (3.2 km) while being dragged along the road, a pathologist testified during King’s trial. He was decapitated when his body hit a concrete drain pipe, the pathologist said. Byrd’s dismembered body was found outside a black church in the small town of Jasper, Texas, near the Texas-Louisiana border. The killing horrified the U.S. public and kindled memories of the era of racist lynchings of African-Americans in the South. Ten years after King’s conviction, then-President Barack Obama signed a law aimed at preventing hate crimes that was named after Byrd and Matthew Shepard, a young gay man murdered the same year. In his request for a stay of execution filed with the Supreme Court late Tuesday, King’s lawyer, A. Richard Ellis, claimed that King’s attorney during his 1999 trial ignored his request to plead not guilty. “From the time of indictment through his trial, Mr. King maintained his absolute innocence, claiming that he had left his co-defendants and Mr. Byrd some time prior to his death and was not present at the scene of the victim’s murder,” Ellis said. “Despite Mr. King’s explicit and repeated requests, his counsel conceded his guilt to murder at trial.” Repeated efforts to have King’s conviction overturned have failed with the Supreme Court refusing to examine the case in 2018. On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously refused to grant him a reprieve. During the sentencing phase of King’s trial, his attorneys argued that prison violence had compelled him to hook up with a white prison gang. “He wasn’t a racist when he went in, he was when he came out,” said his attorney, H. “Sonny” Cripps. King’s body is covered with racist tattoos proclaiming “Aryan Pride” and his allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan and a racist group known as the Confederate Knights of America. One tattoo is of a black man hanging from a noose. The 1999 death sentence for King was the first in Texas since the 1970s handed to a white man for killing a black man. If King’s execution is carried out as scheduled, it will be the fourth so far this year in the United States. Three of Byrd’s sisters plan to attend King’s execution, including Louvon Harris, who told The New York Times King was “not going through any pain.” “He’s not chained and bound and dragged on a concrete road, swinging back and forth like a sack of potatoes, with an arm coming off and being decapitated or nothing like that,” she told the newspaper. “When you look at it at that angle,” she went on. “I don’t have sympathy.”

u.s .
murder
death penalty
racism
texas
kkk
white supremacists
john william king
james byrd


Criticism grows over mass beheading of Shiites in Saudi, some of whom were minors when charged

Abstract: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Saudi Arabia faced growing criticism Wednesday for its mass execution of a group comprised mostly of people from the kingdom’s Shiite Muslim minority, some of whom the U.N. said were minors when charged. U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned Riyadh’s execution Tuesday of 37 Saudi nationals, saying “it was particularly abhorrent that at least three of those killed were minors at the time of their sentencing.” The EU echoed her censure, calling the execution of people charged as minors a “serious violation.” Spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said the fact that the majority of those executed were Shiites had “the potential to fuel sectarian tensions” in the region. They were put to death after being convicted of terrorism, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, in the largest mass execution in the country for more than three years. At least 33 of those executed belonged to Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, according to Human Rights Watch. The rights group said the convictions were based on “unfair” mass trials and on confessions allegedly extracted through torture. The Sunni-dominated kingdom’s interior ministry said some of those executed were accused of “inciting sectarian strife,” a charge often used in Saudi Arabia against Shiite activists. One person was crucified after being put to death, SPA reported, a punishment reserved for particularly serious crimes in the ultra-conservative oil-rich kingdom where executions are usually carried out by beheading. “Saudi authorities will inevitably characterize those executed as terrorists… but the reality is that Saudi courts are largely devoid of any due process, and many of those executed were condemned based solely on confessions they credibly say were coerced,” said HRW’s deputy Middle East director Michael Page. “Executing prisoners en masse shows that the current Saudi leadership has little interest in improving the country’s dismal human rights record.” Rights group Amnesty International said most of those executed were “convicted after sham trials” based on “confessions extracted through torture.” The executions were “yet another gruesome indication of how the death penalty is being used as a political tool to crush dissent” from within the Shiite minority, it added in a statement. The rights watchdog said 11 of those executed were convicted of spying for Iran, while at least 14 others were sentenced in connection with anti-government protests in the Eastern Province between 2011 and 2012. Among those executed was Abdulkareem al-Hawaj, who was only 16 at the time of his arrest, Amnesty said. The mass execution is the largest since January 2016, when Saudi Arabia executed a group of 47 people convicted of “terrorism,” including prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The cleric’s execution prompted a furious reaction from Tehran. Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked in violent demonstrations, prompting Riyadh to sever relations. Iran’s top diplomat Wednesday slammed the silence of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on the executions. “After a wink at the dismembering of a journalist, not a whisper from the Trump administration when Saudi Arabia beheads 37 men in one day — even crucifying one two days after Easter,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter. He was referring to the murder of prominent Saudi journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi last year in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. At least 100 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia since the start of the year, according to data released by SPA. Last year, Saudi Arabia carried out 149 death sentences, making it one of the world’s top three executioners along with China and Iran, according to Amnesty. The Eastern Province — home to the bulk of the country’s Shiite minority — has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when protesters emboldened by the Arab Spring took to the streets demanding an end to alleged discrimination by the government. Although no official figures exist, Shiites make up an estimated 10 to 15 percent of the ultra-conservative kingdom’s population of 32 million.

religion
saudi arabia
rights
death penalty
discrimination
shiites


Sri Lanka now holding 58 suspects amid frantic hunt for more Easter bombers

Abstract: COLOMBO - Sri Lankan security forces detained 18 new suspects in the Easter bombings that killed more than 350 people, as the government admitted Wednesday that “major” intelligence lapses had led to a failure to prevent the attacks. The Islamic State group’s claim of responsibility for Sunday’s strikes on three hotels and three churches increased pressure over ignored warnings of the bombings, and the government was expected to announce sackings in the security forces and police leadership. The 18 new arrests were made in night-time raids using emergency powers, said police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera. Fifty-eight people are now in custody and more arrests are expected in coming days, deputy defense minister Ruwan Wijewardene told a press conference. The government has said more attacks are possible and in a sign of the heightened tensions, authorities carried out at least two controlled explosions of a suspect package and vehicle on Wednesday. Wijewardene also gave new details on the bombers. One had studied in Britain and then did post-graduate studies in Australia before returning to Sri Lanka. Others were also believed to have traveled abroad, he told a press conference. “Most of them are well-educated and come from middle, upper-middle class families, so they are financially quite independent and their families are quite stable financially, that is a worrying factor in this,” the minister said. Amid the frantic hunt for suspects, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the strikes and released photos and video of the men it said were involved in the attacks. Seven of the eight men in the images had their faces covered. Islamic State group called the blasts “blessed attacks” on the “infidel holiday.” The authenticity of the images could not be independently verified but experts said the attacks bear many hallmarks of a coordinated Islamic State operation. The government has blamed a local Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), and said they were investigating whether the bombers had foreign help. The deputy defense minister said it was believed the suicide bombers came from an NTJ “splinter group” whose leader had killed himself. In the Islamic State video, a man believed to be the leader of the NTJ, Zahran Hashim, directs a group in a pledge of allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Sri Lankan police sources have told AFP that two Muslim brothers, sons of a wealthy Colombo spice trader, blew themselves up at the Shangri-La and the Cinnamon Grand hotels. Their father is now one of the 58 in custody. The Kingsbury hotel in the capital was the last one hit. A fourth planned attack on a hotel failed, authorities said. The would-be attacker was followed back to a Colombo lodge, where he blew himself up, killing two people. The funerals of dozens more victims were held Wednesday but the government became embroiled in recriminations over warnings about the attacks up to two weeks before they were carried out. President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also defense and law and order minister, has pledged “major changes” to the security forces and police leadership. Sri Lanka’s police chief issued a warning on April 11 that NTJ suicide bombings were possible and alerts had been given by a foreign intelligence agency. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has acknowledged the information was not passed to his office or other top ministers. “It was a major lapse in the sharing of information,” the deputy defense minister said. “The government has to take responsibility.” CNN reported that Indian intelligence services had passed on “unusually specific” information in the weeks before the attacks, some of it from an IS suspect in their custody. The U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka has denied that her government had prior knowledge of the planned attacks. An FBI team is now in Sri Lanka, Wijewardene said, and Britain, Australia and the United Arab Emirates have all offered intelligence help. Sri Lankan Muslim leaders said they had many several complaints to police about Hashim’s activities. His whereabouts after the bombings is unknown, however. Work was continuing to identify foreign victims in the blasts. A Danish billionaire lost three of his children in the attacks, a spokesman for his company said. Eight Britons, 10 Indians, four Americans and nationals from Turkey, Australia, Japan and Portugal were also reported killed. The United Nations said at least 45 children, Sri Lankans and foreigners, were among the dead.

india
sri lanka
fbi
islamic state
national thowheeth jama'ath
sri lanka attacks


U.S. Coast Guard officer also targeted Supreme Court justices and social media execs, prosecutors says

Abstract: ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND - A Coast Guard lieutenant accused of stockpiling guns and compiling a hit list of prominent Democrats and network TV journalists looked at other targets: two Supreme Court justices and two executives of social media companies, according to federal prosecutors. Those new allegations are contained in a court filing Tuesday in which prosecutors urge a magistrate judge to keep Christopher Hasson, 49, detained in custody pending trial on firearms and weapons charges. The filing doesn’t name the two justices and two company executives but says Hasson searched online for their home addresses in March 2018, within minutes before and after searching firearm sales websites. “The defendant conducted an internet search for ‘are supreme court justices protected’ approximately two weeks prior to searching for the home addresses of the two Supreme Court justices,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom wrote in a footnote. Hasson, who is due back in court Thursday for a detention hearing, is renewing his request to be released from custody while awaiting trial. A lawyer who represented Hasson at a Feb. 21 detention hearing accused prosecutors of making inflammatory accusations against Hasson without providing evidence to back them up. Prosecutors haven’t charged him with any terrorism-related offenses since his Feb. 15 arrest and subsequent indictment in Maryland. Hasson’s attorney, Liz Oyer, wrote in a court filing last week that prosecutors recently disclosed that they don’t expect to seek any additional charges. Oyer didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a phone call and email seeking comment on prosecutors’ new allegations. In a February court filing, prosecutors called Hasson a “domestic terrorist” and said he “intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.” They also said he is a self-described white nationalist who espoused extremist views for years and drafted an email in which he said he was “dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth.” Hasson’s internet search history “lays bare his views on race, which in turn inform his criminal conduct,” Windom wrote. In November 2017, according to the prosecutor, Hasson searched for “please god let there be a race war.” And the defendant did an internet search for guns with a search term that used a racial slur for blacks in March 2018 before visiting firearm sales websites. Prosecutors have said Hasson appeared to be planning attacks inspired by the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage. Windom said “it cannot go unnoticed” that the terrorist who perpetrated the deadly New Zealand mosque attacks in March also was a “devotee” of Breivik. In 2017, Hasson sent himself a draft letter he had written to a neo-Nazi leader and “identified himself as a White Nationalist for over 30 years and advocated for ‘focused violence’ in order to establish a white homeland,” prosecutors said. That letter also refers to “Missouri,” a person with whom Hasson has a “long history,” Windom wrote. In 1995, according to federal prosecutors, Hasson and “Missouri” went to a home in Hampton, Virginia, where the homeowner arrived by car and asked them why they were there. The victim identified Hasson and Missouri as “skinheads.” “Missouri,” wearing a black jacket with Swastika patches, aimed a handgun at the victim’s face and pulled the trigger, according to a police report cited by prosecutors. When the gun didn’t fire, “Missouri” beat the victim with it. “Chris Hasson was standing there with the suspect when this occurred,” Windom wrote. Investigators found 15 guns, including seven rifles, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition at Hasson’s basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, prosecutors said. Hasson’s Feb. 27 indictment also accuses him of illegal possession of tramadol, an opioid painkiller. Prosecutors claim Hasson drew up what appeared to be a computer-spreadsheet hit list that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. Several network TV journalists — MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Van Jones — also were mentioned. During the February detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day agreed to keep Hasson held in custody but said he was willing to revisit his decision if prosecutors didn’t bring more serious charges within two weeks. Hasson pleaded not guilty last month to charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance. He faces a maximum of 31 years in prison if convicted of all four counts in his indictment. “The silencers serve one purpose: to murder quietly. The defendant intended to do so on a mass scale, and his detention has thwarted his unlawful desire,” Windom wrote. Hasson, a former Marine, worked at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington on a program to acquire advanced new cutters for the agency. A Coast Guard spokesman has said Hasson will remain on active duty until the case against him is resolved.

u.s .
terrorism
u.s. supreme court
fbi
cnn
democrats
mass murder
u.s. coast guard
christopher hasson


Another cyclone poised to hit Mozambique on Thursday

Abstract: MAPUTO - Another tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall on Mozambique’s coast on Thursday, just over a month after a more powerful storm struck the Mozambican port city of Beira farther south and killed hundreds of people. Weather forecasters say Cyclone Kenneth will bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and waves of several meters to the southern African nation, which is still reeling from the effects of devastating Cyclone Idai. International energy companies such as Exxon Mobil have been developing huge natural gas fields off the coast of northern Mozambique. “It’s going to make landfall tomorrow afternoon in Cabo Delgado (province), on the northeastern coast of Mozambique, and it is going to be a cyclone with wind speeds which could be 140 kph (87 mphr),” said Jan Vermeulen, from the South African Weather Service. A cyclone report issued by a regional cyclone-monitoring center on the French island of La Reunion said parts of southern Tanzania could also be affected by Cyclone Kenneth. Mozambique’s National Institute of Disaster Management said that about 682,500 people could be at risk from the storm in the northern Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces. About 112,000 people were in areas where winds could be in excess of 120 km per hour, it said. The rivers Rovuma, Messalo, Montepuez, Megaruma, Lurio and coastal waterways in Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces could overflow, affecting more than 70,000 people, according to a separate presentation from the National Directorate for the Management of Water Resources. The directorate issued a recommendation that people living in areas at risk should move immediately to high ground, while disaster management official Augusta Maita said warnings were being broadcast in local media. More than 1,000 people were reported killed by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. That storm lashed Beira with wind speeds of up to 170 kph on March 14 and heavy rains prompted flooding which submerged entire villages. Mozambican health officials and international aid agencies have been battling cholera in the wake of the cyclone.

disasters
mozambique
cyclones
cyclone idai
cyclone kenneth


'Creeping annexation': Putin confronts new Ukraine leader with rebel-zone passports

Abstract: MOSCOW/KIEV - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree offering passports to people in breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, triggering calls for more sanctions against Moscow from the incoming leadership in Kiev. “This is yet more proof of Russia’s real role as an aggressor state that’s waging a war against Ukraine,” President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Facebook after the order was posted on the Kremlin website Wednesday. Ukraine “is counting on increasing diplomatic and sanction pressure” by the international community against Russia. The Kremlin leader’s citizenship offer comes three days after Zelenskiy, a comic, won a landslide in Sunday’s Ukrainian presidential election. Putin has yet to respond publicly to his victory, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday downplayed the possibility of the two leaders working together. Russia also raised pressure on Ukraine by announcing new trade sanctions days before the vote. Putin, who annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, ordered a simplified procedure for giving passports to permanent residents in rebel-held areas of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia has made similar moves in other breakaway regions in the former Soviet Union and in at least one case used the presence of newly minted citizens as justification for military intervention. It is a “purely humanitarian” move because people living in those areas are “deprived of any civil rights,” Putin told a meeting of lawmakers in St. Petersburg. Russia’s “attempts at creeping annexation” of Ukrainian territory show that it has no interest in de-escalation of the conflict, the Foreign Ministry in Kiev said in a statement. Ukraine lodged an immediate complaint with the United Nations Security Council. The Kremlin order threatens to ratchet up confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, which has repeatedly accused Putin of sending troops and weapons to aid the separatists in a war that has killed 13,000 people in the past five years. He denies Russian forces are involved. The U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict, which erupted after the 2014 revolution that swept Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych from power. The U.S. condemned what it termed an “absurd and destabilizing” Russian action and affirmed “strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” in a statement on Twitter by its embassy in Kiev. Russia’s goal is to put pressure on the new Ukrainian administration, said Alexei Chesnakov, a former Kremlin official who now consults the authorities on Ukraine policy. The Kremlin is seeking to force Zelenskiy to “lift the blockade” of the rebel regions and implement a peace agreement signed in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, he said. While the political novice’s defeat on Sunday of outgoing President Petro Poroshenko came as a relief in Moscow, the Russian leadership has reserved judgment on what 41-year-old’s victory will mean for relations after five years of conflict. He pledged after his victory to bring home Ukrainian prisoners captured in the fighting and to revive the stalled Minsk peace process. Russia says Ukraine isn’t providing autonomy promised under the accord to the rebel areas. Ukraine says international control of the area is needed to prevent the flow of Russian soldiers and weapons. A proposal for U.N. peacekeepers remains blocked. Officials in the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics say 3.6 million people live in the areas under their control.

conflict
vladimir putin
russia
ukraine
petro poroshenko
passports
volodymyr zelenskiy


Scotland will prepare for a second independence vote regardless of U.K. nod: Nicola Sturgeon

Abstract: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - Scotland will start preparing for an independence referendum before May 2021 without permission from London, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday. Scotland, part of the United Kingdom for more than 300 years, rejected independence by 10 percentage points in a 2014 referendum. But differences over Brexit have strained relations with England and the British government in London. “A choice between Brexit and a future for Scotland as an independent European nation should be offered in the lifetime of this Parliament,” Sturgeon told Scotland’s devolved Parliament. She said that a devolved Parliament bill will be drawn up before the end of the year, and that Scotland does not need permission at this stage from London. London’s approval would, however, eventually be necessary “to put beyond doubt or challenge our ability to apply the bill to an independence referendum,” she said. The United Kingdom voted 52-48 to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, but while Wales and England vote to leave, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay. In the campaign for the 2014 independence referendum, unionists said that the only way for Scotland to stay in the European Union was to remain within the United Kingdom. The Scottish National Party (SNP), which controls the devolved Parliament in Edinburgh, says that a second referendum is justified because Scotland is now being dragged out of the bloc against its will. With most Scots unhappy at Brexit, Sturgeon is under pressure from supporters of independence to offer a clear way forward in the quest to break from the United Kingdom. Britain is mired in political chaos, and it is still unclear whether, when or even if it will leave the European Union. Since Scots rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent in 2014, opinion polls show that support has changed little. Before the SNP spring conference is held this weekend, supporters of an independent Scotland were to launch a new campaign on Thursday for a second referendum on secession from the United Kingdom, hoping to harness voters’ anger over Brexit. Under the crowd-funded initiative Voices for Scotland, which has some 100,000 supporters, clipboard-wielding activists will fan out across Scotland to try to boost support for the nation’s secession to the range of 50 to 60 percent. “I get the sense that we are in the death throes of the United Kingdom, that it is a very unstable construct,” said Maggie Chapman, one of the leaders of Voices for Scotland and also co-convenor of the Scottish Greens party. “One of the things that ‘no’ or undecided voters said to me in 2014, in the run-up to that referendum (on Scottish independence), was: ‘Why, what do you want to change? The U.K. is fine as it is,'” said Chapman. “Brexit tells us that the U.K. is not OK — not only in terms of economic legitimacy and power, but in terms of trust in politics,” she said. Scotland’s “yes” movement took support for independence to 45 percent in 2014 from around 23 percent in 2012. The new initiative will train campaigners to go out and “listen to what people need to help them become supportive of independence, as well as to persuade them of its merits,” Voices for Scotland said in a statement. It has so far raised about £100,000 ($130,000) to train and support campaigners to spread the word on “every street in Scotland,” Chapman said. Its aim is particularly to target those who are undecided about Scottish independence or “who support the union but have had their faith undermined by recent events.” John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University and Britain’s leading polling expert, said Sturgeon was keeping her own troops happy while leaving her options open. She probably has until October or November of 2020 to hold a new vote once Brexit happens, he said. “I think she was implicitly acknowledging that while it might be impossible (to get permission) out of the current (U.K.) Parliament, it might be a lot easier if we get a general election between now and the end of the year, and the SNP may well find itself in the kingmaker role,” Curtice told Reuters. Sturgeon’s address to Parliament took a noticeably conciliatory tone. “The question that confronts us now is this: if the status quo is not fit for purpose — and I know even some of the most committed believers in the union find it hard to argue that it is — how do we fix it?” Sturgeon said. Those who want to maintain the United Kingdom argue that Brexit has made no difference to how Scots feel, and the secession vote should not be repeated. “Nicola Sturgeon continues to press for divisive constitutional change when it is clear that most people in Scotland do not want another independence referendum,” said David Mundell, Britain’s Scotland minister. Sturgeon argued that leaving the world’s largest trading bloc endangers Britain and Scotland’s economic well-being. “We face being forced to the margins, sidelined within a U.K. that is itself increasingly sidelined on the international stage. Independence by contrast would allow us to protect our place in Europe.”

eu
u.k .
scotland
referendums
nicola sturgeon
brexit


Odebrecht boss tells prosecutors of payoffs to Peruvian politicians

Abstract: CURITIBA, BRAZIL - Prosecutors said a top former executive of Brazilian multinational Odebrecht gave details Wednesday of multimillion-dollar payoffs to Peruvian politicians, including a top aide of former President Alan Garcia, who committed suicide last week. Jorge Barata, Odebrecht’s former chief in Peru, provided details of “money routes” to Peruvian prosecutors who questioned him in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba. “Mr. Barata has given an explanation of the money routes,” said Rafael Vela, the lead prosecutor who questioned the former Odebrecht executive for a second day at Curitiba’s federal prosecutors’ office. “We are absolutely satisfied with what he has said,” Vela told reporters. “The investigative hypothesis of the Public Prosecutor’s office is being verified,” he said. He gave no details, but the influential Peruvian portal IDL-Reporters said Barata had confirmed Odebrecht paid more than $4 million to Garcia’s aide Luis Nava during the ex-president’s second term from 2006 to 2011. According to the website, Barata told prosecutors that Nava “was the person who opened the doors to the Government Palace during Alan Garcia’s term.” It said Barata had “agreed to pay Luis Nava $3 million” to ensure the Brazilian construction giant would hold the contract to build Peru’s interoceanic highway, which links Brazil’s industrial cities to ports on Peru’s south coast. Garcia, who was 69, shot himself dead at his home in Lima last Wednesday as police arrived to arrest him over allegations of money laundering during his time in office. Before his suicide, Garcia insisted he was innocent. Barata’s evidence follows a cooperation agreement signed between Odebrecht and Peru’s public prosecutor in December. As part of the deal, Odebrecht must pay $182 million to Peru in civil reparations, an amount based on the four projects the Brazilian firm gained through paying bribes. The company paid $788 million in bribes throughout a dozen Latin American countries to obtain major public works contracts over a decade, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Odebrecht has admitted to paying $29 million in bribes in Peru between 2005 and 2014. Barata’s illicit payments to Nava were made in two instalments beginning in 2006, the website reported. A second payment of 1.3 million was made through a bank in Andorra, it said. The former Odebrecht chief said an additional payment of half a million dollars was made to Nava’s son, according to the website. Nava is currently in preventive detention in Lima as part of the investigation. He denies any wrongdoing. Garcia was one of four Peruvian ex-presidents embroiled in various corruption scandals — alongside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18), Ollanta Humala (2011-16) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06). On Friday, a Peruvian judge ordered Kuczynski held in pre-trial detention for up to three years as investigators look into allegations he received kickbacks from Odebrecht.

brazil
corruption
scandals
peru
odebrecht
alan garcia
jorge barata


'Water is life': Unexpected rainfall revives Iraq's historic marshlands

Abstract: CHIBAYISH MARSHES, IRAQ - This time last year, most of Iraq’s historic marshlands were dry, desiccated by upstream damming and a chronic lack of rainfall. Now, local farmers are counting their blessings after unexpected heavy rainfall at the end of 2018 caused the dams to overflow by early January and water came gushing back to the wetlands in southeastern Iraq. For Yunus Khalil, a farmer raising water buffalo in the central marsh, the lack of water meant he had to sell most of his herd at a loss last year. “We were terrified the water wouldn’t come back,” Khalil said. “It would’ve been the end for us.” The marshes, thought to be the biblical Garden of Eden and named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2016, are experiencing their highest water levels since they were reclaimed in 2003, said Jassim al-Asadi, southern director of local NGO Nature Iraq and a native of the marshlands, which stretch to the Iran border. “God knows how much we suffered last year,” Khalil said. “He protected us.” Saddam Hussein accused the area’s inhabitants, the Marsh Arabs, of treachery during the 1980-1988 war with Iran and later drained the marshes — which before then had stretched across more than 3,700 square miles (9,583 sq km) — to flush out rebels. Many residents fled, but after Saddam’s overthrow in 2003, parts of the marshland were reflooded and around 250,000 Marsh Arabs have cautiously trickled back. Many had moved to farmland in nearby provinces, or went to live in exile in Iran. Their years away brought a change to the vibrant local culture, residents say, and more conservative norms, particularly regarding the role of women who have long worked alongside men in the marshes. “You used to hear women singing as they pushed their boats through the marshes at dawn,” said Taher Mehsin, a fishermen in his late 60s. “Now, some of the men won’t let their women out of the house.” The area has been home to the Marsh Arabs for millennia, and water is essential to maintaining their way of life. Though many were eager to return home after two decades away, life in the marshes is tough and revolves around fishing and raising water buffalo. The few schools and government-run health clinics are miles away from the open water, where many people live without electricity. Residents have to make daily trips on long wooden boats to buy bottled water for themselves and their families — as the surrounding waters are too salty to drink. Years of low water levels have caused other problems, including less tall grass for the buffalo to graze on, and a drop in the variety of fish. The local carp, previously local fishermen’s best seller, hasn’t been seen in the waters here all year. Instead, the fishermen and women now catch just one type of small fish which most don’t recall having seen until recently. After casting their nets the previous night, they haul their take at dawn to local buyers, who are currently paying around $2.50 (3,000 dinars) a kilo after haggling — a 50 percent drop in price compared to 2017. “What else can we do?” said Mehsin as he pushed his boat out from the shore, having netted $10 (12,000 Iraqi dinars) for his day’s take. “Water is life here. Fish and animals can’t live without it, and neither can we.”


Muslim refugees flee Sri Lankan homes over attack fears

Abstract: COLOMBO - Hundreds of Muslim refugees in western Sri Lanka have taken refuge in mosques and a police station after facing intimidation following the deadly Easter bombings, activists said Thursday. At least 359 people died in Sunday’s coordinated suicide blasts, including more than 100 Christians attending mass at St. Sebastian’s church in Negombo on the island’s west coast. The attacks have been condemned by leaders of the country’s Muslim minority, but the community has been left in fear of a backlash. Scores of Ahmadi Muslims who settled in Negombo after fleeing persecution in their home countries have been thrown out of their accommodation by landlords, according to officials. “Today these refugees have become refugees again in Sri Lanka. They have been displaced for a second time,” Ruki Fernando of Inform, a Sri Lankan human rights group, told reporters. The refugees are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iran. Ahmadis have faced repeated attacks in these countries by hard-line Islamist groups who do not consider them to be Muslim. Fernando said homeowners had evicted the refugees because they feared their properties would be targeted by groups seeking revenge for the bomb blasts which were carried out by extremist Islamists. Many others have fled of their own accord, fearing for their safety. “Some unknown people broke into their houses in Negombo and beat them,” Fernando told reporters. He said numbers had yet to be verified but around 700 refugees were believed to have sought shelter in one Negombo mosque. Around 120 were at a police station while several hundred more were at another mosque in Gampaha, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Negombo. He said that dozens got on buses to leave Negombo on Wednesday but turned back after they were advised against heading to the capital Colombo over security fears. “People are scared. They are in a vulnerable position and don’t have basic facilities,” said Herman Kumar from Unity of Negombo Citizens, a group trying to foster communal harmony in the city. The comments came at a news conference in Colombo where community leaders from Sri Lanka’s different religions urged unity and calm as tensions simmer on the island. “We appeal to all communities to come together and protect each and every person,” Kumar said.

religion
terrorism
sri lanka
sri lanka attacks


Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin get down to talks in Russia on North Korean nuclear standoff

Abstract: VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA - Kim Jong Un sought Vladimir Putin’s help in resolving troubles on the divided Korean Peninsula, holding his first summit with the Russian leader on Thursday as he tried to find a way out of his nuclear stalemate with U.S. President Donald Trump. Putin and Kim revealed little about the content of their nearly two-hour meeting — more than an hour longer than scheduled — held at a university in Vladivostok. Kim has been seeking relief from the United Nations Security Council sanctions that are choking his state’s tiny economy, but Putin has little money to offer — and also is bound by the international economic restrictions. “I visited Russia to meet President Putin in person and exchange opinions about the Korean Peninsula, which is getting intense attention from all over the world,” Kim said at the meeting on Russky Island, sitting opposite Putin in a conference room. For Putin, hosting Kim gives him a chance to remain a player in a security dispute shaped mainly by the U.S. and China. Ahead of the meeting, Russia appeared likely to seek a return to six-party talks on the nuclear issue, an arrangement that included Russia and Japan, as well as China, the United States and the two Koreas. “We talked about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, exchanged opinions on how and what should be done so that the situation has good prospects to improve,” Putin said. Kim, who kept Putin waiting almost a year for the summit, was also more than 30 minutes behind the Russian president’s arrival at the venue. That was an unusual turnabout for Putin, who is notorious for keeping world leaders waiting for meetings. “We welcome your efforts to develop inter-Korean dialogue and to normalize North Korean and American relations,” Putin told Kim. Kim, who arrived aboard an armored train Wednesday, hasn’t met with the Russian leader since coming to power in Pyongyang in 2011. But ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have run deep for decades, with Soviet leader Josef Stalin helping Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung set up the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the aftermath of World War II. Still, top Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov has said the two leaders won’t sign any agreements. Although Russia extended the invitation to Kim almost a year ago, the North Korean leader only accepted after his second summit with Trump broke down in Februarywithout any agreements. Kim wanted the U.S. to ease the sanctions to reciprocate for partial disarmament steps he took last year. But the U.S. maintained that the sanctions will stay in place until North Korea makes more significant denuclearization moves. North Korea had increasingly expressed its frustration at the deadlocked negotiations. Last week, it tested a new weapon and demanded that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from the nuclear talks. “This (the meeting in Vladivostok) is essentially a side-show in continuing saga between Pyongyang and Washington,” Dmitri Trenin, head of the Moscow Carnegie Center, wrote on Twitter. “Russia will seek to score diplomatic points by demonstrating its relevance; North Korea, by showing it has options.” In separate comments, Trenin said that Putin will likely encourage Kim to continue constructive talks with the U.S., reflecting Russia’s own worry about the North nuclear and missile programs. “Russia can’t be expected to side with North Korea and, let’s say, support the North Koreans all the way in the Security Council, where Russia is a veto-wielding member and where all sanctions imposed on North Korea require Russia’s approval,” he said. Trenin also emphasized that Moscow is skeptical that the North could be persuaded to fully abandon its nuclear weapons, considering it a “mission impossible.” “North Korea will not give up the only guarantee of the survival of the North Korean state and its regime,” he said. Kim’s delegation will be scrutinized to see how power dynamics in the secretive state shifted after a shuffle of top officials unveiled earlier this month. Neither Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong nor senior aide Kim Yong Chol — two figures who have accompanied him on recent foreign trips — were visible in early reports of the Russian visit, fueling speculation that they had fallen out of favor since Hanoi. The Russia trip also comes after Kim gave a speech at the country’s rubber-stamp parliament this month, where he said he is willing to meet Trump again as long as the U.S. offers acceptable terms for a deal by year end. Russia, like the U.S., is strongly opposed Pyongyang’s nuclear bid. It has long advocated a return to six-party talks, which produced a deal to shut down North Korea’s main nuclear plant in exchange for energy aid. The deal fell apart after the U.S. and others decided that a nuclear inventory produced by Pyongyang was incomplete, while the Kim regime complained that aid was arriving too slowly. Speaking before the talks, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said that Russia will seek to “consolidate the positive trends” stemming from the Trump-Kim meetings. He noted that the Kremlin would try to help “create preconditions and a favorable atmosphere for reaching solid agreements on the problem of the Korean Peninsula.” Russia would also like to gain broader access to North Korea’s mineral resources, including rare metals. Pyongyang, for its part, covets Russia’s electricity supplies and investment to modernize its dilapidated Soviet-built industrial plants, railways and other infrastructure.

u.s .
north korea
vladimir putin
russia
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
sanctions
north korea nuclear crisis
vladivostok
donald trump


Blood brothers: The family that played a key role in Sri Lanka's Easter attacks

Abstract: Sri Lankan housewife Fathima Fazla thought of her neighbors in the grand three-story home across the street as the wealthy celebrities of her humble Colombo suburb. She had no idea how infamous they would become. Two brothers who lived at the white house on Mahawela Gardens have emerged as key players in suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed more than 350 people and stunned an island state that had enjoyed a decade of relative peace. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on three churches and four hotels. Inshaf Ibrahim, a 33-year-old copper factory owner, detonated his explosive device at the busy breakfast buffet of the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a source close to the family said. When police went later that day to raid the family home, his younger brother Ilham Ibrahim detonated a bomb that killed him, his wife and the couple’s three children, the source told Reuters, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals. “They seemed like good people,” Fazla told Reuters from her rundown home opposite the Ibrahim family residence, now cordoned off with crime-scene tape and marshalled by police. The brothers’ names were also reported in local media. Sri Lankan authorities have not released the identities of any of the bombers, and police did not respond to request for comment. The brothers’ father, Mohamed Ibrahim, was arrested as police investigate those behind the attacks, police said. Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the business community, had six sons and three daughters. He was admired by many who knew him. “He was famous in the area for helping the poor with food and money. It’s unthinkable his children could have done that,” Fazla said, glancing affectionately at her two young daughters. “Because of what they have done, all Muslims are treated as suspects.” Ilham Ibrahim, 31, openly expressed extremist ideologies and had been involved in meetings of National Thowheed Jamath, a local Islamist group suspected of involvement in planning the attacks, according to the source close to the family. His entrepreneur brother, Inshaf, was outwardly more moderate in his views, and was known to be generous with donations to his staff and struggling local households, the source said. Inshaf was married to a daughter of a wealthy jewelry manufacturer and he faced no problems with money. “I was shocked. We never thought they were these kind of people,” said Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, a 38-year-old network cabling engineer who works next door to the Ibrahim family home. The early Sunday bombings shattered the relative calm that has existed in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka since a civil war against mostly Hindu, ethnic Tamil separatists ended 10 years ago, and raised fears of a return to sectarian violence. Though the Ibrahim brothers will be reviled across much of the country for plunging Sri Lanka into disarray, they will be missed by some in the community who relied on them. “He was kind, unlike like many bosses. I was happy working for him,” said Sarowar, a Bangladeshi worker at Inshaf’s abandoned copper factory on the outskirts of Colombo. “He is gone. What do I do now?”

religion
murder
terrorism
islam
sri lanka
sri lanka attacks


Foreigners swept up as Sri Lanka searches for clues to Easter Sunday bombings

Abstract: COLOMBO - Sri Lankan authorities swept up more people, including foreigners, for questioning on Thursday as they probed deeper into the Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 359 people in potentially the deadliest operation claimed by Islamic State. Police said an Egyptian and several Pakistanis were among those detained overnight, although there was no immediate suggestion they had direct links to the attacks on three churches and four hotels that also wounded about 500 people. An explosion occurred in a town east of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, on Thursday but there were no casualties, a police spokesman said, adding it was not a controlled explosion like other blasts in recent days and was being investigated. A picture has emerged slowly since Sunday of a group of nine well-educated, home-grown Islamist suicide bombers, including a woman, who carried out the attacks in the Indian Ocean island country. However, Sri Lankan and international authorities have also focused their investigations on international links to domestic Islamist groups — National Thawheed Jama’ut and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim — they believed carried out the attacks. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks but offered no firm information to back up its claim. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday another of the bombers had lived in Australia with his wife and child on a student visa but left the country in 2013. Morrison did not identify the man, although his family have said his name was Abdul Latheef Mohamed Jameel. Police said on Thursday 16 more people were detained for questioning overnight, taking the number detained since Sunday to at least 76. That number includes a Syrian national. A police statement said one of those detained overnight was linked to a “terrorist organization” but gave no other details. It said another was taken into custody after they investigated posts on the individual’s Facebook page and found what they described as “hate speech.” “It was related to the spreading and preaching of terrorism,” a police spokesman said. Others have also been caught up in the broader crackdown. Police said they detained an Egyptian who was found not to have a valid visa or passport. The man taught Arabic in a school about 70 km (45 miles) from the capital, Colombo, and had been living in Sri Lanka for more than seven years. A police spokesman also said that a group of Pakistanis had also been detained among an unspecified number of foreign nationals for overstaying their visas. The bombings shattered the relative calm that has existed in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka since a civil war against mostly Hindu, ethnic Tamil separatists ended 10 years ago, and raised fears of a return to sectarian violence. President Maithripala Sirisena will meet representatives of different faiths later on Thursday to address concerns of a sectarian backlash. Sri Lanka’s 22 million people include minority Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Until now, Christians had largely managed to avoid the worst of the island’s conflict and communal tensions. Hundreds of Muslims have fled the Negombo region on Sri Lanka’s west coast since scores of worshippers were killed in the bombing of the St. Sebastian church there on Sunday. Communal tensions have since flared. Hundreds of Pakistani Muslims fled the port city on Wednesday, crammed into buses organized by community leaders after threats of revenge. “Because of the bomb blasts and explosions that have taken place here, the local Sri Lankan people have attacked our houses,” Adnan Ali, a Pakistani Muslim, told Reuters as he prepared to board a bus. Sri Lankan officials have said they believed the bombings were carried out in retaliation for the March 15 attacks by a lone gunman on two mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she has seen no evidence to support that claim. Most of the Easter Sunday victims were Sri Lankans, although authorities have confirmed at least 38 foreigners were also killed. These included British, U.S., Australian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals.


Indian Supreme Court's record award to gang rape victim provides ray of hope to others

Abstract: NEW DELHI - A move by India’s top court to order record compensation for a Muslim woman gang-raped during religious riots more than 15 years ago could help other victims win justice, her lawyer and activists said Wednesday. Bilkis Bano was three months pregnant when she was gang raped and her 3-year-old daughter was murdered during the violence that swept the western state of Gujarat state in 2002, killing more than 1,000 people. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat government to compensate Bano with 5 million rupees ($72,000), a job and a home after she rejected an offer of 500,000 rupees in March. “This is a case where the maximum compensation has been granted by any Indian court for rape or communal violence,” said Shobha Gupta, Bano’s lawyer, describing the judgment as “historic” at a news conference. The cash compensation is nearly five times more than the 1.3 million rupees granted to a victim in northeast India in a 2017 case — the next-highest amount, according to Gupta. “When such kind of orders are passed, yes, you have a ray of hope,” said Gupta. “There is a message that goes out that ‘yes, there are courts still existing and justice can still prevail.’ ” Last year, the Supreme Court approved a plan that guarantees survivors of sexual assault compensation of up to 1 million rupees, saying such aid is crucial for their care and rehabilitation. Conservative attitudes in India mean victims of sexual assault are often shunned by their families and communities, and blamed for the violence perpetrated against them, say activists and lawyers. Many are ostracized from their homes and cannot afford the legal fees to fight for justice in an under-resourced judicial system where verdicts can take years to reach. India strengthened its laws on sexual assault after the fatal gang rape of a student in New Delhi in 2012 sparked nationwide protests. Yet women brave enough to go to the authorities still face numerous challenges, from hostile police, faulty medical and forensic examinations to shoddy investigations and weak prosecutions. “It continues to be a huge struggle for women to get justice in our country,” said Malini Ghose, a women’s rights activist. “But we hope that this (judgment) makes the journey easier for all those other women . . . for thousands of other women who are knocking on the doors of justice.” Bano said her fight for justice had been long and nightmarish, and that she wanted to use some of the money to “help other sisters like me in their journeys to justice.” She said she will dedicate her efforts to her murdered daughter Saleha, who “was lost in the tide of hatred.” “That has haunted me in ways I can never express,” said Bano as she and her husband wiped away tears. “But … through helping others, she will live on in the lives of other children.”


Body of Japanese victim of Sri Lanka Easter terror attack arrives at Narita

Abstract: The body of a Japanese woman who was killed in a series of deadly bombings that hit Sri Lanka over the weekend arrived in Japan on Thursday accompanied by her injured husband and their two children. Kaori Takahashi, 39, was caught in one of eight blasts that struck Colombo and other parts of the country while eating breakfast at a hotel restaurant with her husband, Hikaru. The attacks killed 359 people, including at least 39 foreign nationals. A coffin covered in a blue sheet was unloaded from an airplane at Narita airport near Tokyo at around 7:30 a.m. A bouquet of white flowers was placed on the coffin and airport officials bowed deeply in prayer. The Metropolitan Police Department will conduct an autopsy on the body to determine the cause of death. Junzo Yamamoto, who heads the National Public Safety Commission, told reporters that officials of the National Police Agency have been dispatched to Sri Lanka to gather information. Noting that Japan will be the venue for a number of major events over the coming 18 months, Yamamoto said, “I will instruct police to take all possible counterterrorism measures.” When boarding the plane in Colombo, where he works at a Japanese restaurant, Hikaru Takahashi, 39, ran into a Sri Lankan acquaintance, Himani Wijemanne, and they tearfully embraced. The acquaintance, who works for a travel agency, came to know the Takahashis a few years ago. He told reporters that Kaori was a very good person and he feels very sad over her death. The attacks targeted luxury hotels and churches as Easter Sunday masses were in progress.

terrorism
sri lanka
kaori takahashi
sri lanka attacks


After Italy's backing of China's 'Belt and Road,' Abe stresses caution on infrastructure with Conde

Abstract: ROME/, BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has moved on to the second and third legs of his six-nation European and North American tour with stops in Italy and Slovakia, where he met with the leaders of those two countries and others on Wednesday. In Rome, Abe and his Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, agreed early in the day on the need for high quality infrastructure that can achieve both economic growth and fiscal sustainability, as Italy plans to promote projects under China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. The two leaders, also agreed during their summit that the two countries will strengthen defense cooperation under an accord that took effect earlier this month, enabling the sharing of defense equipment and technology. Japan and Italy have been boosting bilateral ties, especially in the field of security, at a time when China is seeking to expand its influence both in Europe and Asia. The summit came after the signing of a China-Italy memorandum on infrastructure in March made Rome the first member of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to officially endorse the “Belt and Road” plan. The development raised concern among the group, and within the European Union, about Beijing’s future grip on key infrastructure for transportation such as ports. Critics say some developing countries are suffering from a heavy debt burden due to what they term as China’s excessive lending. During the talks, Abe explained Japan’s position that infrastructure projects should ensure fiscal sustainability and transparency among other criteria Tokyo sees as important, according to a Japanese official. As Japan seeks to create a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region based on the rules-based order, Conte expressed support for the initiative, the official added. The visit to Rome, the second leg of Abe’s tour, was intended to coordinate bilateral efforts before Japan hosts the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June. Abe and Conte agreed to jointly promote free trade and address global agendas such as climate change. On North Korea, the Japanese and Italian leaders shared the view that closer coordination is needed until Pyongyang abandons all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way. “We need to maintain pressure on Pyongyang,” Conte said at a joint press briefing with Abe. Abe also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Later in the day, Abe traveled to Bratislava, becoming the first Japanese prime minister to visit the country, where he was to meet the leaders of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. In a meeting in the Slovak capital, Abe and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki agreed to promote free trade after a market-opening deal between Japan and the European Union took effect recently. During the talks, Abe and Morawiecki shared the view that North Korea must respect U.N. Security Council resolutions on the country’s nuclear development, Japanese officials said. Abe also sought Poland’s cooperation in helping resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, a request Morawiecki accepted.

shinzo abe
north korea
italy
trade
infrastructure
north korea nuclear crisis
slovakia
belt and road
giuseppe conte


Think about not taking the wheel, says man whose wife and child were killed in Tokyo by elderly driver

Abstract: A man who lost his wife and daughter in a Tokyo car accident involving an elderly driver expressed his deep sorrow Wednesday for being deprived of the family’s future and called on people to reconsider whether they should drive if safety cannot be ensured. “I had believed I would watch my daughter grow up and become an adult, and that I would spend the rest of my days together with my wife until the end of our natural lives,” the 32-year-old man said at a news conference in Tokyo, while asking not to be named. “Our future was lost in the blink of an eye.” The man’s wife, Mana Matsunaga, 31, and their daughter, Riko, 3, were killed Friday when a car driven by 87-year-old Kozo Iizuka ignored red traffic signals and rammed into their bicycle, while also hitting others, before crashing into a garbage truck 150 meters down the road. The driver and nine others were injured in the collision, which police say may have been caused by human error. Police initially put the number of injured at eight, but increased the figure to 10 on Wednesday. The incident has again stirred debate on how to prevent crashes involving elderly drivers in an aging country. “If there is anyone who is worried, even in the slightest degree, I want the person to think about the option of not driving. I want people around to engage with the person and think about the issue within the family,” the man said. He said his wish is to see society discuss the issue so similar accidents will not be repeated. He also said he provided photos of his wife and daughter to the media because he wanted people to “feel” the existence of his wife, who was living the best she could, and his child, who was only able to live for three years. “Then, people may be reminded of the two when they think they are on the verge of dangerous driving and rethink” their decision, he said. According to police, Iizuka said his accelerator became stuck but there has been no evidence so far that its movement was impeded. Police don’t believe he was under the influence of alcohol or medication at the time. Police said Sunday that Iizuka may have panicked when he first hit a guardrail, which then snowballed into a series of collisions. The number of fatal traffic accidents has been declining in recent years, but crashes deemed to be caused by people aged 75 or above increased to 460 in 2018, up 42 from a year earlier. Of the 460, 136 cases involved drivers who mixed up the brake and gas pedals, or made steering errors. Under a 2017 revised traffic law, people aged 75 or older are obliged to see a doctor in the case a cognitive function test, taken when they seek to renew their driver’s licenses, suggests the risk of dementia. Dementia patients have their licenses suspended or rescinded. Iizuka, who was once head of the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, part of the now-defunct Ministry of International Trade and Industry, took a cognitive function test in 2017, according to investigative sources. No problems were observed at the time. The number of people who have voluntarily returned their licenses has been on the rise, but a police official said it is difficult to strongly urge elderly drivers to do so, especially in areas where cars play an important role in their daily lives.

tokyo
elderly
ikebukuro
traffic accidents
kozo iizuka
mana matsunaga


Families and survivors mark anniversary of 2005 Amagasaki derailment that killed 107

Abstract: KOBE - Some 500 survivors and family members of victims of a 2005 train derailment that killed 107 people gathered Thursday to mark the 14th anniversary of the crash at a ceremony, which was held for the first time at a newly built memorial facility. West Japan Railway Co. hosted the ceremony in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, with the company’s president vowing to prevent a similar accident from ever occurring again. “We have renewed our determination that each one of our employees will create a safe and secure railway,” President Tatsuo Kijima said. “It is our most important mission not to forget the accident, to keep in mind the regrets and lessons learned and to continue to be a safe railway operator in the future,” the president said, noting that nearly half of JR West’s 27,000 employees joined the company after the incident. On April 25, 2005, a rush-hour commuter train on the Fukuchiyama Line derailed after entering a curved section of the track when traveling well in excess of its maximum permitted speed. It crashed into a condominium building at 9:18 a.m., killing 106 passengers and the driver, and injuring 562 people. JR West has built a memorial facility at the accident site where visitors can pray for the dead. It has preserved part of the now-vacant condominium building and covered the location with a roof. The monument put up by the company bears the names of the victims. The facility opened to the public in September last year. “The monument we had been waiting for is completed,” said Yuriko Saito, 76, who lost her 37-year-old son, Mitsuru, in the crash, referring to a cenotaph erected by the railway operator. “I suppose you’ve felt lonely for these 14 long years,” she continued, addressing her late son. “Please watch over the safety (of train operations) and rest in peace.” Until last year, JR West held annual memorial services at a community center in Amagasaki.

rail
amagasaki
jr west
hyogo
anniversaries
fukuchiyama line
rail accidents


Security to be tightened in central Tokyo in preparation for Reiwa Era celebrations

Abstract: Thousands of police officers will be deployed next week to enhance security in central Tokyo, as areas surrounding the Imperial Palace are expected to overflow with people celebrating the beginning of the new era on May 1. Extra security measures to tackle potential threats and accidents will be implemented during Emperor Akihito’s abdication on April 30 through the ascension of Crown Prince Naruhito on May 1. “We will endeavor to create a peaceful environment for the Imperial ceremonies,” Metropolitan Police Chief Masamitsu Miura told a meeting Wednesday. “We will not allow troublesome incidents to affect (them).” Ceremonies for the abdication and the ascension will take place at the palace during the two days, with well-wishers allowed entry to congratulate the new Emperor on May 4. Extra security measures around the palace on the two days and May 4 will include the dispatch of the Emergency Response Team and a force for handling drones. The police will also increase car inspections and searches for suspicious objects. With many restaurants in the capital planning countdown events from April 30 to May 1 to celebrate the change of the era, large crowds are expected to flock to the Shibuya shopping and entertainment district, similar to those seen at Halloween and New Year’s. The beginning of the Reiwa Era is expected to be quite different from Emperor Akihito’s ascension and the start of the Heisei Era more than 30 years ago, when the country was mourning the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously known as Emperor Showa. “Unlike the somber mood and attire seen during the beginning of the Heisei Era, there is a possibility that things may become disorderly,” a police official said. In order to prevent potential accidents, the police will restrict access to the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace from 6 p.m. on April 30 until 5 a.m. the next day. However, a large number of people are expected to line the streets to watch Crown Prince Naruhito as he goes to the Imperial Palace from the Akasaka Estate.

tokyo
security
crown prince
imperial palace
abdication
police
reiwa


Police raid over 40 offices of Japan Life, bankrupt firm suspected of defrauding elderly customers

Abstract: Police on Thursday conducted a raid on offices of Japan Life Co., a bankrupt company suspected of having engaged in a fraudulent rental business, for allegedly failing to inform a customer in 2017 about its excessive debts when concluding a contract, an investigative source said. The police searched some 30 locations in Tokyo and 11 other prefectures in connection with the case. The company went under in March 2018, with debts estimated at ¥240.5 billion as of March 2017, according to a credit research firm. The Tokyo-based company allegedly encouraged buyers, mainly elderly people, of its magnetic necklaces costing several million yen and other health items to become so-called rental owners. Under the plan, the company is suspected of entering into a contract with customers, promising to pay them 6 percent of the purchase price of the goods as an annual rental fee if they lent their purchased products to others. Thursday’s raids were conducted on suspicion the company made a contract with a Tokyo woman in her 60s in August 2017 while deliberately concealing the fact that it had excessive liabilities, according to the source. The company had about 7,000 creditors in Japan and some 400 in Hong Kong. A number of damages suits have been filed across Japan against former executives and other senior officials of Japan Life. In March last year, the Tokyo District Court decided to start bankruptcy proceedings against the company after the Consumer Affairs Agency ordered Japan Life to suspend part of its operations four times in the year to December 2017 over the dubious practice.


Journalist sues city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence by senior official

Abstract: A journalist Thursday filed a damages lawsuit against the city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence during her newsgathering activities by a senior municipal official, who has since taken his own life. The suit was filed with Nagasaki District Court. She is seeking some ¥35 million in damages. According to her complaint, the journalist was sexually assaulted in Nagasaki in late July 2007 by the head of the city government’s division handling affairs related to victims and survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The man killed himself after the city government started internal investigations. The journalist, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, was also the target of rumors due to remarks by another senior Nagasaki official who saw her behavior as a problem, according to the complaint. Recognizing human rights violations, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations recommended that the city apologize and take preventive measures in February 2014. But the city rejected the recommendations, prompting the journalist to file the suit, according to her lawyers. The journalist issued a statement, saying she is still traumatized by the local government’s attitude. “I hear that other female journalists suffered sexual violence,” she said, expressing hope that it will become easier for victims of sexual violence to receive assistance. Mayor Tomihisa Taue declined to comment, only saying that the city government will respond after examining the complaint.

media
courts
nagasaki
journalism
sex crimes
local government


Police can use wiretapping devices to decrypt and record at prefectural HQs across Japan from June

Abstract: The National Police Agency revised wiretapping regulations Thursday, enabling investigators from June 1 to listen in on phone conversations while at headquarters of prefectural police departments without the presence of officials from telecommunications carriers. Under previous rules, investigators had been conducting such operations at telecom carriers’ facilities, but the number of places where it was possible to carry out the task was limited, leading to a long waiting list for police. The changes to the regulations were made by the NPA in line with a new law, which passed the Diet in 2016 and will go into effect June 1 and expand the scope of crimes that can be investigated using wiretaps. The legislation is expected to help police more swiftly investigate organized crimes, such as systematic fraud carried out over the phone, but critics argue the police could abuse their new powers and invade personal privacy. However, they will still need to obtain warrants in order to gain access to the wiretapping devices, which will be kept at NPA outlets and information and communication departments of prefectural police. Wiretapping instructors — a newly created position to address concerns — will monitor whether investigations are being conducted appropriately, the police said. For each criminal case, an instructor will be assigned from among chief inspectors and higher-ranking officials. A total of 141 wiretapping devices will have been installed across the country by June 1 and another 47 are due to be added by the end of March next year. The new device receives encrypted data from carriers before deciphering it. Previously, police investigators could only listen to real-time conversations, but they will now have the ability to record them. Since the original wiretapping law entered into force in 2000, police have used wiretaps in 145 cases, which led to the arrests of 857 people, according to the Justice Ministry.

yakuza
organized crime
privacy
phones
wiretapping
npa
surveillance
police


Not so fast: Trump's Alaska drilling study slammed by U.S. wildlife regulator

Abstract: NEW YORK - The Trump administration failed to adequately consider oil spills, climate change and the welfare of polar bears in its expedited study of proposed drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to comments published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week. The unusually harsh criticism from federal wildlife regulators could deal a blow to one of the most high-profile items in President Donald Trump’s energy agenda, and reflects the pitfalls of the administration’s drive to speed up big projects with quicker, shorter environmental studies. The Interior Department wants to hold its first lease sale of at least 400,000 acres in ANWR, America’s largest wildlife sanctuary, later this year, but could face lawsuits if its permitting process is flawed. The Fish & Wildlife Service said the ANWR Coastal Plain draft environmental impact study (EIS) failed to include oil spill response plans, analyze the effects of climate change on the Arctic, or ensure that surveys of polar bear denning habitats are required. The Interior subagency also listed dozens of other information gaps in its 59 pages of comments and implied that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management wrote the study without properly consulting wildlife regulators. “The Service has managed the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its resources for several decades and has information and expertise that is valuable in formulating a final EIS that can withstand the scrutiny of legal sufficiency,” the agency’s Alaska director, Gregory Siekaniec, wrote. The Fish & Wildlife Service declined to provide further comment. The Interior Department said its Bureau of Land Management had received thousands of comments on the draft study, all of which would be considered. “BLM has an obligation to consider all of these comments — including those from its sister agency (Fish & Wildlife) — and anticipates they will inform the Final EIS in multiple ways,” spokeswoman Molly Block said in an email. BLM completed the draft environmental impact study at the end of December, after Trump expressed an interest in opening the zone to drilling. The comment period ended on March 13. The study was among the first of its kind since Trump’s Interior Department in 2017 issued an order that assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act be completed within one year and be no longer than 150 pages. NEPA studies under past administrations have taken years and filled out thousands of pages, a major source of frustration for drillers, miners and other industries that argue the process creates unnecessary delays. Experts said the effort to streamline environmental permitting, however, could also cause problems. “Imposing the timelines and page limits will mean significant impacts go un-analyzed. Tribal consultation and coordination will likely get shortchanged, important scientific data will not be considered, and the public’s ability to provide meaningful input on alternative courses of action will be compromised,” said Geoff Haskett, former Fish & Wildlife Service director for Alaska and president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. ANWR covers some 19 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope, home to bears, caribou, lynx and muskox, and overlying around 16 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, according to federal officials. It has been a lightning rod of contention between energy companies that want to develop it and conservationists that want to protect it since the 1970s.

gas
oil
global warming
environment
alaska
donald trump
polar bears
oil spills
arctic national wildlife refuge


Japan urges China to 'graduate from' ADB loans, as finance chiefs consider adding yen and yuan to crisis pool

Abstract: NADI, FIJI - Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday he told his Chinese counterpart, Liu Kun, that China should no longer depend on loans from the Asian Development Bank. China must “graduate from” ADB loans, Aso told a news conference after holding talks with Liu on the sidelines of an annual ADB conference that opened in the Fiji resort city of Nadi the same day. Aso said he finds it problematic that China, while taking loans from the ADB as a developing country, makes excessive loans to emerging economies, which causes some of them to face repayment difficulties. “It’s the same as excessive lending by consumer credit companies,” he added, noting that some developing countries may not realize the interest commitments they are taking on along with the debt burden. China’s 99-year lease of the port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, was one example, Aso said. By criticizing Beijing’s stance, Aso apparently aims to pave the way for the ADB to reduce its loans to China and allocate more funds to emerging countries that need financing for infrastructure development. Developing a method to enable low-income countries to continue repaying their loans has become an issue in relation to China’s “Belt and Road” regional development initiative. On that matter, Aso and Liu discussed ways to develop guiding principles for high-quality infrastructure investment based on repayable loans. “We had arguments but could gradually have calm discussions,” Aso told the news conference, suggesting that the two sides had been able to meet each other halfway on some areas. Japan and China are expected to continue talks on the issue. The two finance ministers apparently remained apart on ways to assess the circumstances of borrower countries. Such issues are also likely to be discussed at a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors set to be held in Fukuoka in June. At a meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 2017, G20 financial officials adopted operational guidelines for sustainable financing. Japan plans to ask its G20 counterparts, including China, to check independently on whether they are following these guidelines. Meanwhile, Asian finance chiefs agreed Thursday to consider the yen and Chinese yuan for currency swap arrangements in addition to the U.S. dollar in an effort to deal with possible financial crises, while also rejecting protectionism amid U.S.-China trade tensions. The addition of local currencies to swap agreements, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, are “one enhancement option,” the finance ministers and central bank governors of Japan, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations wrote in a joint statement following their meeting in Fiji. The Chiang Mai Initiative is a U.S. dollar-denominated multilateral currency swap arrangement under which member countries facing short-term liquidity shortages can access a pool of dollars in exchange for their currencies. The initiative was launched in 2000 with the aim of preventing a repeat of the 1997 Asian currency crisis. Members are now considering adding the Japanese and Chinese currencies to the $240 billion safety net in a bid to reduce its overreliance on the dollar. The move is expected to help internationalize the yen and the yuan, while expanding the economic clout of Japan and China in the region. But it is unclear whether the United States would accept such a development. The participants also shared their concerns about negative impacts on economies in the region from the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. “We reaffirm our commitment to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system and open regionalism, while resisting all forms of protectionism,” the joint statement said.

china
yen
taro aso
adb
banks
development
yuan
loans
currencies
lui kun


Trump decided to do Abe a favor and delay Japan-U.S. trade talks until after poll, Time reports

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Full trade talks between Japan and the United States are likely to be held after this summer’s Upper House election, U.S. magazine Time has reported. U.S. President Donald Trump did Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a favor during their meeting late last month by offering to push back the start of full bilateral trade talks until after the House of Councilors election, the magazine quoted U.S. officials as saying. Trump values his relationship with Abe, and his decision to ignore the advice of his chief negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, to negotiate Japanese auto exports and U.S. farm products at the most recent summit is “a reflection of that personal touch,” according to Time. At the summit, Japan’s representatives are believed to have told Washington that Tokyo wants to minimize the impact on the Upper House election of talks around opening markets for farm products and autos, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Japan and the U.S. kicked off the trade talks in April. While bilateral working-level discussions on tariff cuts and their elimination for individual products are expected to begin later this month, a final accord is highly likely to be delayed until after the election, the sources said. Meanwhile, Trump “has not let go of his threat” to impose 25 percent tariffs on Japanese vehicles unless Japan opens its markets further to U.S. beef and other agricultural products, the magazine said. Trump faces a May 18 deadline for deciding on the additional tariffs on vehicles from Japan and other countries for national security reasons. But he could delay the decision “by as much as 180 days,” according to Time. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Tuesday he is seeking a swift agreement with Japan on tariff cuts for farm goods, hopefully by the end of May. “(We want) maybe not a comprehensive type of bilateral trade negotiation but certainly one that seals down the agricultural issues that we are very concerned about, and I think we can get that done quickly and hopefully by the time the president visits Japan,” Perdue told reporters in Washington. Perdue said he talks with Lighthizer “on a frequent basis,” and that the chief U.S. trade negotiator “is very much interested in sealing the deal sooner rather than later.”

agriculture
trade
elections
carmakers
tariffs
u.s.-japan relations
donald trump


Global security officials meet to hammer out united 5G security approach

Abstract: PRAGUE - Global cooperation is key to ensuring the security of 5G networks, cyber security officials said on Thursday at a meeting in Prague aimed at hammering out how to combat threats as nations begin rolling out next-generation telecoms equipment. The United States has been seeking to limit the role of Chinese telecom equipment makers such as Huawei Technologies in building 5G networks due to fears they could be used by Beijing for spying. Huawei has denied the allegations. Officials say they hope to conclude the meeting — attended by representatives from 30 European Union, NATO and countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia — with an outline of practices that could form a basis for a coordinated approach to shared security and policy measures. Russia, China and Huawei were not invited, although a number of participants said no single company or country was being singled out. “It is an attempt to widen the discussion to a platform that should involve the entire Western civilization,” said one diplomatic source, adding that a non-binding summary by the chair to be issued on Friday was expected to provide principles for further discussions. Conclusions from the conference would be informal as some participating countries were not ready to sign any documents in Prague because they had not concluded debates about the issue at home, another diplomatic source said. A draft document seen by Reuters showed participants were discussing setting up certain security conditions for vendors that Chinese providers could find difficult to meet. “Risk assessments of supplier’s products should take into account all relevant factors, including applicable legal environment and other aspects of a supplier’s ecosystem,” the draft said. Huawei said it hoped the gathering would lead to a push for a more scientific and “unemotive” way of approaching technology. “We fully support international standards, international verification that is based on facts and evidence,” Huawei Senior Vice President and Global Cyber Security & Privacy Officer John Suffolk told reporters. The security issue is crucial because of 5G’s leading role in internet-connected products ranging from self-driving cars and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence. If underlying technology for 5G connectivity is vulnerable, it could allow hackers to exploit such products to spy or disrupt them. Europe — where Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal are all preparing to auction 5G licences this year — has emerged as a key battle over Huawei’s next-generation technology. Timo Koster, the Dutch government’s top diplomatic official for cybersecurity, said any global measures should be in line with European Commission requirements issued in March to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks. “We need to find a balance between national security on the one hand and economic interests that we have on the other hand,” Koster said.

china
europe
u.s .
russia
eu
cybersecurity
telecoms
huawei
japan
5g


Disney promotes Alan Bergman to studio co-chairman; May 4 officially declared 'Star Wars Day'

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - Walt Disney Co. elevated Alan Bergman to co-chairman of its film division, putting the longtime company veteran in line to potentially lead Hollywood’s most-successful movie business. Bergman, 53, was promoted to co-chairman alongside Alan Horn, 76, who was given the added title of chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Studios after leading the division to unprecedented box-office heights. They will jointly oversee Disney’s film, music and theater operations, as well as its marketing and distribution globally, the company said Wednesday. After joining Disney in 2012, Horn led the Burbank, California-based studio on a stellar run, marked by huge hits from Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment and Pixar, all acquired businesses. Bergman’s elevation coincides with the $71 billion purchase of entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox, which greatly expands the slate Disney must manage, including “Avatar” movies. “Seven years ago, I had the good fortune of hiring Alan Horn as chairman of our studios, and since then, our Studio Entertainment group has delivered creative excellence and tremendous box office success,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “The new ‘co-chair’ structure formally recognizes the powerful partnership behind one of the most successful eras in our studios’ history and ensures we remain focused on creating extraordinary entertainment.” Bergman has been with Disney since 1996 and has been president of the Walt Disney Studios since 2005. He will continue to oversee the studios’ business groups, including operations, technology, business and legal affairs, labor relations, and finance, while Horn guides the overarching creative strategy. Disney hired Horn from Warner Bros., which had led the box office for years. There are no plans for him to retire, but the elevation of Bergman marks a potential longer-term succession plan for the studio. With films like “Avengers: Endgame” Disney has set new box-office records, earning over $1.3 billion in just a few days since its release. This year the studio is on track to challenge its own record-breaking 2018. The slate includes the final installment of its “Star Wars” trilogy, a remake of “The Lion King” and a sequel to “Frozen.” Under the current leadership, Disney became the first and only studio to cross the $7 billion mark at the global box office. In related news, the California Legislature voted Thursday to declare May 4 “Star Wars Day” in recognition of a Disneyland theme park slated to open later this month. It’s a play on the Star Wars’ phrase “may the force be with you.” The resolution by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Daly says it’s the largest single-site expansion in the park’s history and could generate $14 million in tax revenue for the city of Anaheim annually. The resolution also recognizes the Walt Disney Company’s “decades-long record of enhancing the quality of life for people in California and beyond.” A charity group that dresses up as Stormtroopers are at the Capitol and a hot air balloon that looked like Yoda flew outside.

marvel
walt disney co .
pixar
lucasfilm
alan bergman
alan horn


Sexual assaults spike 38% in U.S. military, hitting new record

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday the estimated number of sexual assaults in the military climbed nearly 38 percent in 2018 compared with a survey two years earlier, data that critics say laid bare broken Pentagon promises of a crackdown. The Pentagon said there were 6,053 reports of sexual assaults last year, according to an anonymous, bi-annual survey. It is a record number and the highest since the U.S. military began collecting this kind of survey data in 2004. Taking into consideration unreported cases as well, the military survey estimated 20,500 male and female service members experienced some kind of sexual assault last year. The estimated number in 2016 was 14,900. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic presidential candidate who has been an advocate for overhauling rules for prosecution of sex crimes in the U.S. military, said the data made clear that it was time for Congress to act. “Sexual assaults continue to increase dramatically while the number of cases going to trial goes down,” she said. “The status quo is not working.” The report found that the odds of a military woman between the ages of 17 and 20 being sexually assaulted was 1 in 8. “It is time for Congress to stop giving the failing military leadership the benefit of doubt and pass real reform empowering military prosecutors. Enough is enough,” said Don Christensen, a retired colonel and former chief Air Force prosecutor who now leads the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders. The Pentagon said it was going to make changes to deal with the spike. “To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,” acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a memo. “This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on. We must, and will, do better.” In a briefing on Thursday, a senior official told reporters that the Pentagon was looking to make sexual harassment a stand-alone crime.

congress
u.s. military
pentagon
sex crimes
kirsten gillibrand


On National Day of Prayer, Trump defends clinicians' right to refuse to perform abortions

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is putting the finishing touches on a regulation to protect the rights of clinicians who object to participating in abortions. President Donald Trump made the announcement Thursday during a speech in the White House Rose Garden to mark the National Day of Prayer. According to an earlier draft from the Department of Health and Human Services, the rule would require that hospitals, universities, clinics and other institutions that receive funding from federal programs certify that they comply with some 25 federal laws protecting conscience and religious rights. Most of these laws address medical procedures such as abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide. The conscience rule is a priority for religious conservatives. Some critics fear the rule could become a pretext for denying medical care to LGBT people.


Florida passes measure to ban 'sanctuary cities'

Abstract: MIAMI - Lawmakers in Florida on Thursday passed a bill prohibiting so-called sanctuary cities, requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with immigration authorities. The measure comes as President Donald Trump pushes policies aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, while frequently demonizing the migrants as criminals. Florida’s lower house passed the bill 68-45 and it was sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally who campaigned on taking a tough stance against illegal immigration. “We are a stronger state when we protect our residents, foster safe communities and respect the work of law enforcement at every level,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Local law enforcement agencies can and should work with the federal government to ensure that accountability and justice are one in our state.” The soon-to-be law requires police and other local law enforcement agencies to comply with federal agencies’ order of an “immigration detainer” — holding a person who is believed to be a “removable alien” under federal law. In sanctuary cities — such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — local law enforcement limit cooperation with U.S. immigration officials. Florida has no sanctuary cities, according to local media. “This bill is about respecting the rule of law,” said Sen. Joe Gruters, who sponsored the legislation and also chairs the Republican Party of Florida. “It’s about cooperating with the federal government, and it’s about promoting public safety.” The American Civil Liberties Union issued a “travel alert” for Florida, a hub for Latin American immigration and home to large communities of Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians. “Both Florida residents, citizens and non-citizens, and travelers could face risks of being racially profiled and being detained without probable cause,” it said. The group recommended that all residents memorize the phone number of an immigration lawyer. According to the U.S. Census, immigrants make up 20 percent of Florida’s population, although in large cities like Miami and Orlando the ratio is closer to half.


SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in ground test, and site still inaccessible due to toxic fuel

Abstract: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SpaceX has confirmed its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago. A company vice president told reporters Friday it’s too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the capsule’s March space flight contributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire. SpaceX still cannot access the test stand at Cape Canaveral, Florida, because of toxic fuel contamination. Vice President Hans Koenigsmann says the cargo version of the Dragon capsule, meanwhile, is safe to fly to the International Space Station. SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early Friday morning. The flight was delayed by a power problem that occurred at the station Monday and was fixed Thursday.

iss
nasa
space
spacex
falcon
air accidents