Senate Judiciary Committee senators renew attempt to protect special counsel Robert Mueller

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are renewing their attempt to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s job, sending a signal to President Donald Trump as he keeps up his criticism of Mueller’s Russia investigation. The legislation, sponsored by incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and three other members, is expected to be introduced this week. The same bill was approved by the panel in April but later blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said it was unnecessary and who allowed the legislation to expire at the end of the year. But there will be more pressure on senators this Congress as Democrats now have the House majority and have already introduced a similar bill. Graham is a friend and ally of the president’s but has frequently warned him not to mess with Mueller’s job. “I think this will serve the country well,” Graham said in a joint statement ahead of the bill’s introduction. Both Graham and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, the bill’s other Republican sponsor, have said they don’t think Trump will move to have Mueller fired. “I still believe that is true,” Tillis said in the statement. “However, I also believe this bipartisan legislation is good government policy with enduring value across the current and future administrations.” The legislation will allow any fired special counsel to seek a judicial review within 10 days of removal and puts into law existing Justice Department regulations that a special counsel can only be fired for good cause. It would also order that staff remain and documents be preserved while the matter is pending. Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey are also sponsors of the bill. “This is a time when Republicans and Democrats need to stand up and protect the rule of law in this country,” Coons said in the statement. Trump regularly criticizes Mueller’s Russia investigation on Twitter, variously calling it a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.” In December, he suggested he would do a counter-report to challenge Mueller’s probe into contact Trump’s Republican presidential campaign had with Russia. On Dec. 3, he tweeted that Mueller and his staff “only want lies.” Graham, Tillis, Coons and Booker originally introduced bills in the summer of 2017 after Trump started to criticize the special counsel. They agreed on a compromise version in early 2018, and the panel approved it with the support of four Republicans on the panel. One of those Republicans, former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, tried to force McConnell to pass the bill in December by saying he would vote against all judicial nominees at the end of the year. But McConnell refused to consider the legislation. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler introduced a companion bill in the House last week, his first major action as chairman.

u.s. senate
robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe


French jihadi in court over deadly 2014 Brussels Jewish museum attack

Abstract: BRUSSELS - A French jihadi appeared in court on Monday as a jury was chosen for his trial for shooting dead four people at a Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014. Mehdi Nemmouche, the first jihadi to return from Syria’s battlefields to allegedly launch an attack on European soil, faces a life sentence if convicted of the killings in the Belgian capital on May 24, 2014. Both Nemmouche, 33, and Nacer Bendrer, a fellow Frenchman aged 30 who allegedly supplied the weapons, deny charges of “terrorist murder. Nemmouche, wearing a blue sweater, spoke only to confirm his identity as the hearing began at 10:30 a.m. (0930 GMT). “Nemmouche, Mehdi, 33 years old, unemployed,” he told the criminal court in Brussels before it selected a jury of eight men and four women for the trial, which opens on Thursday. More than 100 witnesses are due to testify at the trial, which will be attended by the victims’ families and Jewish community leaders, who have denounced the anti-Semitic nature of the attack. And more than 300 Belgian and foreign journalists have registered to cover the proceedings, which could last until the end of February. The deadly attack, which lasted only 82 seconds, shocked Belgium and the world. Firing a pistol and then an assault rifle, the gunman killed two Israeli tourists, a French volunteer and a Belgian receptionist at the Jewish Museum. Nemmouche — born to a family of Algerian origin in the northern French town of Roubaix — was arrested six days after the attack. He was caught in the southern French port city of Marseille after arriving on a bus from Brussels, carrying a handgun and an assault rifle. Before the attack, Nemmouche is said to have fought in Syria as part of a jihadi faction and is also accused of acting as a jailer of kidnapped French journalists. Investigators say he was in Syria from 2013 to 2014, where he met Najim Laachraoui, a member of the gang that went on to carry out suicide bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people in March 2016. That same Brussels cell is also alleged to have coordinated and sent jihadis to carry out the Paris massacre of Nov. 13, 2015, in which 130 people were killed and hundreds more wounded. Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, whose activities in Syria and Iraq lured thousands of jihadis from Europe. Nemmouche and Bendrer, investigators say, met nearly a decade ago while in prison in southern France, where they were both described as “radicalized” inmates who tried to win others over. Bendrer was arrested in Marseille seven months after the Jewish Museum attack and charged as Nemmouche’s accomplice. Although he was jailed for five years in September by a French court for attempted extortion, he was transferred to Belgium for the trial. Nemmouche is expected to face a separate trial in France for holding French journalists hostage in Syria. The former hostages are expected to testify about Nemmouche’s character during the Brussels trial, despite the defense arguing that theirs is a separate case. Belgian Jewish leader Yohan Benizri told AFP he feared Nemmouche’s lawyers Sebastien Courtoy and Henri Laquay will try to “play down” the anti-Semitic nature of the museum attack. The defense team, Benizri added, may even try to “twist” the facts by repeating “totally far-fetched” claims that Israel’s intelligence service Mossad staged the attack. “We don’t want Mehdi Nemmouche to become a star. He is a terrorist,” said Benizri, who heads the Belgian Federation of Jewish Organizations. Courtoy himself suggested Israeli agents could be behind the attack when he spoke at a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 20. While Jewish groups say the evidence against Nemmouche is “overwhelming,” Courtoy argued “a trap” was sprung on his client.

terrorism
islamic state
brussels
paris attack
mehdi nemmouche
jewish museum


20-year-old suspect arrested over massive hack of German politicians' data

Abstract: BERLIN - German police said Tuesday they arrested a 20-year-old suspect in the case of private data stolen from hundreds of politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and published online. “The prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt, the Central Office for Fighting Internet and Computer Crime and the Federal Police Office (BKA) searched the apartment of a 20-year-old suspect on January 6 and took him into custody,” the BKA said in a statement. Media reports said the suspect, who was detained in the western state of Hesse, had confessed to authorities and was believed to have acted alone. The BKA declined to comment. It announced a news conference at midday to give further details on the probe into the remarkable breach of cybersecurity, which has piled political pressure on the government. The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was first released via Twitter in December but its spread gathered pace last week. Among the estimated 1,000 people affected were members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the European Parliament as well as regional and local assemblies. Deputies from all parties represented in the Bundestag were targeted with the exception of the far-right Alternative for Germany, the largest opposition group in parliament. News weekly Der Spiegel reported that police had tracked down the suspect based on witness accounts and “digital evidence” left online. They said he had destroyed his computer by the time they raided his home. Although the leak was sweeping, there is no evidence that sensitive information reached the public, investigators and the interior ministry have said. In the vast majority of cases, only basic contact information was made available. The leak has nevertheless been deeply embarrassing for the political class, exposing a naive and sometimes reckless use of computer networks, and turned up the heat on the unpopular interior minister, Horst Seehofer. Critics said the ministry and relevant authorities were slow in informing affected politicians of the leak and moving to stop it. IT experts said it was only by luck that the data theft had not been far more damaging. Seehofer is due to speak to reporters in the afternoon. Beyond politicians, the leak also exposed the private data of celebrities and journalists, including chats and voicemail messages from spouses and children of those targeted. The information derived both from social media and private cloud data. The Twitter account @_0rbit published the links last month, along the lines of an advent calendar with each link to new information hidden behind a “door.” The account, which calls itself G0d and has now been suspended by Twitter, was opened in mid-2017 and purportedly has more than 18,000 followers. It described its activities as “security researching,” “artist” and “satire and irony” and said it was based in Hamburg. Justice Minister Katarina Barley, who last week had called the data dump an attack on “our democracy and its institutions,” called on internet service providers and social networks “to shut down accounts as soon as they have been hacked.” She told the daily Rheinische Post that her ministry was examining what legal action it could take to press firms into more decisive measures against cyberattacks. And she called for an EU seal of approval for best practice in IT security.


Turkish president slams U.S. national security advisor's 'unacceptable' comments on Syrian Kurdish militia

Abstract: ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called comments by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton over the Syrian Kurdish militia a “grave mistake,” highlighting tensions between Ankara and Washington. Erdogan’s comments came shortly after Bolton held more than two hours of talks in the Turkish capital with Erdogan’s adviser Ibrahim Kalin, in a key meeting focusing on the surprise U.S. decision to withdraw troops from Syria. “It is not possible to accept or swallow the message given by Bolton from Israel,” Erdogan told his party’s lawmakers in parliament. Tensions erupted ahead of the Ankara talks after Bolton said Sunday in Israel the retreat was also conditional on the safety of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Turkey. A furious Erdogan said: “John Bolton has made a grave mistake on this issue.” U.S. President Donald Trump caused a political storm last month when he announced the troop pullout because the battle against the Islamic State group had been won. “President Trump made the right call to withdraw from Syria,” Erdogan said in a column published in the New York Times, outlining Turkey’s “comprehensive strategy” to eliminate the causes of radicalization in the war-torn country. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also drew wrath of the Turkish leadership when he said Washington will ensure Ankara does not “slaughter” Kurds in Syria as American troops withdraw. Erdogan lambasted the comments Tuesday and said: “That Turkey targets the Kurds is the most vile, the most dishonorable, the ugliest and the cheapest slander.” Bolton held “productive” talks with Kalin on Tuesday morning to discuss how the withdrawal would take place, his spokesman said in a statement shared on Twitter following the meeting. “They had a productive discussion of the president’s decision to withdraw at a proper pace from northeast Syria, identified further issues for dialogue,” Garrett Marquis said. Joining Bolton were General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the anti-Islamic State group envoy James Jeffrey. There was no meeting with Bolton on Erdogan’s schedule. When Trump first announced the pullout of 2,000 ground troops on Dec. 19, Ankara was a lonely voice among NATO allies welcoming the decision. Erdogan has promised Trump that Turkey could finish off the remnants of IS in Syria. “A military victory against the terrorist group is a mere first step,” he said in the New York Times, warning against premature declarations of victory. Trump said Monday the fight against IS was not over. “We will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else that is prudent and necessary!” he tweeted. Nicholas Heras, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, said Ankara would need support from Washington to completely eradicate IS, “to the point where the U.S. military would essentially still be inside Syria.” The U.S. had been working closely with the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance. But U.S.-Turkey relations have been especially rocky over American military support to the YPG. Ankara says the YPG is a “terrorist offshoot” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The PKK is proscribed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. And Erdogan’s comments on Tuesday showed disagreements still existed over the future of the YPG. The Turkish leader chastised Washington for bringing a new definition to terror. “There cannot be such a thing,” he said, assuring that Ankara would not make any concessions in the fight against the YPG. “Those who are in the terror corridor in Syria will learn necessary lessons,” he said. “To us, there is no little difference between the YPG and the PKK.” Last month, Erdogan threatened to launch a cross-border operation against the YPG, east of the Euphrates River, which he said later would be delayed after Trump’s order. But Turkey has sent military convoys to its border with Syria and inside the war-ravaged country. Turkish military analyst Metin Gurcan said Ankara was currently being held back on the operation by the issue of airspace, which was on the agenda for Tuesday’s talks. Gurcan said it was not clear whether the U.S. would withdraw from the airspace, but even if Washington did so, Ankara would need the support of Moscow for any operation. Turkish military forces supporting Syrian rebels launched incursions into northern Syria against IS in August 2016 and against the YPG in January 2018.

u.s .
syria
turkey
recep tayyip erdogan
john bolton


Kurdish official asks for Washington's clarifications about planned withdrawal of U.S. troops

Abstract: BEIRUT - Syria’s Kurds are awaiting clarifications from the U.S. over America’s plans to pull out its troops from Syria following comments made by a top White House aide that appeared to counter earlier comments by President Donald Trump, a Syrian Kurdish official said Monday. Speaking from northern Syria on Monday, Badran Ciya Kurd said the Kurds have not been informed of any change in the U.S. position and are in the dark about the latest comments by U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and what they indicate. “We have not been formally or directly notified, all what we heard were media statements,” he said. Bolton, on a visit to Israel on Sunday, said U.S. troops will not leave northeastern Syria until Islamic State (ISIS) group militants are defeated and American-allied Kurdish fighters are protected. The comments appeared to put the brakes on a withdrawal abruptly announced by Trump last month and initially expected to be completed within weeks. While Bolton said there is now no timetable, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to withdrawing U.S. troops, though the president said “I never said we’re doing it that quickly” and added that there will not be a total pullout “until ISIS is gone.” Trump had said in his Dec. 19 withdrawal announcement that U.S. forces “have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” The back and forth is troubling for the Kurds, who have been America’s only partners on the ground in Syria in the fight against IS. Trump’s decision last month drew widespread criticism from allies, led to the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and raised fears over clearing the way for a Turkish assault on the Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders. Bolton arrived in Turkey on Monday, accompanied by the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, for talks with government officials. Bolton said the U.S. wants its Kurdish allies in Syria protected from any planned Turkish offensive — a warning to be delivered to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ciya Kurd said Bolton, through his comments, acknowledged that Turkey is killing the Kurds and that he wants guarantees that this will not happen. “Turkey constitutes a bigger threat to Kurdish existence than Daesh and all international terrorist organizations,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. Nawaf Khalil, who heads the Europe-based Center for Kurdish Studies, said “President Trump’s statement regarding withdrawal of troops led to confusion and mistrust of the American side.” He added that Bolton’s statement “came to fix what should not have been said.” In northern Syria, the Kurdish-led U.S.-backed force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pressed on in their fight against Islamic State militants in their last holdouts in eastern Syria. Civilians continued to flee the area around the town of Hajin near the border with Iraq. In a sign of the lingering threat still posed by the extremist group, IS militants staged an attack in the northern city of Raqqa, killing a civilian and wounding several SDF fighters. The SDF said in a statement that during Monday’s attack an IS fighter blew himself up near an SDF checkpoint. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the suicide attacker first opened fire at an SDF force outside a local department before going inside and blowing himself up, killing five, including four civilians, and wounding eight. SDF fighters captured Raqqa, once the de facto capital of the extremists, in October 2017. Since then IS sleeper cells have occasionally carried out attacks in the city.

u.s .
terrorism
syria
turkey
kurds
recep tayyip erdogan
islamic state
ypg
donald trump
john bolton


Britain stages mass truck jam as practice for chaotic no-deal Brexit

Abstract: LONDON - Like a military operation, the project to test how traffic might flow around southeast England in the event of a no-deal Brexit started before dawn. And like many a military operation, it ran into trouble soon after making contact with reality. The Department for Transport had asked for between 100 and 150 trucks to assemble Monday morning at a disused airfield in Kent. In the event, 89 turned up. Those that were there queued on the runway, waiting to be moved. In 2015, the pro-Brexit U.K. Independence Party proposed reopening Manston Airport, to help the local economy. This was probably not what they meant. For the rest of the morning, the vehicles moved in convoys back and forth to the port of Dover in tests that Britain’s Road Haulage Association said were too limited in scope to replicate the chaotic scenes that could play out if traffic is held up by customs delays after March 29. “This should have been done nine months ago,” RHA policy director Duncan Buchanan said in an interview. “Preparation needs to be phased, needs to be thought through, dealing with thousands of lorries and, very important, dealing with the behavior of individual drivers.” The exercise is designed to test the U.K.’s readiness in case Prime Minister Theresa May fails to get her Brexit deal through Parliament and the country crashes out of the bloc without an agreement to smooth the split. The impact on the transport system — especially goods movements across the U.K. border — would be potentially huge. Trucks are currently carried between Dover and Calais, 25 miles away across the English Channel, with minimal delay. But customs checks, if required, could take up to 45 minutes per vehicle, risking road backups as long as 17 miles. The exercise, known as Operation Brock, is turning the Manston Airport site into a mass holding bay for heavy goods trucks. That’s intended to provide an alternative to Operation Stack, in which trucks are parked on part of the M20 motorway, amid concern that the transport artery could become irretrievably congested in the event of significant delays at the border. “We do not want or expect a no-deal scenario and continue to work hard to deliver a deal with the EU,” the Department for Transport said in a statement. “However, it is the duty of a responsible Government to continue to prepare for all eventualities and contingencies, including a possible no deal.”

transportation
eu
u.k .
trucks
brexit
theresa may


Trial into 2016 killing of Russian envoy in Turkey looms, with U.S.-based Gul among 28 accused

Abstract: ANKARA - Twenty-eight suspects were due to go on trial Tuesday over the assassination of the Russian ambassador two years ago, including a U.S.-based Muslim preacher blamed by Ankara for a failed coup the same year. Andrei Karlov, 62, was shot dead by an off-duty Turkish policeman at a photo exhibition in Ankara on Dec. 19, 2016, in a shock attack that was captured on camera by photographers attending the event. The 22-year-old gunman, Mevlut Mert Altintas, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and “Don’t forget Aleppo,” vowing that those responsible for events in Syria would be held accountable. Altintas was killed shortly after by members of the Turkish special forces. The Ankara prosecutor has charged 16 of the suspects with “premeditated murder with the intention of causing terror,” according to the indictment. The other 12 were charged with “being a member of a terror organization.” Thirteen are currently in pre-trial detention, while it is prosecuting others in absentia. Those not in Turkey include Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher seen as an arch foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and who Ankara blames for the July 2016 coup attempt. Gulen has denied links to both the failed coup and the murder. Turkish officials have alleged that Gulen’s movement organized the murder of Karlov, a married father-of-one, to sow “chaos.” Turkey refers to the organization as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, but followers say it is peaceful, promoting secular education. Another of the suspects named is Serif Ali Tekalan, who headed a university linked to Gulen in Istanbul and now heads the Texas-based North American University. The prosecutor is seeking a variety of penalties for the suspects, including aggravated life sentences, which have replaced the death penalty in Turkey and carry harsher conditions than normal life imprisonment convictions. The indictment says the Gulen movement plotted the murder of Karlov, who had been appointed as ambassador in 2013, to “break off bilateral relations” between Turkey and Russia and bring them to the brink of “hot war.” The Kremlin had previously warned against rushing to any assumptions. Although Moscow does not repeat the Gulen claims, Selim Koru, a Black Sea Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank noted in a report late last year that Russia sent investigators and “if they had different findings, they didn’t say.” Turkey and Russia had a dramatic falling out in November 2015 after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane along the Syrian border. But by the summer of 2016 relations had improved, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan keen to show they are working together to find a solution to the Syrian conflict despite being on opposing sides of the war. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested over alleged links to Gulen since 2016 in a crackdown criticized by human rights groups and Ankara’s Western allies.

murder
russia
turkey
fethullah gulen
andrei karlov


Michigan Uber driver pleads guilty to killing six in 2016 shooting spree, saying app could 'take over' his body

Abstract: KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN - An Uber driver accused of fatally shooting six people in Michigan and wounding two others while on the job pleaded guilty to all charges Monday, after initially blaming the ride sharing company’s app for compelling him to kill. Jason Dalton, 48, was charged with 16 counts, including six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder after his nearly five-hour shooting spree on Feb. 20, 2016, in Kalamazoo, about 150 miles (250 km) west of Detroit. In April 2016, a judge ruled that Dalton was mentally competent to stand trial after psychiatrists determined he understood the charges against him. Two months later, prosecutors said Dalton’s attorney, Eusebio Solis, told them the defendant intended to file a motion to use the insanity defense. After his guilty plea Monday, Dalton faces a life sentence without parole, Kalamazoo Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Getting said in a statement. Dalton submitted his guilty plea while jury selection was taking place in Kalamazoo County Court, where he was standing trial this week. In March 2016, Dalton filed a $10 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the ride-sharing company after telling investigators that Uber’s app had the ability to “take over” his body and compel him to kill. He told police that when he pressed a button on his phone screen, the horned cow head of a devil would appear and give him an assignment that he said would “literally take over” his body, local television station WZZM reported.


U.S. top court rules Exxon must hand over papers to aid probe into what it knew about climate change

Abstract: BOSTON - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Massachusetts’ attorney general to obtain records from Exxon Mobil Corp. to probe whether the oil company for decades concealed its knowledge of the role fossil fuels play in climate change. The justices declined to hear Exxon’s appeal of a ruling by the top court in Massachusetts holding that state Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, had jurisdiction to seek records to probe whether the company misled consumers and investors. The high court’s action marked the latest setback for Exxon in its efforts to halt the Massachusetts investigation and a similar one by New York’s attorney general, who in October filed a lawsuit against the company. New York’s lawsuit accused Exxon of engaging in a systematic scheme to deceive investors about the impact that future climate change regulations could have on its business. Exxon has called the claims “meritless.” The Massachusetts and New York investigations were launched following 2015 news reports that Exxon’s own scientists had determined that fossil fuel combustion must be reduced to mitigate the impact of climate change. Those news reports, by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times, were based on documents from the 1970s and 1980s. Exxon said the documents were not inconsistent with its public positions. Healey in 2016 issued a civil investigative demand to Exxon seeking documents to investigate whether it had violated the state’s consumer protection law through its marketing and sale of fossil fuel products. Exxon said that because it is incorporated in Texas and New Jersey, Healey had no basis to seek documents to conduct a Massachusetts-based investigation. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in April held that jurisdiction existed because of Exxon’s control over advertising conducted for about 300 franchise gas stations operating under the Exxon and Mobil brands in Massachusetts. Exxon has called the Massachusetts and New York investigations politically motivated.

oil
climate change
u.s. supreme court
massachusetts


Islamic State suicide bomber kills five in Syria's Kurd-liberated enclave of Raqqa: monitor

Abstract: BEIRUT - An Islamic State group suicide bomber attacked a center for Kurdish forces in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa on Monday, killing four civilians and an anti-jihadist fighter, a monitor said. The attacker blew himself up after entering the center run by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “A suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt blew himself up inside a YPG center after opening fire on a security checkpoint at its entrance,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. At least four civilians and a YPG fighter were killed in the attack, he added. The YPG forms the backbone an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battling to expel IS from its last redoubt in eastern Syria. IS claimed responsibility for the attack they said targeted a “recruitment center” for Kurdish forces. “The attacker aimed at them with a machine gun then blew up his explosives vest in the middle of them,” it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Backed by the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF has in recent weeks advanced against IS fighters in their last holdout in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor near the Iraqi border. The jihadis are clinging on to a handful of villages in the Euphrates River Valley, including Sousa and Baghouz. They also retain a presence in the country’s vast Badia desert. IS swept across large swaths of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a caliphate across areas under its control. But it has since lost most of that territory to various offensives. The SDF ousted IS fighters from Raqqa in 2017, more than three years after the jihadis overran the city and made it their de-facto Syrian capital. Syria’s war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions more since it erupted in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.

u.s .
terrorism
syria
kurds
islamic state
raqqa
ypg


Amnesty slams India for deporting Rohingya family to Myanmar

Abstract: NEW DELHI - Amnesty International on Monday accused India of disregarding international law after a Rohingya family was deported to Myanmar, where the military is accused of genocide against the stateless Muslim minority. The family of five, who had been in prison in India’s northeastern Assam state since 2013, was handed over to Myanmar authorities on Thursday — the second such deportation in just months after seven men were returned in October. The United Nations expressed concern over the forcible repatriation of the Rohingya while rights groups warned New Delhi was putting the community at serious risk by returning them to Myanmar, where for decades the minority has been targeted in violent pogroms by security forces. The Rohingya are despised by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which refuses to recognize them as citizens and falsely labels them “Bengali” illegal immigrants. They were concentrated in Rakhine state, the epicenter of a Myanmar army offensive that since August 2017 has driven some 720,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh. “The Rohingya population in Rakhine state in Myanmar continue to live under a system of apartheid,” Amnesty India’s Abhirr V. P. said in a statement. “The expulsion of asylum-seekers and refugees amounts to a violation of India’s obligations under customary international law, which prohibits governments from returning people to a territory where they are at risk of serious human rights violations.” India is not a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention. Indian officials say around 40,000 Rohingya are living in the country, where Hindu hard-liners have called for their mass deportation. Around 18,000 Rohingya in India are registered with the United Nations refugee agency. UNHCR said despite repeated requests they were not granted access to the Rohingya family detained in Assam before their deportation. India’s home ministry told parliament last week that 478 Rohingya were arrested between 2015 and 2018, with last year topping the list with 230 detentions along the nation’s borders.

india myanmar genocide amnesty rohingya rakhine deportations


Thousands in Assam state protest bill to grant citizenship to religious minorities except Muslims

Abstract: GAUHATI, INDIA - Thousands of people in northeastern India protested Monday over a proposal to grant citizenship to religious minorities in the region, except Muslims, with critics attacking the bill as prejudiced and a sop to Hindus before elections. Protesters burned copies of the legislation in angry marches across Assam state, where millions have settled in recent decades after fleeing neighboring Muslim-majority nations. The controversial bill will grant citizenship to select groups — including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, but not Muslims — who have moved from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and lived in India for at least six years. The proposal has been hotly contested in Assam, a hilly state that has witnessed violence between settlers and indigenous groups, who say they have lost land and jobs to the newer entrants. “This is just the first phase of our agitation,” said Palash Changmai, the general secretary of a student organization that participated in a march. “Today, we burned copies of the bill and hoisted black flags in different towns and sub-divisions of Assam as a mark of protest.” The legislation could be tabled in parliament as early as Tuesday, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. The fiery opposition to the measure reflects the complex nature of religious and ethnic identity in Assam, a state already embroiled in a separate citizenship controversy. A new registry of citizens compiled in Assam this year forced the state’s 33 million people to submit documents proving they were there before 1971, when millions fled Bangladesh’s independence war. In July a draft registry left 4 million people off the list, effectively rendering them stateless, drawing concern from human rights experts at the United Nations and rights groups. But the new proposal, which would grant Hindus another path to citizenship in Assam, has been criticized for being prejudicial and comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, seeks re-election in national polls expected within months. Critics say the bill, which offers preferential treatment to certain groups seeking citizenship, is a transparent pitch to voters as Hindu-majority India prepares for the world’s largest election. Assam, which is controlled by an alliance led by Modi’s Hindu-right Bharatiya Janata Party, is known for its lush tea estates and rhino sanctuaries. But for decades it has been plagued by violence between tribal and ethnic groups indigenous to the state and settlers from outside the region.

india
citizenship
muslims
narendra modi
hindus
assam


Did China just reveal Kim Jong Un's birth date, one of North Korea's most closely guarded state secrets?

Abstract: Did China just accidentally reveal one of North Korea’s most closely guarded state secrets? In an innocuous-looking message, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper on Tuesday appeared to reveal the birth date of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a tweet by the outlet’s official Twitter account as the young dictator arrived in Beijing earlier in the day for his fourth meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “January 8 is #KimJongUn ‘s 35th birthday, which means he will celebrate his birthday during his January 7 to 10 visit to China,” the tweet said. January 8 is #KimJongUn ‘s 35th birthday, which means he will celebrate his birthday during his January 7 to 10 visit to China. pic.twitter.com/78GMCKTO5l — Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 8, 2019 While the birthdays of Kim’s grandfather and father, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, are already designated national holidays and are often marked with pomp and circumstance, including military parades, patriotic chants and oaths of loyalty to the leaders, his remains unknown in the North. According to media reports, official North Korean calendars even marked Tuesday as a normal workday. Observers say is likely due to his relative youth in a place where one’s age often dictates their levels of respect. Another possible reason, some have posited, is that organizing festivities in the wintertime would be inordinately costly. Yet another possibility is that it simply remains too early in his reign to do so. As the latest in the Kim family dynasty, the current leader ascended to the country’s top post in late 2011, leaving him with relatively few accomplishments and experiences to tout. The closest that North Korea came to acknowledging his birthday was in 2014, when visiting basketball star Dennis Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to him after an exhibition match in Pyongyang. Highlighting just how sensitive the date is, viewers outside of North Korea were able to see video of Rodman’s performance, but domestic audiences were merely told that the former NBA player had “sung him a special song.” Kim’s birth date was first revealed by Japanese national Kenji Fujimoto, Kim Jong Il’s sushi chef for 13 years. South Korea lists it as Jan. 8, but remains unclear on the exact year.

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


Human rights activists call on Australia to accept Saudi woman fleeing alleged abusive family

Abstract: BANGKOK - Human Rights Watch has called on the Australian government to allow entry to a Saudi Arabian woman who is being processed by U.N. refugee authorities in Thailand after fleeing her homeland. Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was detained after arriving in Bangkok on Sunday, and is now under the protection of the U.N.’s refugee agency after refusing to return home. The 18-year-old says she had a visa to continue to Australia, but media reports say the Australian government has now canceled it. Australian officials have not responded to multiple requests for comment. Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch’s Australian director, said that since Australia has expressed concern in the past about women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, it should “come forward and offer protection for this young woman.” Alqunun said she ran away from her family while traveling in Kuwait because they subjected her to physical and psychological abuse. The 18-year-old said she feared she would be killed if repatriated by Thai immigration officials who stopped her during transit. The incident comes as Saudi Arabia faces intense scrutiny over the shocking murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October, which has renewed criticism of the kingdom’s rights record. Thai immigration chief Surachate Hakparn said Sunday that Alqunun was denied entry because of her lack of documents. But he made an abrupt about-face the next day, following a global media frenzy as the young woman pleaded on Twitter for different countries to help her. After announcing that Thailand “will not force her” to leave, Surachate told reporters late Monday that Alqunun would be “allowed to stay” after a meeting with officials from the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. “She is under the care of the UNHCR now but we also sent Thai security to help take care (of her),” Surachate told reporters at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. He said Alqunun had told UNHCR officials she “wants to stay in Thailand for a while while seeking asylum to a third country. The agency “will take five days to consider her status” and another five days to arrange for travel, Surachate said. Following the announcement, a relieved Alqunun tweeted that she felt safe “under UNHCR protection with the agreement of Thailand authorities,” adding that her passport has been returned to her after being taken away Sunday. UNHCR spokesman in Geneva Babar Baloch confirmed Alqunun had “left the airport to a safe place in the city” and said agency officials will interview her once she has had some rest. Surachate had told reporters earlier Monday Alqunun was stopped by immigration officials because Saudi officials had contacted them to say she had fled her family. “Thailand is a land of smiles. We will not send anyone to die,” he said. “We will take care of her as best as we can.” Alqunun had earlier posted a video on Twitter of her barricading her hotel room door with furniture in a bid to stop her deportation from Thailand. She said Saudi and Kuwaiti officials had taken her passport from her when she landed — a claim backed by Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Abdulilah al-Shouaibi, charge d’affaires at the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok, told Saudi-owned TV channel Khalijia that the woman’s father — a senior regional government official — had contacted the diplomatic mission for “help” bringing her back. But he denied that her passport had been seized and that embassy officials were present inside the airport. A Twitter statement from the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok said Alqunun was stopped by Thai authorities for “violating the law.” The ultra-conservative Saudi kingdom has long been criticized for imposing some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women. That includes a guardianship system that allows men to exercise arbitrary authority to make decisions on behalf of their female relatives. In addition to facing punishment for “moral” crimes, women can also become the target of “honor killings” at the hands of their families, activists say. If sent back, Alqunun said she would likely be imprisoned and was “sure 100 percent” her family would kill her. “My family is strict and locked me in a room for six months just for cutting my hair,” she said. HRW’s Robertson said Alqunun”faces grave harm if she is forced back to Saudi Arabia..” “Given Saudi Arabia’s long track record of looking the other way in so-called honor violence incidents, her worry that she could be killed if returned cannot be ignored,” he said. “She has clearly stated that she has renounced Islam, which also puts her at serious risk of prosecution by the Saudi Arabian government.” The UNHCR said that according to the principle of non-refoulement, asylum seekers cannot be returned to their country of origin if their life is under threat.

murder
australia
saudi arabia
thailand
unhcr
honor killings
jamal khashoggi
rahaf mohammed al-qunun


Profit-hungry tiger breeders behind push to lift China's trading ban

Abstract: HONG KONG/HARBIN, CHINA - At the Siberia Tiger Park in the frigid Chinese city of Harbin, visitors can learn about the facility’s successful breeding program — and buy chicken carcasses to toss to around 20 tigers pacing the snow-flecked ground of their enclosure. At the park gates, a shop sells liquor soaked with tiger bones for up to $1,000 a bottle. China has made significant strides in wildlife protection in recent years, including a total ban on ivory and plans to open one of the world’s largest reserves for wild tigers in northeast China in 2020. But it also has formidable, profit-driven wildlife business interests that risk undermining progress on protecting the endangered big cats, conservationists say. “The industry occupies a strategic position which concentrates in the country’s less developed regions where poverty reduction remains a top priority of the local authorities,” said Houston-based Peter Li, a China Policy Specialist at Humane Society International. Operators of tiger breeding farms have told state media that without the ability to sell bones, skins and meat they will not be able to cover the high costs of running their parks and carry out key conservation plans endorsed by the national government. After pressure from some breeders, China’s State Council said in October it would replace a 1993 ban on the trade of tiger bones and rhino horn, opening up exceptions under “special circumstances,” including medical research. But in November, Beijing postponed the move following widespread protests from conservation groups who worry any resumption in the legal trade of tiger parts will be a death knell for the species by enabling the laundering of wild animal parts into farmed supplies. Conservationists also argue that no captive Chinese bred tigers have been released into the wild and there is no scientific or medical need to use rhino horn and tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine. Still, lifting the ban is backed by China’s powerful State Forestry and Grassland Administration. “If rhino horns and tiger bones can be used for medicinal purposes, and their use causes zero harm to the two endangered species in the wild, why should we oppose it?” Tang Xiaoping, an executive at the administration was quoted in the state-run China Daily newspaper. The Forestry and Grasslands administration did not respond to multiple requests for comment. At the Siberia Tiger Park, tiger bone wine is sold openly and is recognized by the Forestry Bureau and Commerce Ministry, according to a sales representative in the store. However, the park is not allowed to publicly promote it due to the sensitivity of the situation, the sales rep said. Officials at the park declined to comment on the record. The wine, which ranges in price from 280 yuan to 6,888 yuan, ($40 to $1,000) is displayed in large glass cabinets and also sold on China’s Twitter-like WeChat. Park executives, officials and conservation experts say tiger parks have been accumulating stocks of animal skin and bone in freezers, with the aim of selling it for medicinal use in the future. Conservation groups estimate there are now over 6,500 farmed tigers at 200 facilities in China, and around 40 farmed rhinos. Chinese media say tiger bone can fetch 5,000 to 9,000 yuan ($730 to $1,300) per kilogram — tens of thousands of dollars per animal. The World Wildlife Fund believes there are only around 40 to 50 wild tigers left in China out of around 3,900 globally. Debate over lifting the ban on tiger trade comes as China seeks to develop its traditional medicine industry, worth some $50 billion annually, and position it as a key pillar of its “One Belt, One Road” strategy. The World Health Organization is set to recognize traditional Chinese medicine for the first time next year in its global medical compendium according to Nature International Journal of Science, citing the governing body. The Siberian Tiger Park has more than 1,300 tigers spread across three locations. Selling tiger bone wine is a way to subsidize the daily expenses of the park, said one of the park’s tour guides. Currently, visitor fees are the parks’ main source of income, along with government subsidies. Ticket prices are 100 yuan and visitors can pay extra to feed the tigers. A menu of meat displays prices for a live chicken at 120 yuan while a raw cutlet is 10 yuan. In a CCTV documentary shown in November, Liu Dan, the chief engineer of the Northeast Tiger Forest park, near China’s border with Russia, says his thousand-plus tigers each eat around 3,000 yuan ($435) worth of chicken per month. Liu, who has raised tigers for over 30 years and has repeatedly called for the ban on trading tiger parts to be lifted, told state media that government tax breaks are not enough for the park to be financially viable. Currently, parks make most of their money from visitors. Chinese medicine experts say there is no need to use tiger bone and rhino horn in treatments as substitutes are readily available. Tiger bone, for example, is often used to treat arthritis and joint pain, but there are dozens of other herbs with similar properties. Lixin Huang, the president of the American College of Traditional medicine, said a reversal of the ban would create a huge challenge for the Chinese medicine community. “We stopped using it 25 years ago. We don’t understand. I don’t think the Chinese medicine community and medical professionals would understand.”


20 children injured in Beijing primary school attack

Abstract: BEIJING - A 49-year-old man injured 20 children with a hammer Tuesday inside a primary school in China’s capital, officials said. Three of the children have serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the Xicheng district government said on its social media account, adding that the attack took place at 11:17 a.m. The suspect, surnamed Jia, was apprehended at the scene, the statement said. A native of northern Heilongjiang province, Jia was employed through a labor service company to perform daily maintenance work at the school. His contract was set to expire this month and had not been renewed. As an expression of his dissatisfaction, Xicheng district said, Jia wielded a hammer that he normally used for work to injure students during a class. All the harmed children were receiving hospital treatment. The school, Beijing No. 1 Affiliated Elementary School of Xuanwu Normal School, was founded in 1908. According to the school’s website, it has 2,537 students and 199 teaching personnel. Many schools in China have beefed up security following violence against students and family members. In 2010, nearly 20 children were killed in knife attacks outside school gates. Last April, nine people were killed outside a middle school in northwestern China, allegedly by a former student seeking revenge for having been bullied. In November, five people were killed when a car plowed into a crowd of children outside a northeastern Chinese kindergarten.

china children beijing crime schools attack


6.4 magnitude quake strikes off Kagoshima

Abstract: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coasts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures on Tuesday evening, the Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 9:39 p.m. and measured 4 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, was 30 km deep and located near Tanegashima, 116 km southeast of Kagoshima. Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries and accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.


'Cat lord' of castle in western Japan boosts tourism after rain disaster

Abstract: OKAYAMA - An adorable feline has been installed as the “lord” of an ancient castle in western Japan, drawing tourists and helping the area’s recovery from a deadly rain disaster last year. Named Sanjuro, the cat assumed its title on Dec. 16 at Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture, after running away from home and settling there. Built in 1240 atop a 430-meter-high mountain, it is the highest castle with a tower in Japan. On early fall and winter mornings, a sea of clouds forms in the valleys below the castle making it appear as if it is floating, according to a tourism promotion body in Okayama. The 3-year-old male cat, named after local samurai Tani Sanjuro, was originally the pet of Megumi Nanba, 40, but ran away from home in Takahashi on July 14 shortly after torrential rain caused floods and mudslides across wide areas of western Japan. A week later, he was found by a man working at the castle, which is located about 6 kilometers away from Nanba’s home. The man started feeding the feline, which took up residence in the historical structure. View this post on Instagram A post shared by さんじゅーろー (@sanju_ro_) on Dec 6, 2018 at 9:03pm PST Charmed by Sanjuro, Hideo Aihara, the executive director of a local tourism association that manages the castle, decided to make the pet a promotional mascot. Nanba, who heard her cat was living at the castle and came to pick him up in mid-October, later agreed to give the animal to the association, leading to Sanjuro taking up his new role as the cat lord. Thanks to Sanjuro, the number of visitors to the castle — which had dropped off due to the disaster — recovered quickly. Its October figures even eclipsed those of the year before, according to the association. “He is our savior as he brought back visitors. We will take good care of him as the castle’s new representative,” said Aihara.

cat
bitchu matsuyama castle
lord
western japan flood


Suga cites time needed to update information system as a reason for early release of new Japanese era name

Abstract: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has cited information system updates as a reason for the scheduled early announcement of the name of the nation’s new Imperial era. “Preparations have been in progress, such as changes to information systems in the public and private sectors, but one month or so is necessary as a preparation period” for the switch to the new era, Suga told a news conference Monday. The new era will begin on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito will accede to the Chrysanthemum Throne following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito, the previous day. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that the name of the era will be announced on April 1 in order to minimize the impact on the lives of the public. Suga said the government will make sure that ministries and agencies will be well prepared for the change of the era, adding that it will do all it can for a smooth switch, which includes distributing necessary information. On the selection of the era’s name, Suga said the government will take into account how the name of Heisei was picked for the current era, which started in 1989. Also on Monday, Suga made a New Year’s speech to Cabinet Office officials at a government building, urging them to take every possible measure to prepare for the accession of Crown Prince Naruhito to the throne. “In order (for the accession) to take place with congratulations from the public and without problems, the government should join together to make thorough preparations,” he said.


Suga warns that ties with South Korea are in 'severe state' after forced labor rulings

Abstract: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s recent comment that ties with South Korea are in a “severe state” signals that simmering tensions between the neighbors and U.S. security allies could worsen. Tokyo and Seoul have sparred over rulings by South Korea’s top court that two of Japan’s largest companies must pay compensation to Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule. On Tuesday, a South Korean district court said it had approved a request to seize South Korean assets of Japanese steel-making giant Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. in a wartime forced labor case. Lawyers representing South Korean plaintiffs had requested in late December that the Daegu District Court in the country’s southeast seize Nippon Steel’s shares in a joint venture with South Korean steel-maker Posco. The move follows a ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court in October ordering the company to pay 400 million won (about $350,000) to four South Koreans for their forced labor during the era of Japanese colonial rule. On Sunday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would consider countermeasures to protect Nippon Steel assets from seizure by South Korean courts. “Relations between Japan and South Korea are in a severe state,” Suga, Japan’s top government spokesman, told a regular news conference in Tokyo on Monday, calling recent moves by Seoul “regrettable.” Mistrust between the two neighbors has also grown as both sides trade accusations about who was in the wrong over a December incident in which Japan claims a South Korean naval vessel locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese patrol aircraft. Seoul has argued that the plane was flying in a “provocative” manner, and is calling on Tokyo to apologize. On Monday, Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers at a joint meeting of the LDP Policy Research Council’s National Defense Division and the Research Commission on National Security called for U.N. Security Council discussions on the incident. Several participants called for tough action against South Korea, and one requested that the talks between the two countries’ defense authorities be halted in order to take the issue to the U.N. Security Council. Also on Monday, South Korea added six languages to its video of the incident, apparently to convey its position to the international community. In addition to Korean and English versions that had already been released, the Ministry of National Defense released the video in Chinese, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese. The two countries have long wrangled over whether Japan has properly atoned for its occupation of the Korean Peninsula, which ended with Japan’s defeat in World War II. The disputes have flared anew since the 2017 election of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose administration has moved to disband a fund set up to compensate wartime “comfort women” — a euphemism used to refer to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during World War II — and has backed Koreans’ efforts to pursue claims of forced labor. Abe said on NHK’s “Sunday Debate” program that he has “requested relevant departments to study specific measures based on international law” to prevent South Korea from seizing company assets. He called a bid by plaintiffs to get the court to confiscate company property “very regrettable.” The prime minister said a 1965 treaty that normalized relations between the countries resolved all matters regarding compensation claims. Before Suga spoke, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said they expected a sincere response from Japan and declined to directly address Abe’s comment. The foreign ministers from the two countries talked last week by telephone, South Korea said. Last month, officials from both countries said they were speaking with each other on ways to address the court’s decisions. In the rulings, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. was ordered to pay as much as $134,000 to each of the 10 people subject to forced labor while Nippon Steel was ordered to pay $88,000 each to four plaintiffs. There are more than a dozen such cases pending in South Korea involving about 70 companies, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which refers to the claimants as “former civilian workers from the Korean Peninsula.” Japan and South Korea were each other’s third-largest trading partners in 2017, with more than $82 billion in total trade between the two sides. Although simmering tension between Japan and South Korea has led to protests on Seoul’s streets and calls to boycott Japanese products, the previous disputes have never escalated to the point where they caused serious economic damage. Still, the political situation in both countries provides little incentive to reach a speedy resolution this time around. A Dec. 14-16 poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun found 86 percent of respondents agreed that all forced labor claims were settled under the 1965 treaty. Public opinion will become increasingly important for the conservative Abe in the run-up to the Upper House election in July. Moon, a progressive, saw his disapproval rate exceed his approval rating for the first time since taking office in May 2017, with many respondents saying the president lacked the ability to solve South Korea’s economic issues.

self defense forces
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations


Japanese and American activists protest outside White House against building of U.S. base in Okinawa

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Japanese and American activists staged a rally on Monday in front of the White House calling for a halt to landfill work for building a U.S. base extending off Okinawa Island. About 30 activists gathered after a petition urging U.S. President Donald Trump to halt the work accumulated more than 195,000 signatures in 30 days — well over the 100,000 threshold that makes it mandatory for the White House to issue a response. “I’m asking that they at least temporarily halt this until the Okinawa people are allowed to express their democratic right to vote on this in a referendum February 24th,” said Robert Kajiwara, a fourth-generation Okinawan-Hawaiian who organized the rally. Kajiwara was referring to an Okinawa prefectural referendum on the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate operations currently performed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the less-populated coastal district of Henoko in Nago. Kajiwara said he has sent messages to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other senior administration officials, as well as all 100 senators and some House of Representatives members including Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “We’re definitely expecting some kind of response. Of course, they don’t guarantee what type of response we’ll get,” Kajiwara said. “Even if we don’t get a response that we’re looking for, we’re not going to give up and we’re going to keep on trying.” The 32-year-old started a petition — titled “Stop the landfill of Henoko/Oura Bay until a referendum can be held in Okinawa” — on the White House’s “We the People” website. The White House is supposed to respond within 60 days to any petition that gathers 100,000 signatures within 30 days of its starting date. Referring to the number of signatures he has collected, Kajiwara said, “This is a remarkable number, considering the total lack of U.S. media coverage as well as the intense censorship we have experienced from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.” “It shows you how many people want to protect the sea at Henoko and the democratic rights of the Okinawan people,” he said. Carrying banners and placards with messages like “Stop! U.S. War Base, Henoko, Okinawa,” “President Trump: Please respond to us!” and “Respect Okinawa’s Democracy,” participants chanted the slogan, “Close the bases in Okinawa.” About 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan are located in Okinawa Prefecture, which accounts for only 0.6 percent of the total land area of the country.

okinawa
u.s .
nago
henoko
japan
donald trump
u.s. marine corps air station futenma


Japan and India to discuss space and cyberspace at upgraded 'two-plus-two' security talks

Abstract: NEW DELHI - Japan and India will aim to launch ministerial security talks early this year to deepen cooperation in fields such as space and cyberspace, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Monday. “We will launch and proceed with (ministerial security) talks between Japan and India,” Kono told reporters after his meeting in New Delhi with his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj. Details of the meeting, which will involve foreign and defense ministers, will be worked out shortly. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, agreed at their October meeting in Tokyo that they will upgrade the existing “two-plus-two” framework, which operates at the vice ministerial level, to the ministerial level. The summit was the 12th between Abe and Modi, as Japan and India seek to bolster bilateral economic and security relations at a time of China’s growing influence in Asia. Abe has stated that he aims to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the freedom of navigation and rule of law. During the foreign ministers’ meeting, Kono and Swaraj also exchanged views on regional issues such as the denuclearization of North Korea. Kono also expressed Tokyo’s determination to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement among 16 countries including Japan and India, during this year. Later Monday, Kono also held talks with Modi to discuss ways to promote personnel exchanges between Japan and India. Kono, who visited India for the first time since assuming the post in August 2017, also met separately with Modi and agreed to deepen bilateral ties. India was the first stop for Kono on a trip that will also include Nepal, France and Russia.


Niigata government to dispose of radioactive mud stored since Fukushima crisis

Abstract: NIIGATA - The Niigata Prefectural Government said Tuesday it will dispose of radioactive mud that has been stored since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and ask the operator of the crisis-hit plant to shoulder the costs. The prefecture, located about 200 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, has stored around 60,000 tons of mud containing radioactive cesium and since 2012 has requested Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to dispose of it. But the operator has refused, saying it is not able to handle industrial waste. The disposal costs are estimated at ¥3 billion ($27.5 million) and Tepco formally expressed its readiness to pay in December. The level of radioactive cesium in the mud is below 8,000 becquerels per kilogram, which could be disposed of by regular landfill operations, and most of it is below 100 becquerels per kg, according to the prefecture. The local government has stored the mud instead of disposing of it, arguing that Tepco should take responsibility for the damage caused by fuel meltdowns at the plant triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The Niigata Prefectural Government has also stored the waste as some local residents were concerned about safety despite the low level of radioactive cesium. Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi said at a news conference Tuesday it is “not realistic” to keep asking Tepco to dispose of the mud and expressed “regret” that it had taken so long for the operator to decide how to handle the matter. The contaminated mud, produced at an industrial water supply facility that takes in water from a river containing radioactive materials, is growing by 5,000 tons annually and the storage facility could become full later this year, according to the prefecture. Jurisdictions other than Niigata have also been grappling with radioactive mud as a result of the crisis at the six-reactor Fukushima complex, with some shouldering the disposal costs.

niigata
fukushima no . 1
tepco
radioactive waste


Construction work for 2025 World Expo set to begin on Yumeshima

Abstract: OSAKA - Construction work and other preparations for the 2025 World Exposition are set to start at the event’s venue: Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay. Yumeshima, which is part of the city of Osaka, is currently used as a container terminal and for other purposes. But a large part of the 390-hectare island remains unused, with Ichiro Matsui, governor of Osaka Prefecture, calling it “a negative legacy.” A 155-hectare portion of Yumeshima will be used for the World Exposition. Of the area, some 30 hectares currently resemble mud flats. As early as April this year, the Osaka Municipal Government plans to start reclamation of the mud flat area using ¥13.6 billion earmarked under a supplementary budget, aiming to complete the work in 2022. Subway operator Osaka Metro Co. last month announced plans to extend one of its lines by 3.2 kilometers to Yumeshima, to link existing Cosmosquare Station with a new station to be built on the island. A 2.3-kilometer portion of the extra section is already complete, with Osaka Metro now poised to work on the remaining part and the new station with the intention of completing the extension by 2024. The company also plans to construct a 55-story building at the new station. The skyscraper, which is also slated to open by 2024, will include offices, restaurants and hotel rooms, according to the plan. In addition, the city of Osaka and the Osaka Prefectural Government plan to launch an integrated resort that includes a casino on Yumeshima in 2024. The local governments will soon begin hearings from integrated resort operators and will narrow down candidates in summer this year, according to sources familiar with the matter.


New departure tax gets mixed reviews from both Japanese and foreign travelers

Abstract: The travel industry is pinning its hopes on the departure tax that was introduced Monday, while some passengers leaving the country voiced unhappiness with the new levy. Japan began collecting ¥1,000 per person from those leaving the country regardless of nationality. Revenue from the new tax, estimated at ¥50 billion for fiscal 2019, will be used to make it easier for foreign visitors to travel within the country. These measures “will be a tailwind” for growth in the number of visitors to Japan, a major travel agency official said. When the departure tax plan emerged, people in the industry were worried that the levy might discourage overseas people from traveling here, depending on the tax level. The concerns waned as the government set the tax at ¥1,000 per head. “The advantages of a more convenient tourism environment outweigh” the disadvantages, said an official of an air carrier. Meanwhile, international passengers had mixed feelings about the tax. In the departure lounge of Narita International Airport on Monday morning, a university student from China on a family trip questioned why she had to pay the tax. She said that while the amount of the tax is not significant, she is not convinced about paying it. “I hope the use of the tax revenue will be made clearer,” a 62-year-old company executive from Kanagawa Prefecture said. In contrast, a 35-year-old woman who visited Japan on a sightseeing trip from Hebei province, China, said she sees no problem with the tax if the revenue is used to improve airport facilities and take other necessary measures. A corporate employee, 59, from Tachikawa in western Tokyo, said, “I don’t mind as long as the number of visitors to Japan rises and positively affects the economy.”

taxes
tourism
travel agencies
departure tax


With new 777 on the way, time runs out on government's 747 for VIPs

Abstract: The government’s official aircraft for VIPs will be decommissioned at the end of March after carrying prime ministers and Imperial family members for a quarter of a century. The jet has also been used for international assistance and humanitarian support activities, traveling to 100 countries and regions. The aircraft, a special Boeing 747-400, went into use in 1993 along with a reserve plane. Due to the 747’s advanced age, maintenance can no longer be carried out domestically. The aircraft will be replaced by a special Boeing 777-300ER in April. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited 78 countries and regions on 176 trips during his seven years in the top office, including his first stint in 2006. The number of his overseas trips has surged since he returned to power in December 2012 and he has made full use of the aircraft. It was also used for domestic flights 15 times, including for Imperial family members. Prime ministers used the aircraft to attend the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa in 2000 and Toyako, Hokkaido, in 2008. In 2004 the plane was used to bring to Japan the offspring of Japanese people who had been abducted to North Korea decades earlier. The same year it carried Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq for a humanitarian mission and then brought them back home. In 2013 it transported the bodies of Japanese nationals killed during a hostage crisis in Algeria. The government is discussing how to use the aircraft after its retirement. Proposals include selling it as a used plane, dismantling it to sell off the components or putting it on display at the Air Self-Defense Force’s base in Chitose, Hokkaido, where the ASDF Special Airlift Group manages and operates the aircraft. The Defense Ministry will solicit opinions on its fate from the public before the decommissioning, officials said. The new aircraft features a conference room, an office and a room for news conferences, among other facilities, just like the current model. The government will also have a backup 777 to prepare for unforeseeable circumstances.


ANA pilot drank before flight despite ban and asked co-pilot to lie

Abstract: All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday an internal probe had found that last week one of its pilots caused domestic flight delays after drinking alcohol before flight duties despite the company’s 12-hour ban, and that he also asked a co-pilot to lie about it. The case, which occurred at subsidiary ANA Wings Co., follows decisions by the government and Japanese airlines to tighten controls on drinking by staff after a Japan Airlines Co. pilot was convicted of heavy drinking in the U.K. that delayed a London-Tokyo flight. The two pilots were scheduled to fly from Osaka to Miyazaki at 7:10 a.m. on Thursday last week, but the pilot drank beer and other alcoholic beverages at an Osaka restaurant until around 9:30 p.m. the day before, according to the company. The co-pilot stopped drinking around 7 p.m. but stayed at the restaurant with the pilot, according to All Nippon Airways. A Breathalyzer test before the flight found the pilot had a higher-than-permissible level of alcohol and had to be replaced. The problem caused delays to five flights and affected a total of 677 passengers. The two initially said during the airline’s probe that they only drank until around 7 p.m. the day before. ANA Wings had another alcohol-linked flight delay in October when a pilot became ill from drinking. The transport ministry issued a warning to the company in December, along with three other airlines, while JAL was issued with a business improvement order over the U.K. incident.


Business leaders want structural reform and innovation to move Japan forward

Abstract: Japan’s largest business lobby stressed on Tuesday the importance of structural reforms while pushing for actors in the political and corporate spheres to drive the innovation they say will help overcome the nation’s labor and productivity challenges. In his new-year message, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of Keidanren, said the organization will continue promoting greater use of new digital technologies. It also wants closer cooperation between business, government and academia to resolve the social challenges the organization’s strategy outlines as barriers to growth. In addition to such growth measures, “encouraging structural reforms including making the social security system sustainable and accelerating fiscal rehabilitation while maintaining the international economic order will be the main pillar of our lobbying activities,” Nakanishi said. Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, called on the government and general public to have a sense of urgency in tackling challenges the country faces as economic growth remains slow and political efforts to carry out structural reforms prove unable to keep up with changes and advances in the global economic and technological environments. Corporate managers need to seize new business opportunities more aggressively to achieve higher productivity and profitability, he said. “We need to make this year a transitional point” for politics, administration, diplomacy and corporate management, Kobayashi said. Akio Mimura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the country’s productivity has to be raised to address structural problems including labor shortages and sluggishness in regional economies. “While promoting the participation of more women, people beyond retirement age and foreigners in the labor market, productivity needs to be improved through the use of new technologies including internet of things, robots and artificial intelligence,” Mimura said. Making the most of the central government’s assistance measures and cooperation with regional banks, his business group will further promote the revitalization of small enterprises, Mimura said. The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry will work closely with the government to help small and medium-sized businesses prepare for the introduction of a more complex tax system when the consumption tax is raised to 10 percent from 8 percent in October. The government will keep the rate at 8 percent for food, excluding meals purchased at restaurants, and alcoholic beverages. However, many companies, including small retailers, are thought to be slow to updating their point of sale systems to handle different tax rates.

keidanren
akio mimura
hiroaki nakanishi
yoshimitsu kobayashi


Top business news of 2018

Abstract: The Japan Times newsroom selected the following business news stories as the most important of 2018. 1. Going, going, Ghosn : Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s November arrest sent shock waves worldwide, throwing the future of an alliance between Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. into question. U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1. | AP 2. Trading barbs : The United States and China ramped up a trade war that destabilized world markets. Even though they agreed to a truce, the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada could further fuel the conflict. Levy metal: Steel pipes sit stacked near the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. plant in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture. | BLOOMBERG 3. Levy metal : The United States imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent levy on aluminum in March. Three months later, Japan and four other countries received some exemptions from the steel tariffs. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington in April. | BLOOMBERG 4. Hit unlike : Social media giant Facebook saw a series of scandals that involved consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and other tech leaders such as Amazon and Spotify gaining access to users’ private information. A signboard shows the name of Coincheck Inc., which fell victim to a heist in January | KYODO 5. Virtual heist : In a massive breach of security, Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange Coincheck said in January that hackers stole about ¥58 billion worth of cryptocurrency. The firm was later acquired by Monex Group. Toshimitsu Motegi, the minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, signs the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), also known as TPP-11, in Santiago in March. | KYODO 6. The art of a new deal : After U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, Japan and the remaining countries signed a revised trade pact in March that comes into effect Dec. 30. Mercari makes its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in June. The smiles were short-lived, however, as the stock’s initial strong performance began to diminish. | KYODO 7. Strong start : Flea market app operator Mercari debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a strong first day of trading at ¥5,000, up 67 percent from its initial offering, but fell to around ¥2,000 by year’s end. Yusaku Maezawa speaks near a Falcon 9 rocket during an announcement named him as the first private passenger who will fly around the moon aboard the SpaceX BFR launch vehicle. | AFP-JIJI 8. Moon shot : Tesla CEO Elon Musk handpicked Zozotown founder Yusaku Maezawa to be among the first crew members on a SpaceX spacecraft that is bound for the moon in 2023. A couple prepares to receive guests as they start a minpaku (private lodging) service in their west Tokyo home. | KYODO 9. Put out the welcome mat : A law on minpaku (private lodging) took effect in June that allows private homes to be offered as accommodation, but strict rules dampened enthusiasm. Ken Miyauchi, president and CEO of Softbank Corp., prepares to strike the trading bell at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ahead of the company’s debut there on Dec. 19. | KYODO 10. Harsh start : SoftBank Group Corp.’s mobile subsidiary saw a harsh welcome on the Tokyo Stock Exchange due to a service outage and concerns about the use of parts from Chinese telecom Huawei.

tpp
softbank
facebook
carlos ghosn
minpaku
mercari
yusaku maezawa
trade war
coincheck
2018 in review


'Workaround systems' help print U.S. newspapers hit by cyberattack: source

Abstract: NEW YORK - Tribune Publishing Co. used “workaround systems” to help print major U.S. newspapers including the Los Angeles Times on Sunday and Monday as the company recovers from a cyberattack, a source familiar with the operation said. The company has made “lots of progress” in repairing infected computer systems, the source said. Still, the Tribune’s network has not yet been restored to normal, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the repair effort. The cyberattack on the company’s back office systems was identified on Friday and disrupted production of Saturday editions of papers that use its production platform. That included Tribune-owned papers such as the Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel, as well as publications that use part of its production platform, including the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Tribune. It is the latest in a string of cyberattacks that have disrupted operations at manufacturing plants, hospitals, 911 emergency dispatch centers and companies around the world. These kinds of cyberattacks are often extortion schemes in which hackers use a type of computer virus known as ransomware that cripples networks, then offers to restore access in exchange for a payment. Tribune has not said if ransomware was used in the attack, identified any suspects or discussed possible motivations. “We are working across our organization and employing many external expert resources to help contain the malware, remediate any lingering issues and protect our environment,” Tribune said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Monday. The attack only affected newspaper production and did not compromise data of readers or advertisers, the statement said. Tribune Publishing shares were up 1.3 percent in midday trading, compared with a 0.4 percent gain for the S&P 500 Index.

cyberattack
u.s. newspapers
ransomware
tribune
la times


Humming U.S. factories end 2018 on sour note as five Fed indexes slip, Trump trade worries surge

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Five Federal Reserve indexes of regional manufacturing all slumped in December, the first time they’ve fallen in unison since May 2016 and the latest evidence that a pillar of the U.S. economy has started to wobble heading into next year. The Dallas Fed’s factory index unexpectedly contracted in December, falling to a two-year low of minus 5.1 from 17.6 in November, and the steepest decline since 2013. The district bank covers the oil-producing region of Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. Oil prices are down about 40 percent from a nearly four-year high in October. More than 20 percent of manufacturers said that their outlook worsened in December, according to the regional Fed report released Monday. “Expectations regarding future business conditions remained positive but retreated notably in December,” it said. The report follows other weakening Fed factory gauges in the New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Virginia, and Kansas City districts, just the sixth time that’s happened during the economic expansion now in its 10th year, a Bloomberg analysis of Fed data shows. The Dallas gauge tracking the outlook for manufacturing fell into a contractionary reading for the first time in more than two years, while measures of shipments, capacity utilization and unfilled orders all fell to the lowest levels since late-2016. The measure for employment weakened to the lowest level in more than a year. In the oil and gas industry, U.S. shale producers have begun to rein in spending to ride out the sudden crash of crude prices. Some explorers in the Permian Basin of Texas have begun to shut down rigs and fracking crews in response to the plunge in crude. A separate survey by the Dallas Fed showed no one in the industry saw a crash in crude prices coming. Revitalizing American industrial might has been a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s presidency. The economy has created an average of 20,000 manufacturing jobs a month during his term, more than double the pace during President Barack Obama’s second term. Now there are increasing signs factories are suffering from the uncertainty around Trump’s trade policy, which includes tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, and about $250 billion in Chinese products. The Fed’s latest Beige Book compilation of anecdotal accounts from district banks showed tariffs remained a concern for manufacturers, even as most districts saw moderate growth. “Optimism has waned in some as contacts cited increased uncertainty from impacts of tariffs, rising interest rates, and labor market constraints,” the Dec. 5 report said. For the economy more broadly, 2018 is coming to close with a few other cautionary signs. Consumer confidence slumped to the lowest since July, the latest sign Americans are growing less optimistic as stock markets gyrate and the expansion moderates, according to a Conference Board report last week. Underneath that drop was the biggest plunge in 41 years in a measure of the employment outlook. Housing data are also looking less upbeat. The next big look at the nation’s job market is scheduled for Friday, when the Labor Department releases the employment report. The data are expected to show 180,000 jobs added in December while the jobless rate held at 3.7 percent, the lowest since 1969, according to the median estimates in Bloomberg’s survey of economists.

u.s .
fed
oil
housing
jobs
indexes
factories
donald trump
trade war


Credit card trends aren't signaling a U.S. recession, analysts assure

Abstract: NEW YORK - November data reported by credit card issuers like American Express Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. may soothe some concerns about an impending recession and credit deterioration, analysts said. Those worries have been contributing to stock market swings in recent weeks, but the latest data look “benign to slightly improved” compared to a year ago, according to Compass Point. Shares of American Express pared gains of as much as 1.4 percent in midday trading; Synchrony Financial trimmed gains of as much as 2 percent, while Discover Financial Services pared gains of as much as 2.5 percent. Capital One fell as much as 0.9 percent. Here’s what analysts are saying: Morgan Stanley, Betsy Graseck “Investors fear recession, but card issuers keep posting strong credit results,” with American Express, Capital One, Discover and Synchrony all reporting better credit results for November than Morgan Stanley had expected. Master card issuers — those with securitized credit card books — showed “another strong credit month” with net charge-offs dropping on a year-over-year basis for a second month in a row. Net-charge offs fell eight basis points, in line with last month’s decline of nine basis points, which was the first year-over-year decline since September 2016. Delinquencies also continue to trend slightly lower, while payment rates increased. Graseck cut her card net charge-off estimates and raised earnings-per-share estimates. Compass Point, William Ryan November master trust and total portfolio credit quality data showed monthly trends that reflected normal seasonal patterns, and year-over-year trends that were “benign to slightly improved. ” Ryan encourages investors to look at the year-over-year performance “as a better indicator of macro credit trends.” He believes the “collective data reflect the impact of tax cuts, job growth, wage gains, and some credit tightening among various issuers in 2016,” although there were some outliers, including weakness at Alliance Data Systems Corp. While growing recession and some micro concerns are weighing on the sector, the “larger tax refunds expected early next year could help drive better seasonal improvement and/or incremental spending among various credit spectrums (specifically prime revolvers to subprime).” “Stocks could see meaningful upside if more imminent signs of a recession do not materialize by February or March 2019, and favorable seasonal credit quality patterns take hold.” Credit Suisse, Susan Roth Katzke Katzke says Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan master trusts month-to-month delinquency and loss rates were up as she continues to “expect a modest and manageable lift in loss rates as credit costs normalize.” Credit Suisse’s earnings estimates “embed a gradual uptick in consumer loan and credit card loss rates as this year progresses into next; the current low levels of consumer leverage and unemployment remain a net positive core credit quality indicator.” RBC, Jason Arnold Arnold called loan growth “robust,” with “credit still unconcerning.” “We remain positive in our outlook for the card space, as delinquency and macro consumer data don’t suggest that credit pressure is en route anytime soon.” Jefferies, John Hecht “November showed consistent seasonal patterns reflecting benign conditions, which were generally in line with our expectations.” Jefferies highlights “that system-wide trends look generally positive given seasonal patterns, with range bound trends developing.” Year-to-date auto metrics “reflect ongoing stabilization in our view,” with “encouraging” sharp decreases in delinquencies. Hecht adds a caveat: Jefferies’s dataset is heavily skewed toward Capital One and Santander Consumer USA, “which have more variability given exposure to subprime assets.” “For the majority of issuers under coverage we observe stabilizing credit trends and absent a material shock to the consumer or material deviation in underwriting trends, we expect most of the ‘normalization’ has occurred and for overall credit to remain range-bound in the intermediate term.”

u.s .
recession
credit cards
american express
capital one


May draws flak as U.K. awards emergency Brexit ferry services contract to firm with no ships

Abstract: LONDON - Britain’s tortuous breakup with the European Union took a bizarre turn Monday after it emerged that London has awarded an emergency ferry services contract to a company without any ships. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is ramping up preparations to avert chaos should Britain split from the EU in March without an agreement on future trade ties. May’s Cabinet will meet next week for more “no-deal Brexit” planning in case the British Parliament fails to approve a draft deal London and Brussels have reached after nearly two years of talks. The plan is deeply unpopular in London and May was forced to abort a December debate about the arrangement after admitting it faced heavy defeat. A new vote in the House of Commons is scheduled for the week starting on January 14. But the Cabinet’s bid to show it was ready for anything was set back when the BBC discovered the ferry contract awarded to a firm without any actual vessels in place. Britain reached three commercial agreements to move cargo should the main cross-Channel sea route grind to a halt after Brexit takes place on March 29. Two of them went to established companies in Denmark and France. The smallest of the three was won by Seaborne Freight — a London-based firm that only intends to start providing ferry services next year. Britain’s transport department did not explain why Seaborne was handed the £13.8 million ($17.7 million, €15.4 million) deal. “This contract was awarded in the full knowledge that Seaborne Freight is a new shipping provider, and that the extra capacity and vessels would be provided as part of its first services,” the ministry said in a statement released to AFP. “As with all contracts, we carefully vetted the company’s commercial, technical and financial position in detail before making the award.” But a local councillor said it seemed unlikely that Seaborne could have everything set up in time. “Why choose a company that never moved a single truck in their entire history and give them £14 million?” councillor Paul Messenger asked. “I don’t understand the logic of that.” May’s critics in the Labour main opposition party also pounced. “Nothing could sum Brexit up better than the utter stench of this latest (transport department) mess. Reeks,” said Labour MP Neil Coyle. The BBC said the narrow berths at Ramsgate port in southeast England made them unsuitable for most existing commercial ships. The port has not been used commercially since 2013. Seaborne said in a statement that it has spent two years working on plans to get Ramsgate up and running by early 2019. “It was intended to start the service in mid-February but this has now been delayed until late March for operational reasons,” Seaborne said. Seaborne chief executive Ben Sharp told the BBC he planned to start operations with two ships before “very quickly” expanding that number to four. The ferries are due to link up Britain with Belgium.

eu
u.k .
brexit
theresa may
parliament
seaborne freight


Britain deploys extra patrol boats as English Channel migrant crossings rise, 12 turn up on beach

Abstract: LONDON - Britain is recalling two patrol boats from overseas deployments to help deal with an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the country from France, interior minister Sajid Javid said on Monday. Javid said there had been an increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel from France and last week he declared the situation a “major incident. On Monday, following a meeting of officials in London, he said two the additional ships would join three other vessels already working in the channel. He said 230 migrants had attempted to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in December, although almost half were prevented from leaving France. The number is a tiny fraction of those regularly attempting to reach European Union territory by crossing the Mediterranean from Northern Africa and Turkey, many of whom are fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. But, their attempts to cross into Britain have attracted extensive domestic scrutiny amid a febrile political atmosphere less than three months before Britain leaves the European Union after a referendum in which immigration was a major theme. “This will help both with the human side of this situation but also to better protect our borders,” Javid said of the deployment. The last three months accounted for around 80 percent of all attempts in 2018, Javid said, adding crossings were up in 2018 compared to 2017. The interior ministry said the majority of those who had arrived in Britain in the recent period were Iranian but said it did not routinely publish data and would not be providing a running tally or exact comparisons with previous years. Local media reported that 12 people arrived at a beach in southeast England by small boat on Monday. Javid cut short a holiday to oversee the response to the situation and is seen as one of those jostling to replace Prime Minister Theresa May after she said earlier this month she would step down before the next scheduled nation election in 2022. Concern over both legal migration and illegal immigration was seen as an important driver of the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. “I don’t want people to think that if they leave a safe country like France, that they can get to Britain and just get to stay,” Javid said, outlining a desire to work with France to return as many of the migrants as possible.

france
europe
britain
english channel
migrants
marine accidents


Malta rescues 180 migrants off two boats as Mediterranean weather worsens but 49 still adrift

Abstract: VALLETTA - Malta on Monday pulled 180 migrants to safety from two boats in distress, while 49 more were stuck in limbo at sea as the weather worsened in the Mediterranean. The Maltese military said a patrol boat picked up 28 migrants from a dinghy some 71 nautical miles (130 km) southwest of Malta before plucking another 152 people from a wooden boat to the south. The rescues followed the recovery by Malta Sunday of 69 migrants on a wooden boat that had run into trouble. Meanwhile, the U.N.’s refugee agency said time was “of the essence” for 49 people rescued by NGO boats but denied a safe port in Europe, some of whom have been stranded at sea for over a week. The NGOs — the German Sea-Eye and Dutch Sea-Watch — called for “an immediate solution for those being held hostage by European States, who are denying them a safe port. “With the weather conditions forecast to worsen this evening, a solution must be found by the end of 2018 in order to prevent placing people’s heath at further risk,” they said in a joint statement. The German-flagged Professor Albrecht Penck ship has 17 migrants from West Africa on board who were rescued on Saturday in international waters off Libya. At the same time, the Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch 3 has 32 migrants rescued on Dec. 22 including three young children, three unaccompanied adolescents and four women from Nigeria, Libya and Ivory Coast. “Europe (500 million inhabitants) at war against migrants (49, including 7 children). Who will win?” Luigi Manconi, president of the human rights commission in the Italian senate, said on Twitter. While Italy, Malta, Spain and the Netherlands have refused to accept the Sea-Watch 3 migrants, several German cities have offered to take them in. On Saturday a government spokesman said Germany would only accept some of the migrants if other European countries also agreed to do so. Last week, a newborn baby and his mother were helicoptered from a boat to Malta. Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s special envoy for the central Mediterranean, stressed that “decisive leadership is required, in line with fundamental values of humanity and compassion, to offer safe disembarkation and bring the 49 safely to land. “Negotiations on which states will subsequently receive them must come only after they are safely ashore,” he added. More than 1,300 migrants have died trying to reach Italy or Malta via the central Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Italian interior ministry said Monday that the number of 2018 arrivals in Italy was down over 80 percent compared with 2017 at just 23,370. The biggest number came from Tunisia, followed by Eritrea, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan and Nigeria. In mid-2017, departures from Libya dropped after a controversial deal between Italy and the war-torn North African country. A campaign against the NGO rescue organizations peaked in June this year with far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini’s “closed-ports” policy aimed at ending all rescue operations, including military ones.

italy
eu
refugees
migrants
malta
mediterranean
marine accidents
matteo salvini