U.S. aviation agency details impact of drone sightings on Newark airport

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that 43 flights into New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport were required to hold after drone sightings at a nearby airport on Tuesday, while nine flights were diverted. The incident comes as major U.S. airports are assessing the threat of drones and have been holding meetings to address the issue. The issue of drones impacting commercial air traffic came to the fore after London’s second-busiest airport, Gatwick Airport, was severely disrupted in December when drones were sighted on three consecutive days. An FAA spokesman said that Tuesday’s event lasted for 21 minutes. The flights into Newark, the 11th-busiest U.S. airport, were suspended after a drone was seen flying at 3,500 feet over nearby Teterboro Airport, a small regional airport about 17 miles (27.3 km) away that mostly handles corporate jets and private planes. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark and Teterboro airports, as well as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, said on Wednesday that it hosted a working session with the FAA, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies last week “to review and enhance protocols for the rapid detection and interdiction of drones.” It declined to discuss specifics for security reasons. The Port Authority added that it is “committed to continuing our collaboration with the FAA and federal and state law enforcement partners to protect against any and all drone threats to the maximum extent possible.” The Chicago Department of Aviation said Wednesday it is working closely with the FAA and law enforcement “to ensure safe and secure operations at both O’Hare and Midway” but would not discuss drone preparations. The FAA declined comment on meetings with major airports, but said it has been in “close coordination” with security agency partners “to address drone security challenges.” The drone sightings at London’s Gatwick Airport last month resulted in about 1,000 flights being canceled or diverted and affected 140,000 passengers. The U.S. Congress last year gave the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security new powers to disable or destroy threatening drones after officials raised concerns about the use of drones as potential weapons. United Airlines, the largest carrier at Newark, said on Tuesday that the impact to its operations had been minimal. The FAA initially said it had reports of two drones on Tuesday evening, but it since clarified to say it had two reports of one drone in northern New Jersey airspace. Earlier this month, the U.S. Transportation Department proposed rules that would allow drones to operate over populated areas and end a requirement for special permits for night use, long-awaited actions that are expected to help speed their commercial use. There are nearly 1.3 million registered drones in the United States and more than 116,000 registered drone operators. Officials say there are hundreds of thousands of additional drones that are not registered.

faa
drones
fbi
united airlines
gatwick
aircraft accidents
newark airport


Citing dearth of 'civility and fair play' among humans, newspaper dubs racehorse 'Australian of the year'

Abstract: SYDNEY - In the race to find an Australian role model that has demonstrated hard work, grit and honesty in the last year, one Aussie paper has decided the only one in the running is a horse. Finding a dearth of idols in the two-legged sporting, political, cultural or academic worlds, The Daily Telegraph on Thursday named champion thoroughbred Winx its own “Australian of the Year.” “Has the nominee lived by the Australian values of fair play and civility?” the paper asked, beginning a long list of requisite qualities to earn the title. The Sydney paper said the horse — which has won dozens of races and is expected to soon retire — was the only Australian that met the winning criteria. The honor was not “bestowed lightly,” the paper said. The announcement comes the day before an annual award ceremony to name the official Australian of the Year, a major event that takes place on the eve of Australia Day on Jan. 26. The eight 2019 nominees — all human — include Richard Harris, who worked to rescue 12 Thai kids trapped in a cave, multiple medal winning Paralympian Kurt Fearnley and social activist Bernadette Black. Previous winners include Nobel Prize-winning scientists and Paul “Crocodile Dundee” Hogan.


China clones gene-edited monkeys for research on sleep disorders

Abstract: SHANGHAI - Chinese scientists have made clones of a gene-edited macaque to aid research of circadian-rhythm disorders that are linked to sleep problems, depression and Alzheimer’s disease, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Thursday. It is the first time multiple clones have been made from a gene-edited monkey for biomedical research, the agency said. The clones were born at the Institute of Neuroscience at the China Academy of Sciences in Shanghai. A gene-edited monkey most prone to the disorder was selected as a donor, and its fibroblasts were used to make five cloned monkeys, Xinhua said, citing National Science Review, a Chinese journal. The official China Daily said the clones would pave the way for more research into such problems in humans, which have become a major mental health concern. The cloned monkeys already show signs of “negative behavior,” including sleep disorders, as well as elevated levels of anxiety and “schizophrenia-like behaviors,” the paper added. Xinhua said the program, supervised by the institute’s ethics panel, was in line with international ethical standards for animal research.


Kim satisfied at outcome of talks with U.S. over second Trump summit, North Korea state media says

Abstract: SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction over results of recent talks between the country’s delegation and U.S. officials to discuss the second summit between him and U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking highly of the American leader, state media said on Thursday. “Kim Jong Un said that we will believe in the positive way of thinking of President Trump, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries of North Korea and the United States,” the Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA added that Kim received a letter from Trump and a briefing from the delegation that recently visited Washington about the results of the negotiations, but did not elaborate further.

u.s .
north korea
kim jong un
donald trump
denuclearlization


Pope Francis to visit Japan in November, having abandoned plan to come as missionary in his youth

Abstract: ON BOARD THE PAPAL PLANE - Pope Francis announced Wednesday he will visit Japan in November, becoming the first pontiff to do so since John Paul II nearly 40 years ago. “I will go to Japan in November,” he said on board the papal plane bringing him to Panama for a gathering of young Catholics. The Argentine pontiff has repeatedly voiced a desire to visit Japan, home to some 450,000 Roman Catholics, and around 510,000 Protestants. Francis has long expressed his admiration for Japanese culture and history, and famously had hoped to become a missionary in Japan after he was ordained a priest. His superiors dashed his hopes, however, citing his frail health at the time. But during his five-year papacy he has repeatedly spoken in admiration of the missionary work carried out by his Jesuit order to bring Christianity to Japan in the 16th century, and of the martyrs who suffered from the anti-Christian persecution that ensued. Any papal visit to Japan would certainly include a visit to the 26 Martyrs Museum and Monument in Nagasaki at the site where 26 Christians were killed in 1597. Visiting Nagasaki would also allow Francis to draw attention to its devastating atomic legacy. In January last year, Francis issued a harrowing photograph taken in 1945 showing a young Japanese boy carrying his dead brother. The child, carried on the boy’s back, was killed when the United States dropped the A-bomb on Nagasaki. Francis, who has often spoken of the dangers of nuclear weapons, had written just four words on the back of the image: “The fruit of war.” The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have reportedly asked Francis to visit to encourage the survivors. And Japan’s bishops have been urging him to visit since he was elected, in part to honor the “hidden Christians” who kept the faith alive during decades of persecution. Jesuit missionaries first began spreading Christianity in Japan in 1549, famously led by St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of Francis’ Jesuit order. By 1585 Christianity had spread so much that a delegation of four young Japanese Catholics traveled halfway around the globe to participate in the festivities of the election of Pope Sixtus V in Rome. The pope has made two trips to Asia since his election five years ago, visiting the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2014, followed by Myanmar and Bangladesh last year. Pope John Paul II visited Japan in 1981 .


Naomi Osaka sponsor Nissin retracts Cup Noodle YouTube ads after 'whitewashing' uproar

Abstract: Following uproar over accusations of whitewashing , Nissin Foods Holdings Co. on Wednesday removed advertisements from YouTube featuring an animated depiction of tennis star Naomi Osaka. The cup noodle firm, which sponsors the U.S. Open women’s champion, found itself in hot water with its campaign — which also featured fellow tennis star Kei Nishikori — as the pale-skinned character bore scant resemblance to the 21-year-old Osaka. The ads “have already been dropped,” said Daisuke Okabayashi, a spokesman for Nissin Foods. “We never had the intention to do what is known as ‘whitewashing,’ but with this becoming an issue, we will pay more attention to respect for diversity in our PR activities,” Okabayashi said. He added that the firm did not consider either blackening or whitening the skin color of the characters. “We were trying to create them to match the world of Japanese animation,” Okabayashi said. According to the company, Nissin consulted with the Japanese arm of Osaka’s agency in making the ads but failed to communicate properly with its U.S. parent. Osaka, who has a Japanese mother, a Haitian father and was raised in the United States, has not commented publicly on the issue as she bids for a second consecutive Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. In The Japan Times, columnist Baye McNeil wrote: “In a world that already informs people of color in so many ways that their lives are of less value because of something as superficial as appearance, I implore Nissin — or, hell, the country — not to continue down that path.” The ads sparked debate on social media, with one user writing, “Didn’t anyone question why her skin color was so pale? Her identity is completely ignored.” Another Japanese Twitter user complained: “This isn’t Naomi Osaka. Isn’t this clearly whitewashing?” However, others noted that Nishikori was also portrayed with lighter skin, which tends to be the norm in anime. The real Nishikori “isn’t that light, eyes aren’t that round, and nose is wider. They are both drawn in anime style,” said one defender of the ads. Osaka has dual Japanese-American citizenship and often replies to questions from Japan’s media in English, apologizing for not knowing the appropriate word when she speaks Japanese. Osaka became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam last year after beating Serena Williams at the U.S. Open. That match sparked a cartoon and race controversy when a caricature of Williams, who is black, showed her as a fat-lipped player jumping up and down on a broken racket. That cartoon was also criticized for whitewashing Osaka, who appears in the background with lightened skin and blonde hair. The match was marked by heated exchanges between Williams and the umpire.

tennis
ethnicity
advertising
naomi osaka
nissin foods
whitewashing


2020 Tokyo Olympics tops 200,000 volunteer applications

Abstract: Organizers of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games said Thursday that 204,680 applicants have now registered to be volunteers at next year’s event. Last month they revealed 186,101 applications had been received. The increase was due to a one-month deadline extension for those with visual impairment, as well as those affected by a systems failure. Women accounted for 64 percent of the total applicants. The committee had hoped for 80,000 volunteers through the online process, which started in September. Successful applicants will provide personal, operational and media support at facilities such as sports venues and the Olympic Village. Orientation sessions will start in February, and basic training in October. City volunteers, recruited separately by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will offer transport and sightseeing information to spectators and tourists. The Tokyo Olympics will be held between July 24 and Aug. 9, 2020, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.

volunteers
2020 tokyo olympics
2020 tokyo paralympics


Ichiro Ozawa may be on verge of comeback as Japan's DPP and Liberal parties form joint Diet group

Abstract: One of Japan’s most influential and divisive political figures in recent decades may be staging another comeback. On Thursday, Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa and Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, met at the Diet, where they agreed to form a joint parliamentary group for their opposition parties in the Diet. Later in the day, DPP Secretary-General Hirofumi Hirano said at a news conference that the party will soon start policy coordination talks with Ozawa’s party to “form a larger group.” When asked by reporters, Hirano didn’t rule out a merger. The DPP-Liberal Party bloc is now likely to become the largest opposition group in the Upper House, with 27 members during the ordinary Diet session starting Jan. 28, followed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan with 25. In the meantime, media outlets have reported that Ozawa might be tapped to be secretary-general of the new party, should it emerge. Ozawa, who served as the Liberal Democratic Party’s secretary-general in the early 1990s, bolted from the party in 1993 with a group of lawmakers and helped kick the LDP out of the power for the first time since it was established in 1955. Ozawa, known as a skilled election strategist, also headed Shinshinto in the late 1990s, when it was the largest opposition party. He also was a key member of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2000s. Ozawa headed the DPJ’s election campaigns as deputy party head and ousted the LDP from power again in the 2009 Lower House election, which drastically changed Japan’s political landscape for a second time. “I know quite well about the ability, insight and personality of Mr. Ozawa. I told (the DPP members) that I want to borrow his insight” to form a larger group of opposition lawmakers, Hirano said. At the same time, he emphasized that the two leaders only agreed to “further strengthen cooperation” during Thursday’s meeting. Forming a kaiha (parliamentary group) does not involve merging the parties’ organizations and platforms. But at the Diet, the kaiha is considered the basic unit for forming a group, and question time is distributed to each one according to, in principle, the number of members it has. DPP, the second-largest opposition party, seems to have good reason to tap Ozawa’s strong public recognition ahead of the Upper House election this summer. The approval rate of the DPP has been hovering around the 1 percent level in NHK polls for months, and political observers say the party is likely to suffer a crushing defeat in the election without major reforms. Ozawa, however, has been known for having a dictatorial style of leadership and poor communication with his followers, and all the parties he belonged to were split into pro-Ozawa and anti-Ozawa sides, including the DPJ. Most of them eventually broke up, and Ozawa’s Liberal Party has only six Diet members — Ozawa, another in the Lower House and four members in the Upper House. Political observers have said his career as an influential leader is already effectively over. On Wednesday, Tamaki denied he discussed any personnel matters during a meeting with Ozawa the previous day, despite media reports saying the DPP was considering tapping Ozawa as the No. 2 man for a new party. In the meantime, some DPP members have opposed merger talks with the Liberal Party, given Ozawa’s bad management record. The Liberal Party is anti-nuclear, an apparent obstacle for the DPP, which takes a more moderate stance on nuclear power. “Merging with a certain opposition force without reconciliation of policy measures and party platforms is impossible,” wrote DPP Lower House member Takeshi Shina on Twitter on Tuesday, expressing opposition to the reported merger talks with the Liberal Party.

ichiro ozawa
diet
dpp
liberal party
yuichiro tamaki


Japan's top diplomat Taro Kono meets South Korean counterpart amid widening rift over 'provocative' SDF flights

Abstract: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea on Wednesday exposed a deepening rift between the two countries despite agreeing on the need to maintain close communication, as Seoul made fresh accusations over allegedly provocative flights by the Self-Defense Forces. Their meeting, held on the fringes of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, marked the first face-to-face talks between the two ministers since bilateral ties chilled over wartime labor compensation and disputes over military encounters. For the Japanese side, the meeting was seen as a chance to explore ways to end the stalemate. But shortly before the talks, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said SDF planes had deliberately flown at low altitude near South Korean naval vessels multiple times in recent days, terming the acts a “clear provocation.” South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha started off her meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono by saying the incidents were “very annoying” and “regrettable.” In response, Kono said he felt South Korea’s announcement was “regrettable” and denied that Japanese planes conducted low-altitude flights. Earlier in the day in Seoul, Suh Wook, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s operational headquarters, said the South Korean military was forced to respond after a Japanese patrol plane flew about 60 to 70 meters above a naval vessel in the East China Sea at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, after similar low-altitude flights by Japanese aircraft on Jan. 18 and Tuesday. “We have clearly requested the Japanese government to stop this from happening again, but seeing the plane fly low again today, we cannot but take this as a clear provocation against a vessel of a friendly country,” Suh said at a briefing. South Korea “strongly condemns” such moves, Suh added. “If this is repeated, we will definitely take a strong action in line with our military’s code of conduct.” The South Korean Defense Ministry later summoned a Japanese defense attache in Seoul to lodge a protest. In Tokyo the same day, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya dismissed South Korea’s claim as “inaccurate.” “We did not carry out a flight that could be taken as a threat and this has been conveyed to the South Korean side,” he told reporters. On the alleged flight Wednesday, Iwaya said the SDF plane maintained an altitude of at least 150 meters, countering South Korea’s claim that it flew much lower. Flying above 150 meters is in line with domestic and international laws. On wartime labor issues, Kono, in his meeting with Kang, urged Seoul to take concrete steps to address their dispute and accept Tokyo’s recent request to launch bilateral consultations, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry official. The two have not held direct talks since South Korea’s top court ordered Japanese firms in October and November to compensate laborers forced to work during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Tension also increased after a South Korean district court earlier this month granted a request to seize assets held by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. — one of the companies ordered to compensate forced laborers — that was presented by lawyers representing four local plaintiffs. The official said the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers spent significant time in their meeting discussing the issue. Details of the exchanges have not been released, but the two apparently failed to reach a breakthrough. Kang is believed to have spoken in line with the position taken by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said earlier this month that his government must respect judicial decisions. Tokyo views the top court rulings as flouting international law. It maintains that the issue of compensation was dealt with “completely and finally” under a bilateral accord to settle property claims, signed alongside the 1965 Japan-South Korea treaty that established diplomatic ties. Despite the growing need to cooperate in achieving the denuclearization of North Korea, issues related to wartime history remain a source of diplomatic friction. In recent weeks, Tokyo and Seoul have also brought to the fore a sharp division over a South Korean navy vessel’s alleged locking of fire-control radar on an SDF patrol plane. After concluding on Monday that South Korea’s denial is baseless, Japan’s Defense Ministry severed working-level talks to look into the Dec. 20 radar incident in the Sea of Japan. Japan has presented video and audio clips that it says show fire-control radar was used, in an effort to counter South Korea’s claim that the SDF patrol plane flew menacingly low toward the navy ship. The incident was also touched upon during the ministerial meeting in Switzerland, with Kang pressing Japan to continue the working-level talks. But despite bilateral ties being overshadowed by a series of disputes, Kono and Kang agreed on the importance of maintaining close communication directly as well as among other officials at their ministries, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry official. The two also affirmed their cooperation in working toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as a successful second summit between the United States and North Korea in February. The meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes but actually lasted for about an hour, the official said.

self defense forces
japan-south korea relations
taro kono
kang kyung-wha


Japanese lawmakers from both sides lay into labor ministry over costly jobs data debacle

Abstract: Ruling and opposition lawmakers on Thursday criticized the labor ministry for releasing faulty jobs data for more than a decade in the first Diet discussions held on the issue since the scandal broke in December. Labor minister Takumi Nemoto apologized for the debacle, which led to more than 20 million people being underpaid on work-related benefits and cast doubt on the accuracy of government statistics. “I deeply apologize to the people for the inconvenience,” he told an out-of-session meeting of the House of Representatives labor committee. Keigo Masuya, a member of the ruling coalition’s Komeito, condemned the ministry for continuing to release its monthly labor survey, claiming officials knowingly neglected to collect enough data. “This is systematic involvement and a systematic cover-up,” he told the meeting. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is required to gather results from all businesses in the country with 500 or more employees. But in Tokyo, it had only polled a third of the roughly 1,400 businesses matching that criteria since 2004. The shortage of data from major firms, which usually pay higher wages than smaller companies, meant the nation’s wage figures were calculated as lower than they actually should have been. Last year, the ministry quietly began tweaking the survey results to make them seem as if it had collected the necessary data, leading to a sudden surge in the wage figures. Opposition forces criticized the tweak as “fake Abenomics,” suggesting it was motivated by a desire to make Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies appear more successful. While Nemoto and dozens of ministry officials have been disciplined, an investigative panel of statistics experts and lawyers concluded earlier this week that there is no definitive evidence of a systematic cover-up. As for the panel’s hearing, the ministry revealed Thursday that about a third of the officials under investigation had been interviewed by ministry staff without the presence of outside experts. Chinami Nishimura, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party, dismissed the probe as having been rushed and lacking insight on crucial details, including motive. “I’m doubtful of the impartiality of the panel. It seems to me that the panel was set up as an alibi,” she said. Komeito’s Masuya was also critical of the panel’s findings, saying it was “lined with excuses from the ministry.” “This issue should be investigated until everything has been cleared up,” he added. The government has said it will retroactively pay the more than ¥53 billion ($480 million) it failed to distribute to the beneficiaries of state-funded insurance programs. People enrolled in unemployment insurance will begin receiving the additional payments in March, while payments for workers’ compensation and sailors’ insurance will begin in April, a senior ministry official said. The senior official said, however, that there were more than 10 million people that the ministry could not locate and that it would take some time to find their addresses.

diet
jobs
scandals
social welfare
takumi nemoto
mhlw


Japan and China to hold security dialogue on Feb. 1 in Beijing, sources say

Abstract: Japan and China are set to hold a security dialogue on Feb. 1 in Beijing in a bid to narrow differences over defense issues, as their relations have been improving, according to bilateral sources close to the matter. The security dialogue between senior foreign affairs and defense officials of the two countries would be the first since October 2017, when a dialogue was held in Tokyo. Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and defense officials are slated to attend the dialogue, the sources said Wednesday. The planned discussion, aimed at deepening mutual trust between the two sides, comes as Chinese coast guard vessels continue to occasionally sail into waters around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Discord over the uninhabited islands, which China calls the Diaoyu, has become more tense since 2012, when the Japanese government brought them under state control. Topics on which the officials may exchange views also include Japan’s latest national defense guidelines, approved last month, which document its decision to pursue the deployment of aircraft carriers for the first time since the end of World War II. Beijing has strongly objected to the guidelines, which also point out that China’s military activities in the East China Sea and other waters are a source of “strong concern” in the region. China has criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government for fanning the “threat of China.” Mori and Kong, meanwhile, are likely to step up preparations to hold a strategic dialogue between Japanese and Chinese vice foreign ministers, as well as a ministerial-level economic dialogue to lay the groundwork for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Japan for the Group of 20 summit, set to be held in Osaka in June. If Xi attends as planned, he would become the first Chinese president to make an official trip to Japan since May 2008, when Hu Jintao — Xi’s immediate predecessor — visited the nation as a state guest. At a summit with Abe in Beijing last October, Xi said he will “seriously” consider visiting Japan, with both expressing willingness to promote high-level reciprocal visits. Bilateral ties have been improving recently, with 2018 having marked the 40th anniversary of the signing and entering into force of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China. The two countries have agreed to bolster economic cooperation, while China remains engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff trade dispute with the United States.

security
china-japan relations
takeo mori
kong xuanyou


Death at Nakameguro Station in Tokyo highlights importance of rest after contracting flu

Abstract: A recent series of accidents involving fainting by individuals infected with the influenza virus is prompting experts to stress the importance of getting a proper amount of rest. At around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a 37-year-old woman who was on her way to work was struck and killed by a train after she fell onto railway tracks at Nakameguro Station on Tokyo Metro’s Hibiya Line, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. She had been waiting at the front of the queue on the platform and apparently became unable to stand. 湯島天神へ向かっていて日比谷線に乗り換えようとしたのですが、乗る予定の電車が乗客がと接触してしまったようです… 皆さんくれぐれも、ホーム上では黄色い線の内側を歩きましょうね😌 pic.twitter.com/2IB0HD2j1E — ますみん@GGT運営 (@masumi_sugae) January 22, 2019 A test detected the presence of the flu virus in her body, leading the police to believe her fall may have been caused by her condition and possible poor health. Nobuhiko Okabe, who heads the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, said whether the accident was triggered by a flu infection remains unclear. “A high fever could make one feel groggy and unable to walk straight,” Okabe said. “We recommend that people with this condition refrain from going out as much as possible and have a good rest.” In Saitama Prefecture the same day, a sixth-grade boy who took sick leave from an elementary school in the city of Tsurugashima due to flu was injured after falling from the third floor of the apartment building where he lives, according to the city’s education board and other sources. The accident was not life-threatening, they said. “It is necessary for us not to leave patients alone and to monitor their condition,” said Okabe. He also noted that people who have had the flu previously could be infected with a different strain of the virus, so people should be careful. “I want them to prevent the infection by washing hands and wearing masks,” he added.

flu
health
trains
diseases
hibiya line
nakameguro station


Abe makes sales pitch for Fukushima sake at Davos

Abstract: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a sales pitch for sake produced in Fukushima Prefecture. At the Japan Night event in Davos, Abe advertised Yamato no Kokoro, produced in Fukushima’s Aizuwakamatsu from rice that his wife, Akie, grew in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where his electoral home district is located. In the past, it would have been unthinkable for a sake brewer in the Aizu region to use rice from Choshu — now Yamaguchi — Abe said in a speech, noting that the Aizu and Choshu domains fought against each other in a civil war amid the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Yamato no Kokoro is a symbol of peace, he said. “I hope you’ll enjoy Japanese food and sake, the strongest of the country’s soft powers, and visit Japan to enjoy the real stuff,” Abe said. The prime minister was making an appearance at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting for the first time in five years. Abe made a speech at the Davos conference and stressed the need to promote free trade. He returned to Japan on Thursday evening.

shinzo abe
fukushima
davos
sake
japan night


Fate of Japan's oldest monorail line up in the air

Abstract: The operation of Japan’s oldest monorail line, located at a Tokyo zoo, will be suspended in November following a 62-year run, as the current vehicles are getting old, the metropolitan government said Wednesday. It was vague about whether the monorail runs at Ueno Zoological Gardens would resume after the hiatus starting Nov. 1, citing high operation costs. The zoo began to use the system, which has a 300-meter track and hanging monorail cars with arms only on one side, in December 1957 as a pilot project in which Tokyo sought an alternative to street cars in the postwar period. The monorail has two cars running under the track between the eastern side and western side of the zoo. The 90-second trip costs ¥150 and has drawn more than 1 million passengers a year, according to the metropolitan government. The zoo will offer ground transportation such as electric vehicles for free after it halts the monorail system, the metropolitan government said. The zoo began to use the current cars in the fiscal year 2001. As there is no other monorail line in Japan that uses similar models, it might take three years to manufacture a new unit and as such cost the metro government a lot to renew them, as well as pay for the power and other facilities. An official at the metropolitan government implied it is premature to make any final decision about whether to maintain the monorail, as those involved fully recognize it is popular among visitors. “We will consider various avenues to take such as getting new monorail cars as well as trying other transportation,” the official said.

tokyo
transportation
trains
ueno zoo
monorail


Banksy-like work found in Chiba, following similar discovery in Tokyo

Abstract: CHIBA - Graffiti on a seawall in Chiba Prefecture resembling the work of Banksy has sparked speculation over whether it is a piece by the elusive street artist, and it comes about a month after another possible work by the painter and activist was found in the nation’s capital. The drawing in Tokyo sparked excitement, with authorities saying they plan to check its authenticity. But the work found in the coastal town of Kujukuri in Chiba, which resembles Banksy’s noted “Girl with Balloon,” may end up causing disappointment. “As it seems to have been drawn recently, I guess it may be a copy by a fan,” Yoshitaka Mori, an expert on the works of the U.K.-based artist, said, while noting he has not seen the actual graffiti on the concrete seawall at the fishing port. The drawing of a 1-meter-tall girl in monochrome and a red heart-shaped balloon was noticed by port officials on Monday after an inquiry from a media outlet, according to the town in Chiba Prefecture. An official overseeing the port, appearing surprised by the attention, said there is no plan to ask for experts’ judgement on the authenticity of the graffiti. Mori, a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, said he could not “think of any reason why Banksy, who in recent years has been busy traveling around the world and constantly producing works, should come to Japan secretly and create works.” Banksy, whose identity is known only to a few people, has produced works of art on walls and other locations all over the world. In October he caused controversy after he shredded the piece “Girl with Balloon” during an auction in London. In Tokyo, a drawing — no bigger than a sheet of office paper — of a rat holding an umbrella and bag was discovered on a metal flood barrier near Hinode Station on the Yurikamome train line in the bay area of Tokyo’s Minato Ward. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government in January removed the part of the barrier on which the mysterious work is drawn and put it in a warehouse due to concerns that the image, which has already been shared online, may attract too many visitors.

chiba prefecture
graffiti
banksy
kujukuri


Striking teachers reach deal with Los Angeles school district

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - A week-old strike by more than 30,000 Los Angeles teachers that has disrupted classes for nearly half a million students neared an end on Tuesday as the teachers’ union and the second-largest U.S. school district reached a contract deal. “I’m proud to announce, pending approval, that we have an agreement that will allow teachers to go back to work on their campuses tomorrow,” Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has mediated the talks, said at a news conference. He was joined by Alex Caputo-Pearl, the president of the United Teachers Los Angeles union, and Austin Beutner, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Precise terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed. Teachers walked off the job on Jan. 14 in their first strike in three decades against school district, demanding higher pay, smaller class sizes and the hiring of more support staff, such as nurses and guidance counselors. The union also sought restrictions on the steady expansion of independently managed charter schools, arguing they divert resources from traditional classroom instruction for the bulk of the district’s students.

strike
teachers
wages
union
los angeles
eric garcetti


Iran deplores 'unjustifiable' German banning of Mahan Air

Abstract: TEHRAN - Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday deplored Germany’s decision to ban Iranian airline Mahan air from its airports, describing the move as “hasty and unjustifiable. “The rescinding of Mahan Air’s flight permits to Germany is a hasty, unjustifiable act,” the ministry said in a statement. “This action is in conflict with the spirit governing the long-standing relations between the Iranian and German nations,” and “contrary to the interests of bilateral relations, it said. Iran said it hopes Germany will reconsider its decision. Germany said on Monday it had banned Mahan Air from its airports. Germany foreign ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told reporters in Berlin the move was necessary to protect Germany’s “foreign and security policy interests. A spokeswoman at Germany’s transport ministry said Iran had been informed that the ban would take effect from Monday and involve Mahan Air flights from and to Germany. Mahan Air, Iran’s second-largest carrier after Iran Air, flies four services a week between Tehran and the German cities of Dusseldorf and Munich. The ban caused confusion and chaos for Mahan Air passengers as the airline rushed to secure replacement flights for them. “I’ve been in the aviation industry for decades, and I’ve never seen such a thing,” a Mahan Air employee from the company’s Dusseldorf office told AFP in Tehran on Tuesday. “It borders on cruelty for all of these passengers,” he said on condition of anonymity, adding that staff had been fielding calls from distraught passengers all day long. Mahan Air was blacklisted by the U.S. in 2011, as Washington said the carrier was providing technical and material support to an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force. Iran’s aging air fleet has had a string of crashes in recent years mostly due to tough decades-long U.S. sanctions hindering the purchase of new aircraft and critical spare parts for its civilian fleet. Hopes for a change in the situation were dashed last May when Washington pulled out of a landmark 2015 deal over Iran’s nuclear program, reimposing sanctions that had been lifted as part of the multilateral accord.

germany
iran
iran nuclear deal
u.s. sanctions
mahan air


Trump won't soften hard line on need for China reforms to make trade deal, advisers say

Abstract: WASHINGTON - As much as U.S. President Donald Trump wants to boost markets through a trade pact with China, he will not soften his position that Beijing must make real structural reforms, including how it handles intellectual property, to reach a deal, advisers say. Offering to buy more American goods is unlikely by itself to overcome an issue that has bedeviled talks between the two countries. Those talks are set to continue when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He visits Washington at the end of January. The United States accuses China of stealing intellectual property and forcing American companies to share technology when they do business in China. Beijing denies the accusations. With a March 1 deadline approaching to reach an agreement or risk an escalation of tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, the two sides are still far apart on key, structural elements critical for a deal, according to sources familiar with the talks. “We’re not yet in a position where our concerns have been addressed sufficiently,” one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said the Trump team, led by hard-line U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, was focused on such structural issues as well as trade imbalances. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that forced technology transfers, IP theft and ownership restrictions remained a top priority for Trump. “The president’s said many times how crucial that is, and he’s not going to back down,” Kudlow said. Lack of progress led the Trump administration to decline an in-person meeting with a lower-level Chinese delegation for preparatory talks ahead of Liu He’s visit, a source familiar with the situation said. The Financial Times also reported that an offer for a preparatory meeting was rejected, but White House officials pushed back on the suggestion that any meeting was canceled. “With respect, the story is not true,” Kudlow told CNBC, referring to the FT report. “The teams remain in touch in preparation for high-level talks with Vice Premier Liu He at the end of this month,” said White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a cease-fire in their trade war at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires last year, setting a 90-day period to discuss differences and agree a deal. Those talks have yet to produce anything on paper. “There’s progress in that the two sides are talking. But I look at it like this: there’s still nothing agreed on in writing,” said one source familiar with the discussions. Trump has painted developments in the U.S.-China trade talks as largely positive, aware of the effect that the tensions have had on stock markets. The S&P 500 registered its biggest four-week percentage gain since 2011 on Friday after dropping nearly 20 percent from its record September close on Christmas Eve. The benchmark index lost ground Tuesday after a national holiday Monday. “We’ve really had a very extraordinary number of meetings, and a deal could very well happen with China. It’s going very well,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday. China has offered more than $1.2 trillion in additional commitments on trade, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said last month. That is not sufficient for Trump or his team. “To think that this is going to end with simple ‘commitments,’ I think, is overlooking the historical experience that we’ve had,” the U.S. official said. Chinese officials pledged to buy enough U.S. products to wipe out the U.S-China trade deficit at talks in Beijing earlier this month but also hedged its position, saying it depended on the demands of Chinese companies, said Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Chinese have indicated they feel they already addressed U.S. concerns about intellectual property rights through a new law and other actions, Kennedy said. “These weren’t sufficient to satisfy the U.S. negotiation team. So we’ll see if the Chinese give any more on those or if they still try to focus on sweetening the purchases side, and hoping that Trump bites on the potential big numbers,” he said. Barring progress at the end of the 90-day period, the Trump administration is scheduled to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the current 10 percent to 25 percent. “All I’ll say is the meetings coming up at the end of the month with Liu He are very important,” Kudlow said.

china
u.s .
trade
xi jinping
donald trump


Abe calls for rebuilding of trust in international trade at World Economic Forum meeting in Davos

Abstract: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the stage at the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, where he stressed Japan’s commitment to enhancing a free, open and rules-based international order. Flying in from Moscow and appearing in front of the audience in Davos for the first time in five years, Abe spoke about his trade policy and touted some of the growth strategies he has initiated since taking office for the second time in 2012, such as efforts toward the implementation of womenomics, requests to companies to increase wages and the passing of a bill that paves the way for the invitation of some 340,000 foreign workers. During the annual meeting, which kicked off Tuesday, Abe noted that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership finally took effect on Dec. 30, and that the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will also enter into force on Feb. 1. “The entire world should benefit from the economies of scale and efficiencies these two mega-deals will bring about,” he told the crowd, which was gathered in the biggest hall of the Davos conference center. “I call on you, ladies and gentlemen, to rebuild trust toward the system for international trade,” he said. “That should be a system that is fair, transparent, and effective in protecting IPR (intellectual property rights) and also in such areas as e-commerce and government procurement.” Abe’s call for free trade resonates with growing concerns over recent trade disputes between the U.S. and China, Brexit and rising populist sentiment across the globe. Such concerns are shared by many participants gathered in Davos. This year’s annual meeting, which has attracted more than 3,000 leaders from the areas of politics, business and academia, as well as nongovernmental organizations, took place in the absence of many major political figures who were busy trying to solve issues at home. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, for example, continues to face the difficult challenge of Brexit due to a divided Parliament. And as the U.S. suffers from its longest government shutdown in history, U.S. President Donald Trump not only canceled his own trip to the snow-capped Swiss resort town, but also that of all of his Cabinet members, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Abe, who is hosting this year’s Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June, did not miss the opportunity to promote the gathering to the global elites present, saying that he will lead the discussion on a range of issues such as climate change, as well as digital data governance using the World Trade Organization framework. He stressed the importance of ensuring the free flow of medical, industrial, traffic and other useful data while protecting personal and other security-related information. “The engine for growth, if you think about it, is fueled no longer by gasoline, but more and more by digital data,” he said. “We will be inviting to Japan (the) topmost experts in science and technology from G20 member countries to combine forces in accelerating innovation,” he said. The main theme of this year’s Davos conference, which will continue through Friday, is “Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and focuses on new technologies, the changing roles of humans and the impact of these developments. Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko and transport minister Keiichi Ishii were among the Japanese ministers who attended the annual conference. Though many U.S. delegates were absent, Pompeo gave a speech via video Tuesday, the first day of the Davos conference. He defended the Trump administration’s brand of disruptive politics, pointing out U.S. economic strengths and foreign policy successes. He also touched on North Korea, saying there is some progress in talks with the reclusive country. “There are many steps yet along the way towards achieving the denuclearization that was laid out in Singapore,” he said, but “we are determined to work toward achieving that.” Newly elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also came to Davos and delivered a speech on Tuesday, saying he will implement a series of reforms, such as lowering taxes and improving social safety nets.

china
shinzo abe
u.s .
tpp
trade
davos
tariffs


White House denies reports of canceled trade meeting ahead of China talks

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A top White House aide flatly rejected media reports Tuesday that Washington had canceled a trade meeting ahead of next week’s high-level talks with Chinese officials. The reports by the Financial Times and CNBC earlier sent U.S. stocks sharply lower, reviving fears that efforts to resolve the U.S.-China trade war could fail. But National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC that such reports were false. “With respect, the story is not true,” Kudlow said. “There was never a planned meeting that was canceled.” Stock prices recovered some of their losses following Kudlow’s remarks shortly after 2030 GMT. Wall Street had already been in the red due to downgraded global economic forecasts. Soy and corn futures also fell on fears Beijing was less likely to resume imports. According to both media outlets, U.S. officials had cited a lack of progress on some of the thorniest issues in the trade dispute — including allegedly forced technology transfers and structural reforms to China’s economy — and canceled plans for a face-to-face preparatory meeting this week. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due to travel to the United States next week as the two sides work to resolve their disagreements by March 1, when a 90-day truce is due to expire, allowing U.S. import duties on Chinese goods to increase sharply. Last year, the Chinese economy posted its slowest annual growth in nearly three decades, according to official figures published Monday in Beijing. The trade war has weighed heavily on the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.

china
u.s .
trade
white house
tariffs
larry kudlow


Japan logged first goods trade deficit in three years in 2018 as energy import costs surged

Abstract: Japan logged a goods trade deficit of ¥1.2 trillion ($11 billion) in 2018, government data showed Wednesday, the first red ink in three years as the cost of energy imports surged. Imports rose 9.7 percent from a year earlier to ¥82.69 trillion, outpacing a 4.1 percent increase in exports to ¥81.49 trillion. For December alone, exports marked their steepest fall since October 2016, down 3.8 percent to ¥7.02 trillion, and shipments to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, sank 7 percent from a year earlier amid slumping demand for devices from Chinese makers of mobile phones, semiconductors and liquid crystal displays. Exports have been a major component of the economy’s current expansion cycle, which is likely to be the longest since the end of World War II. But demand has waned in recent months amid a trade war between the United States and China. Nidec Corp., a maker of electric motors, last week warned investors that it expects a fall in profit for the year ending in March due to a fall in orders from China as a result of the trade tensions. Kazuma Maeda, an analyst at Barclays Securities Japan, warned that looking forward “the fading boost to China-bound exports of capital goods driven by ‘Made in China 2025’ could prove a drag on exports.” Made in China 2025, President Xi Jinping’s blueprint for growing the country’s technology industry, has been a source of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ire and could be revised in bilateral trade talks. A string of natural disasters in the summer, including a powerful typhoon that temporarily shut down Osaka’s main airport, may have also played a part in slowing imports. Meanwhile, imports of energy-related commodities such as liquefied natural gas and kerosene were pushed up by an increase in global oil prices, with crude oil imports surging 24.5 percent to ¥8.91 trillion last year. By region, Japan ran a deficit of ¥3.28 trillion with China. The margin of red ink shrank for the third consecutive year, however, as exports grew to a record high on demand for equipment used to manufacture semiconductors. Against all of Asia, Japan saw a surplus of ¥5.54 trillion. Japan had a surplus of ¥6.45 trillion against the United States, a smaller amount than the previous year amid falling automobile exports and a rise in aircraft imports. With Europe, Japan logged a deficit of ¥487.5 billion, with imports of medicine from Ireland contributing. For December, Japan logged a goods trade deficit of ¥55.3 billion, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry. Imports grew 1.9 percent to ¥7.08 trillion. The figures were compiled on the basis of those goods that have cleared customs.


Latest trick for Sony's Aibo robotic pooch: Acting as watchdog

Abstract: Sony Corp. on Wednesday showed off the latest tricks of its signature robotic dog, Aibo, including a new security capability of patrolling inside a house. Teaming up with security company Secom Co. Ltd., the Japanese electronics giant will roll out the new roaming security feature for free in a system software update scheduled for mid-February. Specifically, up to 10 names and faces can be registered on the My Aibo app, and the user’s Aibo can then be programmed to walk around predetermined areas in a home or other structure at designated times to check whether any of the registered individuals are present. The user will subsequently receive a report from the Aibo. The patrolling task is the first feature that showcases the Aibo’s ability to remember and recognize spaces, said Izumi Kawanishi, Sony’s senior vice president in charge of the artificial intelligence robotics business. “The concept is one can have fun while feeling a little bit of sense of security by living with an Aibo,” Kawanishi said. “This might as well be called as ‘securi-tainment’ combining ‘security’ and ‘entertainment.'” Kawanishi also announced Sony will release a premium service in which a user is able to remotely instruct Aibo to go into and search a house while the person watches transmitted images in real time. The Aibo will also send out push notifications when it comes across individuals the user wants to find, such as when parents want to check if their children made it home safely. The service will begin in June and cost ¥1,480 ($13.50) a month. The nation’s graying population presents business opportunities for security companies such as Secom, with changing demographics creating a need for greater home security not just while a homeowner is away but also when they are home, as elderly people seek greater peace of mind, said Satoshi Ueda, Secom’s executive officer in charge of corporate planning. In the future, Aibo could act as a component in a security system, relaying information to Secom. “In order to meet those demands and expand services, we regard further use of AI and the ‘internet of things as indispensable,'” Ueda said. Aibo can potentially distinguish all members of a family and become familiar with the areas of a home in which it is capable of moving within 90 days, Kawanishi said. First introduced in 1999, the 29-centimeter-tall robot dog was marketed as a pioneering product in the realm of AI. Sony, however, ended production in 2006, citing low profits. Revived in January last year, more than 20,000 Aibo had been sold by July, Kawanishi said. It went on sale in the United States last fall. “Since the relaunch a year ago, we’ve heard many owners in Japan and the United States say that Aibo has become part of their family and brought joy to them,” Kawanishi said. The AI-driven entertainment dog has been used as an alternative pet for people allergic to dogs. It has also been used as a therapy dog for children undergoing long-term hospitalization in a trial being carried out at the National Center for Children Health and Development in Tokyo.


Renault convenes board to turn page on Carlos Ghosn era

Abstract: PARIS - Renault has called a board meeting to replace Chairman and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, in a move that may begin to ease tensions with alliance partner Nissan in the wake of Ghosn’s arrest in Japan for alleged financial misconduct. The board, which meets on Thursday morning, will consider the proposed appointment of outgoing Michelin boss Jean-Dominique Senard as chairman and the promotion of Ghosn’s deputy, Thierry Bollore, to CEO, three sources said. Renault confirmed an emergency board meeting was planned for Thursday, but a spokesman did not respond to questions about its agenda or Ghosn’s replacement. The decision, two months after Ghosn’s Nov. 19 arrest and swift dismissal as Nissan chairman, turns a page on his two decades at the helm of the partnership he transformed into a global carmaking giant, following Renault’s acquisition of a near-bankrupt Nissan in 1999. Ghosn has been charged with failing to disclose more than ¥9 billion in additional Nissan compensation between 2010 and 2018 that he had arranged to be paid later. Nissan director Greg Kelly and the company itself have also been indicted. Both men deny the deferred pay agreements were illegal or required disclosure. Ghosn has also denied a separate breach of trust charge over personal investment losses he temporarily transferred to Nissan in 2008. Nissan has said it takes the matter seriously and pledged to improve corporate governance. Ghosn has now agreed to resign from Renault, said three sources familiar with the matter — but only after the French government, its biggest shareholder, called for leadership change and his bail requests were rejected by the Japanese courts. No formal resignation has yet been received, however, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said late on Tuesday. “As of this moment in time, Renault’s interim leadership has not received a resignation letter from Carlos Ghosn,” the minister said on BFM TV. Senard, 65, now faces the immediate task of soothing relations with Nissan, which is 43.4 percent-owned by Renault. Since Ghosn’s arrest, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has sought to weaken Renault’s control and resisted its attempts to nominate new directors to the Japanese carmaker’s board. Nissan currently owns a 15 percent nonvoting stake in its French parent and 34 percent in Mitsubishi Motors, a third major partner in their manufacturing alliance. Once its new management is settled, French officials want work to resume on a new ownership structure cementing the partnership — which Ghosn had been mandated to explore when his Renault contract was renewed last year with government backing. Nissan is wary of any such move. In an interview last week, Saikawa acknowledged shareholders’ concerns that the current structure undervalues their investment, but added that changing it was “really not the current priority. “The subject is not on the table today,” Finance Minister Le Maire said on Sunday amid Japanese press reports that France was actively pushing for a Renault-Nissan merger.

france
nissan
mitsubishi motors
renault
carlos ghosn
japan


Toyota and Panasonic to launch joint venture to make electric vehicle batteries by end of 2020

Abstract: NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. and electronics giant Panasonic Corp. said Tuesday they will jointly establish a new company to make batteries for automobiles, including electric vehicles, by the end of 2020. With the joint venture, the firms aim to counter Chinese and other foreign rivals. Toyota and Panasonic hope to accelerate the development of high-performance batteries for supply to automakers at home and abroad, while redoubling efforts to increase the price competitiveness of their batteries. The joint company will be owned 51 percent by Toyota and 49 percent by Panasonic. Panasonic will transfer its production facilities for vehicle batteries, excluding those for batteries supplied to major U.S. electric vehicle-maker Tesla Inc., to the new company. The joint venture will also take over Toyota’s battery-related development and production facilities. The combined number of Toyota and Panasonic employees to be reassigned to the new firm will total about 3,500. Toyota, which plans to boost sales of its electric vehicles to 5.5 million units in 2030, aims for stable procurement of batteries. Automotive battery operations involve a series of hurdles, such as improving performance, reducing production costs, ensuring stable supply and establishing a recycling system. Believing that these challenges cannot be solved by one company, Toyota and Panasonic decided to join forces, sources said. Batteries to be made by the new company are expected to be supplied to Daihatsu Motor Co., a Toyota subsidiary, Mazda Motor Corp., Subaru Corp. and other automakers. Toyota and Panasonic started talks on the possible tie-up in December 2017.

toyota
panasonic
batteries
electric vehicles


British billionaire James Dyson to move vacuum giant HQ to Singapore, but firm denies Brexit is a factor

Abstract: LONDON - James Dyson, the billionaire Brexit supporter who revolutionised vacuum cleaners with his bagless technology, is moving his corporate office and tax registration to Singapore from Britain to be closer to his fastest growing markets. The company said the move from Britain was not driven by the looming departure from the European Union or any tax implications. It already manufacturers products in Asia and will build its new electric car in Singapore. Much of its product development will remain in southwest England. Chief Executive Jim Rowan said the group was seeing the biggest demand for its products like air purifiers and hairdryers as well as cleaners in Asia. “It allows us to make sure we will be putting our best efforts to secure those opportunities, as well as keeping an eye on those investments, especially EV (electric vehicles) and batteries,” he said. Rowan, who is already based in Singapore, will be joined by other senior executives. He said the change in the company’s overall tax bill would be negligible as a result of the move, and the company was still expanding its research and engineering operation in Britain. The move comes as Dyson said its annual profit had broken through the £1 billion barrier for the first time, driven by strong demand in China and other Asian countries.

singapore
asia
electric cars
ev
brexit
james dyson
dyson


A century on, Basra's British-era shipyard going strong via vintage machinery

Abstract: BASRA, IRAQ - Begun in 1918 by British troops, Basra’s shipyard is surviving into old age with little maintenance, relying on its vintage machinery and the skill of its workers to keep going. Thousands of ships, including former dictator Saddam Hussein’s yacht, have passed through the Iraqi shipyard’s three docks, where a giant steam engine hauls them out of the water and up the century-old wooden tracks. There are no spare parts and no written manuals. Mohammed Adnan, who has been operating the huge steam engine for six years now, says it is not easy. It requires expertise and intuition to maintain the right pressure in the boilers, and to prevent the engine from overheating. “British manufacturing is great quality … but it is because of Iraqi expertise that we have managed to keep it going,” said 56-year-old Adnan. The only instructions in the boiler room are those inscribed on a steel plaque: “Flag Signals: Yellow heave, blue lower, red stop.” Workers say the wooden tracks seem to grow stronger each year. “They say they (the British) brought in the wood from Burma … we tried to drill a 1.5 inch nail into it once, we couldn’t,” said Jassim Hussain Sabour, the shipyard’s longest-serving worker. “It is like stainless steel, not wood.” Fishing and oil smuggling during the nineties when Iraq was under sanctions kept all three docks busy with ships coming in for repairs. In its heyday the shipyard handled nine ships every month. In 2018, it repaired eight boats in total, most owned by the state-run ports and waterways authority. The shipyard was built by the British after their campaign to capture Baghdad from the Ottoman Turks duringt World War I. It suffered some damage during the 1980-1988 Iran Iraq war, and looting in 2003, but survived the Gulf Wars largely unscathed.


6,000 Nigerians flee Boko Haram attack to Chad: U.N.

Abstract: LAGOS - Thousands of Nigerians have fled across Lake Chad since Boko Haram launched attacks in and around the fishing town of Baga last month, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. “An estimated 6,000 refugees have fled Nigeria’s restive Borno state since December 26, when clashes erupted between Nigerian forces and non-state armed groups in Baga town, near the Chadian border,” the UNHCR said in a statement. “According to testimonies gathered by our teams, refugees are fleeing in fear of their lives after threats of retaliation and intimidation following militant attacks.” The attacks have been blamed on the Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram, which has repeatedly targeted the military in recent months. Last week, the U.N. said there had since been a “massive displacement” of more than 30,000 people from Baga and the surrounding area to the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. That had increased pressure on already overstretched aid agencies providing humanitarian assistance in the city. Another 9,000 Nigerians sought refuge in Cameroon following a separate attack against troops in Rann, but the authorities there refused to take them, the UNHCR said last week. The attacks come as Nigeria prepares to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in less than a month. Violence and so many displaced people is expected to make voting problematic. The conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army has claimed more than 27,000 lives since 2009 and more than 1.7 million people are still unable to return to their homes. Edward Kallon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, has said the “increasingly frequent” attacks were “having a devastating impact on… civilians.”


Car bomb hits Syria regime stronghold of Latakia; one killed, over dozen wounded

Abstract: DAMASCUS - A car bomb shook the Syrian regime’s coastal stronghold of Latakia on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding more than a dozen others, state news agency SANA reported. Authorities found a second explosive device in the same place and defused it just before it was due to blow up, it said. The other bomb exploded in the city’s Al-Hammam square, according to SANA, which published video footage showing a burnt-out car surrounded by firefighters and soldiers. “The terrorist explosion caused the death of one civilian and wounded 14 others,” it said, citing a top health official in the province. Earlier it had reported that the person killed was the driver of the vehicle. Most of those wounded were hit by shrapnel, the director of the city’s Tishrin hospital, Louay Naddaf, told state television. Latakia is the fiefdom of President Bashar Assad’s family. The city, the capital of Latakia province located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, has largely escaped the violence that has devastated other regions of Syria since the conflict began in 2011. But the province has been targeted by “sporadic strikes” by rebels or jihadis, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. The region abuts the last major area outside of the regime’s control and which includes much of Idlib province as well as adjacent parts of Hama and Aleppo provinces. Earlier this month an alliance led by Syria’s former al-Qaida affiliate took administrative control of the whole of the opposition bastion under a deal with rival rebels. According to the Observatory, Tuesday’s blast in Latakia was caused by an explosive device hidden inside the car or near it. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that the driver was not a suicide attacker. In September 2015 a car bomb had exploded in the same square, killing dozens of people. The latest explosion comes days after a blast — the first in more than a year — hit Damascus, which has also been largely insulated from the war. According to SANA the bomb blast hit southern Damascus without causing any victims, but the Observatory reported it left a number of people dead and wounded. Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 spiraled into full conflict. With key military backing from Russia, Assad’s forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadis, and now control almost two-thirds of the country. The regime in May reclaimed a final scrap of territory held by the Islamic State group in southern Damascus, cementing total control over the capital for the first time in six years.

terrorism
russia
syria
al-qaida
bashar assad
islamic state
latakia


Afghanistan conflict claims second U.S. service member of the year

Abstract: KABUL - An American soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, NATO said, the second to die as a result of the conflict so far in 2019. “The incident is under investigation,” NATO’s Resolute Support mission said in a statement. “In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete.” It comes after an injured American soldier who was transported to Germany for treatment died there earlier this month. Sgt. Cameron Meddock died “as a result of injuries sustained from small arms fire during combat operations” in Badghis Province on Jan. 13, the Pentagon said Friday. More than 2,400 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the intervention of the U.S. armed forces in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban. But the numbers have dropped significantly since the end of 2014, when Afghan forces took over from U.S.-led NATO combat troops. Twelve U.S. soldiers were killed last year. Currently, there are about 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, providing the main component of the Resolute Support mission to help and train local forces. But in December, President Donald Trump, losing patience with the war, announced his intention to withdraw half the troops.

nato
afghanistan
taliban
pentagon
u.s. forces
donald trump


Latest Trump line about global warming makes a chilling mistake

Abstract: NEW YORK - With an Arctic blast chilling the northern states, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that it “Wouldn’t be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!” The apparent irony that cold weather can strike a warming world is a time-tested line for Trump, Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill and even late-night talk show hosts. Nothing diffuses a joke quite like further analysis, under which this one falls apart. Trump’s statement confuses weather, which is short-term local fluctuations that people check every morning before stepping outside, and climate, which is the long-term aggregate of everything that happens weather-wise in an area or globally. Confusing the two is like conflating a Major League Baseball slugger’s lifetime batting average with a single trip to the plate, or a person’s character or disposition with a fleeting mood. A January cold snap across many U.S. states doesn’t contradict the planet’s long-term warming trend. A map of today’s weather shows the gradual outline of what one might expect given basic information about how the seasons work. It’s summertime in the planet’s Southern Hemisphere — particularly Australia, which is experiencing a historic heat wave so hot that a restaurant in Mildura, Victoria, claimed on its Facebook page to be able to cook a steak inside a car. A pocket of brutal Arctic coldness has escaped to southeastern Canada and the northeastern U.S., with frigid air draping the northern half of the U.S. The ultimate irony is that global warming may have a hand in the cold. Research by Rutgers University research professor Jennifer Francis and others has suggested that, because the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, the temperature difference between temperate latitudes and the high north is diminishing, encouraging these wintry blasts to slip into America’s northeast. The big picture is clear and has been for many years. Every decade has been warmer than the last since the 1960s and the world is about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) hotter than before industrialization. Many years since 1991 have set new global ocean heat records. Arctic ice is shrinking, seas are rising and scientists have long demonstrated the overwhelming driver is greenhouse gas pollution. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains a rich archive of data and information at climate.gov — when the U.S. government is funded.

climate
weather
climate change
donald trump


Greenland ice melting four times faster than a decade earlier, and across the whole island, study says

Abstract: COPENHAGEN - Greenland’s melting ice, which causes sea levels to rise, disappeared four times faster in 2013 than in 2003 and is noticeable across the Arctic island, not just on glaciers, researchers warned on Tuesday. “While 111 cubic kilometres of ice disappeared per year in 2003, 10 years later this figure had almost quadrupled to 428 cubic kilometres,” the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Space Lab said in a statement. Its researchers contributed to a study on changes to Greenland’s ice sheet, published in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “These are notable and surprising changes we are seeing in the ice melt pattern,” DTU professor Shfaqat Abbas Khan said. Until now, most of Greenland’s ice melt was observed on the ice cap, predominantly on the glaciers in the island’s northwest and southeast. But most of the ice loss from 2003 to 2013 was from Greenland’s southwest region, which is largely devoid of large glaciers. Michael Bevis, a professor at Ohio State University and lead author of the PNAS paper, said the ice now appeared to be melting from the surface mass, “melting inland from the coastline.” That means that in the southwestern part of Greenland, growing rivers of water are streaming into the ocean. “We knew we had one big problem with increasing rates of ice discharge by some large outlet glaciers,” Bevis said. “But now we recognize a second serious problem: Increasingly, large amounts of ice mass are going to leave as meltwater, as rivers that flow into the sea.” He warned this would have major implications, causing additional sea level rise. “We are watching the ice sheet hit a tipping point,” he said, which would condemn the entire giant ice block to melting over a time scale of hundreds, or several thousand, years. The Greenland ice sheet — up to 3 km thick — contains enough frozen water to raise global sea levels some 6 meters (yards). The melting ice observed in the study is caused by rising land temperatures, and in part, the fact that the ice comes into contact with waters that are increasingly warmer. “As the atmosphere’s temperature gradually rises, we will immediately notice an acceleration of the ice melt,” Khan said. While the amount varies from region to region, sea levels rose worldwide by an average of 20 cm (about 8 inches) in the 20th century. They are currently rising by about 3.3 mm per year.

global warming
greenland
glaciers
ice melt
sea level rise


Rudy Giuliani compounds Trump's Russia woes with conflicting interviews

Abstract: WASHINGTON - A lawyer’s job is to make a client look innocent, if not to prove it — something President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been struggling with in recent days. In a string of interviews, Giuliani has walked back a series of potentially damaging statements where he implied there were tapes of his client discussing plans for a Trump tower in Moscow, that Trump was discussing the Moscow project right up until the election and that he didn’t know whether anyone on the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia. It’s been a particularly bad stretch for Giuliani, who from the start has given disorienting media interviews that created negative headlines and provided ammunition to Trump’s critics. The former New York City mayor was added to Trump’s legal team last April to provide something Trump felt he was in need of—- a trusted ally who would forcefully make his case in public. His first mission was to sow doubt about the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. But Giuliani’s flair for making perplexing statements is now backfiring on his own client, creating more uncertainty about Trump’s innocence. One major handicap for Giuliani is that he and Trump’s other lawyers have significant blind spots about what Mueller is uncovering in his continuing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Trump doesn’t text or use email, meaning his lawyers must rely on the president’s own recollections. They also don’t have access to the personal communications and financial records of Trump’s associates. Giuliani also wasn’t Trump’s first choice as the public face of his defense. The president was rebuffed by several well-known attorneys and his first lead lawyer, John Dowd, quit. But Giuliani brought a level of celebrity and credibility for many Americans who knew him as America’s mayor following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Last summer, Giuliani made a calculated choice to sow confusion and doubt about Mueller, with the intention of undercutting whatever the special counsel put in his final report. Current Justice Department guidelines say a sitting president can’t be indicted, so Trump’s lawyers have decided that his greatest risk would be impeachment by Congress. Confusion and doubt among the public about the investigation was viewed as an asset for Trump’s defense. But his recent interviews have sometimes backfired. His remarks to the New Yorker, published late Monday, took attention away from a topic Trump and his allies would like to be talking about — Mueller’s unusual public denial of an article by BuzzFeed News that implied Trump told his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, to lie in his congressional testimony. Giuliani told the New Yorker that he knew the BuzzFeed story was wrong because “I have been through all the tapes, I have been through all the texts, I have been through all the e-mails, and I knew none existed.” The BuzzFeed story made no mention of tapes, prompting the reporter to ask what tapes Giuliani was referring to. Giuliani then replied, “I shouldn’t have said tapes.” When the reporter sought to clarify, Giuliani said there were tapes, but not about this. “No tapes. Well, I have listened to tapes, but none of them concern this.” Giuliani appears to be referring to tape recordings made by Cohen that were seized by prosecutors, but he left open the question of whether there may be other recordings. In a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Giuliani contradicted claims Trump had repeatedly made about having no business with Russia during the campaign by saying Trump may have been involved in discussions about a Trump tower in Russia up to Election Day. Cohen, who first told Congress that the Moscow talks ended in January 2016, later said in a sworn statement to Mueller that they actually ended in June. Giuliani’s suggestion they might have continued into November raises additional questions about what, exactly, Trump may have been up to. On Sunday, Giuliani told the New York Times that Trump told him “discussions were going on from the day I announced to the day I won.” Giuliani later denied ever saying that to the Times. Last week, Giuliani said the president never colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign, But he also denied ever saying that no one on the campaign did so, appearing to contradict his client’s past statements. Trump has repeatedly used the phrase “no collusion” on Twitter and in media interviews in denying his campaign was involved with any Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. In a statement the next day, Giuliani said his comments have been “misinterpreted.””I represent only President Trump, not the Trump campaign,” he said. “There was no collusion by President Trump in any way, shape or form. Likewise, I have no knowledge of any collusion by any of the thousands of people who worked on the campaign.” In his latest interview with the New Yorker, Giuliani suggested he was aware of the public perception he seems to be creating. “I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. ‘Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.’ Somehow, I don’t think that will be it,” he said. “But, if it is, so what do I care? I’ll be dead. I figure I can explain it to St. Peter.”

congress
robert mueller
donald trump
rudy giuliani
collusion
russia probe
michael cohen


FBI official says shutdown means informants can't be paid and counterterrorism efforts being compromised

Abstract: WASHINGTON - FBI agents complained Monday that the month-old U.S. government shutdown is preventing them from paying informants, buying drugs undercover in narcotics busts, and even renewing their own security clearances. Investigations and prosecutions are suffering from the lack of money to travel to interview witnesses or funds to pay translators, agents are saying, according to Tom O’Connor, president of the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA). “Every day that the shutdown continues, the operational impediments created by the shutdown get worse and damage our counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations around the globe,” said O’Connor, raising the pressure on the White House and Congress to end the shutdown. The shutdown began on Dec. 22 after President Donald Trump rejected a proposed government funding bill that did not meet his demand for billions of dollars to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Since then Trump and Democrats have stuck to their positions, leaving no end in sight for 800,000 federal workers and millions of contract workers furloughed without pay. Most of the 13,000 FBI special agents still have to work, and O’Connor said a new FBIAA report shows training, investigations and recruitment are all suffering. Several agents said the dwindling operations resources make it impossible to keep paying tipsters and informants. “Not being able to pay Confidential Human Sources risks losing them and the information they provide FOREVER. It is not a switch that we can turn on and off,” said an unidentified agent from the central part of the US. One said they cannot get timely subpoenas because many Justice Department lawyers have been furloughed. Another said he doesn’t have funds to refill a “cold” phone he uses to talk to sources in a terror investigation. One bureau reports running out of DNA testing kits, replacement tires for office vehicles and copy paper. And agents deployed abroad say they cannot get repaid for thousands of dollars in expenses, because the back-office staff processing reimbursements is not working. According to O’Connor, many agents are reporting personal financial strains — which normally the FBI considers renders them security risks. “This Friday, nearly 13,000 special agents of the FBI and thousands of professional support employees, will for the second time not receive a paycheck,” said O’Connor. “The FBIAA report makes it absolutely clear that our leaders in Washington must fund the FBI immediately,” he said.

drugs
terrorism
fbi
u.s. shutdown
tom o'connor


U.S. Supreme Court again mum on Trump's 'Dreamers' appeals

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court closed the door at least for now on President Donald Trump’s effort to end protections for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants dubbed “Dreamers,” with the justices again silent on Tuesday on three related appeals. Unless the court breaks with its normal procedure, the nine justices would not be able to hear arguments and decide the case in its current term, which ends in June. If they eventually agree to hear the matter, it most likely would be decided during their nine-month term that begins in October, meaning a ruling could come in the 2020 presidential election year. The Justice Department has filed appeals concerning the Republican president’s September 2017 move, blocked by lower courts, to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. DACA protects about 700,000 immigrants, often called “Dreamers” based on the name of the Dream Act legislation that failed to pass Congress, from deportation and provides them work permits, though not a path to citizenship. Most of the “Dreamers” are Hispanic young adults. With the lower courts ruling against the administration and the high court not yet taking action, DACA remains in place. After Tuesday, the high court is not in session for almost a month and the justices are not due to meet again privately to discuss action on pending appeals until Feb. 15. Trump on Saturday proposed a deal to end the ongoing partial government shutdown that would include a three-year extension of DACA protections in return for congressional Democrats agreeing to allow $5.7 billion in funding to help pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats, who oppose the wall, rejected the offer. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Saturday noted that it was Trump who moved to rescind DACA and that the president’s offer of a temporary extension of some protections for the Dreamers in exchange for wall money was not a compromise but “more hostage-taking.” Trump’s tough immigration policies have been a hallmark of his presidency, backing limits on legal and illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017.

immigrants
u.s. supreme court
deportations
donald trump
dreamers
daca


French police seek trio who carried out brazen Champs-Elysees-area bank heist

Abstract: PARIS - Police were hunting for three men who held up a bank just off Paris’ Champs-Elysees avenue Tuesday, tying up staff and customers for hours while ransacking safety deposit boxes, officials said. The armed men rushed into the Milleis bank at around 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) shortly after it opened, immobilizing several people and spraying them with an unidentified liquid. They rifled through some 30 safe-deposit boxes, a source close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity. Formerly called Barclays France, the bank boasts high-end clients, and its Champs-Elysees branch is only around 650 meters (710 yards) from the French presidential palace. The robbers “took a number of hostages amongst employees when the bank opened. They then put up a sign on the door saying the bank was closed,” Eddy Sid, a spokesman for the FO police union, told BFM television. “They then forced open some deposit boxes. Once that was done they left the employees in the bank — and they were able to free themselves around lunchtime and call the police,” Sid added. Despite high security in the area, the men got away with their haul. Nobody was injured, and the value of the stolen items was not immediately known. “We saw nothing, heard nothing. It was when police arrived that we found out what was going on,” a nearby shopkeeper, who gave his name as Pierre, told AFP as investigators swarmed the area. Luxury jewllers are regularly targeted by thieves in Paris, but gangs have also set their sights on super-rich visitors in recent years. In October 2016, five men tied up and robbed U.S. reality television star Kim Kardashian of jewelry worth €9 million while she was staying in a luxury residence hotel in the French capital. There have also been a string of attacks on vehicles heading to and from Le Bourget airport, which handles private jet departures from Paris. Among them, two Qatari women in a chauffeur-driven Bentley were robbed of jewels and other items worth more than €5 million ($5.7 million) in 2016. In January last year, some €4 million worth of jewels were stolen in a smash-and-grab raid at Paris’s Ritz hotel, on Place Vendome — a square celebrated for its jewelers — but police quickly arrested the robbers and recovered the jewels. Security around Place Vendome was reinforced in 2014 after five high-end jewelry and watch stores were hit by armed robberies in less than seven months. The losses in those attacks ranged from €420,000 to €2 million. In other attacks, a lone gunman attacked a bank near the Arc de Triomphe monument in February last year, but was shot and arrested by police. And in 2017, two men held up a luxury watch-makers just off the Champs-Elysees, getting away with items worth several hundred thousand euros.

paris
hostages
champs-elysees
milleis bank


As Taliban talks gather pace, Afghan women fear turning back of the clock

Abstract: KABUL - Eighteen years ago, at the height of the Taliban’s power in Afghanistan, Roshan Mashal secretly taught her daughters to read and write alongside a dozen local girls who smuggled school books to her house in potato sacks. Mashal’s daughters have since gained university degrees in economics and medicine. But she now fears the looming prospect that the hard-line Islamist group, whose rule barred women from education, could once again become part of the government. “They say they have changed, but I have concerns,” she said in an interview in her office in Kabul. “There is no trust … we don’t want peace to come with women losing all the achievements of the last 17 years.” As talks to end Afghanistan’s long war pick up momentum, women such as Mashal fear the freedoms eked out since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001 are about to slide backward, and complain their voices are being sidelined. An aide to Rula Ghani, the wife of Afghanistan’s president, said the first lady had launched a survey of women in 34 provinces in a bid to amplify their voices in the peace process, with a report summarizing their views slated for February. “The war was started by men, the war will be ended by men,” said the aide. “But it’s the women and children who suffer the most and they have a right to define peace.” Almost two decades of war have implicated both sides in the suffering of women. The United Nations last year expressed alarm at the increased use of airstrikes by U.S. and Afghan forces, which caused a rising death toll among women and children. Changed times Afghanistan is still not an easy place to be a woman, with forced marriages, domestic violence and high maternal mortality rates prevalent nationwide, and particularly in rural areas, according to gender equality advocates. But access to public life has improved, especially in cities such as the capital Kabul, where many women work outside the home and more than a quarter of the Parliament is female. But women lawmakers and some foreign diplomats fear enshrining gender equality may take a back-seat in any peace deal to the intense international focus on ending fighting and eliminating the country’s potential as a haven for militants to launch attacks overseas. “That is the threshold. The question is how much they will accept the position of women deteriorating in the process,” said a senior Western diplomat in Kabul whose country funds projects to empower women. “There may be some backsliding, but hopefully not all the way back.” Between 1996 and 2001, under the Taliban government that called itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, women were banned from work, required to wear the full-length burqa that covered their faces, and not allowed to leave the house without a male relative. The Taliban say they have changed, and that they would allow women to be educated, though they say schools should be segregated by gender and women required to wear loose clothing. “We want Afghanistan to move forward with its present achievements and developments. But there are some reforms and changes the Emirate will struggle for,” spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said last month. That is not enough to assuage the fears of women such as Karima Rahimyaar. She is the main provider for her family after her first husband was shot and killed by the Taliban in Kunduz province in 1996 and her second was injured and left unable to work after being imprisoned by them around three years ago. She regularly comforts her university-aged daughters, who feel sick when they hear gunshots or mention of the Taliban. “It is very difficult for me,” she said. Like many Afghans, she is desperate for peace and wants an end to the near-daily attacks across the country, which claimed the life of her 32-year-old son, a police officer, in 2016. But not, she says, at the expense of women’s rights. “If there are no agreements and commitments, women will be inside the home and they will be deprived of everything,” she said. Fighting for a voice Wazhma Frogh, a member of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, said that she and the 11 other female members of the group had to fight to have their perspective heard. “To get access is difficult,” she said, saying that at times women had to raise their voices in meetings to avoid being ignored and that gatherings were sometimes held late at night in venues women did not feel comfortable traveling to. Though the Taliban is refusing to include the Afghan government in formal talks, Frogh and other members have informally met with the insurgent group and with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. Meanwhile young women such as Zuhal Babakarkhil, one of the fast-growing segments of the population who have reached adulthood since the fall of the Taliban, say Afghan society has changed. “In Afghanistan the women are no more the women from 20 years back,” said the 28-year-old, who was in her first year of school when the Taliban took power and whose family fled overseas. She now lives in Kabul, plays cricket and promotes higher education among girls. She says that social media such as Whatsapp and Facebook gives women access to organizing networks at home and abroad that would be tough to curtail. She said she has no intention to leave Afghanistan, despite her worries about the Taliban returning. “We did it before … but certainly this is not the way, to escape anymore,” she said. “We are not leaving our home country. We will definitely stand up for our rights.”

conflict rights afghanistan taliban women


Trump tells spokeswoman 'not to bother' with press briefings, claiming she is unfairly covered

Abstract: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has told his chief spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, “not to bother” with formal media briefings in the White House, because journalists don’t cover her fairly. “The reason Sarah Sanders does not go to the ‘podium’ much anymore is that the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press,” Trump tweeted. “I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway! Most will never cover us fairly & hence, the term, Fake News!” The White House briefing room, a keystone of modern presidential messaging, has been largely abandoned under Trump. The last briefing where Sanders took questions from reporters was on Dec. 18. On Jan. 3, Trump himself made a surprise appearance — his first at the briefing room podium — to deliver a statement on border security, but took no questions. Trump complains frequently about what he says is unfair coverage of his presidency. The dispute gets personal, with Trump and his aides occasionally insulting or reprimanding their most disliked journalists in public. After Trump clashed angrily with CNN reporter Jim Acosta at a press conference in November, the White House briefly withdrew his credentials, before a court ordered them reinstated. While the regular, formal briefings that were once a presidential staple have petered out, Sanders often meets with reporters in more impromptu settings. Trump also takes questions frequently, making him unusually accessible. However, the occasions in the Oval Office or before boarding the Marine One helicopter tend to be hurried and less open to follow-up questions than a real press conference.

twitter
cnn
donald trump
fake news
sarah sanders
jim acosta
white house press briefings