Japan files protest with Russia over planned shooting practice near disputed island off Hokkaido

Abstract: Japan lodged a protest over a planned Russian shooting exercise in waters near one of the four islands off Hokkaido that are at the center of a bilateral territorial dispute, the Japanese government said Thursday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference the planned exercise, of which Moscow notified Tokyo on Tuesday, is “unacceptable as it would lead to a stronger Russian military presence” on the disputed islands. Suga added that Japan filed its protest the same day. The exercise was scheduled to begin Thursday and end April 12, but Japan has yet to confirm whether it has started, according to the Foreign Ministry. The four islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia, were seized by the Soviet Union following Japan’s 1945 surrender in World War II. The dispute has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a postwar peace treaty. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Moscow told Tokyo the shooting practice would be carried out off the eastern coast of Kunashiri for seven days, excluding the weekend. Russia asked that fishing vessels be warned to keep clear of the area. Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba lodged the protest with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. The practice comes less than a month after Russia undertook a military exercise on Kunashiri and Etorofu — another of the four islands — involving some 500 troops from machine gun and artillery units. For Moscow, the show of force appears to be aimed at gaining leverage in bilateral negotiations over a postwar peace treaty. “We closely monitor the Russian military’s movements in the Northern Territories on a regular basis,” Suga said. But he stressed the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will “continue to strive to resolve the territorial issue and sign a peace treaty.” Tokyo has argued the islands were illegally seized by the Soviet Union following Japan’s 1945 surrender, while Moscow maintains it acquired them as part of the outcome of World War II. Abe has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to accelerate territorial talks based on a 1956 joint declaration which stipulates the smallest two islands — Shikotan and the Habomai islet group — be transferred to Japan once a peace pact is concluded.

yoshihide suga
russia
military
disputed islands
northern territories
hokkaido
kunashiri
russia-japan relations


Eight more wartime forced labor lawsuits filed in South Korea against Japan firms

Abstract: SEOUL - Eight lawsuits were filed in South Korea on Thursday seeking compensation from coke producer Nippon Coke & Engineering Co. and three other Japanese companies over wartime forced labor, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said. The remaining three firms named in the suits are Nippon Steel Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and machinery manufacturer Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. The suits have 31 plaintiffs, including surviving family members of the alleged victims, the lawyers said. They are the first wartime labor compensation lawsuits to be filed against Japanese firms that involve multiple plaintiffs since the South Korean Supreme Court in October ruled against steel-maker Nippon Steel Corp. over forced labor during World War II. Since the top court ruling, lower courts in South Korea have issued similar decisions against Japanese companies, making it likely the new lawsuits will result in similarly unfavorable outcomes for the companies being sued. Similar lawsuits are also being prepared against six other Japanese companies — Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Nishimatsu Construction Co., construction company Kumagai Gumi Co., petroleum firm Japan Energy Corp., metal producer Dowa Holdings Co. and coal importer Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Co. — according to an official of a support group for the plaintiffs. “We plan to file more lawsuits going forward as we target a wider range of Japanese firms,” said Lee Hyung-joon, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, at a news conference in Seoul. Aside from the new lawsuits, at least 12 similar cases are pending in South Korea involving about 920 plaintiffs. Excluding two cases that each target a number of companies, the remaining 10 suits affect four Japanese companies: Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nachi-Fujikoshi and shipbuilder Hitachi Zosen Corp. Nippon Steel changed its name this month. It was previously called Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. Nippon Coke & Engineering was previously known as Mitsui Mining Co. Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nachi-Fujikoshi have already had company assets in South Korea seized after the firms defied court decisions ordering them to compensate the plaintiffs. But the plaintiffs have so far stopped short of asking the courts to sell them. The civic groups that support the lawsuits say the South Korean government should take action to force the settlement of the issue. “This is an issue involving everyone who suffered under Japan’s colonization, and the government should therefore be at the forefront of (efforts to forge) a settlement,” said Cho Si-hwan, a researcher at the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, at Thursday’s news conference. Tokyo maintains that the issue of compensation arising from its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula was finalized in 1965, when Japan and South Korea established diplomatic ties, through an agreement on the settlement of problems related to property and claims. But South Korea’s top court said in its rulings in October and November that the right of victims of forced mobilization to seek compensation was not terminated by the accord. Tokyo has warned that it would retaliate if the business interests of Japanese firms were damaged by measures taken in the wake of the rulings in South Korea.

wwii
history
south korea
nippon steel
mitsubishi heavy industries
wartime labor
south korea-japan relations
nachi-fujikoshi
nippon coke & engineering


Japan and U.K. to postpone 'two-plus-two' security talks amid Brexit deadlock

Abstract: Tokyo and London have decided to postpone their ministerial security talks scheduled for next week, a Japanese government source said Wednesday, due to the U.K. Parliament’s continued efforts to end the Brexit impasse. The fourth “two-plus-two” meeting between the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers planned for Monday in Tokyo will be rescheduled by the end of May, the source said. The U.K. government proposed earlier in the week to postpone the meeting, citing the parliamentary duties of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson, according to the source. They are to discuss closer defense cooperation including expanded joint training with Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya. Japan and the U.K. last held such security talks in December 2017 in London. With the aim of promoting a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region amid China’s growing maritime assertiveness, Japan wants to see the U.K. more deeply committed to the region, according to government sources. In January, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his U.K. counterpart, Theresa May, agreed at their meeting in London to hold the two-plus-two meeting in spring in Tokyo.

security
u.k .
foreign ministry
defense ministry
u.k.-japan relations
brexit


Records bearing Emperor's seal and signature and Japan Cabinet meeting documents to be kept on paper

Abstract: Public records with an emperor’s seal and handwritten signature, as well as Cabinet meeting documents signed by ministers, are expected to fall outside the scope of the digital archiving process used by the government. The government considers it essential to save such public records in paper form in order to preserve their historical value, officials said. An emperor’s signature and seal are needed for the promulgation of laws and treaties. For example, Emperor Akihito signed and affixed his seal to the ordinance on the new era name, Reiwa, which was announced Monday. Cabinet ministers customarily put distinctive handwritten signatures, called kao, on Cabinet meeting documents. On March 25, the government adopted a basic policy on the electronic management of administrative records, stipulating that digital versions of administrative records drawn up from now on would be systematically managed as the authentic and original texts of such records. The policy is aimed at preventing a recurrence of scandals, such as the tampering of Finance Ministry records related to a controversial discounted sale of state land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, and at improving the efficiency of public record management. The government plans to review such operations and widen the scope of records subject to digital archiving, the officials said. But the government will make an exception for records that must be saved in paper form to preserve their historical value. An official of the Cabinet Office said paper records with an emperor’s signature and seal and those with kao signatures by Cabinet ministers should be regarded as the original texts. The handwritten kanji used for the new era name’s announcement is expected to be preserved in paper form as a public record.

history
emperor akihito
signatures
personal seals


Whaling fleet leaves for north Japan waters in last ostensibly scientific mission before IWC exit

Abstract: SENDAI - Four whaling vessels left a port in Miyagi Prefecture on Thursday to take part in the last of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country’s exit from the International Whaling Commission at the end of June. The ships, which left the port of Ayukawa, will join four other vessels from different areas of Japan on the mission to catch up to 80 minke whales in April and May off Miyagi and Aomori prefectures to gather data on the whale population, including approximate ages. They will also look at the stomach content of the animals with a view toward improving management of marine resources. The data will be used as a reference for commercial whaling, which Japan plans to resume in its exclusive economic zone for the first time in 31 years starting in July. “Scientific data collected during past missions support today’s whale hunts. We’ll make efforts to conduct commercial whaling in a sustainable manner,” Shigeki Takaya, head of the Fisheries Agency’s whaling office, said at a ceremony to mark the ships’ departure, attended by some 100 crew members and butchers of whale meat. The mission, organized by the Association for Community-Based Whaling in Fukuoka, involves vessels from the town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture, known for its whaling and dolphin-hunting culture, and the city of Minamiboso in Chiba Prefecture. After whale hunts planned off Miyagi and Aomori, the vessels will move to waters off Hokkaido to engage in commercial whaling. Although Japan halted commercial whaling in 1988 in line with a moratorium adopted in 1982 by the IWC, the country has hunted whales for what it claims to be scientific research since 1987, a practice criticized internationally as a cover for commercial whaling. Tokyo notified the IWC of its pullout in December after its proposal to resume commercial whaling and change decision-making rules at the body was rejected at its annual meeting in September amid a long-standing rift between pro- and anti-whaling nations.

whales animals whaling hokkaido miyagi aomori iwc


From Meiji to Reiwa: Japan's centenarians offer a window to bygone eras

Abstract: Few Japanese born in the Meiji Era will live long enough to see the dawn of the Reiwa Era, which will begin on May 1, but those who do can offer a glimpse at past generations while providing context for the next. Era names ( gengo) have come to represent the generations of those who lived through them, unlocking bygone memories — some painful, some joyful, but all very personal — to those who experienced them. Jiro Usui, a 108-year-old former physician, was born in 1911, in the 44th year of the Meiji Era, or Meiji 44, in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture. The Taisho Era began in 1912, the same year the Titanic sank after a fateful collision with an iceberg during her maiden voyage. Two years later saw the outbreak of World War I, when Usui was just a toddler. “The Taisho were the best years (for me). I could play until my heart was content. But the impact of the war wasn’t very good,” Usui said. He was 15 when the Showa Era began in 1926. In 1941, Usui’s younger brother set off to fight the Allies in the Pacific War and after he was killed the family only received a wooden box containing stones, as was the case with many Imperial Japanese soldiers who died in the war. During Japan’s economic boom from the postwar period to the 1970s, Usui worked as the director of a health care center and opened an internal medicine clinic after retirement. He was 78 when the Heisei Era began in 1989, and worked as a physician until the age of 105 treating patients in his region. “The best thing (about the new era) will be everyone in the next generations enjoying life,” Usui said. Although still haunted by memories of the war, he believes the choice of Reiwa as an era name, including the Chinese character wa for peace, is a sign of good things to come. “It’s about protecting the peace, isn’t it?” he posited. Motome Hirata, who lives in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, was born on a farm in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, in 1906, or Meiji 39. It was the same year that celebrated author Natsume Soseki’s “Botchan” was first published. Hirata, now 112, always had her head in a book as a little girl. She married into a family of silkworm breeders right when raw silk prices collapsed during the Great Depression. Struggling to make ends meet while raising four boys and two girls, she regularly worked from dawn to dusk. She would find respite from work by reading the Japanese classical poetry known as tanka. During WWII, a local women’s association to which she belonged prepared paper lanterns for use in morale-boosting parades. But the bad times outweighed the good. Sometimes she witnessed unbearable sorrow, such as when a neighboring soldier’s entire family committed suicide, even killing their child, after the war concluded in 1945. “It was particularly sad because there was a baby (in the family),” said Hirata. Although Showa was a period of intense work, Hirata said her life changed for the better during Heisei. She started participating in tanka readings and developed a passion for drawing, among other hobbies. She moved from Nagano to Chiba, where she currently lives in an apartment with her daughter, who is 74. Asked about Reiwa, the first Imperial era name to be chosen from a traditional work of Japanese poetry, Hirata said it was wonderful and that she was aware it was derived from the “Manyoshu,” given her background in poetry. Expressing hope for new generations and the era starting May 1 with the ascension of Emperor Akihito’s son, Crown Prince Naruhito, Hirata said, “I want the world to become a better place.”

elderly abdication meiji showa reiwa taisho


Yayoi Kusama polka-dot piano ready for public use at Tokyo government building, with view to die for

Abstract: Tokyoites looking for a great place to play their favorite Mozart piece take note: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has set up a grand piano for visitors to the 45th floor of its No. 1 building in Shinjuku Ward, giving people of all skill levels a chance to perform while taking in dazzling views of the city. Renowned Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, an “honorary citizen” of Tokyo, decorated the piano with yellow and black patterns. It was donated by a Tokyoite and is around 30 years old. After the renovated 202-meter-high South Observation Deck reopens Monday, visitors will be able to line up to play the grand piano for about five minutes each. “I hope that both those who are confident in their piano skills and those who are not will deliver melodies from the metropolitan government building to the world,” Gov. Yuriko Koike said at an event Wednesday to unveil the piano. Last June, the metropolitan government solicited a donation of a grand piano from Tokyo citizens. The chosen instrument was in the best shape out of the eight offers received. With a goal toward promoting interaction between visitors and residents, many organizations and groups in Japan have installed pianos in public places that are available for use by anyone.

tokyo
shinjuku
piano
yayoi kusama
yuriko koike
tmg
tokyo government


European utilities contemplating a future in which oil has gone the way of the dinosaurs

Abstract: LONDON - European oil companies have started to address what they worry may one day be an existential threat to their business — the end of a century of oil demand growth in a low carbon world. The emergence of the electric vehicle and demand among investors and consumers for cleaner energy to limit climate change has pushed the European side of Big Oil to take baby steps toward refocusing their businesses from oil production and refining to electricity via natural gas and renewables. Their funding for oil exploration dwarfs any alternatives, but they are buying up power generation and retail utilities to integrate with their long-standing natural gas and emerging renewables ventures. Relatively small investments in electricity aim to help them ride the energy transition by offering households and businesses cleaner power than coal can provide and giving their petrol stations a green edge with EV charging. Testing an electrification route also helps meet demands from shareholders that they “future-proof” their businesses. The International Energy Agency predicts regulatory changes to curb carbon emissions will mean demand for electricity will grow much faster than that for oil as Asia’s power-hungry middle class expands. The industry sees oil demand peaking any time from 2020 to 2040. Diversification is not new to the oil and gas business but has a patchy record at best. Oil majors have bought stakes in coal, household cleaning, pet food, nutrition, shrimp trading, diapers, hotels and steel, with limited success. Critics say power will not deliver the profits the oil and gas companies need to sustain the large dividends their investors are used to. BP lost billions in its first foray into renewables 20 years ago when it rebranded itself “Beyond Petroleum.” It closed its solar manufacturing division in 2011 and tried to get rid of its wind farms but says it now has a more successful model. “Most of the things we do today are linked to our core capabilities,” said Dev Sanyal, head of BP’s alternative energy division. “If you can start combining molecules and electrons in an integrated offer, you start creating something of greater interest.” Profit is the first challenge when joining the dots between renewables, gas-fired plants and utilities facing growing competition in markets that are fragmenting fast. None of the companies break down their results from renewables or power. BP returned to solar in 2017 with a $200 million investment in U.K. solar generator Lightsource and dipped a toe into U.K. electricity retail the same year by buying a 25 percent stake in Pure Planet, a small challenger brand supplying some 100,000 customers with renewable electricity. Sanyal said BP plans to expand its alternative energy capacity — the biggest among the majors, according to CDP, a climate-focused research provider that works with major institutional investors. Gazprom’s large hydropower interests put it in second place ahead of Total and then Shell, CDP calculations show. On retail, the French and Italians are ahead. French giant Total’s purchase of Direct Energie last year gave it a portfolio of gas-fired and renewable energy power plants and a platform to challenge state-controlled utility EDF. It is targeting 7 million customers in France and Belgium by 2022 and said in a recent investor presentation it aims to make low carbon electricity 15 to 20 percent of its total offering by 2040. Eni says it is now Italy’s second-largest electricity producer, with six power plants, large electricity trading business and 2 million customers. Shell says it wants to become the biggest electricity provider and over the past year has made a number of investments including a Brazilian gas-fired power plant and a U.K. utility. Last week it renamed that utility Shell Energy and switched all 710,000 customers to 100 percent renewable electricity, offering them discounts on petrol and electric car charging in its petrol stations. Mark Gainsborough, head of the Anglo-Dutch company’s new energy division, said it aims to grow its retail customer base in Britain. Shell looked into acquiring the retail division of rival SSE in recent months but discussions made little progress due to concerns over the government’s decision to cap most domestic energy prices, industry sources said, an example of the risks facing power markets around the world. Both Shell and SSE declined to comment. In a sign of the growing competition among the majors for power assets, Total is considering a rival bid to Shell for Dutch energy company Eneco, according to sources close to the matter. Total declined to comment. Eneco is valued at around €3 billion and has 2.2 million customers. Shell’s Gainsborough said it could provide a template for a power business model. Former BP CEO John Browne, who drove the London-based company’s first push into renewables, said much lower production costs for wind and solar projects and a greater understanding about the future growth of power markets have changed the picture dramatically since then. “The question is whether you have the skills, the people and the determination to make this work and are you happy that in reality the returns you make are better than the returns you make in your other business,” Browne said. Returns on solar and wind projects are typically around 5 to 10 percent, according to climate research provider CDP, half of those from many oil and gas projects. So far the oil majors have committed a small fraction of their annual investment to low-carbon technologies as they balance shareholder demands for returns and innovation. “If at the end of the day it doesn’t work, these companies have deep pockets and would be able to spin off power divisions,” said Munir Hassan, head of clean energy at the law firm CMS in the U.K. The differential in returns from power versus oil and gas has not changed much, he said, but there is a new impetus because perceptions among shareholders and their children have changed. “Some of the oil companies will succeed,” Hassan said. “But I wonder whether they will find it more painful than they expected.”

europe energy oil renewables electricity wind


Record number of people to travel abroad during Japan's 10-day Golden Week, says JTB

Abstract: The number of people who plan to take advantage of this year’s expanded Golden Week holiday period by traveling abroad is projected to rise 6.9 percent from the year before to a record 662,000, according to the latest report on travel trends by leading travel agency JTB Corp. The number of residents of Japan traveling domestically is also projected to increase by 1.1 percent to reach a record 24.01 million, the report said. This year’s Golden Week runs from April 27 to May 6 due to events surrounding the Imperial succession. In the JTB report, which was released Thursday, the firm estimated that a record 24.67 million people had travel plans for Golden Week, up 1.2 percent from the previous year. “Apparently more people are willing to travel this year,” taking advantage of the extended holiday period, Risa Ogata, a spokeswoman for the firm, said Thursday. She added that the average cost for overseas trips was also expected to hit a record high. JTB estimates that an average traveler will spend ¥268,000 on overseas travel to cover costs such as accommodation and transport. In Japan, travelers are expected to spend ¥36,800 on services including accommodation, transport and souvenirs. The firm estimates that residents of Japan will likely spend around ¥1.06 trillion in total between April 27 and May 6, Ogata said. The findings are based on a survey conducted online from March 20 to March 22 involving 20,000 residents age 15 to 79 from all regions of Japan, with follow-up research conducted with the 2,060 respondents who said they were planning trips around Japan or abroad during the Golden Week holiday. Around 31.5 percent of those 2,060 said they were given 10 days off or more this year, and 38.6 percent of the respondents said their vacation would be longer than in the previous year. Some 8.3 percent said they were unable to travel during last year’s Golden Week. However, about 36.9 percent of the respondents planned a two-day trip, and 1 in 3 had plans for a three-day vacation, the company said. The most popular plan for domestic travelers is to visit their hometowns and spend time with their families, while those planning overseas trips prioritized relaxation, according to the findings. The survey also showed that 14.5 percent of respondents thought the longer vacation made trips to further-away places more realistic than a year ago. The research also showed that this year, more people were interested in JTB’s overseas tours to Europe, as well as ship cruises, than in past years, Ogata added. However, South Korea, Hawaii, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand were among the most popular travel destinations this year. Those who plan to stay home for Golden Week cited crowds and higher prices during the holiday season, the company said. The government created the unprecedented 10-day holiday period by designating May 1, the day when Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, as a one-off public holiday. Because the law says any day sandwiched between public holidays itself becomes a holiday, April 30 and May 2 became holidays as well.


Bayer contains cyberattack it says bore Chinese hallmarks

Abstract: FRANKFURT, GERMANY - German drugmaker Bayer has contained a cyber attack it believes was hatched in China, the company said, highlighting the risk of data theft and disruption faced by big business. Bayer found the infectious software on its computer networks early last year, covertly monitored and analyzed it until the end of last month and then cleared the threat from its systems, the company said on Thursday. “There is no evidence of data theft,” Bayer said in a statement, though a spokesman added that the overall damage was still being assessed and that German state prosecutors had launched an investigation. “This type of attack points towards the ‘Wicked Panda’ group in China, according to security experts,” the spokesman added, citing DCSO, a cybersecurity group set up by Bayer in 2015 with German partners Allianz, BASF and Volkswagen. Third-party personal data were also not compromised, the spokesman said. The hackers used malware called WINNTI, which makes it possible to access a system remotely and then pursue further exploits from there, said Andreas Rohr of the DCSO. “Once it has been installed, more or less any action can be carried out,” Rohr said. Discovery of WINNTI provides clear evidence of complex and sophisticated malware that is used in a targeted, sustained espionage campaign, he added Bayer, Germany’s biggest drugmaker and the world’s largest agricultural supplies company after its takeover of Monsanto, said it could not determine exactly when its systems were first compromised. There was a WINNTI attack on computer systems at German technology group ThyssenKrupp in 2016, according to media reports at the time. Rohr declined comment in detail on the Bayer case, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but said he knew of at least five WINNTI attacks in Germany. “This is a very active group of hackers with the ability to carry multiple international attacks in parallel,” he said. Manufacturing groups across the globe are expanding their data networks as sensors, processing chips and analytical tools become more advanced and cheaper. Germany has experienced a big increase in the number of security incidents hitting critical infrastructure such as power grids, the country’s cybersecurity agency said in February. While it’s not possible to say with certainty who was responsible for the attack, because the malware used is widely available, Rohr said the methods bore the hallmarks of Chinese hackers. “The malware most probably comes from a Chinese group of ‘mercenaries’ who carry out targeted attacks and campaigns on the internet for money,” he said. “Their targets have in the past been the online gambling industry, the theft of intellectual property of the affected companies or the use of access for the purposes of espionage.” German broadcasters BR and NDR initially reported the incident.

china
monsanto
cyberattacks
malware
bayer
winnti
wicked panda


Hiring rebounds as U.S. employers add a solid 196,000 jobs; unemployment stays at 50-year low

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Hiring rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February’s scant gain and evidence that many businesses still want to hire despite signs that the economy is slowing. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, near the lowest level in almost 50 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. Wage growth slowed a bit in March, with average hourly pay increasing 3.2% from a year earlier. That was down from February’s year-over-year gain of 3.4%, which was the best in a decade. The figures reported Friday suggest that February’s anemic job growth — revised to 33,000, from an initial 20,000 — was merely a temporary blip and that businesses are confident the economy remains on a firm footing. Even with the current expansion nearly 10 years old, the U.S. economy is showing resilience. At the same time, the economy is facing several challenges, from cautious consumers to slower growth in business investment to a U.S.-China trade war that is contributing to a weakening global economy. So far this year, job gains have averaged 180,000 a month, easily enough to lower the unemployment rate over time, though down from a 223,000 average last year. In March, job growth was strongest in the service sector. Health care added 61,000 jobs, restaurants and bars 27,000 and professional and business services, which includes high-paying fields such as engineering and accounting, added 37,000. Manufacturers cut 6,000 jobs, while construction added 16,000. The overall economy is sending mixed signals. Most indicators suggest slower growth this year compared with 2018. That would mean that hiring might also weaken from last year’s strong pace. In February, employers added a surprisingly low 20,000 jobs, the fewest in nearly a year and a half, though that pullback likely reflected extreme weather and other temporary factors. Another weak jobs report Friday, though, would fuel concerns about a downshift in growth. Consumers have shown caution so far this year. Retail sales fell in February, and a broader measure of consumer spending slipped in January, potentially reflecting a waning effect of the Trump administration’s tax cuts. Businesses have also reined in their spending on industrial machinery and other equipment and on factories and other buildings. And in Europe and Asia, weaker economies have reduced demand for U.S. exports. Europe is on the brink of recession, with its factories shrinking in March at the fastest pace in six years, according to a private survey. The U.S. trade war with China has weighed on the Chinese economy, which has hurt Southeast Asian nations that ship electronic components and other goods that are assembled into consumer products in China’s factories. Economists now forecast that the U.S. economy will expand roughly 2% to 2.5% this year, down from 2.9% last year. Still, most economists have forecast a bounce-back in hiring in March to about 170,000 added jobs, according to data provider FactSet. The unemployment rate is expected to remain near a half-century low of 3.8%. Some positive signs for the economy have emerged in recent weeks: Sales of both new and existing homes rose in February after declining last year. More Americans are applying for mortgages now that rates have fallen. And some of the weakness in spending earlier this year likely reflected delays in issuing tax refunds because of the government shutdown. Refunds largely caught up with their pace in previous years in March, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, suggesting that spending may as well. The low unemployment rate and steady hiring have also raised Americans’ paychecks. Average wages grew 3.4% in February compared with a year ago, the fastest such pace since the recession. If wage growth continues to accelerate, it should fuel more spending and lift the economy in the coming months.


Almost half of young Russians want to emigrate as economy stagnates: Gallup poll

Abstract: MOSCOW - Forty-four percent of Russians aged 15-29 want to emigrate as their economy stagnates, according to a survey by the pollster Gallup. The poll, based on 2,000 face-to-face interviews conducted in 2018, indicated that 20 percent of all Russians wanted to move abroad, the highest share since 2007, when it stood at 17 percent. Young people of working age were most keen to leave, something that Gallup said threatened Russia’s future economic position and political influence. “While not all of these Russians will move, the higher desire in recent years should concern Moscow,” it said. Russia’s population declined last year for the first time in a decade, to 146.8 million, Gallup noted. Among 30-45 year-olds, 22 percent wanted to move abroad permanently. The most sought-after destinations overall were Germany and the United States. As recently as 2014, the year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, only 14 percent of 15-29 year-olds and 7 percent of 30-45 year-olds said they wanted to move away. Pollsters attribute the souring mood to disillusionment with five consecutive years of falling real incomes and government moves to raise the retirement age and increase value added tax. An opinion poll in January indicated that public trust in President Vladimir Putin, re-elected last year with more than 76 percent of the vote, had fallen to its lowest level in 13 years. Although his 60 percent approval rating was still high by Western standards, it was far off the 90 percent he used to score. Gallup said Russia was in danger of exceeding the 8 percent population loss that the United Nations currently projects by 2050.

u.s .
vladimir putin
immigration
russia
economy
germany
wages
surveys


METI asks Japan's convenience store chains to present plans for coping with labor shortage

Abstract: The industry minister on Friday urged operators of Japan’s eight major convenience store chains to formulate action plans to address severe labor shortages, which have been placing a burden on franchise store owners and straining the industry. During the meeting with heads of the convenience store operators, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said the labor shortage issue is causing growing discontent among franchisees, who face long working hours due to the chains’ 24-hour operating policies. The minister also said the aging of store owners makes the situation even worse. “Please come up with your own proactive measures on the operation of franchises and securing (enough) employees,” Seko said. Industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said Thursday it will review its 24-hour operating policy after one of its franchise owners cut the business hours at his store without approval from Seven-Eleven due to a labor shortage. The operators will formulate improvement measures for addressing the labor shortage and operational efficiency, among other issues, with the aim of submitting their action plans to the government by the end of this month. The industry ministry plans to launch a panel that will check whether the operators have actually implemented the plans. According to a preliminary report on the results of a survey conducted on franchise store owners operating under the eight chains, 61 percent of respondents said they do not have enough employees. “We are taking the situation seriously,” said Isamu Nakayama, chairman of the Japan Franchise Association. Chiefs of the convenience store operators joining the industry minister at the meeting included Kazuki Furuya, president of Seven-Eleven Japan; Fumihiko Nagamatsu, the vice president of Seven-Eleven Japan, who will replace Furuya next week; Takashi Sawada, president of FamilyMart Co.; and Sadanobu Takemasu, president of Lawson Inc.

jobs
meti
convenience stores
lawson
seven-eleven
hiroshige seko
familymart


France says 'new elements' in Ghosn case passed to judiciary

Abstract: PARIS - Renault’s internal probe into allegations of financial wrongdoing by former CEO Carlos Ghosn has revealed “new elements” that have been passed onto the authorities, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. “There are new elements that emerged within the framework of the probe that I asked for a few weeks ago,” Le Maire told the BFM news channel, hours after Ghosn, who was also chairman of Nissan, was rearrested in Japan. “These elements have been passed onto the judiciary and the judiciary will evaluate these elements,” he added, without giving details about the nature of the new information. “I tell you that I have asked for total transparency. We owe this to our compatriots,” Le Maire said, noting that he had last year asked for a detailed internal probe from Renault. Japanese authorities arrested the 65-year-old early Thursday less than a month after he was dramatically freed on bail following more than 100 days in detention. The auto tycoon, in a statement, slammed his latest detention as “outrageous and arbitrary. Le Maire insisted that he wanted to “throw every light on the previous corporate governance at Renault. Pressed on Ghosn’s latest arrest in Japan, Le Maire insisted that the tycoon “was equal before the law like any other” and “should benefit from the presumption of innocence and consular protection. Japanese prosecutors said Ghosn had been detained over transfers of Nissan funds totalling $15 million between late 2015 and the middle of 2018. They suspect $5 million of that amount was used by Ghosn for personal expenditure. Renault had also announced late Wednesday that a joint Renault-Nissan audit of their Dutch subsidiary RNBV had raised “serious questions” over millions of euros in expenses incurred by Ghosn. The statement said that “RNBV’s internal organization suggests serious deficiencies in terms of financial transparency and expenditure control procedures.”

tokyo
france
nissan
renault
carlos ghosn


Japan's Naomi Osaka, tennis world No. 1, drops Adidas and signs with Nike

Abstract: World No. 1 Naomi Osaka has agreed a deal with Nike, the sports apparel giant has announced. The Japanese tennis player, who had previously been tied to rival Adidas, will first wear Nike gear at the Stuttgart Grand Prix later this month, the U.S. sportswear-maker said on its website. “I’m proud to become a member of the Nike family and excited about getting involved in all of the opportunities Nike has to offer,” said Osaka in the statement. “Nike has a legendary track record of writing history and I look forward to being a part of those moments for many years to come.” Osaka has won the last two Grand Slams, having become the first ever Japanese player to win one of the four majors when she overcame Serena Williams at the U.S. Open in September. “Naomi is an incredible talent to add to our roster and help drive our commitment to inspiring a new generation of female athletes,” Nike VP Amy Montagne added in the statement. “We are thrilled to have her join our team.” Osaka’s ascent to the top of the women’s game has made her a hot marketable commodity for the world’s top brands. She already has deals with All Nippon Airways, car manufacturer Nissan and watch company Citizen, among others.


U.S. conducted FISA-approved secret surveillance of Huawei, prosecutors say

Abstract: NEW YORK - U.S. authorities gathered information about Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. through secret surveillance they plan to use in their case charging the Chinese telecom company with violating sanctions against Iran, prosecutors said Thursday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Solomon said at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn the evidence, obtained under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), would require classified handling. Information gathered under FISA is generally used in espionage cases. The government notified Huawei in a court filing Thursday of its intent to use the information, saying it was “obtained or derived from electronic surveillance and physical search,” but gave no details. The United States has been pressuring other countries to drop Huawei from their cellular networks, worried its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. The company says the concerns are unfounded. Brian Frey, a former federal prosecutor who is not involved in the Huawei case, said FISA surveillance, which requires a warrant from a special court. Information gathered under FISA is generally used in cases involving espionage or terrorism. “The reason they typically would have gotten the surveillance through a FISA court is where we suspect someone may be spying on behalf of a foreign power,” Frey said. The U.S. government has been concerned about espionage by Huawei for years, he added. In the Brooklyn case, Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, are accused of conspiring to defraud HSBC Holdings PLC and other banks by misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom Tech Co. Ltd., a suspected front company that operated in Iran. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner, but prosecutors said in their indictment against Huawei and Meng that it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huawei’s Iran business. U.S. authorities claim Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods, technology and services in Iran, and to move money via the international banking system. Meng was arrested in December in Canada after she was indicted, but the charges were not unsealed until January. She has said she is innocent of the charges and is fighting extradition. Last month, Reuters detailed how U.S. authorities secretly tracked Huawei’s activities, including by collecting information copied from electronic devices carried by Chinese telecom executives traveling through airports. It is not clear whether the FISA surveillance discussed at Thursday’s hearing included those activities.

u.s. foreign intelligence surveillance act


Dollar tops ¥111.65 in Tokyo as hopes climb for China-U.S. trade deal

Abstract: The dollar surpassed ¥111.65 in Tokyo trading Friday, amid growing hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥111.67-67, up from ¥111.35-35 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.1229-1230, up from $1.1240-1241, and at ¥125.40-40, up from ¥125.16-17. The dollar traded mostly between ¥111.60 and ¥111.70 in the early morning, carrying over its strength in overnight trading overseas on expectations for progress in the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. The greenback came close to ¥111.80 following a media report that Chinese President Xi Jinping noted “substantial progress” on a trade deal with Washington. But the dollar stopped climbing thereafter as the Nikkei stock average failed to expand gains and U.S. long-term interest rates turned flat in off-hours trading, a currency broker said, adding there were few incentives to trade while the Chinese markets including Hong Kong were closed. In late afternoon trading, investors concentrated on position-squaring moves before the release of the U.S. employment report for March later on Friday. Risk appetite will continue to support the dollar next week if the jobs data prove stronger than expected, an official at a foreign-exchange margin trading firm said.


Tokyo stocks buoyed by Wall Street rise and weaker yen

Abstract: Stocks were comfortably higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, buoyed by overnight rises in major U.S. shares and the yen’s weakening against the dollar. The 225-issue Nikkei average gained 82.55 points, or 0.38 percent, to end at 21,807.50, after edging up 11.74 points on Thursday. The Topix index of all first-section issues finished up 5.70 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,625.75, in a turnaround from the 1.72-point drop the previous day. The Tokyo market opened higher after the Dow Jones industrial average extended gains on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday on sustained hopes for progress in the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. Investors remained optimistic thanks in part to U.S. President Donald Trump’s indication that a trade agreement could be announced in about four weeks, brokers said. Stocks lost steam in the afternoon as players held active trading in check to wait for the U.S. jobs report for March. But the yen’s weakening against the dollar underpinned the market, brokers said. “Cyclicals were bought while defensives were sold,” amid receding concerns over a global economic slowdown, said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Naito Securities Co. Prior to the release of the U.S. jobs data, some investors took cues from the Nikkei’s advance to around 21,800 for selling on a rally, Tabei added. If U.S. nonfarm payroll growth turns out to be stronger than a market consensus and leads to a Wall Street rally and the dollar’s appreciation, the Nikkei may rewrite its recent high next week, an official of a major securities firm said. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,311 to 729 in the TSE’s first section, while 100 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 1.14 billion shares from Thursday’s 1.22 billion shares. Export-oriented issues rose, with industrial robot producers Yaskawa Electric and Fanuc jumping 2.72 percent and 1.21 percent, respectively. Renova, which makes renewable energy systems, shot up 12.84 percent on an upward revision in its earnings estimates for the year that ended last month. Other major winners included technology giant Sony and game-maker Nintendo. On the other hand, retailer Seven & I Holdings dropped 3.27 percent as its operating profit forecast for the year through February 2020 failed to impress investors. Also beaten were daily goods maker Kao and Chugai Pharmaceutical. In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average rose 90 points to end at 21,790.


Toyota, GM and Ford join forces on self-driving safety rules

Abstract: NEW YORK - Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have decided to join forces to develop standards for the development of self-driving cars. The three said in a statement they are collaborating with automotive industry group SAE International to establish autonomous vehicle “safety guiding principles to help inform standards development.” “Industry collaboration in areas that act as a foundation of automated driving systems and vehicles … is a significant step for us to achieve safe deployment of autonomous vehicles,” said Kelly Kay, Toyota Research Institute’s executive vice president and chief safety officer. Despite the potential of self-driving cars, concerns have been raised with regard to safety since an autonomous vehicle belonging to ride-hailing giant Uber killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, in March 2018.


Japan's Mos Burger finds new partner to guide Thai expansion

Abstract: BANGKOK - Japanese hamburger chain Mos Food Services Inc. has taken on a new partner to help expand the number of Mos Burger shops in Thailand to 45 from eight over the next five years. The company said Wednesday that Pitharn Ongkosit, chief executive of printed circuit board maker KCE Electronics Public Co., will privately acquire a 74.3 percent stake in Mos Food Services (Thailand) Co. Mos Food in Japan will retain the remaining 25.7 percent. A Mos Food spokesman in Tokyo, Tadahiro Matsuda, declined to comment on the transaction price. Pitharn also runs apparel and cosmetics retail operations, including the Thai unit of The Face Shop Co., a South Korean maker of skin-care products. Matsuda said Mos Food ended its initial local partnership in 2016 after seeing only six restaurants survive since starting up in Thailand in 2007. The chain is still a newcomer to Thailand’s highly competitive fast-food market. McDonald’s USA LLC opened its first Thai outlet in 1985, the 35th country for the U.S. giant, expanding to 250 nationwide by November 2018, according to the company’s website. Mos Food operates 371 outlets outside Japan, 265 of which are run in Taiwan in partnership with Teco Corp., a major Taiwanese electronics maker.


Japan's imported auto sales hit second-highest level in 2018

Abstract: Sales of imported foreign-brand vehicles in Japan in fiscal 2018 increased 1.2 percent from the previous year to 307,682 units, marking their second-highest level ever, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday. The figure grew for the fourth straight year and surpassed 300,000 units for the second consecutive year, according to the JAIA. Each automaker’s efforts to bring in new models helped stimulate demand, a JAIA official said. Environmentally friendly models, such as clean diesel vehicles and SUVs, gained in popularity. The share of imported foreign-brand vehicles marked a record high of 9.2 percent of total new vehicle sales in Japan, excluding minivehicles with engine displacements of up to 660 cubic centimeters. Mercedes-Benz was the top-selling foreign brand for the fourth consecutive year, with sales of 66,948 units. Volkswagen came second, with 52,044 units, and BMW third, with 50,886 units. BMW’s Mini was the top-selling model, with sales of 25,794 units.


Japan Post to sell up to 30% of outstanding shares in its insurance unit

Abstract: Japan Post Holdings Co. said Thursday that it will sell up to 30 percent of its outstanding shares in subsidiary Japan Post Insurance Co. by the end of this month. The value of the sale of up to 185 million shares will reach ¥440 billion based on the insurer’s share price Thursday on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japan Post Insurance said the same day that it will buy back its own shares worth up to ¥100 billion between Monday and April 12. Japan Post Holdings’ stake in the unit is expected to fall to about 65 percent. The company plans to use the proceeds from the share sale for strategic investment to boost the group’s corporate value, officials said. Japan Post Holdings is expected to use part of the funds to acquire a stake in U.S. insurance giant Aflac Inc. later this year, informed sources said. The postal service holding company announced the investment plan in December. Japan Post Holdings plans to sell all of its equity stakes in Japan Post Insurance and another key financial unit, Japan Post Bank, based on the postal privatization law. It initially aims to lower the stakes to about 50 percent. The planned partial sale of Japan Post Insurance shares is also believed to be aimed at demonstrating the progress in the privatization process of the country’s postal services and fending off criticism from the insurance industry that the group is pressuring private-sector businesses.

aflac
japan post bank
japan post holdings
japan post insurance


Nomura to reduce outlets in Japan by 20%

Abstract: Nomura Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will reduce the number of its sales outlets in Japan by at least 30, or 20 percent of its 156 domestic outlets, as part of structural reform measures. The brokerage giant aims to cut operating costs by a total of ¥140 billion by the end of March 2022 from the level four years before. Nomura will mainly consolidate outlets in the Tokyo metropolitan region whose sales areas overlap. The company hopes to restore its earning power by reviewing its cost structure. The brokerage industry faces a rapid change in the domestic business environment due to the aging of customers and the development of digital technology. Nomura hopes to improve the efficiency of outlets located close to each other, as well as those sales bases hit by a decline in customer visits, which is due chiefly to the popularity of online trading and other services. Nomura Securities Co., the core unit of the holding company, will review its staffing of some 3,000 sales personnel over several years. As for overseas operations, the Nomura group will focus resources on the United States and the growing markets in China and other Asian countries while scaling down its operations in Europe. Nomura Holdings is trying to improve its profitability after suffering a group net loss of ¥101.2 billion in the April-December period last year, against a profit of ¥196.6 billion a year before. At a briefing for investors, Nomura Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai said his company is facing an urgent need to become a company that can adapt to a new era.


Carlos Ghosn suspected of redirecting Nissan money to himself via Oman

Abstract: Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn is suspected by prosecutors of having redirected to himself money paid by the automaker to an Omani distributor that had no say over the received funds, sources close to the matter said Friday. Less than a month after being released on bail, Ghosn was arrested again Thursday over a fresh allegation of aggravated breach of trust, this time in connection with the misuse of the funds paid to the distributor. He denied all of the allegations. Hours before his arrest on Thursday, Ghosn vowed to prove he was innocent of the alleged financial misdeeds but raised doubts in an interview with French television that he would receive a fair trial in Japan. The ousted boss of Nissan and Renault, whose case has gripped Japan and the rest of the business world, said in the interview that if he knew his trial would turn out fair, he would not be worried. But he told broadcasters TF1 and LCI: “I have doubts about how this trial is going to play out — these doubts aren’t mine, they’re those of my lawyers.” The Tokyo District Court approved detention for 10 days until April 14 on Friday, prompting criticism from Ghosn’s defense lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, who said he would file an appeal the same day. “The court earlier approved his release because it judged that it had no concern over evidence tampering. But it has again allowed his detention. It’s illogical,” he said. The Omani company received a total of ¥3.5 billion ($31 million) from 2012 as sales incentives paid out of Nissan’s CEO reserve, a pool of funds Ghosn could use at his discretion, the sources said. A large amount of money was then transferred from the personal account of an executive in charge of accounting at the Omani company to Good Faith Investments, a Lebanese investment firm headed by this executive but effectively owned by Ghosn, according to the sources. The executive, who was close to Ghosn, has told people close to him that he did not have the authority to decide how to use the money transferred from Nissan to the Omani distributor, the sources said. Ghosn’s arrest came a day after the 65-year-old made a surprise announcement on Twitter that he would hold a news conference on April 11 to “tell the truth about what’s happening.” Part of the money is suspected to have been channeled from Good Faith Investments to a company represented by Ghosn’s wife and used to purchase a luxury yacht worth ¥1.6 billion for use by Ghosn’s family, they said. Ghosn is now facing a claim that he caused Nissan a loss of $5 million (¥560 million) by having Nissan Middle East F.Z.E., its subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, pay the Omani distributor $15 million between December 2015 and July 2018, with a third of the sum transferred to a savings account Ghosn effectively controlled. In the interview with the French broadcasters, Ghosn reiterated he was “combative and innocent” but acknowledged “it’s hard.” “A lot of lies have been told and these lies have come one after another,” he said. A few hours after the interview, Ghosn was re-arrested. The businessman, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese citizenship, called on the French government during the interview “to defend me” and press the Japanese authorities to respect the presumption of innocence. “I am a citizen caught up in an unbelievable chain of events,” he said. Asked if he would provide evidence in his trial that could clear his name, the 65-year-old said: “Everything needs to be put on the table. Of course, I have names.” “Some of them you have seen in the press, but there are others that haven’t been in the press,” he added. “It has to be shown why these people are playing a dangerous game, not just for me, but dangerous for the alliance as well.” Ghosn had long been lauded as the architect of the alliance involving Renault and Nissan — and later Mitsubishi Motors — before his shock arrest in Tokyo in November. “I pushed hard to make this alliance successful, but never by doing anything illegal,” he said. The tycoon paid around ¥1 billion to win bail on March 6. He already faces three separate charges. The first two relate to the alleged deferring of around ¥9 billion of his income and concealing this in official documents to shareholders.

courts
corruption
scandals
nissan
carmakers
carlos ghosn
oman


KDDI set to launch smartphone payment service, joining rivals SoftBank and Docomo

Abstract: Japan’s KDDI Corp. said it will launch a smartphone payment service using QR codes next Tuesday. With the au Pay service, the telecommunications carrier will join rivals SoftBank Corp. and NTT Docomo Inc., which already offer similar services. KDDI’s service will be available through its electronic money app, which users can reload with money from their bank accounts or other sources. To promote the service, the company will offer incentives such as loyalty points for customers who add electronic money to their accounts. The company aims to increase the number of stores accepting the service in cooperation with online shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc. and online flea market operator Mercari Inc.

smartphones
softbank
ntt docomo
rakuten
kddi
mercari
cashless


UNHCR warns of false rumors as migrants gather near Greece's northern border, seeking to cross

Abstract: DIAVATA, GREECE - Dozens of refugees and migrants stuck in Greece gathered in a field near the country’s northern border on Thursday, seeking to travel onward to Northern Europe. Small groups of people including children arrived at the field next to the migrant camp of Diavata near the border with North Macedonia, carrying their belongings on their backs. Others pitched tents on the grass. Brief scuffles broke out with police as more people arrived. The move was apparently spurred by reports on social media of plans for an organized movement to cross Greece’s northwest land border with Albania in early April, and then travel north. “Tomorrow, today, all the people coming here, we will go to the border. Any border. We need to open the borders,” said Dario, an Iraqi Kurd. Life in Greece was “not good, difficult,” he said. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) issued a warning against what it described as false information and rumors. “Please be aware that these informal movements, whether by land or by sea, are risky and dangerous,” it said. “Attempts to cross borders irregularly are often unsuccessful, and can bear serious consequences including arrest, detention, family separation and even death.” Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, became stranded in Greece when Balkan countries shut their borders in 2016. That route was the main passage way to Northern Europe. In 2016, a makeshift camp sprung up in another field near the village of Idomeni and mushroomed into a small community of at least 10,000 people camped in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Greek authorities eventually cleared it out.

europe immigration greece eu refugees albania unhcr diavata


Next of kin demand justice as Ethiopian report says faulty sensor data led to Boeing Max jetliner crash

Abstract: ADDIS ABABA - A doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet suffered from faulty readings by a key sensor, and pilots followed Boeing’s recommended procedures when the plane started to nose dive but could not avoid crashing, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ethiopian government. The findings drew the strongest link yet between the March 10 crash in Ethiopia and an October crash off the coast of Indonesia, which both involved Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliners. All 346 people on the two planes were killed. Both planes had an automated system that pushed the nose down when sensor readings detected the danger of an aerodynamic stall, but it now appears that sensors malfunctioned on both planes. Thursday’s report, based on flight data and cockpit voice recorders on the Ethiopian Airlines jetliner, showed that a faulty sensor on the plane touched off a series of events that caused the pilots to lose control of the plane. The report from Ethiopia’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the sensor problems began about a minute after the plane was cleared for takeoff. It said air speed and altitude values on the left side of the 737 Max conflicted with data from the right sensor, causing flight control problems. Eventually the Ethiopian Airlines pilots couldn’t keep the plane from crashing into the ground, killing all 157 people on board. The problems are similar to those reported on the Indonesian Lion Air flight that crashed last October. Investigators found that software on that plane took readings from the sensor and pointed the nose down. Thursday’s revelations raise questions about repeated assertions by Boeing and U.S. regulators that pilots could regain control in some emergencies by following steps that include turning off an anti-stall system designed specifically for the Max, known by its acronym, MCAS. Investigators are looking into the role of MCAS, which under some circumstances can automatically lower the plane’s nose to prevent an aerodynamic stall. The Max has been grounded worldwide pending a software fix that Boeing is rolling out, which still needs to be approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators. In a statement, Boeing acknowledged the faulty data from the sensor activated the MCAS system, which was similar to circumstances in the Lion Air crash. The company said that to make sure unintended activation of the system doesn’t happen again, Boeing is developing software and “associated comprehensive pilot training” for the Max. The software update, Boeing said in the statement, adds layers of protection and will stop erroneous data from activating the system. Ethiopian investigators did not specifically mention the MCAS, but recommended that Boeing review “the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability.” They also recommended that aviation officials verify that issues have been adequately addressed before allowing the planes to fly again. At a news conference, Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges said the Ethiopian Airlines crew “performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft.” However, it wasn’t clear whether the Ethiopian pilots followed Boeing’s recommendations to the letter in dealing with the system repeatedly pointing the nose down. The pilots initially followed Boeing’s emergency steps by disconnecting the MCAS system, but for an unknown reason, they turned the system back on, an official familiar with the crash investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because investigators had not yet released their preliminary report. Boeing’s procedures instruct pilots to leave the MCAS system disconnected and continue flying manually for the rest of the flight. Ethiopian investigators did not address that issue at Thursday’s news conference, saying only that the pilots had done what they were supposed to. Family members of crash victims said they were unsettled by the report’s findings. “Today’s preliminary report suggests Boeing could have done better in notifying the problem with the aircraft system early on,” said Konjit Shafi, who lost her younger brother, Sintayehu Shafi, in the crash. “This is causing us a great deal of pain. It is so sad to learn that our loved ones would have been spared if this problem was detected on time.” “We want justice, not a delayed justice but a quick one. I heard the full report may take one year. But that’s too long,” she said, surrounded by her family members in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, the family of a 24-year-old American woman killed in the crash sued Boeing on Thursday. The complaint, which also names Ethiopian Airlines and parts maker Rosemount Aerospace as defendants, alleged negligence and civil conspiracy among other charges. “Blinded by its greed, Boeing haphazardly rushed the 737 MAX8 to market” and “actively concealed the nature of the automated system defects,” the lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of Samya Stumo alleged. Stumo is a great grand-niece of consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader called on consumers to boycott the 737 MAX 8 and blasted the FAA for delegating so much responsibility in certifying the plane was safe to Boeing. “Those planes should never fly again,” Nader said. “If we don’t end the cozy relationship between the patsy FAA … and the Boeing Company, 5,000 of these fatally flawed planes will be in the air all over the world with millions of passengers.” Boeing is the focus of investigations by the U.S. Justice Department, the Transportation Department’s inspector general, and congressional committees. Investigations are also looking at the role of the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S., which certified the Max in 2017, and declined to ground it after the first deadly crash in October. The agency was also reluctant to ground the planes after the Ethiopian Airlines crash and was among the last agencies to do so. The FAA, which must certify the 737 Max is safe before it can go back into the air, said in a statement that the investigation is still in its early stages. “As we learn more about the accident and findings become available, we will take appropriate action,” the agency said.

u.s .
faa
ethiopian airlines
737 max
air accidents
mcas


Social media gets thumbs-down in new U.S. poll

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Americans are fearful about the impact of social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter, with many saying they spread misinformation and divide the country, even though most people still use these networks, a new poll showed Friday. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 57% of Americans believe social media sites do more to divide the country, and 55% said the networks are more likely to spread “lies and falsehoods” than genuine news and information. “Social media — and Facebook, in particular — have some serious issues in this poll,” said Micah Roberts of the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the survey with the Democratic firm Hart Research Associates. “If America was giving social media a Yelp review, a majority would give it zero stars.” According to the survey, 61% think social media does more to spread unfair attacks and rumors against public figures and corporations, compared with 32% who say it helps hold those public figures and corporations accountable. And 82% say social media sites do more to waste people’s time, compared with 15% who say time on these networks is well-spent. The survey comes after a wave of scandals about manipulation of misinformation on social media, and with President Donald Trump and his allies attacking internet platforms over what he claims is political bias. Despite the concerns, 69% of those polled said they use social media at least once a day. The poll also found 59% of Americans believe that technology in general has more benefits than drawbacks. The public appeared split about whether the federal government should break up the largest tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook — 47% agreed and 50% disagreed. Some 60% of respondents said they don’t trust Facebook at all to protect their personal information — a finding following a series of revelations on how Facebook collects and shares personal data. That was a far greater percentage of distrust than for Amazon (28%), Google (37%) and the federal government (35%). By a 3-to-1 margin, survey respondents said the practice of social media companies collecting personal data to allow advertisers to target them is not an acceptable trade-off for free or low-cost services. Overall, 36% of adults viewed Facebook positively, while 33% see it negatively. And Twitter’s rating is 24% positive, 27% negative. “If these were political candidates, it would be one thing,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research. “But for companies, you’d think these ratings would be (more) on the positive side.”


43-million-year-old fossil of four-legged whale found in Peru

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Paleontologists have found a well-preserved fossil of a four-legged ancestor of whales that also swam, a discovery that sheds new light on the mammals’ transition from land to the ocean. The ancestors of whales and dolphins walked on Earth about 50 million years ago in the regions that now comprise India and Pakistan. Paleontologists have previously found partial fossils of the species in North America that were 41.2 million years old, suggesting that by this time, the cetaceans had lost the ability to carry their own weight and walk the Earth. The new specimen, described in a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, is 42.6 million years old and provides fresh information on the evolution of cetaceans. The fossil was found about a kilometer inland from Peru’s Pacific coast, at Playa Media Luna. Its mandibles lay in the desert soil, and during excavations the researchers also found the lower jaw, teeth, vertebrae, ribs, parts of front and back legs, and even the whale ancestor’s long fingers, which were likely webbed. Based on its anatomy, the scientists say this cetacean, about 4 meters long (13 feet), could both walk and swim. “Part of the tail’s vertebrae showed similarities with that of present-day semi-aquatic mammals like otters,” said lead author Olivier Lambert of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences . “This would therefore have been an animal that would have started to make growing use of its tail to swim, which differentiates it from older cetaceans in India and Pakistan.” Pieces of four-legged whales were found in Egypt, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Western Sahara, but they were so fragmented that it was impossible to decisively conclude whether they could swim. “This is the most complete specimen ever found for a four-legged whale outside of India and Pakistan,” said Lambert. If the whale in Peru could swim like an otter, the researchers hypothesized that it likely crossed the Atlantic from the western coast of Africa to South America. As a result of continental drift, the distance was half that of today, around 1,300 km (800 miles), and the east-west current of the time would have facilitated their travel. This finding would make less likely another hypothesis, according to which whales reached North America via Greenland. The Pisco Basin, off Peru’s southern coast, likely holds numerous fossils, given its excellent conditions for preservation. “We have work for at least the next 50 years,” said Lambert.

india pakistan dinosaurs peru whale fossil


Air-conditioning system caused Brazil museum fire, say police

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO - The fire that devastated Brazil’s National Museum in September was caused by the air-conditioning system and spread quickly because the building lacked the equipment to contain it, federal police said Thursday. Ricardo Saadi, chief of the federal police, made the announcement at a news conference at which he ruled out arson. “The fire broke out in the auditorium and main cause was the installation of air conditioning,” he said, explaining the system did not meet the manufacturer’s recommendations on the use of individual circuit breakers and grounding devices. The auditorium, which is located on the ground floor of the four-story former imperial palace, was the first room destroyed by the fire, which took six hours to contain. With the exception of fire extinguishers, the museum didn’t have the equipment to help contain the blaze, including alarms, fire houses or fire doors, according to the investigation. The National Museum fire on Sept. 2 wiped out much of the collection, dealing a hard blow to the main showcase of Brazil’s anthropological heritage and history. Since then, dozens of anthropologists, archeologists and paleontologists have spent nine hours a day, six days a week combing through the ashes and charred structure. The facade still stands, though all that was inside and most of its roof were destroyed. Among the recovered relics are fragments of “Luzia” — the fossilized, 12,000-year-old remains of a human considered the centerpiece of the museum’s collection. There is also a 5-ton meteorite called Bendego that survived the blaze, as well as some fragments of a dinosaur, Maxakalisaurus topai.

archaeology
brazil
fires
paleontology
museums
rio de janeiro


In world first, France bans breast implants linked to rare cancer

Abstract: PARIS - France on Thursday became the first country to ban a type of breast implant that has been linked to a rare form of cancer. The ban covers certain types of implants with a textured surface or polyurethane coating. The National Agency for Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) said the ban was a “precautionary measure” taken in light of the “rare but serious danger” posed by the implants, which have been linked to anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA- ALCL), a rare type of cancer that attacks the immune system. But it did not recommend that the some 70,000 women believed to have received the implants — of an estimated 400,000-500,000 French implant wearers — undergo surgery to have them removed. Silicone implants are used in breast enhancements, or for reconstructive purposes after a mastectomy for breast cancer. They can either be smooth, textured or coated in polyurethane. Textured implants, which are designed to stick to the breast tissue to avoid slipping out of position, are the most popular in France. The Food and Drug Administration in the United States, where the smooth models are more popular, held two days of public hearings last month on the risks posed by implants. The agency, which wrote to health care providers in February warning them of the link between implants and BIA-ALCL, told AFP it would announce a decision “in the coming weeks. The ANSM said it had noted a “significant increase in cases of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma linked to the wearing of breast implants since 2011.” It said it had recorded 59 cases of the cancer among French implant wearers, of whom three had died. “The more the implant is textured and rough the greater the risk of BIA-ALCL,” it said. “We have no scientific explanation for the development of ALCL, all we have are observations,” Thierry Thomas, the agency’s deputy director for health devices, told a press conference. Of the 457 cases of BIA-ALCL recorded in implant wearers worldwide as of Sept. 30, at least 310 were found in wearers of textured implants, according to the FDA. Canada, which has 22 confirmed and a further 22 suspected cases of BIA-ALCL, is also reviewing their safety while in European Union, several national health authorities have formed a working group to exchange information. Some studies suggest that inflammation caused by the textured implants rubbing against breast tissue could cause BIA-ALCL. The ban covers several models from U.S. manufacturer Allergan that had already been withdrawn from sale in December as well as similar models from France’s Arion and Sebbin, Britain’s Nagor and Eurosilicone and German’s Polytech. Several implant wearers have already launched legal action against Allergan, accusing it of “deliberately endangering the lives of others. The president of the French Society for Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Sebastien Garson, said the move would “complicate things” for medical practitioners, who would have fewer implant models to offer patients. France was at the center of a major scandal involving implants in 2010 after it emerged that the maker of a popular brand of implants had been filling them with a cheap industrial-grade silicone gel, which was more dangerous for wearers than medical-grade silicone. The French government recommended that women have the implants removed. Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), died on Thursday aged 79, his lawyer said. He was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud but never served jail time after spending eight months in pre-trial detention in 2012. PIP was shut down.

france
u.s .
cancer
fda
breast implants
allergan
anaplastic large cell lymphoma


Scientists warn of amphibian pandemic that has already killed 90 species

Abstract: SANTIAGO - A deadly disease affecting amphibians has descended into a global pandemic that has already wiped out 90 species, a prominent U.S. biologist warned Thursday at the World Organization for Animal Health Aquatic Conference in Santiago, Chile. Chytridiomycosis is caused by a fungus — Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis — that attacks the skin of frogs, toads and other amphibians. As the creatures use their skin to breathe and regulate their bodies’ water levels, the damage caused by the disease eventually leads to heart failure and death. Jonathan Kolby, co-author of a study published in March on the fungus’ devastating effects, lamented what he described as “the first global wild disease issue.” “It’s over 60 countries right now, and that’s part of the problem,” he said. Over the past five years, the highly contagious disease has already caused nearly 90 species to disappear, with over 500 impacted. The rapid global spread of the fungus is due to a lack of animal trade rules and airport surveillance, which allows wildlife to be imported without examination. “To solve it we have to focus on regulation,” said Kolby, who worked on the study alongside around 40 other international experts. “Globalization is good for people but it has consequences to animals,” he added. In the U.S. alone, 5 million amphibians enter the country every year. Currently, the disease is most widespread in Latin America and Australia, with trade with Asia — where the fungus originated — blamed for the spread. Scientists also believe a genetic mutation of the fungus may have made it more dangerous. Amphibians play a major role in maintaining aquatic environmental quality. They also feed on mosquitoes, which carry human diseases such as malaria and the Zika virus.


Global life expectancy up 5.5 years since 2000; income and access to care play key roles: WHO

Abstract: GENEVA - Global life expectancy grew by 5.5 years between 2000 and 2016, the World Health Organization said Thursday, warning though that unequal income and access to health care translates into far shorter lives for many. The U.N. health agency also stressed significant gender differences in life expectancy worldwide. On average, a child born in 2016 can expect to live 72 years, up from 66.5 in 2000, according to the annual World Health Statistics report. The first 16 years of the century saw dramatic drops in deaths among children under five, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where progress has been made against malaria, measles and other communicable diseases, WHO said. Life expectancy has also increased thanks to advances against HIV/AIDS, which ravaged much of Africa in the 1990s. But despite progress in poorer countries, WHO said there remained significant life expectancy gaps between developed and developing nations. People in low-income countries live 18 fewer years on average than those in high-income nations, statistics showed. In Lesotho, for instance, people on average live to be just 52, or 53 in the Central African Republic, compared to over 83 for Switzerland and over 84 in Japan. While most people who die in rich countries are old, nearly 1 in 3 deaths in poorer countries are children under 5, WHO said. For the first time, WHO broke down its global health statistics by sex, clearly showing that females have better longevity prospects than males. At birth, babies are more likely to be male than female, with some 73 million boys expected to be born this year, compared to 68 million girls, WHO said. But due to greater biological frailty and riskier behaviors, mortality rates tend to be higher among boys and men, and the ratio shifts as the population ages. At a global scale, girls born in 2016 are expected to live to the age of 74.2, while and boys on average will make it to 69.8 years, the report showed. One reason why women appear to live longer is that they tend to be better about using available health care. In countries facing HIV epidemics, for instance, women are far more likely to take HIV tests and access antiretroviral therapies than their male counterparts. Female TB patients are also more likely to seek treatment, WHO said. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the gap between men’s and women’s life expectancy is narrowest in places where women lack access to health services. In low-income countries with scarcer services, 1 in 41 women die from maternal causes, compared to 1 in 3,300 women in high-income countries. These are “shocking differences,” WHO’s head of data and analytics, Samira Asma, told reporters. Overall, the statistics showed that life expectancy has risen in most countries, including significant jumps in places like Eritrea, where people on average are now expected to live 22 years longer than the 43 years predicted in 2000. In Syria, meanwhile, which has been ravaged by eight years of conflict, life expectancy dropped by a decade, from 73 years in 2000 to 63.8 years in 2016. People in the United States have meanwhile seen their life expectancy slip from 79 years in 2014 to 78.5 years two years later, the WHO numbers showed. Asma said the drop was in part driven by the obesity epidemic.

africa
u.s .
u.n .
obesity
who
life expectancy
wages
hiv
childbirth
japan


Major study debunks myth that moderate drinking can be healthy

Abstract: LONDON - Blood pressure and stroke risk rise steadily the more alcohol people drink, and previous claims that one or two drinks a day might protect against stroke are not true, according to the results of a major genetic study. The research, which used data from a 160,000-strong cohort of Chinese adults, many of whom are unable to drink alcohol due to genetic intolerance, found that people who drink moderately — consuming 10 to 20 grams of alcohol a day — raise their risk of stroke by 10 to 15 percent. For heavy drinkers, consuming four or more drinks a day, blood pressure rises significantly and the risk of stroke increases by around 35 percent, the study found. “The key message here is that, at least for stroke, there is no protective effect of moderate drinking,” said Zhengming Chen, a professor at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Population Health who co-led the research. “The genetic evidence shows the protective effect is not real.” The World Health Organization estimates that around 2.3 billion people worldwide drink alcohol, with average per person daily consumption at 33 grams of pure alcohol a day. That is roughly equivalent to two 150-ml glasses of wine, a large (750-ml) bottle of beer or two 40-ml shots of spirits. This latest study, published in The Lancet medical journal, focused on people of East Asian descent, many of whom have genetic variants that limit alcohol tolerance. Because the variants have specific and large effects on alcohol but do not affect other lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, economic status or education, they can be used by scientists to nail down causal effects of alcohol intake. “Using genetics is a novel way … to sort out whether moderate drinking really is protective, or whether it’s slightly harmful,” said Iona Millwood, an epidemiologist at Oxford who co-led the study. “Our genetic analyses have helped us understand the cause-and-effect relationships.” The research team — including scientists from Oxford and Peking universities and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences — said it would be impossible to do a study of this kind in Western populations, since almost no one there has the relevant alcohol-intolerance gene variants. But the findings about the biological effects of alcohol should be the same for all people worldwide, they said. Europe has the highest per person alcohol consumption in the world, even though it has dropped by around 10 percent since 2010, the WHO says, and current trends point to a global rise in per capita consumption in the next 10 years.


Italian explorer to trace flow of plastics down world's 10 most-polluted rivers into seas

Abstract: MILAN, ITALY - Italian explorer Alex Bellini plans to travel down the world’s 10 most polluted rivers on makeshift rafts, tracing the routes of plastics that pollute the world’s oceans. Bellini said Thursday that he was inspired by a 2018 study by a German scientist that found 80 percent of plastic in the world’s oceans arrives from just 10 rivers. He began with a voyage down the Ganges River in India on a raft built from garbage last month and intends to complete journeys on all 10 on similarly constructed rafts by 2021, including the Yangtze, the Niger and the Mekong. His final stop will be the Great Pacific Ocean garbage patch. The 40-year-old spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of a One Oceans forum. Bellini, who has rowed solo across two oceans for more than 35,000 km (nearly 22,000 miles), said he became aware of pollution in the ocean while rowing from Peru to Australia in 2008. But he said he was surprised to learn that most plastics in the seas arrive by rivers and not from coastal areas. His new journeys are aimed at raising awareness about the source of ocean plastic, which according to the U.N. environment assembly is accumulating in oceans at a rate of 8 million tons a year. The damage to wildlife of ocean plastic was made clear with the death last month of a whale that beached on the northern coast of Sardinia in Italy with 22 kg (48.5 pounds) of plastic in its belly. “The ocean is a no-man’s land, meaning what is found in the ocean belongs to no one, therefore it is no one’s responsibility to go take away that stuff,” Bellini said. “But research brings the problem closer to us, in the rivers. So everyone needs to take his own responsibility.” Bellini is supported by the One Ocean Foundation, founded by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, with a mission to safeguard the seas. Closer to home, the foundation has issued a call to clean plastics and other trash that a recent drought has revealed in the Po River, Italy’s longest, which empties into the Adriatic Sea.

pollution
environment
mekong
yangtze
ganges
alex bellinim plastic


Trump's Russia report victory sours as probe team ranks take issue with his attorney general's conclusion

Abstract: WASHINGTON - Donald Trump wanted a victory lap after the apparent flop of the Russia collusion probe, but on Thursday, 11 days later, the president instead found himself being chased in circles. Over and over the president has crowed that special counsel Robert Mueller’s massive investigation into the Trump team’s links to Moscow resulted in total “exoneration.” But that claim is based on the conclusions of Trump’s handpicked attorney general, William Barr, who released a four-page summary of the still-secret report. The actual report, running hundreds of pages, has yet to be released publicly. And U.S. media reports have now quoted sources from the previously almost totally leak-proof Mueller team saying that Barr’s characterization glossed over potentially damaging findings. “Members of Mueller’s team have complained to close associates that the evidence they gathered on obstruction was alarming and significant,” The Washington Post said late Wednesday. The New York Times — another mainstay of insider U.S. political reporting — quoted its unnamed sources saying that Barr “failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated.” The Justice Department was forced Thursday to defend Barr’s summary, saying “every page” of Mueller’s report was flagged as potentially containing confidential material and insisting it would be released in full once “appropriate redactions” had been made. And in a furious tweet, Trump said the Times “had no legitimate sources, which would be totally illegal, concerning the Mueller Report. In fact, they probably had no sources at all! They are a Fake News paper who have already been forced to apologize for their incorrect and very bad reporting on me!” This is not the way it was meant to be for the Republican as he launches his 2020 reelection fight. For two years Trump loudly, repeatedly excoriated Mueller’s “witch hunt” and dismissed as nonsense the idea he might have colluded with attempts by Russia to tilt public opinion in his favor during the 2016 election. The Barr summary looked like a stunning vindication. According to Barr, Mueller found that no one in the Trump team had “conspired or coordinated with Russia.” On the question of whether Trump had tried to obstruct justice and prevent Mueller from freely investigating the Russia angle, Barr said the special prosecutor did not reach a definitive conclusion. “While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” Barr quoted Mueller as saying. That sounded perilously ambiguous for the president, but with Barr himself making the judgment that there was in fact no obstruction offense, Trump could call it a win. In streams of tweets, comments to journalists and a celebratory campaign rally, Trump said he had been proven right. He even accused the law enforcement officials and Democratic Party politicians who supported Mueller’s probe of treason. But questioning by Democrats about why the report has not been fully released and now the reported leaks from the Mueller team are turning that victory sour. In a statement on Thursday, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec defended Barr’s handling of the report. “Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the attorney general decided to release the report’s bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately — without attempting to summarize the report — with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process,” she said. Barr “does not believe the report should be released in ‘serial or piecemeal fashion,’ ” she added. In the meantime, it was back to business as usual for Trump on Twitter, with attacks on opponents that could have been written months ago. “According to polling, few people seem to care about the Russian Collusion Hoax, but some Democrats are fighting hard to keep the Witch Hunt alive,” he tweeted Thursday. “They should focus on legislation or, even better, an investigation of how the ridiculous Collusion Delusion got started — so illegal!” Trump’s lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, was also refighting the supposedly finished battle. On Fox News Wednesday night, he called the Mueller team “a bunch of sneaky, unethical leakers. And they are rabid Democrats who hate the president of United States.” As for Trump’s actions regarding the murky Russian involvement in the election? “We think we can prove beyond any doubt that there is nothing to collusion,” Giuliani said.

congress
robert mueller
donald trump
russia probe
william barr
rudi giuliani


Brazil police kill 11 heavily armed suspects out of 25 who tried to blow up two banks' ATMs

Abstract: SAO PAULO - Police in Sao Paulo state shot and killed 11 assailants who were preparing to blow up automated bank teller machines simultaneously at two branches early on Thursday, authorities said. Sao Paulo state’s Public Security Secretariat said in a statement that about 25 suspects were involved in the attempts to blow up the machines to get the cash inside, a common crime in Brazil. Along with the 11 killed, another two men were arrested. No money was stolen. One of the banks was located next to a police station. “These criminals were prepared for war,” said Alvaro Batista Camilo, head of Sao Paulo state’s police force. The would-be robbers drove up to the banks in five armored cars and were armed with high-caliber rifles and body armor, authorities said. Police arrived at the banks and confronted the assailants, who fled and led police on a rolling shootout through the city of Guararema, located about 60 km (37 miles) east of central metropolitan Sao Paulo. The suspects broke into a home at one point and held the residents hostage, “but police managed to free them,” the secretariat said, without providing more details. No police were injured during the operation. Police commander Mario Silva told Globo TV that the criminal group was under surveillance, and that “we already knew they were going to carry out an attack in this area. “We did not know exactly where the attack would take place,” Silva said. “But we increased police forces in the area over the past 24 hours.” Far right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has publicly called for Brazil’s already lethal police force to carry out more killings of suspected criminals, praised the action. “Eleven criminals were killed and not a single innocent was injured. Great work!” Bolsonaro tweeted.

brazil
banks
gangs
sao paulo
atms
jair bolsonaro


Man found wandering in Kentucky claiming to be boy missing since 2011 was in fact ex-con pulling hoax: FBI

Abstract: CINCINNATI - A young man’s claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared under tragic circumstances eight years ago was disproved by DNA tests, the FBI said Thursday, dashing hopes that the baffling case had finally been solved. For a day and a half, a breakthrough seemed to be at hand when a young man found wandering the streets of Newport, Kentucky, on Wednesday identified himself as 14-year-old Timmothy Pitzen and claimed he had just escaped from two men who had held him captive for seven years. But DNA tests ruled out that possibility, the FBI said. Newport Police Chief Tom Collins identified the young man to ABC as Brian Rini of Medina, Ohio, a 23-year-old ex-convict. “Law enforcement has not and will not forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family. Unfortunately, that day will not be today,” FBI spokesman Timothy Beam in Louisville said in a statement. Timmothy’s family members said they were heartbroken over the apparent hoax. “It’s devastating. It’s like reliving that day all over again, and Timothy’s father is devastated once again,” said his aunt Kara Jacobs. The boy’s grandmother, Alana Anderson, said: “It’s been awful. We’ve been on tenterhooks, hopeful and frightened. It’s just been exhausting.” She added, “I feel so sorry for the young man who’s obviously had a horrible time and felt the need to say he was sbomebody else.” State prison records indicate Rini was released from last month after serving time for burglary and vandalism. Timmothy, of Aurora, Illinois, vanished at age 6 in 2011 after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, pulled him out of kindergarten early one day, took him on a two-day road trip to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel. The mother left a note saying that her son was safe with people who would love and care for him, and added: “You will never find him.” After the young man claiming to be Timmothy came forward, police and Timmothy’s family reacted cautiously because of the many false sightings and hoaxes over the years. “We’ve probably had thousands of tips of him popping up in different areas,” Aurora police Sgt. Bill Rowley said Wednesday. Police have said Timmothy’s mother might have dropped the boy off with a friend, noting that the boy’s car seat and Spider-Man backpack were gone. Police also found credit card receipts showing she bought children’s clothing and toys in Wisconsin. Timmothy’s grandmother said her daughter had fought depression for years and was having problems in her marriage to Timmothy’s father. Some news reports suggested she was afraid she would lose custody of the boy in a divorce because of her mental instability. At Greenman Elementary after the boy’s disappearance, Timmothy’s schoolmates, teachers and parents tied hundreds of yellow ribbons around trees and signs. A garden was planted in his memory. The brief but tantalizing possibility that the case had been solved generated excitement in Timmothy’s former neighborhood. Pedro Melendez, who lives in Timmothy’s former home, didn’t know the boy but saved the concrete slab with his name, handprint and footprint etched in it when he redid the back patio. It is dated ’09. “My wife is really excited. She’s been following this story since we moved in the house,” said Melendez, who bought the house from the boy’s father. “Hopefully, it’s him.” Linda Ramirez, who lives nearby and knew the family, said she was “pretty excited” but didn’t “want to have false hopes.”

kidnapping
dna
ohio
illinois
kentucky
timmothy pitzen
brian rini