NASA's InSight probe detects likely 'marsquake' in interplanetary first

Abstract: ORLANDO, FLORIDA - NASA’s robotic probe InSight has detected and measured what scientists believe to be a “marsquake,” marking the first time a likely seismological tremor has been recorded on another planet, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California reported on Tuesday. The breakthrough came nearly five months after InSight, the first spacecraft designed specifically to study the deep interior of a distant world, touched down on the surface of Mars to begin its two-year seismological mission on the red planet. The faint rumble characterized by JPL scientists as a likely marsquake, roughly equal to a 2.5 magnitude earthquake, was recorded on April 6 — the lander’s 128th Martian day, or sol. It was detected by InSight’s French-built seismometer, an instrument sensitive enough to measure a seismic wave just one-half the radius of a hydrogen atom. “We’ve been collecting background noise up until now, but this first event officially kicks off a new field: Martian seismology,” InSight principal investigator Bruce Banerdt said in a news release. Scientists are still examining the data to conclusively determine the precise cause of the signal, but the trembling appeared to have originated from inside the planet, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind. “The high frequency level and broad band is very similar to what we get from a rupture process. So we are very confident that this is a marsquake,” Philippe Lognonné, a geophysics and planetary science professor at University Paris Diderot in France and lead researcher for InSight’s seismometer, said in an email. Still, a tremor so faint in Southern California would be virtually lost among the dozens of small seismic crackles that occur there every day. “Our informed guesswork is that this a very small event that’s relatively close, maybe from 50 to 100 kilometers away” from the lander, Banerdt said by telephone. A more distant quake would yield greater information about Mars’ interior because seismic waves would “penetrate deeper into the planet before they come back up to the seismometer,” he said. The size and duration of the marsquake also fit the profile of some of the thousands of moonquakes detected on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1977 by seismometers installed there by NASA’s Apollo missions, said Lori Glaze, planetary science division director at NASA headquarters in Washington. The lunar and Martian surfaces are extremely quiet compared with Earth, which experiences constant low-level seismic noise from oceans and weather as well as quakes that occur along subterranean fault lines created by shifting tectonic plates in the planet’s crust. Mars and the moon lack tectonic plates. Their seismic activity is instead driven by a cooling and contracting process that causes stress to build up and become strong enough to rupture the crust. Three other apparent seismic signals were picked up by InSight on March 14, April 10 and April 11 but were even smaller and more ambiguous in origin, leaving scientists less certain they were actual marsquakes. Lognonne said he expected InSight to eventually detect quakes 50 to 100 times larger than the April 6 tremor.


Trump 'not inclined' to release tax returns despite congressional deadline

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely hand over his tax returns to lawmakers despite a Tuesday congressional deadline facing the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. “As I understand it, the president’s pretty clear: Once he’s out of audit, he’ll think about doing it, but he’s not inclined to do so at this time,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told Fox News in an interview. Rep. Richard Neal, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, requested six years of Trump’s individual and business returns on April 3 and has set a final deadline of 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, informing IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in a letter that failure to comply would be viewed as a denial. Failure to meet the congressional deadline could mire the administration and lawmakers in a lengthy legal fight. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has vowed that Trump’s tax returns would “never” be handed over to Democrats. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he intends to “follow the law” while pledging to keep the IRS from being “weaponized” for political gain. As Ways and Means chairman, Neal is the only lawmaker in the House of Representatives authorized to request taxpayer information under a federal law that says the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” the data. Democrats say they are confident of succeeding in any legal fight over Trump’s returns. “The law is on our side. The law is clearer than crystal. They have no choice: they must abide by (it),” Rep. Bill Pascrell, who has been leading the Democratic push for Trump’s tax records, said in a statement to Reuters. Democrats want Trump’s returns as part of their investigations of possible conflicts of interest posed by his continued ownership of extensive business interests, even as he serves the public as president. Republicans have condemned the request as a political “fishing expedition” by Democrats. Despite the law’s clarity, Democrats have long acknowledged that the effort would likely result in a legal battle that could ultimately be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court. “If the IRS does not comply with the request, it is likely that Chairman Neal will subpoena the returns,” Rep. Judy Chu, a Democratic member of the Ways and Means Committee, told Reuters. “If they do not comply with that (subpoena), a legal battle will begin to defend the right of oversight in Congress,” she said. Trump broke with a decades-old precedent by refusing to release his tax returns as a presidential candidate in 2016 or since being elected, saying he could not do so while his taxes were being audited. But his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a House panel in February that he does not believe Trump’s taxes are under audit. Cohen said the president feared that releasing his returns could lead to an audit and IRS tax penalties.

taxes
u.s. congress
democrats
donald trump
steve mnuchin
mick mulvaney
michael cohen


Jared Kushner downplays Russia election interference despite probe's finding of widespread meddling

Abstract: NEW YORK - White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said Tuesday the investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election “had a much harder impact on our democracy” than what Russia actually did. Mere days after Americans read a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the election meddling, Kushner minimized Russia’s involvement by describing it as “buying some Facebook ads to try to sow dissent.” “Quite frankly, the whole thing’s just a big distraction for the country,” Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, said in a rare public appearance at the Time 100 Summit. Kushner continued: “It’s a terrible thing, but I think the investigations and all the speculation that happened for the past two years has had a much harsher impact on democracy than a couple Facebook ads.” Mueller’s report concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election “in sweeping and systematic fashion” and that its efforts were designed to help Trump. Kushner, in his first comments since the redacted version was released last week, said the Trump campaign spent far more on Facebook ads in a matter of hours than the Russians did over the course of the election. “So if you look at the magnitude of what they did and what they accomplished, I think the ensuing investigations have been way more harmful to our country,” said Kushner, who helped lead his father-in-law’s upstart campaign. Kushner was present in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and campaign chairman Paul Manafort when a Kremlin-connected lawyer offered dirt on rival Hilary Clinton’s campaign. But Kushner said he texted an aide to get him out of the meeting because he found it unhelpful. When asked Tuesday why the Trump campaign did not reject Russian attempts to get close to the campaign, Kushner said, “We didn’t know that Russia was doing what they were doing. “The notion of what they were doing didn’t even register to us as being impactful,” he said. “When the whole notion of the Russian collusion narrative came up, I was the first person to say ‘I’m happy to participate with any investigations.’ I thought the whole thing was kind of nonsense, to be honest with you.” Shortly after Kushner’s interview, which was broadcast online, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to praise his son-in-law. “Great interview by Jared,” the president wrote. “Nice to have extraordinarily smart people serving our Country!” The FBI warned the Trump campaign in July 2016 that Russia would likely try to infiltrate or influence its election efforts. That month, Trump publicly urged Russia to find some of Clinton’s missing emails, a remark he later characterized as a joke. And that October, the U.S. intelligence community released a unanimous statement formally accusing Russia of being behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, a conclusion Trump repeatedly challenged. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Tuesday that the president has denounced Russian involvement “multiple times,” though Trump himself has repeatedly cast doubt on the conclusion that Russia was involved and has not publicly warned Moscow against interfering again in 2020. Mueller wrote that the Trump campaign “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.” But the special counsel said investigators concluded, “While the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges.” On other topics, Kushner said: — The administration’s Middle East peace plan that he’s been working on would likely be unveiled after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends June 4. — He would make his recommendations for an immigration plan to the president by the end of next week, after which Trump would develop a revamped proposal. — Only “time would tell” if Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, with whom he has a close relationship, would change his ways in the aftermath of U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that he ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

u.s .
robert mueller
donald trump
jared kushner
russia probe


Democrats weigh contempt vote after ex-Trump official defies subpoena

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee says the White House is now in “open defiance” of his panel after lawyers advised a former official to defy a subpoena related to the committee’s investigation of White House security clearances. Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings says he is consulting with members and staff about scheduling a vote on contempt after former White House personnel security director Carl Kline did not show up for a scheduled deposition on Tuesday. The committee had subpoenaed Kline after one of his former subordinates told the panel that dozens of people in President Donald Trump’s administration were granted security clearances despite “disqualifying issues” in their backgrounds. The fight over Kline’s appearance comes as the White House has stonewalled the panel in several different investigations.

congress
donald trump
elijah cummings
carl kline


Trump says White House officials can skip 'partisan' post-Mueller congressional inquiries

Abstract: WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his legal confrontations with Democrats in the House of Representatives. Hours after his Treasury secretary again put off a House committee’s demand for the president’s tax returns, and as another panel was considering a contempt charge for a former White House aide for refusing to testify, Trump said in an interview that he was against having past and present administration officials taking part in various congressional inquiries. He told The Washington Post that any further testimony is not necessary after the White House cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. “There is no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress, where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan,” Trump said in an interview with the Post that was published Tuesday night. Since regaining control of the House in last fall’s elections, Democrats have begun multiple investigations related to Trump and those around him. Democrats say those efforts will only intensify following last week’s release of a redacted version of Mueller’s report. Earlier Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin again declined to release Trump’s tax documents, arguing that Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, despite their stated objective, aimed to expose the president’s personal and business financial records to the public. He said he would give a final response by May 6. And the Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Chairman Elijah Cummings said he intended to “consult with House counsel and committee members about scheduling a vote on contempt” after Trump administration lawyers convinced Carl Kline, the former director of White House personnel security, not to testify about granting security clearances. Kline had received a subpoena for a closed hearing after a longtime employee in the security clearance office, Tricia Newbold, told lawmakers that she and other colleagues had denied 25 applications for clearances only to see them overturned by supervisors. “I hope that Mr. Kline, in close consultation with his personal attorney, will carefully review his legal obligations, reconsider his refusal to appear, and begin cooperating with the committee’s investigation,” Cummings said in a statement Tuesday. Cummings’ committee has been scrutinizing how a number of senior aides, including Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton, obtained their clearances. Separately, the House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel, who gave extensive testimony to Mueller’s investigators. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, responding to reports that the White House would try to prevent McGahn from appearing, said in a statement that “the reports, if accurate, represent one more act of obstruction by an administration desperate to prevent the public from talking about the president’s behavior.” Since the White House urged Kline not to testify, Cummings said, “It appears that the president believes that the Constitution does not apply to his White House, that he may order officials at will to violate their legal obligations, and that he may obstruct attempts by Congress to conduct oversight.” Kline now works at the Defense Department. His lawyer, Robert Driscoll, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Driscoll received a letter Monday from White House deputy counsel Michael Purpura stating that the Oversight Committee denied a request to have a White House lawyer accompany Kline at the deposition. “Consistent with the position of past administrations, if the committee goes forward with the deposition, a representative from the Office of Counsel to the President should attend and represent the interests of the Executive Office of the President,” Purpura wrote to Driscoll. Purpura said those interests include “protection of privileged information.” Purpura wrote that by denying that request, the subpoena for Kline to appear “unconstitutionally encroaches on fundamental executive branch interests.” Driscoll told Cummings Monday that his client would not show. “With two masters from two equal branches of government, we will follow the instructions of the one that employs him,” Driscoll wrote, in a reference to Kline’s ongoing employment at the Defense Department. Cummings, in his statement, dismissed the efforts to cast Kline “as caught in the middle of a dispute between the committee and the White House.” He pointed out that Kline faces accusations of retaliation “against a whistleblower who reported serious allegations of abuse to Congress.” “Mr. Kline has a direct and personal legal obligation to comply with this subpoena, and he failed to do so,” Cummings said.

u.s .
congress
democrats
donald trump
russia probe


Israel to name Golan settlement after Trump

Abstract: JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he plans to name a new settlement in the occupied Golan after U.S. President Donald Trump in appreciation of his recognition of Israel’s claim of sovereignty there. Netanyahu, who has been on a trip to the region with his family for the week-long Passover holiday, said in a video message that he would present a resolution to the government calling for a new settlement named after the U.S. president. “All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” he said. Trump again broke with longstanding international consensus on March 25 when he recognized Israel’s claim of sovereignty over the part of the strategic plateau it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. The decision came only two weeks ahead of a tightly contested Israeli election, which saw Netanyahu win a fifth term in office. Trump has shifted U.S. policy sharply in Israel’s favor since taking office, most notably by recognizing the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israel annexed 1,200 sq. km (460 sq. miles) of the Golan it seized in 1981, a move never recognized by the international community. Around 18,000 Syrians from the Druze sect — most of whom refuse to take Israeli citizenship — remain in the occupied Golan. Some 20,000 Israeli settlers have moved there, spread over 33 settlements.

u.s .
israel
syria
benjamin netanyahu
golan heights
donald trump


Protest train from birthplace of al-Bashir opposition arrives in Khartoum to join demonstration

Abstract: KHARTOUM - Hundreds of protesters packed in a train arrived in Khartoum Tuesday from a central Sudanese town to join a sit-in outside the army headquarters demanding military rulers step down. Many protesters perched on the roof of the train, waving Sudanese flags as it chugged through north Khartoum’s Bahari railway station before winding its way to the protest site, an AFP photographer said. The passengers, who had traveled from the town of Atbara where the first protest against ousted President Omar al-Bashir erupted on Dec. 19, chanted “freedom, peace, justice. Crowds of supporters filled the Bahari station for hours and waited along the tracks to greet the train, which came to a final stop outside the army headquarters in central Khartoum. Calling for retribution for those killed during al-Bashir’s rule, protesters chanted “blood for blood, we will not accept compensations. The protests that broke out in Atbara swiftly mushroomed into nationwide demonstrations against al-Bashir’s iron-fisted rule, finally leading to his ouster on April 11 by the army. Under al-Bashir, officials say at least 65 people were killed in protest-related violence since December. But initial jubilation at the end of al-Bashir’s three-decade reign quickly turned to anger over the military council’s plan to keep power for a two-year transition period. Groups of journalists, doctors, engineers and veterinarians also marched Tuesday to the protest site in Khartoum calling for the transfer of power to civilian rule. In eastern Sudan, hundreds of protesters joined a sit-in outside an army building in the border town of Kassala, demanding that those responsible for killing protesters be brought to justice. Protest leaders have suspended talks with the military council, accusing it on Sunday of being part of the regime put in place by al-Bashir. Late Monday the military council tried to ease the tensions, saying the demands made by the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group leading the protest movement, were being examined. “The alliance has presented its proposal … which is now being studied along with the visions of other political forces,” council spokesman Shamseddine Kabbashi told reporters. He said the council “will communicate with everyone to reach a middle ground. African leaders meanwhile at an emergency summit in Cairo urged Sudan’s military rulers on Tuesday to implement a democratic transition within three months, the Egyptian presidency said. They also urged the African Union to extend its deadline, currently the end of April, for Sudan’s military council to hand power to a civilian authority or face suspension from the regional bloc.


Ex-PM wins Solomons run-off sparking riots

Abstract: HONIARA - The election of veteran politician Manasseh Sogavare as the Solomon Islands’ new prime minister sparked violent protests in the capital Honiara Wednesday, with riot police deployed in a bid to maintain order. Eyewitnesses reported unrest in Chinatown and at least one other area of the city after Sogavare won the backing of parliamentarians for a record fourth term in office. Shops and offices closed and workers were advised to go home as police and community leaders appealed for calm. Following an inconclusive election earlier this month, Sogavare won the backing of 34 of 50 members of parliament in a controversial run-off, with his opponents boycotting the vote. In a brief statement, the 64-year-old said “God” had delivered the outcome. “I wish to assure the nation that we are listening to what has been said, it has not fallen on to deaf ears,” he said. It is the first election on the self-styled “hapi isles” since thousands of Australian-led peacekeepers left in 2017, and there will be fears the islands’ fractious politics will be reignited. The Solomon Islands has struggled repeatedly with ethnic tensions and political violence since gaining independence from Britain in 1978. A 2006 election prompted widespread rioting in the capital with shops in Chinatown looted and burnt down, forcing foreign peacekeepers to step in. Within hours of the ballot Wednesday there was similar unrest. Crowds of protestors shouting and waving tree branches were denied access to parliament and were heading to Chinatown to hurl rocks and trash businesses before being contained. “Each time an election of this sort happens, we have to move to my parent’s place where it is safer,” said a food outlet owner in Chinatown, who asked not to be named. “Imagine each time, we have to pack our stuff, get the kids and move out from our place. It had been like this since the big riot in 2006. It is like the normal thing to do now.” By Wednesday afternoon rioting was centred on the Kukum area of the city. There were unconfirmed reports of a locally owned hotel and casino being damaged in the attacks. The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force urged residents to “go back to your homes” and “accept the announcement of the Prime Minister with a good heart.” The Australian government said it was monitoring the protests and endorsed “calls for calm by Solomon Islands authorities.” “We recommend exercising normal safety precautions in Solomon Islands overall and to avoid protests and political rallies, as they may turn violent.” Sogavare’s last term in office ended abruptly in a 2017 vote of no confidence amid unconfirmed allegations he had received donations from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The Solomon Islands is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, but is being courted by China which has been investing heavily in the Pacific. The Solomons, where only about 50 percent of the population have access to electricity, is heavily reliant on foreign aid. In the run-up to the election, several Solomon Islands politicians, including caretaker prime minister Rick Houenipwela were reported to have said they would review diplomatic relations with Taiwan if elected. Houenipwela was a member of Sogavare’s Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold.

election
politics
solomon islands
manasseh sogavare


North Korean leader's right-hand man and top nuclear negotiator removed from key post, report says

Abstract: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man and one of the top officials involved in nuclear talks with the United States, Kim Yong Chol, has been replaced as chief of a key espionage agency handling inter-Korean affairs, a report said Wednesday. Kim Yong Chol, head of the United Front Department, was recently replaced by Jang Kum Chol, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an official with the country’s parliamentary intelligence committee. The official did not state a reason for the dismissal. The Japan Times could not immediately confirm the report, but Kim Yong Chol was notably absent from Kim Jong Un’s entourage that arrived in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok on Wednesday for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, according to images and video of the leader’s departure and arrival. It was the first time that Kim Yong Chol had not accompanied the North Korean leader on a trip abroad. The hard-liner and former spy chief was heavily involved in the North Korean leader’s February summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi that ended in no deal, in part over the North’s demands for immediate sanctions relief. The news came just days after the North lambasted Kim Yong Chol’s counterpart in the U.S. nuclear negotiations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calling for his ouster and demanding a “more careful and mature” negotiator. According to the North Korean leadership watch website, Jang Kum Chol was appointed as a department director with the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee during a plenary session of the central committee held in central Pyongyang on April 10. An archived dispatch from the state-run Korean Central News Agency detailing a 2014 seminar said a person by that name had served as chairman of the country’s Academy of Social Sciences Committee, which has played a key role in the North’s nuclear program.

u.s .
north korea
kim jong un
nuclear weapons
south korea
north korea nuclear crisis
kim yong chol
donald trump
mike pompeo
kim-trump summit


Putin-Kim summit sends message to U.S. but sanctions relief elusive for North Korea

Abstract: SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time this week at a symbolic summit hoping to project himself as a serious world player but likely to come away without a relief from crushing sanctions he seeks. After his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump ended without an agreement two months ago, Kim’s meeting with Putin serves as a reminder to Washington that he has other options in the region backing his leadership. But while Kim is likely to seek more assistance from one of his country’s two main backers, Russia will be limited in what it can provide and the summit will focus more on demonstrating camaraderie than new investment or aid, analysts said. “When Kim meets Putin, he is going to ask for economic assistance and unilateral sanctions relaxation. Moscow is unlikely to grant his wishes,” said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok. That school’s campus is seen to be the summit venue, according to South Korean media which reported the presence of Kim’s top aides there making preparations for the event. “Being a veto-holding U.N. Security Council member, Moscow can hardly afford to undermine its authority even for the sake of friendship with Kim,” Lukin said. Sanctions relief While Russia says it fully enforces the sanctions that it voted to impose, it has joined China in calling for loosening punishment for North Korea in recognition of steps taken in limiting its weapons testing. “Steps by the DPRK toward gradual disarmament should be followed by the easing of sanctions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a Security Council meeting late last year, using the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Washington has accused Russia of “cheating” on sanctions and said it has evidence of “consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations.” In February, Reuters reported a Russian tanker violated international trade sanctions by transferring fuel to a North Korean vessel at sea at least four times between October 2017 and May 2018. One Russian lawmaker told Interfax news agency last week that North Korea had asked Moscow to allow its laborers to continue to work in Russia despite sanctions requiring their expulsion by the end of this year. “One particularly sore area for Kim is the issue of North Korean laborers working in Russia,” said Anthony Rinna, a specialist in Korea-Russia relations at Sino-NK, a website that analyzes the region. “Kim will probably be seeking some wiggle-room from Russia, although Moscow will be hard-pressed to accommodate Kim given its desire to portray a responsible image in the world.” The United States has said it believed Pyongyang was earning more than $500 million a year from nearly 100,000 workers abroad, including 30,000 in Russia. According to unpublished reports by Moscow to the United Nations Security Council, Russia sent home nearly two-thirds of its North Korean workers during 2018. The report, reviewed by Reuters, said in 2018 the number of North Koreans with work permits in Russia fell to about 11,500. Long ties Russia-North Korea relations withered after the Soviet demise, with the loss of support from Moscow often cited as one factor that lead to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans. Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, worked to renew ties after Putin first became president in 1999. He visited Russia three times before his sudden death in 2011. Russia could agreed on some limited projects like a vehicle bridge connecting the two countries across the Tumangan River, or provide more humanitarian aid, Lukin said. Earlier this year, Russia sent more than 2,000 tons of wheat to North Korea through the World Food Program. Russian lawmakers have suggested Moscow could send as much as 50,000 tons of wheat to North Korea. According to the United Nations, Russia has continued to sell significant amounts of oil to North Korea, though still officially under sanctions caps. North Korea’s state media said in March officials met in Moscow to sign an agreement “to boost high-level contact and exchange in the political field (and) actively promote cooperation in the fields of economy and humanitarianism.” While Moscow is unlikely to risk its authority at the United Nations by overtly breaching sanctions, Putin could promise not to support any additional sanctions, Lukin said. “Kim can expect a friendly reception here and probably some chance of getting political and economic support from Putin.”

north korea
vladimir putin
russia
kim jong un
diplomacy
north korea nuclear crisis
donald trump
_asia


North Korea's Kim arrives in Russia's Vladivostok for Putin summit

Abstract: VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Wednesday for a first summit with Vladimir Putin, as Pyongyang seeks support in its nuclear deadlock with the United States. The talks, organized in secret and announced at the last minute, will be Kim’s first face-to-face meeting with another head of state since negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed in February. Kim’s armored train arrived in the afternoon at the Czarist-era train station in Vladivostok and he stepped out onto a red carpet before making his way outside to be received by an honor guard. “I hope that this visit will be successful and useful,” Kim told Russian television in the Russian town of Khasan where his train crossed the border. “I hope that during the talks … I will be able to have concrete discussions on resolving situations on the Korean Peninsula and on the development of our bilateral relationship,” Kim said. Putin was due to arrive in Vladivostok on Thursday, then fly on after the talks for another summit in Beijing. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) earlier reported Kim’s departure by train, naming among his entourage foreign minister Ri Yong Ho. The train crossed the Tumen River Wednesday and arrived in Khasan, where women in folk costumes welcomed Kim with bread and salt in a traditional greeting. Kim’s predecessors as leader, his father and grandfather, also stopped there on their trips to neighboring Russia. At Khasan Station a small wooden building known as the House of Kim Il Sung commemorates Russian-Korean friendship. Russian and North Korean flags were already flying on lamp posts Tuesday on Vladivostok’s Russky island, where the summit is expected to take place at a university campus. Kim plans to stay on in Vladivostok on Friday for a series of cultural events, including a ballet and a visit to the city’s aquarium, Russian media reported. The talks follow repeated invitations from Putin since Kim embarked on his diplomatic overtures last year. Since March 2018, the formerly reclusive North Korean leader has held four meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, three with the South’s Moon Jae-in, two with Trump and one with Vietnam’s president. Analysts say he is now looking for wider international support in his standoff with Washington, while Moscow is keen to inject itself into another global flash point. In Hanoi, the cash-strapped North demanded immediate relief from the sanctions imposed on it over its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, but the talks broke down in disagreement over what Pyongyang was prepared to give up in return. North Korea last week launched a blistering attack on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, insisting he be removed from the negotiations just hours after announcing it had carried out a new weapons test. Moscow has already called for the sanctions to be eased, while the U.S. has accused it of trying to help Pyongyang evade some of the measures — accusations Russia denies. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told a briefing on Tuesday: “The focus will be on a political and diplomatic solution to the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula.” “Russia intends to help consolidate positive trends in every way,” he said, but added that no joint statement or signing of agreements was planned. KCNA did not mention whether Kim’s wife Ri Sol Ju or his sister and close aide Kim Yo Jong were accompanying him. Moscow was a crucial backer of Pyongyang for decades and their ties go back to the founding of North Korea, when the Soviet Union installed Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung as leader. The Soviet Union reduced funding to the North as it began to seek reconciliation with Seoul in the 1980s, but Pyongyang was hit hard by its demise in 1991. Soon after his first election as Russian president, Putin sought to normalize relations and met Kim Jong Il — the current leader’s father and predecessor — three times. The first of those meetings was in Pyongyang in 2000, when Putin became the first Russian leader to visit the North. China has since cemented its role as the isolated North’s most important ally, its largest trading partner and crucial fuel supplier, and analysts say Kim could be looking to balance Beijing’s influence. While ties between Russia and the North have remained cordial, the last meeting between their leaders came in 2011, when Kim Jong Il told then-president Dmitry Medvedev that he was prepared to renounce nuclear testing. His son has since overseen by far the country’s most powerful blast to date, and the launch of missiles capable of reaching the entire U.S. mainland.

north korea
vladimir putin
russia
kim jong un
diplomacy
north korea nuclear crisis


Hong Kong democracy leaders jailed over 2014 'Umbrella Movement' mass protests

Abstract: HONG KONG - Four prominent leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement were jailed Wednesday for their role in organizing mass protests in 2014 that paralyzed the city for months and infuriated Beijing. The prison terms are the latest hammer blow to the city’s beleaguered democracy movement, which has seen key figures jailed or banned from standing as legislators since their demonstrations shook the city but failed to win any concessions. Nine activists were all convicted earlier in April of at least one charge in a prosecution that deployed rarely used colonial-era public nuisance laws over their participation in the “Umbrella Movement” protests, which called for free elections to appoint the city’s leader. Their trial renewed alarm over shrinking freedoms under an assertive China that has rejected demands by Hong Kongers for a greater say in how the financial hub is run. Two key leaders of the mass protests — sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 60, and law professor Benny Tai, 54 — received the longest sentences of 16 months in prison, sparking tears in court and angry chants from hundreds of supporters gathered outside. Two others — activist Raphael Wong and lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun — received eight months while the rest had their prison terms suspended or were given a community service order. One defendant, lawmaker Tanya Chan, had her sentencing adjourned because she needs surgery for a brain tumor. The prison terms are the steepest yet for anyone involved in the 79-day protests, which vividly illustrated the huge anger — particularly among Hong Kong’s youth — over the city’s leadership and direction. As Wong was led away by guards he proclaimed: “Our determination to fight for democracy will not change.” Tai and Chan founded a civil disobedience campaign known as “Occupy Central” in 2013 alongside 75-year-old Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming, one of the defendants to have his prison term suspended. Their original idea of taking to the streets to demand a fairer system was a precursor to the student-led Umbrella Movement a year later that brought parts of the city to a standstill. Authorities in Hong Kong and the mainland have defended the prosecutions as a necessary measure to punish the leaders of a direct action movement that took over key intersections of the city for many weeks. But activists and rights groups have argued that the use of the vaguely worded public nuisance laws — combined with a steeper common law punishment — is an insidious blow to free speech and a new tactic from prosecutors. “The long sentences sends a chilling warning to all that there will be serious consequences for advocating for democracy,” said Maya Wang, Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher on China. Amnesty said the four jailed men were “prisoners of conscience” and that the record-breaking sentences set a “dangerous precedent.” There were emotional scenes outside the courthouse as the four leaders were driven away in a prison van as supporters shouted “Add Oil!” — a popular Cantonese phrase to signal encouragement. Speaking after the sentencing, Tanya Chan told the crowds: “I hope Hong Kongers will not lose hope, will not be afraid, will not have regrets or back down now.” Many supporters were holding umbrellas, an emblem of the 2014 protests after they were used by young demonstrators to defend themselves against police batons, tear gas canisters and pepper spray. While Hong Kong enjoys rights unseen on the Chinese mainland under a 50-year handover agreement between Britain and China, there are fears those liberties are being eroded as Beijing flexes its muscles and stamps down on dissent. Hong Kong’s leader is elected by a group of just 1,200 largely pro-Beijing appointees, in a city of 7 million. Judge Johnny Chan ruled that the 2014 protests were not protected by Hong Kong’s free speech laws because the demonstrations impinged on the rights of others. During sentencing, Chan said the defendants had expressed no regret for the “inconvenience and suffering caused to members of the public.” He added that an apology was “rightly deserved … but never received” from the protest leaders.

china
hong kong
rights
protests
umbrella movement


New Zealand and France announce 'Christchurch Call' plan to end violent extremism online

Abstract: WELLINGTON - New Zealand and France will bring together global leaders at a Paris summit next month aimed at stopping social media being used to organize and promote terrorism, the countries’ leaders announced Wednesday. Political leaders and tech company executives have been called to a meeting — to be co-chaired by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron — in Paris on May 15. They will be asked to commit to a pledge called the “Christchurch Call” designed to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. Ardern said the March 15 terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, in which 50 Muslim worshippers were killed, saw social media used “in an unprecedented way as a tool to promote an act of terrorism and hate.” The mosque attacks were livestreamed on the internet and showed distressing footage of the gunman firing indiscriminately at men, women and children. In Paris, the Elysee presidential palace said the meeting would ensure that “new, concrete measures are taken so that what happened in Christchurch does not happen again.” Nearly six weeks after the massacre, social media sites are still struggling to stamp out copies of the gunman’s video. “We’re calling on the leaders of tech companies to join with us and help achieve our goal of eliminating violent extremism online at the Christchurch Summit in Paris,” Arden said. The meeting will be held alongside the “Tech for Humanity” meeting of Group of Seven digital ministers, and France’s separate “Tech for Good” summit also scheduled for May 15. “We all need to act, and that includes social media providers taking more responsibility for the content that is on their platforms, and taking action so that violent extremist content cannot be published and shared,” Ardern said. “It’s critical that technology platforms like Facebook are not perverted as a tool for terrorism, and instead become part of a global solution to countering extremism.” Macron has previously stated his ambition for France to take a leading role in devising new regulatory measures “to reconcile technology with the common good.” Ardern said the joint action was not aimed at curbing freedom of expression but at preventing extremist violence from spreading online. “I don’t think anyone would argue that the terrorist on March 15 had a right to livestream the murder of 50 people and that is what this call is very specifically focussed on,” she said. A French Muslim group said on Monday it was suing Facebook and YouTube for allowing the grisly live broadcast of the Christchurch massacre to be streamed. The livestream lasting 17 minutes was shared extensively on a variety of internet platforms and uploaded again nearly as fast as it could be taken down. New Zealand has banned both the livestreamed footage of the attack and the manifesto written and released by Brenton Tarrant, who faces 50 murder charges and 39 of attempted murder following the mosque attacks.

france
violence
internet
terrorism
new zealand
social media
christchurch
emmanuel macron
jacinda ardern


Britain 'approves' Huawei role in 5G network despite security warnings from U.S., ministers: reports

Abstract: LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly approved a limited role for China’s Huawei to help build a 5G network in the UK, shrugging off security warnings from senior ministers and Washington surrounding the telecoms giant, media said Wednesday. Britain’s National Security Council, which is chaired by May, agreed Tuesday to allow the Chinese technology giant limited access to build “non-core” infrastructure such as antennas, The Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote. The Financial Times, citing those close to the meeting, added that the Chinese company had been banned from more sensitive “core” parts of the project. The Times newspaper meanwhile was more cautious, stating that May was “considering giving limited approval.” Her reported moves come despite concerns raised by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt. May’s Downing Street office declined to comment on the story. However, Digital Minister Margot James dismissed the media speculation. “In spite of cabinet leaks to the contrary, final decision yet to be made on managing threats to telecoms infrastructure,” she tweeted. She later told Sky News that while a final decision had not been made, James indicated that a security review had concluded. “The decision has not been finally made yet and the Prime Minister will take advice form all of the relevant agencies and departments,” James added. Huawei itself welcomed the report. “Huawei welcomes reports that the U.K. government is moving towards allowing Huawei to help build the U.K.’s 5G network,” it said in a brief statement. “This green light means that U.K. businesses and consumers will have access to the fastest and most reliable networks thanks to Huawei’s cutting edge technology. “While we await a formal government announcement, we are pleased that the U.K. is continuing to take an evidence-based approach to its work and we will continue work cooperatively with the government, and the industry,” the Chinese company added. Britain’s move would be at odds with the United States, which has banned Huawei’s 5G technology from its territory and urged allies in the so-called Five Eyes intelligence sharing collective — comprising also Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand — to follow suit. Huawei is the leading manufacturer of equipment for next-generation 5G mobile networks with almost instantaneous data transfer that will become the nervous system of Europe’s economy, in strategic sectors like energy, transport, banking and health care The technology titan faces pushback in some Western markets over fears Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure. Last month, Britain identified “significant technological issues” in Huawei’s engineering processes that pose “new risks” for the nation’s telecommunications, according to a government report. “Further significant technical issues have been identified in Huawei’s engineering processes, leading to new risks in the U.K. telecommunications networks,” read annual findings from the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre oversight board. The board — which includes officials from Britain’s GCHQ cybersecurity agency as well as a senior Huawei executive and representatives from the U.K. telecommunications sector — added it could provide only limited assurance that risks posed by the Chinese tech giant to U.K. national security would be “sufficiently mitigated long-term.” Shrugging off the widespread concerns, Egypt on Sunday said Huawei would roll out a 5G phone network there for the first time during the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.

china
u.s .
britain
u.k .
computers
espionage
spying
huawei
5g


Ex-U.S. Marine accused in raid of North Korea's Madrid embassy ordered to stay behind bars in LA

Abstract: LOS ANGELES - A former U.S. Marine accused of stealing electronics from the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in a robbery of the diplomatic compound was ordered by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Tuesday to remain in U.S. custody pending possible extradition to Spain. The judge also ordered the unsealing of U.S. court documents in the case against Christopher Philip Ahn, 38, who was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles on Thursday. Spanish authorities have sought Ahn’s extradition from the United States. He is charged there with being among a group of seven intruders who stormed the North Korean mission on Feb. 22, restrained and physically beat some embassy personnel, held them hostage for hours and then fled. Spanish investigators identified the intruders as self-professed members of a group that calls itself Cheollima Civil Defense and seeks the overthrow of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to U.S. court documents, the raiders removed computers, computer drives and a mobile phone from the embassy before the alleged ringleader, Adrian Hong, traveled to the United States and met with the FBI. Hong, a Mexican citizen and U.S. resident, was an activist who co-founded the nonprofit human rights group Liberty in North Korea but later left that organization. His whereabouts remain unknown. The anti-Kim group, which also calls itself Free Joseon, has denied attacking the embassy, insisting its members were invited inside. Ahn is charged in Spain with breaking and entering, illegal restraint, making threats, robbery with violence and intimidation, causing injuries and criminal organization, U.S. court documents say. He could face more than 10 years in prison if convicted there. The incident at the embassy came at a sensitive time, just days ahead of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim that abruptly collapsed without the two leaders reaching a deal on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. North Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the incident as a “grave terrorist attack” and cited rumors that the FBI was partially behind the raid. The U.S. State Department has said Washington had nothing to do with it. Ahn arrived in Madrid on the morning on Feb. 22 and left shortly after the raid, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lulejian told the judge on Tuesday. He was photographed outside the embassy wearing black and carrying a backpack that may have contained weapons, Lulejian said. The FBI received the stolen material and returned it to the Spanish court investigating the raid, and Spanish authorities have returned the items to Pyongyang’s mission, according to a Spanish judicial source. In U.S. court on Tuesday, Ahn’s public defender, Callie Steele, asked Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth to keep records in the case sealed to protect her client, saying North Korea’s leader had ordered assassinations in the past and that credible death threats had been made against Ahn. She also asked that Ahn be placed under home detention so he could care for his ill mother and blind grandmother at their house in Chino, California. The judge denied the request, ordering he remain in federal custody ahead of his next court appearance, set for July 18. Ahn was arrested at Hong’s apartment in Los Angeles last week while dropping something off there, Steele told the judge. He was armed at the time with a handgun, which he legally owned to protect himself, after the FBI informed him of threats on his life, she said in court. Ahn was born and raised in Southern California and later obtained a masters degree in business administration from the University of Virginia, Steele said. He was honorably discharged after service in the U.S. military, she said.

north korea
courts
kim jong un
espionage
spain


In Japan, busy singles are turning to apps to find love

Abstract: In Japan’s time-scarce, results-oriented society, people no longer feel they can find a life partner through traditional dating methods, and are instead turning to internet matchmaking options to better their chances of meeting a compatible companion. Rather than visiting a dating agency, attending matchmaking parties or actually finding a partner the old-fashioned way through “a chance encounter,” people are peering into their screens in hopes that artificial intelligence will help them find a match made in heaven. Around 10 companies in Japan offer such services, with each seeing their user base growing rapidly in recent years. The companies are not focused on delivering a solely digital date, however, as some also host events where prospective partners can meet in person to see if the profile picture meets reality. Makoto Yamada, 30, who works in the western Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa, married Sayaka, 33, a university research fellow, in June last year after meeting through the Pairs online matching service run by Tokyo-based Eureka Inc. Both learned of the matchmaking service through social media ads and signed up without giving it a second thought. Because they had heard from friends who had used similar services, they said they did not hesitate to take their quest for love online. After sparking a mutual interest in each other after discussing travel and other shared passions over text, they dated for about six months and tied the knot soon after. “Matchmaking parties tend to be boisterous since so many people show up, and the chance of actually meeting a partner is pretty slim. Apps make much more sense,” Makoto said. Sayaka added that she was unlikely to find a love interest from her circle of acquaintances after working for 10 years at the same job, so she had to try something new. “My parents were delighted about the service as I described it as a modern-day equivalent of arranged marriage meetings,” she said. Pairs began operations in Japan in 2012, launched a version in Taiwan the following year and in South Korea in 2017, and now has more than 10 million overall users. When signing up, users must verify their age via a driver’s license or another identification document. Once in, they can report a person on the site for breaking the rules, such as already being married or soliciting for other businesses. The site says it monitors messages and posted images around the clock and takes appropriate action against rule violators. Last December, Eureka launched a research project in collaboration with Toshihiko Yamasaki, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, using accumulated data and a matchmaking algorithm. Shintaro Kaneko, director and chief technology officer of the company, said, “Even if they do not have the same hobby, some data shows, for example, that a man fond of walks and a woman fond of visiting cafes have good chemistry.” “By further improving the accuracy of data analysis, we want to orchestrate ‘a chance encounter’ (among users of the service),” Kaneko said. Linkbal Inc., an operator of an e-commerce portal website for matchmaking events, has offered the CoupLink online dating app since July 2016. The app enables users to “get to know 1.5 million event attendees online,” and many of its users became members after attending actual events, according to the company. Even if people fail to meet someone of interest during an event, they still have a chance to get a date by sending messages to other users on the CoupLink app, company officials said. In many cases, users who have attended different events will meet later through the app. “There is a sense of reassurance that people who attend events are very motivated to get married,” an official said. “We will continue offering people that chance by further expanding the app’s functions, utilizing both real (events) and net (services).”


Japanese centenarian 'full of emotion' to see fifth era name of his lifetime

Abstract: TAKAMATSU, KAGAWA PREF. - Ahead of the start of the forthcoming Reiwa Era on May 1, a centenarian in the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, says he is “full of emotion” as he gets set to see the fifth era name of his lifetime. Masao Matsumoto, 108, was born during the Meiji Era. He served on active duty three times, including in the 1931 Manchurian Incident that marked the start of Japan’s invasion of China and the subsequent Pacific War of World War II. “It’s great to see a peaceful time. I’m so full of emotion,” said the former prisoner of war, expressing hopes for a bright future in the new era. In July last year, Guinness World Records recognized Matsumoto and his wife, Miyako, 101, who was born in the Taisho Era, as the world’s oldest living married couple, with a combined age of 208 years and 259 days at the time. The couple, both from Oita Prefecture, were married in 1937 in the Showa Era, and raised five daughters. They moved to a nursing home in Takamatsu about two and a half years ago. They now look forward to visits by their 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Both of them use wheelchairs, and Masao Matsumoto’s eyesight and hearing have waned sharply over the past year, making it difficult for him to enjoy his hobbies of reading newspapers and playing go. But the couple still have healthy appetites and suffer from no major chronic illnesses. When their youngest daughter told the couple that it would be nice if they could live until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Masao Matsumoto smiled. “He is tough, as he has played sports such as tennis, so he’ll surely live until the Olympics,” Miyako Matsumoto said with a smile.

guinness world records
takamatsu
kagawa
centenarians
reiwa
masao matsumoto


Sword presented after Emperor's birth to be displayed at Kyoto shrine

Abstract: YAWATA, KYOTO PREF. - A short sword linked to the so-called amulet sword, a ceremonial sword that was presented to the Imperial family when Emperor Akihito was born, will be displayed at a shrine in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture, from Friday. With his abdication approaching on April 30, the Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine wants visitors to “feel the closeness and nobility of the Imperial family,” an official said. The sword, which has a 28-centimeter blade and is made of leftover iron from the amulet sword, is not generally on public display. The late master swordsmith Sadakatsu Gassan, who made many swords for the Imperial family including the amulet sword, forged the short sword in December 1933, when the Emperor was born. Gassan made several short swords during this period after being urged to produce “something similar to the amulet sword” by sword aficionados. One of these was offered to Iwashimizu Hachimangu around 1960. On the hilt is an inscription describing the sword as being made of leftover iron from the amulet sword. “The amulet sword’s leftover iron is in the sword, so it’s extremely valuable,” said Sadatoshi Gassan, a grandson of Sadakatsu and a master swordsmith himself. Sadatoshi Gassan, 72, is designated as an intangible cultural property by Nara Prefecture. The exhibition will end on May 6.

kyoto
emperor akihito
imperial family
yawata
swords
iwashimizu hachimangu
sadakatsu gassan


Abe calls for more equal educational opportunities to be part of revised Constitution

Abstract: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the better provision of education for all children should be part of reforms to Japan’s Constitution. “Education must be truly open for all children, regardless of their families’ economic conditions,” Abe said in a message to the meeting of a group of cross-party lawmakers seeking to establish a new constitution. The prime minister again expressed his eagerness to see the existence of the Self-Defense Forces stipulated clearly in the Constitution’s war-renouncing Article 9. Abe referred to Crown Prince Naruhito’s accession to the throne, set for May 1, as he urged increased discussions on constitutional amendments. “It is time for us to have head-on discussions on this country’s future as we stand on the starting line of the new era,” he said. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, the head of the lawmaker group, who was absent from the meeting, said in a comment that “we are coming to the end of an era in which (problems) can be covered by interpretations of the existing Constitution.” “It is time to establish a constitution for the Japanese people, by the hands of the Japanese people,” Nakasone continued.

shinzo abe
constitution
education
self defense forces
article 9
abdication
reiwa


Chinese President Xi vows to visit Japan in June to attend G20 summit

Abstract: BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday told the secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he will visit Japan in June to attend this year’s summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka. Xi’s pledge came during a meeting with LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai in Beijing. The trip would be Xi’s first to Japan since he took power in 2013. As a special envoy, Nikai gave Xi a letter from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also the head of the LDP. The party’s No. 2 is visiting Beijing to attend this week’s “One Belt, One Road” summit in the Chinese capital. For years, the two neighbors had been mired in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The group of uninhabited islets, which are called Diaoyu in China, are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. But Sino-Japanese ties have been improving recently, with 2018 marking the 40th anniversary of the signing and entering into force of the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship. As Tokyo and Beijing have agreed to work together to facilitate reciprocal visits by their countries’ leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Japan in May and Abe made a trip to China in October last year.

osaka
china-japan relations
g20
xi jinping
toshihiro nikai


Abe and Macron agree to coordinate ahead of G20, while tiptoeing around Ghosn and Nissan

Abstract: PARIS - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Tuesday to coordinate closely in addressing global economic, trade and environmental issues before Japan hosts the Group of 20 summit in June. They also agreed on bilateral cooperation to set international rules on trading of goods and services that involves the transfer of data, referred to as data trading. The two leaders have confirmed plans to cooperate on pushing for reforms at the World Trade Organization to fight protectionism, and on maintaining U.N. sanctions against North Korea aimed at inducing Pyongyang’s denuclearization, Japanese government officials said after the meeting. Abe said the auto alliance between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. should be adjusted in a way that’s acceptable to both sides. Nissan is widely seen as reluctant to merge as proposed by its French peer. At a joint press appearance before their talks, Abe promised that Japan will help France repair Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a major fire last week. “It’s heartbreaking to see the damage done to the World Heritage site which represents history and culture in which France takes pride,” Abe said. “The Japanese government will extend unwavering support for its restoration.” Abe chose France, which holds this year’s presidency of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, as the first stop of his six-nation European and North American trip. He hopes to rally support for a successful G20 summit in Osaka as Japan aims to demonstrate joint efforts toward fostering economic growth, tackling marine plastic debris and drawing up rules for the use of big data. “I hope that the G20 will send out a strong message that we will be united” to promote free trade and tackle global issues such as climate change. Macron said he will visit Japan to attend the G20 summit, which will be his first trip to the nation since taking office. “We have the shared ambition of rebuilding trust in international cooperation,” said Macron, who is set to host the G7 summit in August. Multilateral frameworks, including those of the WTO, have come under scrutiny as U.S. President Donald Trump questions their relevance and pursues an “America First” agenda. Japan and France have been deepening bilateral ties in recent years, particularly in the field of maritime security amid China’s growing clout. France wants to explore more specific industrial and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, Macron said. Given that France has island territories in the Pacific, such as New Caledonia, Japanese officials say Tokyo and Paris share a need to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region based on freedom of navigation and the rule of law. The summit was held as Japanese investigators continue to detain Carlos Ghosn, the former boss of Renault and its alliance partner Nissan Motor Co., for alleged financial misconduct at Nissan. Ghosn was indicted for the fourth time Monday and has already spent months behind bars despite once being granted bail. Macron said France would remain “very vigilant” about Ghosn’s treatment in Japan. The auto titan’s wife, Carole, has called it shameful. Ghosn is “entitled to the presumption of innocence and consular protection, like all French nationals,” Macron said in a statement Tuesday following a meeting with Abe. France respects the independence of the Japanese legal system, he added. Carole Ghosn had earlier called on the French leader to raise the topic with Abe during their talks. The two leaders also discussed the future of the relationship between Nissan and Renault. “It’s important to maintain a stable alliance and strengthen it in a way that’s acceptable to the parties involved,” Abe was quoted by a Japanese official as telling Macron. A French government official said the two leaders agreed to respect the corporate partnership. Nissan rejected a fresh merger proposal from Renault earlier this month that reflected the desires of the French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder, sources familiar with the matter have said. Renault, the largest stakeholder in Nissan, is seeking to further solidify the partnership. But executives at Nissan, which has a 15 percent stake without voting rights in its French peer, view that ratio as unfair, the sources said.

shinzo abe
trade
g20
nissan
carmakers
renault
carlos ghosn
france-japan relations
emmanuel macron


Many Cabinet ministers set to head overseas as Japan's new Reiwa Era begins

Abstract: A total of 12 Cabinet ministers are set to travel abroad before or during the extra-long 10-day Golden Week holiday that starts Saturday. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is now on a six-nation tour, and all members of his Cabinet will be in Japan on Tuesday to attend a series of rites related to the day’s abdication of Emperor Akihito, six of the ministers will leave Japan the following day, which will be the first day of the Reiwa Era. The Heisei Era will end with the Emperor’s abdication and Reiwa will start when Crown Prince Naruhito takes the throne on May 1. It is customary for Cabinet ministers to travel overseas during Golden Week, which runs from late April to early May. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso and Toshimitsu Motegi, economic and fiscal policy minister, will visit the United States from Thursday this week to join a meeting between Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Foreign Minister Taro Kono will visit Saudi Arabia from Friday. Abe and the three ministers will return to Japan by Monday to prepare for the Emperor’s farewells under Taiirei Seiden no Gi, an abdication ceremony to be held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday. On May 1, after the ceremonies related to the accession, Aso, land minister Keiichi Ishii, education minister Masahiko Shibayama and three other ministers will leave the country. Kono will depart for Africa in the early hours of May 2. The same morning, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada and regional revitalization minister Satsuki Katayama will depart for their destinations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s trip to the United States is set for May 9 to 12.


Hiroshima museum displays new photos and possessions left by A-bomb victims

Abstract: HIROSHIMA - New displays of photos and personal belongings left by victims of atomic bombings were unveiled Wednesday at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum’s main building, where the new artifacts are being exhibited under the theme “Reality of the Atomic Bombing,” was shown to the media a day before its reopening after two years of renovations. A section on foreign victims who were in Hiroshima at the time of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing by the U.S., including American prisoners of war, was added to the renovated building, which displays photos, drawings and personal belongings relating to the lives of victims, rather than explanations using text. Displayed under spotlight in another low-lit section is a life-size picture of a girl standing in the middle of burned-out ruins, together with scorched student uniforms and monochrome photos of victims with their skin severely burned. The total number of items on display remains almost unchanged from before, but the number of photos has increased from 112 to 173. “I want visitors to recognize how horrible Hiroshima was on Aug. 6 (1945) … through actual materials, and look at the grief of each victim and his or her family,” Takuo Takigawa, head of the museum, told reporters. The museum, which attracted around 1.52 million visitors in the year through March, will also continue to display paper cranes made by then-U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited Hiroshima in 2016. The recent renovation program was the third large-scale renewal of the museum, which opened in 1955.

wwii
history
hiroshima
nuclear weapons
atomic bombings


Japan drafting guidelines to stop technology leaks from universities working with foreign firms

Abstract: The government will set guidelines by the end of March next year for preventing technology leaks from universities that conduct research with foreign firms, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. The move comes as the United States and China grow cautious about advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence being converted for military use. While Japan already regulates the disclosure of sensitive technologies and products by the nation’s state organizations and companies to overseas firms under a foreign exchange and foreign trade law, university laboratories have been managing infrequent arrangements on their own, leading some experts to voice concerns about the risk of information leaks. The envisioned guidelines would require universities and other research institutions to set regulations on joint projects involving foreign entities. They will be based on the comprehensive innovation strategy adopted by the Cabinet in 2018 aimed at promoting university research on AI, biotechnology and other leading technologies. The Cabinet hopes to triple the value of private investments in universities and research bodies from fiscal 2014 levels by fiscal 2025. As cross-border collaboration is expected to increase through the strategy, the government has deemed it necessary to craft the guidelines for working with foreign entities.

tech
universities
science
patents
inventions
trademarks
intellectual property


Female recruits in Japan want to balance full-time jobs with family, and husbands' help with kids

Abstract: A majority of young female recruits in Japan desire both full-time careers and a family, with 90 percent expecting their future husbands to take paternity leave, according to recent findings by Tokyo-based recruitment information firm Disco Inc. According to the firm, the results signal a change in young women’s views on work and their roles in the society. “Year by year more (female) students think about taking parental leave while holding on to a career, but the results of our study show that more women also want men and their future husbands to make the same commitment to child-rearing,” said Fusako Takei, Disco’s senior researcher who oversaw the study on female students’ career goals. She said the results may reflect government efforts to promote women’s participation in society, which has included urging companies to create more women-friendly work environments. “More female students want to be financially independent and contribute to society by joining the workforce” in contrast to past family models where women focused solely on child-rearing after marriage, she said. “We can say for sure that increasing numbers of female students expect men to be more engaged in parenting.” In the recent survey, conducted online by the firm, 76.9 percent of 342 respondents said they were planning to continue work after marriage while only 11.4 percent wanted to be housewives. The poll was conducted from late February until early March, surveying female college and university students who were scheduled to graduate in March and had already secured employment in private businesses. As many as 88.6 percent of young female recruits said they had sought full-time jobs for financial independence. For 50.6 percent, work was felt to be an obvious choice in their lives. Another 35.4 percent, meanwhile, sought full-time employment as an opportunity to use their skills to contribute to society. When asked about future plans, 61.9 percent of the total said they were planning to have a child in the future and those who had such plans said they wished to give birth at the age of around 29, on average. Meanwhile, 12.8 percent of respondents said having a child was not currently a consideration. The respondents worried, however, about whether the companies to which they were applying would allow for work-life balance. The young women expect their future partners to share the load with child care. In the survey 47 percent said they wanted their husbands to take paternity leave, while another 43 percent were leaning toward that idea if they had to choose. Of the 342 respondents, 52.9 percent said they had checked policies on maternity and paternity leave when applying for job openings. When asked about suggestions for employers, many women said they would urge businesses to promote healthy working environments that support a work-life balance that equally benefits both female and male employees. “Most comments were related to parental leave, and in their suggestions the women said that employers should encourage more men to take paternity leave and provide more support for fathers who do so,” Takei said. Takei said the firm’s study on career goals targeting male university students also showed that “a growing number of men think they should take some sort of paternity leave when their child is born,” too. Still, the actual situation regarding the use of such leave does not bode well for future fathers. The government would like the number of men taking paternity leave to reach at least 13 percent by 2020. But according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the proportion of new fathers who reported having taken child care leave in the year leading up to October 2017 stood at just 5.14 percent.

children women jobs marriage parenthood surveys


Data breaches exposed nearly 2.7 million morsels of personal info in Japan in 2018

Abstract: At least 2.68 million pieces of personal information held by over 100 Japanese entities were subject to unauthorized disclosures in 2018, a Kyodo News survey found Wednesday. The data disclosures were confirmed and revealed by 104 organizations, including hotel operators and universities as well as French hotel reservation service Fastbooking SAS, whose breach exposed the information of people who had reserved rooms at Japanese hotels. MS&Consulting Co. in Tokyo suffered the biggest data loss, with some 570,000 items of personal data such as email addresses, passwords and phone numbers affected. In the Fastbooking case, in June last year, a hacker stole around 320,000 pieces of customer data from its Japanese clients, including names, addresses, nationalities and dates of stay. Of some 400 lodging providers in Japan affected by the hacking of Fastbooking’s server, 28 businesses including Prince Hotels Inc. and Fujita Kanko Inc. announced publicly that they were affected. In similar cases, Hirosaki University in northeastern Japan, Yokohama City University and 12 other national, public and private universities came under cyberattack, causing emails to be exposed. Shopping mall operator Mitsubishi Estate-Simon Co. in Tokyo and Oshino Village Sightseeing Association in Yamanashi Prefecture both had information stolen, which was then found posted on overseas online bulletin boards and websites. The survey did not include the personal data of Japanese Facebook users affected in a high-profile breach in October that Facebook said had caused the data of around 29 million people worldwide to be exposed. The U.S. social media giant has not disclosed the numbers by country. This year there have already been at least two more massive incidents. OGIS-RI Co., which operates a large-capacity file transfer service, said in January that 4.8 million items of personal information may have been exposed, while Toyota Motor Corp. said in March that 3.1 million pieces of customer information held by its marketing units were disclosed. Harumichi Yuasa, a professor at the Institute of Information Security in Yokohama, said Japan needs a law requiring companies and other organizations to swiftly notify the government and individuals affected when data breaches occur. “Businesses are required to more strictly manage personal information, as their increasingly globalized operations result in more frequent transmission of such data between (Japan and) overseas,” Yuasa said. The European Union, for instance, obliges companies to report data leaks within 72 hours and to contact customers.

hacking
big data
cyberattacks
personal information
surveys


Diet passes bill to pay ¥3.2 million each to victims forcibly sterilized under Japan's eugenics law

Abstract: The Diet enacted legislation Wednesday to pay ¥3.2 million in state compensation to each person who underwent forced sterilization under the nation’s now-defunct eugenics law. The law setting out the compensation provisions, drafted by ruling and opposition parties, offers an apology to survivors, but critics say its wording lacks clarity over where responsibility lies. Between 1948 and 1996, the Eugenic Protection Law authorized the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or hereditary disorders to prevent births of “inferior” offspring. “The government sincerely reflects on and deeply apologizes” for the suffering caused by forced sterilization, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a statement. “To never repeat the situation, the government will make utmost efforts to realize a society in which people can coexist, regardless of disease or disability.” The statement came after the House of Councilors unanimously approved the bill on Wednesday, following its passage through the House of Representatives on April 11. The lump-sum payment marks a significant step forward for survivors but some are critical, noting that it has taken more than two decades since the practice ended for the government to act. Some are determined to continue court cases and are suing the government for greater compensation, the highest demand exceeding ¥30 million. A woman in her 70s, who is among the plaintiffs seeking additional damages, expressed exasperation Wednesday over the government’s prior inertia, after she, a few other survivors and their supporters watched proceedings from the gallery of the Upper House in Tokyo. “The government hasn’t dealt with it properly for the past 20 years, which makes me feel irate,” said the woman, who is from Miyagi Prefecture. “I want the prime minister to apologize before my eyes.” Abe is currently on a trip to Europe. About 25,000 people with disabilities were sterilized under the Eugenics Protection Law, including some 16,500 who were operated on without their consent, according to the health ministry and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. The ¥3.2 million will be paid to survivors whether they are said to have agreed to undergo the surgery or not. In 1996 the law was revised, and renamed the Maternal Protection Law, to remove the discriminatory clauses that allowed forced sterilization. “I will continue with my lawsuit so our society will understand what took place,” a man in his 80s from Hyogo Prefecture, who could not make it to Tokyo on Wednesday, said using sign language. He was forced to undergo surgery around 1968 due to his hearing impairment. The Sendai District Court is scheduled to hand down a ruling in late May on the first of the damages suits filed over the eugenics law. In wording that was echoed in the prime ministers’ statement, the state redress law says, “We, in our respective positions, sincerely reflect on and deeply apologize” for the great physical and mental suffering caused by the forced sterilization program. Ruling and opposition party lawmakers involved in the drafting process say the “we” refers to Diet members who passed the 1948 Eugenics Protection Law, and successive governments that enforced it. Compensation will be paid to survivors after the welfare minister approves their applications. In cases where there are no records of sterilization operations or other materials confirming harm to those said to have undergone surgery, a welfare ministry screening panel of experts will decide whether to approve payments based on examinations by doctors, testimonies by survivors and related people, and other factors. The legislation calls on the state and local governments to take appropriate measures in order to make the compensation system fully and promptly known to survivors, who will not be informed individually for privacy reasons. In a bid to prevent any recurrence of forced sterilization, the law stipulates that the state should launch investigations into past sterilization operations.

shinzo abe
courts
rights
diet
disability
sterilization
eugenics
eugenic protection law


U.S. Supreme Court takes up major gay and transgender job discrimination cases

Abstract: WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether U.S. law banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sex protects gay and transgender workers, as the conservative-majority court waded into a fierce dispute involving a divisive social issue. At issue in the high-profile legal battle is whether gay and transgender people are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin and religion. The court will take up two cases concerning gay people who have said they were fired due to their sexual orientation, one involving a New York skydiving instructor named Donald Zarda and another brought by a former county child welfare services coordinator from Georgia named Gerald Bostock. The court will also take up a Detroit funeral home’s bid to reverse a ruling that it violated federal law by firing a transgender funeral director named Aimee Stephens after Stephens revealed plans to transition from male to female. The court will hear oral arguments and issue a ruling in its next term, which starts in October. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has argued that Title VII does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity. The Republican president’s administration reversed the approach taken under Democratic former President Barack Obama by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces federal laws banning workplace discrimination. The Title VII fight marks the first major test on a divisive social issue for the nine justices since Trump’s conservative appointee, Brett Kavanaugh, joined the court in October after a contentious Senate confirmation process. Kavanaugh replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative noted for his support for gay rights who retired last year. Kennedy wrote the 5-4 ruling in 2015 legalizing gay marriage nationally, a landmark in the U.S. gay rights movement. Kennedy was also the author of the court’s important 2003 ruling striking down laws criminalizing gay sex. The Supreme Court has a 5-4 conservative majority that includes two Trump appointees, Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. The legal fight centers on the definition of “sex” in Title VII. The plaintiffs in the cases, along with civil rights groups and many large companies, have argued that discriminating against gay and transgender workers is inherently based on their sex and thus is unlawful. But Trump’s Justice Department and the employers that were sued have argued that Congress did not mean for Title VII to extend to gay and transgender people when it passed the law in 1964. Trump, who has strong support among evangelical Christian voters, has taken aim at gay rights and transgender rights. At the Supreme Court, his Justice Department has supported the right of certain businesses to refuse to serve gay people on the basis of religious objections to gay marriage. His administration has also restricted transgender service members in the military, and rescinded protections regarding bathroom access for transgender students in public schools. Zarda, fired after revealing his sexual orientation in 2010, died in a 2014 accident while participating in a form of skydiving in which people jump off a high structure or cliff. His estate has continued the litigation. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2018 ruled in Zarda’s favor after a trial judge threw out his original claim. Bostock worked for Clayton County, just south of Atlanta, from 2003 until being fired in 2013 shortly after he started participating in a gay recreational softball league called the “Hotlanta Softball League.” The county has said he was fired following an audit of the program he managed. His lawsuit was thrown out by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Harris Funeral Homes, the employer in the transgender case, is owned by Thomas Rost, who identifies himself as a devout Christian. The company has a strict sex-specific dress code that requires male employees to wear suits and women to wear dresses or skirts. Stephens, formerly known as Anthony Stephens, joined the company in October 2007. Stephens was fired when he announced plans to transition from male to female. Rost said that “this is not going to work out,” according to court papers. Stephens subsequently turned to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which sued on Stephens’ behalf in 2014. “Neither government agencies nor the courts have authority to rewrite federal law by replacing ‘sex’ with ‘gender identity’ — a change with widespread consequences for everyone,” said John Bursch, a lawyer with the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the funeral home. In 2018, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Rost’s argument that he was protected from being held liable for discriminating against Stephens by a law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which bars the government from burdening an individual’s religious practice. The EEOC, at the time with a majority of Democratic appointees, decided in 2012 that transgender people are protected by the anti-discrimination law and in 2015 added that gay people are also covered. The five-member EEOC currently has one Republican member, one Democratic member and three vacancies.

sex
transgender
u.s. supreme court
civil rights act
donald trump
employers
neil gorsuch
brett kavanaugh
job discrimination
title vii


Sri Lanka's bomb carnage casts pall over tourism revival after island is named top destination

Abstract: COLOMBO - With its capital under curfew following devastating Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and upmarket hotels, Sri Lanka is filled with fear, horror and grief and tourists who have been flocking to the Indian Ocean island could cancel in droves. A tweet posted on the travel booking website First Choice captured the trepidation among holidaymakers, while some airlines and travel agents said they would waive cancellation charges for people scheduled to travel imminently. “What are you doing about the holidays you have booked to that country?” tourist Judith Ann Clayton asked on the social media site. “Clearly it is unsafe for anyone to go there.” Others set to travel said they would not to be cowed into canceling. “Not giving in to terror. We want to support you in your time of need. Never gave any thought about canceling our trip,” Facebook user John Karmouche said in a post. Named by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet as the best country to visit in 2019, Sri Lanka had rebuilt its image as a tropical paradise after crushing a long-running separatist insurgency by ethnic minority Tamils a decade ago. Arrivals of 2.3 million last year were up by more than 400 percent on 2009 levels, according Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority data. But the suicide bombers who killed at least 290 people, including 32 foreign nationals, and wounded 500 could bring the country’s recent tourism boom to an end. Denmark’s richest man, Anders Holch Povlsen, and his wife lost three of their four children in a blast at one of the hotels. A British mother and son were killed at a breakfast buffet and two Australians were also among the dead. The industry was the third-largest and fastest-growing source of foreign currency, after private remittances and textile and garment exports, accounting for almost $4.4 billion, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, in 2018. “The attacks will not only impact already weak economic activity (real GDP growth was at a 17-year low of 3.2 percent in 2018), but also the country’s relatively vulnerable external liquidity position,” Citi Asia Economics said in a note that warned the hardest blow would fall on tourism. The U.S. State Department said in a revised travel advisory of the danger of “terrorist groups” plotting more attacks. Targets could include tourist locations, transport hubs, shopping malls, hotels, places of worship and airports. Other governments, including Japan and Australia, have also cautioned citizens planning travel to Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australians “reconsider your need to travel and avoid all affected areas. JTB, Japan’s largest travel agency, has waived cancellation charges, and modified its package tours leaving Japan before May 10 to avoid risky locations, like Colombo, and will decide later on tours leaving after May 11, a spokeswoman said. Two major airlines in neighboring India, state-owned Air India and the largest carrier, Indigo, owned by Interglobe Aviation, said they would waive rescheduling and cancellation charges for travel scheduled before April 24. India was the single largest source of visitors last year, with 425,000, while 266,000 came from China, Sri Lanka’s newfound friend, and more than 254,000 from old colonial power, the U.K. Visitors come for the glorious vistas across the forests in the national parks, the surf crashing on sandy beaches, verdant tea plantations, Buddhist temples and charming old colonial towns. The government’s latest tourism campaign celebrates the island’s charms with the simple slogan “So Sri Lanka.” After Sunday’s tragedy, it could become a lament.

u.s .
terrorism
sri lanka
tourism
jtb
lonely planet
first choice
sri lanka attacks


Fukushima agricultural exports bounce back from nuclear disaster to hit record high

Abstract: FUKUSHIMA - Exports of agricultural products produced in Fukushima Prefecture rose about 2 percent in fiscal 2018 to a record 217.8 tons, according to the prefectural government. Fukushima’s agricultural exports suffered a long slump due to the 2011 nuclear crisis. But exports hit a record high for the second straight year, backed by an expansion in rice exports to Malaysia in fiscal 2017 and in exports of Japanese pears and other items to Vietnam and Thailand in fiscal 2018. In fiscal 2018, which ended last month, exports of peaches and Japanese persimmons were sluggish due in part to unfavorable weather. Shipments of rice to Malaysia, at about 115 tons, led the total exports, as in fiscal 2017. Exports of apples to Thailand and beef to the United States also grew. Following the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the prefecture’s agricultural exports plunged due to import restrictions by countries concerned about radioactive contamination, falling to 2.4 tons in fiscal 2012. The prefectural government has strengthened efforts to boost exports to Southeast Asian countries since the restrictions were scrapped. In fiscal 2017, Fukushima’s agricultural exports came to 213.3 tons, exceeding the then-record of 152.9 tons in fiscal 2010, helped by about 101 tons of rice shipments to Malaysia.

malaysia
fukushima
fukushima no . 1
radiation
agriculture
thailand
3.11


METI says Japan foresees little impact from U.S. scrapping Iran oil waivers

Abstract: Japan expects a limited impact from the U.S. decision not to renew waivers previously granted on Iran oil import sanctions, the country’s trade and industry minister said Tuesday. The United States on Monday demanded all buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran’s oil revenues that sent benchmark crude prices to six-month highs. Japan is among a group of countries that were previously granted sanctions waivers. Hiroshige Seko, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), told reporters the government does not see any need to tap national oil reserves following the U.S. decision. Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest oil consumer, has been reducing its reliance on Iranian crude supplies. Iran now accounts for about 3 percent of purchases, Seko said. “We will closely watch international oil markets and exchange views with Japanese companies involved in crude imports and may consider taking necessary measures,” he said, declining to give details. The United States reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil last November following President Donald Trump’s move to unilaterally pull out of a 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Eight economies, including China and India as well as Japan, were granted waivers for six months, and several had expected those exemptions to be renewed. Japanese refineries earlier put a halt on imports of Iranian oil after buying 15.3 million barrels between January and March ahead of the expiration of their sanctions waiver, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon. The White House said it was working with top oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to ensure the market is “adequately supplied.” Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is in Tokyo for talks with Seko, METI said. The visit was planned before the U.S. announcement, a METI official said. Khaled al-Fadhel, the Kuwaiti oil minister, is also in Tokyo, the METI official said. Al-Jaber and al-Fadhel were scheduled to hold separate talks with Seko Tuesday but there were no plans to discuss alternative supplies to Iranian crude at the meetings, the official said.


Video of parked Model S spontaneously exploding adds to Tesla woes ahead of earnings results

Abstract: SHANGHAI - Video of a parked Tesla Model S exploding and a Wall Street downgrade of the electric carmaker’s stock pushed shares down 4 percent Monday, just as it prepared to issue results for a troubled first quarter. Brokerage Evercore cut its recommendation for shares of the Silicon Valley company to “sell,” becoming the 12th brokerage to ask investors to abandon billionaire Elon Musk’s venture and raising bearish sentiment to its highest level ever. Musk and Tesla Inc. have faced a range of challenges over the past year as one of the leaders in electric vehicle technology sought to ramp up production, deliveries and sales of the Model 3 sedan seen as crucial to its long-term profitability. The company, which is struggling with deliveries of its higher-priced Model S and X luxury cars, said it has sent a team to investigate the video on Chinese social media apparently showing the latest in a string of fires involving its cars. The video, time stamped Sunday evening and widely shared on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, shows the parked vehicle emitting smoke and bursting into flames seconds later. A video purportedly of the aftermath showed a line of three cars completely destroyed. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the origins of the video, which Weibo users said was taken in Shanghai. The cause of the explosion could not be immediately ascertained from the videos. “We immediately sent a team on-site and we’re supporting local authorities to establish the facts. From what we know now, no one was harmed,” Tesla said in a statement. There have been at least 14 instances of Tesla cars catching fire since 2013, with the majority occurring after a crash. “The car fire is just another data point of continued difficulties,” Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin wrote in an email. “Not a lot of good news for Tesla these days.” Tesla will report its first-quarter results Wednesday and had flagged in February that it expects to post a loss as it launched a cheaper $35,000 Model 3 sedan. “We remain encouraged by Tesla’s vision and future growth prospects, but there is increased uncertainty around near-term demand versus previous bullish forecasts and growth cannot stall for a growth company,” Evercore analysts wrote in their note downgrading the shares. The change meant 38.7 percent of analysts now have a sell rating on Tesla, topping the previous record of 36.8 percent in November 2016. The latest fire incident comes as Tesla tries to push sales in China, where its prices were impacted by tit-for-tat tariffs imposed during Sino-U.S. trade tensions last year. The automaker currently imports all of the cars it sells in China but is building a factory in Shanghai that will initially make its Model 3 and help reduce the hit of a trade war. In March, Tesla was also on the receiving end of a labeling mix-up at Shanghai customs that led to a temporary suspension of clearance for a batch of Model 3s. Analysts said the latest fire incident will likely increase attention on the safety of EVs but is unlikely to have a significant impact on Tesla’s sales or reputation in China while the cause is being investigated. “Tesla had fire incidents before, but they didn’t have a big impact on its reputation in China,” said analyst Alan Kang at LMC Automotive. “Since its consumer base is not particularly conservative, and China is pushing the electric vehicle market, if this incident is just accidental, it will not have a big impact on Tesla,” he said. “Tesla self-ignites” was one of the most popular hashtags on Weibo on Monday, racking up over 20 million clicks. Some users urged the automaker to quickly find the cause, whereas others speculated over the impact to the value of Tesla cars currently on the road. Still more found humor in the situation. “One lesson I learned from the Shanghai self-exploding Tesla: Don’t park your car next to a Tesla,” said one commentator. The company is expected to host an Autonomy Day later at its headquarters in Palo Alto, focusing on its autonomous driving system. In a separate, unrelated incident, Tesla’s rival in China, Nio, said in a social media post that an ES8 electric sport utility vehicle caught fire Monday in a Nio service center in the central city of Xian. “Nio has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire,” the company said, adding that no one was harmed due to the incident.

china
stocks
explosion
elon musk
tesla
ev
weibo
evercore