New enmity between Japan and Korea plays out in Tokyo’s Koreatown
By , E-mail the writer
TOKYO — The main streets of Shin-Okubo — Tokyo’s Koreatown — are lined with smoky barbecue restaurants and overlit cosmetics emporiums. Staircases lead down to basement music venues and up to hidden drinking holes.
Japanese once thronged the neighborhood, which is home to many ethnic Koreans and known for its fiery food and late nights. But in recent months, the crowds have thinned, replaced by anti-Korean protesters who have turned Shin-Okubo into a rough barometer of deteriorating Japan-Korea relations.
On occasional weekends this year, megaphone-wielding demonstrators have taken to the streets, telling the Koreans to “go home or die.” They’ve threatened to “flatten this neighborhood” and build a gas chamber in its place. The Koreans say that they — and the police — have little recourse against the threats, because Japan is one of the few democracies that don’t restrict hate speech.
Russia warned it might breach Helsinki accord
EU rejects Yanukovich suggestion of tripartite agreement to include Russia
Suzanne Lynch
The European Union yesterday issued a stark warning to Russia that it was in danger of breaching the Helsinki Accords over its treatment of Ukraine, as the Eastern Partnership summit ended without agreement on the former Soviet republic.
At the end of the two-day summit, which saw Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovichbecome increasingly isolated, European Council head Herman Van Rompuy said any Russian actions that influenced Europe’s so-called eastern partners “could be in breach of the Helsinki principles of the OSCE which commit to respect each other’s right to freely define and conduct as it wishes its relations with other states in accordance with international law”.
Sovereignty
The politically binding agreement, signed during the Cold War, outlines a set of principles which guides international relations, including the duty to respect the sovereignty of individual countries and national self-determination.
Bangkok protesters march on telecom firms, vow 'victory day' against Thai PM
Opposition protesters in Thailand have marched on key telecom firms as they try to shore up dwindling support in their campaign against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. They have declared Sunday a "day of victory."
Around 2,000 demonstrators rallied on Saturday at the offices of the state-owned Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) and the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), placing padlocks on the doors to block workers from entering.
This comes a day after hundreds forced their way into the army headquarters in central Bangkok, urging military leaders to declare whether they support or oppose prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The army has said it will stay neutral during the ongoing dispute. There was no special police presence outside any government offices on Saturday.
The opposition campaign centers around the political influence that protesters say is still wielded by Yingluck's brother, the billionaire exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by the military in 2006. Yingluck has been accused of acting as Thaksin's puppet, and abusing her party's parliamentary majority to push through laws that help her brother.
Tuareg separatist group in Mali 'ends ceasefire'
An ethnic Tuareg separatist group in Mali has said it is ending a ceasefire agreed with the government in June.
It comes a day after clashes between Malian troops and Tuareg protesters who prevented a visit by Prime Minister Oumar Tatam Ly to the town of Kidal.
A National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) leader said: "What happened is a declaration of war."
June's ceasefire followed more than 18 months of fighting that prompted an intervention by French troops.
US veterans fill their own void delivering aid to Philippines
Members of Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization staffed by US veterans, are using their military skills in the Philippines -- and finding the camaraderie they miss in the process.
The plastic crate sitting outside a sweltering makeshift military terminal serves as both a seat for Peter Meijer and a container for 150-plus pounds of nails, hammers, and military-style quick-prep meals. Both he and the supplies are about to head out to the region of the Philippines hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
A former US Army medic, Mr. Meijer is a member ofTeam Rubicon, a volunteer organization comprised largely of US veterans doing relief work in disaster-hit places like Tacloban, Philippines, where more than 5,200 died and more than 4 million remain homeless more than two weeks after the storm.
The organization isn’t just lending a crucial role in helping aid the ravaged Tacloban region, harnessing the organizational training and skills learned by service men and women in war zones. It’s also filling a void for many of them who miss the intense bonds and clear mission of the military.
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