Monday, December 31, 2018
The Pacific's Nuclear Timebomb
101 East investigates if the legacy of America's nuclear bomb testing is the poisoning of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific paradise of Enewetak Atoll harbours a devastating secret - the toxic legacy of American nuclear testing.
Between 1946 and 1958, the US military tested 43 nuclear bombs in the Pacific.
Now a concrete dome - 46cm thick - seals 80,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste on the deserted island of Runit.
But the dome is not working. Rising sea levels threaten to flush a vast stash of highly radioactive plutonium into the Pacific Ocean.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Year in Review: The good, the bad, and the ugly of 2018
Counting the Cost takes a look at the year's biggest economic and political stories.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Six In The Morning Saturday December 29
Trump’s visit to Iraq prompts concerns about politicization of military
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
A day after President Trump’s surprise visit to American forces in Iraq and Germany, questions persisted about whether he had jeopardized the political neutrality of the U.S. military by leveling partisan attacks and signing red “Make America Great Again” hats for the troops.
The president’s behavior — out of step with that of his predecessors — highlighted the struggle Pentagon leaders face in navigating an avowedly apolitical military through a hyperpartisan era in U.S. politics, particularly under a commander in chief unafraid of breaking with established norms.
Car trundling down pavement highlights Japan's problem with old age and driving
Laughter on social media gives way to concern that 57,000 licensed drivers in country have some form of dementia
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
A viral video showing an older woman driving along a pavement in Japan – fortunately without incident – has highlighted the country’s struggle to halt a worrying rise in the number of accidents involving ageing drivers.
The clip has been viewed 6.8 million times and received 213,000 likes since it was posted on Twitter on Tuesday. It shows the woman as she drives her light silver hatchback along a wide pavement in the town of Nobeoka in Miyazaki prefecture, south-west Japan.
Saudi king demotes Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in reshuffle
Former Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf appointed to lead foreign ministry in first shake-up since Khashoggi killing.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has appointed a new foreign minister as part of a major cabinet reshuffle, according to state media.
A royal decree on Wednesday demoted outgoing chief diplomat Adel al-Jubeir to the position of minister of state for foreign affairs and named Ibrahim al-Assaf as his replacement.
Thursday's shake-up is the first since the October 2 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul by a Saudi hit squad.
Mary Robinson labelled a 'willing pawn' over visit with UAE princess
Former UN human rights chief posed with royal but critics say princess is held against her will
Mary Robinson, the former UN high commissioner for human rights, has come under fire for claiming that an Emirati princess campaigners say is being held against her will is “in the loving care of her family”.
The former Irish president made the comments after the 33-year-old’s family released pictures showing her in Dubai with Robinson, claiming they rebut allegations that she was taken home against her will.
Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum, a daughter of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, had not been heard from since she was seized from a yacht off the coast of India in March.
Yellow Vests ProtestsIf Macron Fails, Europe Fails
French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to calm protesters by raising the minimum wage, among other concessions. But if the yellow vests continue eroding his authority, it's not just France that will suffer. And Germany is partly at fault.
Famed German political sociologist Max Weber once argued that the two great drivers of revolutionary power were charisma and rationality. Charisma depends on enthusiasm, rationality on intellectualization. According to this blueprint, Emmanuel Macron would seemingly be the ideal revolutionary. He combines charisma and intellect like few others and believes in the need to change France, Europe and the world. The book about his campaign is called simply: "Révolution." Macron sees himself as a know-it-all in the best sense of the term, but precisely that is also his greatest weakness. Nowhere did Weber write that charisma and intellect magnify each other when combined. A glance at the trajectory of Macron's popularity in France might lead to the assumption that the two qualities cancel each other out. Can a charismatic leader be a know-it-all? Can a know-it-all have charisma?
Yasukuni protesters from Hong Kong to face trespassing charges
Two Hong Kong activists who were arrested by Japanese police for trespassing after staging a protest at the Yasukuni Shrine two weeks ago will be prosecuted in Japan in February, a local legislator said Thursday.
Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan, who has been following the pair’s case, told reporters that the Japanese lawyer representing Kwok Siu-kit and Yim Man-wa confirmed that they have been formally charged for trespassing on private property and will appear in court in February.
Friday, December 28, 2018
What is Trump's strategy for Syria and the region?
US President Donald Trump defends his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria
For the first time since he became president two years ago, Donald Trump visited American troops in a conflict zone - Iraq.
His surprise three-hour stop was at an air base west of Baghdad the day after Christmas.
He didn't meet any of the Iraqi leadership but invited Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to the White House in the New Year.
Trump used the opportunity to defend the withdrawal of troops from Syria saying it was made possible by the defeat of ISIL.
Six In The Morning Friday December 28
Inside the Japanese town that pays cash for kids
Updated 0025 GMT (0825 HKT) December 28, 2018
When Katsunori and Kaori Osaka had their first child, they were living in a cramped flat in Nagoya, a city of more than 2 million people in northern Japan.
Like many other young couples, they tried to raise their child in the city but found life among the apartment blocks too crowded and expensive, with few child care options. Eventually, they gave up.
"When people are in their 20s and 30s, they can't really afford to live in a bigger space in a city," Katsunori said. "We knew that if we wanted to have more kids, we couldn't do it there."
Trump 'accidentally reveals location and identities of US Navy Seals in Iraq'
Trump’s video shows him with service members who appear to be part of Seal Team Five, whose faces are not covered or blurred, Newsweek reported.
Defense department officials told the magazine that information about where Seal teams are deployed is almost always classified. Trump, as commander in chief, has the authority to declassify the information, but typically the faces of individual special operations service members are blurred in official photos and videos to shield their identities.
New York sky turns neon blue after transformer explosion at Con Edison power plant
Flights are temporarily grounded at LaGuardia airport after transformers exploded at a Con Edison power plant just a mile from Manhattan
A transformer explosion at a New York City power plant turned the night sky an eerie blue hue for several minutes - partially shutting down nearby LaGuardia Airport and sending social media into a frenzy.
At least two transformers blew up at about 9.20pm, causing the night sky over the Con Edison power plant in Astoria, Queens to light up neon blue. Hundreds of people were seen running into the streets, which were bathed in the near-daylight glow. No-one was hurt, and the fire was quickly brought under control.
One local, Lucas Espinoza, 28, said: "The whole sky lit up with a pulsating greenish-blue light. I'll admit that seeing the sky light up like that at night - in New York City of all places - puts a bad feeling in your gut."
Non-citizen soldiers in Germany: What you need to know
Germany's decision to consider allowing non-citizens into its armed forces is not unique. In fact, many countries, including the US and Russia, use the promise of citizenship as a way to recruit new troops.
The news that the Bundeswehr is tentatively considering recruiting non-German European Union citizens has naturally triggered concerns about both the state of the German military and the skilled labor market, both of which are apparently proving hard to fill.
As if to head off the former worry, the source of the story, Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn was careful to note that they were mainly talking about "doctors and IT specialists," rather than active troops.
Taiwanese launch tax protests with nod to French Yellow Vests
Thousands of Taiwanese, taking a page from France's yellow vest movement, protested Thursday for the third time in a week to demand lower taxes and the fair handling of tax disputes.
Wearing yellow vests, they shouted slogans and blared air horns outside the Ministry of Finance in Taipei, the capital city, and waved banners calling Taiwan's tax collection policies illegal. Some wore clear plastic raincoats over their vests in a light rain.
"This is about our futures," said Joanna Tai, a 23-year-old English-language graduate student who plans to teach after graduation next year.
"We look at wages in Hong Kong and mainland China. We want to know why there's so much of a gap with Taiwan," she said. "Then a lot of my classmates want to start companies and be their own bosses but, because of taxes, a lot of small businesses have folded."
Amazon is cutting costs with its own delivery service — but its drivers don’t receive benefits
Some Amazon Flex workers make $18 to $25 per hour, but they don’t get benefits, overtime, or compensation for being injured on the job.
By
If you did any of your holiday shopping online this year, it’s likely you ordered at least one thing from Amazon. In the days leading up to Christmas this year, nearly half of all shoppers who bought products online purchased gifts through the website, lured by the promise of quick, affordable — or in the case of Prime subscribers, free — delivery. And if you’re a regular Amazon shopper in a major city, it’s likely that your packages weren’t delivered by FedEx, UPS, or the US Postal Service, but rather by Amazon Flex, the company’s in-house delivery program.
Amazon has introduced its Flex program to a few dozen American cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Memphis, Tennessee. On its website, the company claims that drivers can make $18 to $25 an hour delivering packages for Amazon and bills Flex as a way for drivers to “[b]e your own boss, set your own schedule, and have more time to pursue your goals and dreams.” But a growing number of reports about Flex suggest that some drivers are subject to low pay, long hours, and dangerous conditions — and that many don’t have as much control over their working conditions as Amazon has led them to believe.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Krakatoa - The Great Volcanic Eruption
On 27th August 1883 the uninhabited island of Krakatoa blew itself out of existence with an explosion the equivalent power of 150 million tonnes of TNT. The eruption was so loud that the sound was heard over a twelfth of the Earth’s surface, the shockwaves reverberated around the entire planet, seven times. This explosion also caused giant tsunami, the largest of them twice the height of those of 2004. These enormous waves wiped out 165 Indonesian towns and villages killing over 36,000 people. Within hours news of the disaster was transmitted around the globe, and scientists of the time struggled to comprehend the geological forces that caused the tragedy
Why monks had that haircut
Known as "tonsure," the typical monk hairstyle has many variations throughout religions. The particular hairstyle worn by Christian monks has its own variations and controversies as well. Three different types of tonsure were popular: a coronal tonsure, a Pauline tonsure, and a third Celtic tonsure that came to represent the differences between the Roman Catholic and Celtic Catholic church.
Why would Saudi Arabia rebuild Syria?
Syria's seven-year war has transformed ancient cities into ghost towns. Entire neighbourhoods have been wiped off the map, schools and hospitals reduced to rubble, along with just about everything else. As the war seems to be coming to an end, reconstruction is required on a grand scale. The UN estimates it will cost at least two-hundred-and fifty billion dollars. Donald Trump says Saudi Arabia has agreed to help.
Six In The Morning Thursday December 27
Beijing's crackdown on religion clouds holiday season for China's faithful
Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT) December 27, 2018
It's a Christmas battle for the hearts and souls of the Chinese people.
Despite being officially atheist and having a long and antagonistic relationship with religion, the ruling Communist Party is presiding over a boom of Christianity in China.
There are an estimated 72 million to 92 million Christians in the country -- the second-largest faith group after Chinese Buddhists, according to US-based NGO Freedom House.
Some experts claim that China could even become the world's largest Christian country in less than two decades.
Australia's extreme heatwave spans five states with high of 49C forecast
Weather bureau tells Pilbara residents to expect scorching temperatures
Australia’s post-Christmas heatwave continues to sweep across the country, with a near record-breaking 49C forecast for Western Australia, and fire danger, health and air quality warnings issued across the nation.
On Thursday morning, the bureau of meteorology forecast a scorching 49C maximum for Marble Bar and Pannawonica in the Pilbara region of WA – only 2 degrees below the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia, which is 50.7C at South Australia’s Oodnadatta airport in 1960.
By 8.40am on Thursday Marble Bar had already recorded 43.4C, with the worst of the heat to come.
Defence secretary expresses ‘grave’ worries over Chinese telecoms giant Huawei providing Britain’s 5G network
British intelligence agencies and Ministry of Defence working on ways to combat Beijing's espionage
Kim SenguptaDefence Editor
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has expressed “grave” worries about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei providing technology for the 5G network in Britain, warning “malign” activity by the Beijing government poses serious risks to this country’s national security.
British intelligence agencies, as well as the Ministry of Defence, are working on ways to combat Chinese espionage with particular attention to how it is exploiting nascent cybertechnology to extract secret information.
But Mr Williamson’s intervention – which comes after concerns were raised about spying and the Chinese state by the head of MI6, Alex Younger, and the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt – shows growing alarm about the issue.
Germany mulls introducing 'mosque tax' for Muslims
The idea, similar to Germany's church tax, would aim to make mosques independent of foreign donors. Germany's government and progressive Muslim leaders have supported the idea.
Lawmakers from Germany's grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a "mosque tax" for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay.
Thorsten Frei, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) told Die Weltdaily that a mosque tax was "an important step" that would allow "Islam in Germany to emancipate itself from foreign states."
60 years of revolution: Four Cubans tell their stories
On January 1, Cuba will mark the 60th anniversary of the communist revolution that brought the late and enigmatic leader Fidel Castro to power. Here, AFP talks to four Cubans about what the revolution still means to them.
- The ex-combatant -
For 97-year-old Alejandro Ferras Pellicer, the revolution is as alive now as it ever was. He was the oldest of a group of 100 rebels, including two of his brothers, who joined Castro in an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba in July 1953, an operation widely considered to have launched the Cuban revolution.
On January 1, 1959, Ferras Pellicer was an exile living in the United States as the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista fled his island homeland. Ferras Pellicer left his wife behind to take "the first plane" to Havana. "I arrived before Fidel," who was still in Santiago, he said.
New era approaches, but Japan's dwindling imperial line clouds future
By Megumi Iizuka
As Japan prepares for the first imperial succession in about 200 years involving a living monarch this coming spring, it has yet to address concerns about the future of the imperial line and the shortage of royals performing official duties.
Emperor Akihito, 85, is set to abdicate on April 30, 2019, to be succeeded by his eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, 58, the following day, as the emperor indicated his desire to step down due to concern about his age and weakening health.
A number of imperial rituals are scheduled in the year, including a ceremony on May 1 in which the new emperor will inherit the traditional regalia, the enthronement ceremony on Oct 22 and the Daijosai, or grand thanksgiving rite on Nov 14-15.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Top 10 Weirdest Cities Around The World
While most of the time we only hear about the most important cities, or those with the most breathtaking architecture, there are many quirky and bizarre cities hiding in spots you wouldn’t ever imagine all over the world. Some of these cities have reached their situations organically, ending up in the most ridiculous predicaments, with little idea of any way out. Others were the incredibly ambitious dreams of people or governments who saw fit to do something beyond what most people would consider normal or necessary. For your enjoyment, below are 10 of the world’s weirdest cities.
Pros and Cons of Life Outside Tokyo | Rural Japan
The Philippines' Population Debate
Family planning is one of the Philippines' most volatile policy areas. A reproductive health bill which would give information and access to all forms of contraception has been delayed in Congress for more than 16 years. In that time, the population in the predominantly Roman Catholic country has almost doubled, draining health and economic resources. With some two million children born every year, the UN warns that by 2025 the Philippines will not have enough resources to feed its population.
Six In The Morning Wednesday December 26
Reporter ForgeryDER SPIEGEL Reveals Internal Fraud
A DER SPIEGEL reporter committed large-scale journalistic fraud over several years. Internal clues and research have provided significant evidence against reporter Claas Relotius, who has since admitted to the falsifications and is no longer employed by DER SPIEGEL. Other media organizations may also have been affected.
By Ullrich Fichtner
Shortly before the end of his journalistic career, misery and glamor crossed paths in the life of Claas Relotius. On the evening of Monday, Dec. 3, Relotius, who had worked for DER SPIEGEL for seven years and had been employed as an editor for the past year and a half, was called onto a stage in Berlin. The jury for the 2018 German Reporter Prize was once again of the opinion that he had written the best feature story of the year, this one about a Syrian boy who lived with the belief that he had contributed to the country's civil war through a graffito he had daubed onto a wall in Daraa. The jurors praised the article for its "unparalleled lightness, intimacy and relevance that is never silent regarding the sources on which it is based." The truth, however -- a truth that nobody could have known at that point in time -- is that his sources were anything but clear. Indeed, it is likely that much of it was made up. Inventions. Lies. Quotes, places, scenes, characters: All fake.
The Guardian’s fake scoop
by Serge Halimi
In November 2018, the US Department of Justice accidentally revealed that it had filed sealed charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012. Assange has said for some years that he is in danger of being extradited to the US, where he fears being given a life term for espionage, or worse (1). In a scoop on 27 November, the Guardian revealed that Paul Manafort, chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, had met Assange in London three times: in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
The news was all the more sensational as in 2013 Trump had not yet declared his candidacy for US president. CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times licked their chops. They suspected Assange of having collaborated with the Russian authorities in disseminating information embarrassing to Hillary Clinton, and saw his interviews with a close ally of Trump as confirming a long-term collusion between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in which Assange had acted as liaison agent.
My Daughter Reality Winner Faced Severe Punishment, but Key Figures in the Trump-Russia Scandal Are Getting Off Easy
Billie Winner-Davis
LET ME INTRODUCE myself. I am the mother of Reality Leigh Winner, a 27-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran who is in prison for leaking a document with proof of Russian election hacking efforts. I am writing now because I am outraged: While my daughter languishes in prison, those actually responsible for threatening our election continue to get off easy.
My daughter was sentenced to five years in prison for releasing a single document from the National Security Agency with proof of a threat to our voting system, when no one else would give the public the truth. She was widely reported to be the source for a June 2016 article in The Intercept on an NSA report detailing phishing attacks by Russian military intelligence on local U.S. election officials. (The Intercept has said it received the document anonymously.)
The 7 biggest foreign news stories to watch in 2019, from Brexit to North Korea
It’s a risky endeavor to try to predict the most critical global stories of 2019. We’re going to do it anyway.
By
It’s a cliché, but the world is an inherently a messy place. The crises of one year are rarely contained by the calendar, spilling over for months, years, and frequently decades.
Which is why it’s a risky endeavor to try to predict the most critical global stories of 2019. But we’re going to do it anyway.
The hot spots of 2019 will likely be familiar to many: Developments in North Korea, China, and the Middle East will continue to dominate, and most likely consume, US policy. Parts of the globe, even the democratic ones, will continue their flirtation with authoritarianism. President Donald Trump will tweet, and most likely find some world leader to feud with.
Civic group proceeds with seizure of Nippon Steel assets in S. Korea over forced labor ruling, after firm ignores deadline
A civic group supporting South Korean plaintiffs who secured a ruling against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. over wartime forced labor has said it will proceed with steps to seize the steel giant’s South Korean assets after the firm ignored a Dec. 24 deadline.
The Japanese firm was ordered by South Korea’s Supreme Court in October to pay 400 million won (about $350,000) to four South Koreans over forced labor during Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs earlier set a Dec. 24 deadline for the firm to respond to their request to begin talks on compensation, based on the ruling, but the firm did not do so.
US prepares to hit the wall as reckless Trump undoes years of hard work
The president’s $1tn tax cuts gamble hasn’t worked – the House of Representatives has been lost, the economy has imploded and the stock market has tanked
The accomplishments of a US president’s first year in office can be credited to his predecessor, at least where the economy is concerned. And Donald Trump was handed the best performing economy on the planet. All the tough decisions – to refinance the banks, rescue the car companies and deflate the real-estate bubble – had been made. The stock market was tearing along, setting records almost every week.
Trump gave this rising balloon extra air with $1tn of tax cuts. It was borrowed money, but no matter. The economy sailed along for another year and the stock market carried on rising. His plan was to win the midterm congressional elections and then persuade the Republican party to give him another $1tn, or as near to it as possible.
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