Saturday, April 28, 2018
Is peace on the horizon between North and South Korea?
After the historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea, there could finally be peace on the peninsula.
It was just one small gesture, one small step forward, but the significance of the move by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is certainly historic, and will be remembered for years to come.
Kim became the first North Korean leader to vist South Korea since the end of the war between the two countries in 1953.
He was warmly welcomed and embraced by South Korea's President Moon Jae-In.
Both leaders were relaxed and smiling during small talk.
Six In The Morning Saturday April 28
Koreas summit: North Korean media hail 'historic' meeting
Friday's summit between the leaders of North and South Korea was a "historic meeting" paving the way for the start of a new era, North Korea's media say.
The North's Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons.
In a rare move, state-run TV and the official KCNA news agency hailed the talks and the leaders' commitment to seek "complete denuclearisation".
The summit came just months after warlike rhetoric from the North.
It saw Mr Kim become the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The two men warmly shook hands and then stepped symbolically over the military demarcation line to the North Korean side.
Aung San Suu Kyi seeks new relationship with UN over Rohingya crisis
Myanmar leader is allowing UN organisations into country to prepare for return of refugees
Aung San Suu Kyi hopes to restore her battered reputation by allowing UN human rights and development organisations to enter Myanmar to prepare the ground for the large-scale return of Rohingya Muslims.
Her aides hope the offer, linked to internal political changes strengthening her position and the appointment of a UN special envoy for the crisis, can mark a turning point in her relations with the international community.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar since a military crackdown began last August, joining an estimated 200,000 who have sought shelter in Bangladesh over the past few decades.
The Korean summit has left both Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un feeling more confident – so what happens next?
Trump greeted people with the tweet ‘KOREAN WAR TO END’ and then, unsurprisingly, claimed credit for the talks. But Kim Jong-un knows full denuclearisation would put his country in a vulnerable position
The statement by the leaders of the two Koreas was grand enough in its aspiration to match this extraordinary and momentous day – denuclearisation, replacing confrontation with cooperation, nothing less than the seeking of a new age of peace.
And, beyond it, there is the hope of all this leading to the ultimate dream: unification of a divided country which had drawn international powers into its war and the decades of enmity which followed. Kim Jong-un’s declaration that the North and South were “brethren who should not live apart” and “will become one” is not something which is practical, or something that Seoul would want, in the short term, but it is something which remains the ultimate prize.
Largest child sacrifice in history discovered in Peru
Updated 0328 GMT (1128 HKT) April 28, 2018
Scientists have unearthed a dark secret in Peru.
The skeletal remains of more than 140 children and 200 baby llamas were found on the country's northern coast. It may be evidence of the largest child sacrifice in history, according to an exclusive report by National Geographic, released Thursday on its website. The remains of a man and two women were also found.
The sacrifices are believed to have taken place 550 years ago in the pre-Columbian Chimú Empire, in a sacrificial site formerly known as Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, close to a UNESCO World Heritage site of Chan Chan, in the modern town of Trujillo.
Pakistan's minorities in crosshairs of latest violence in Quetta
Shia Hazaras and Christians have fallen victim to targeted killings and bombings in the city of Quetta.
by Asad Hashim
Muhammad Ali Rezai's light skin and facial features make him stand out from the crowd in the Pakistani city of Quetta. It is not often that one's face could be a death warrant.
For the last several years, he dedicated himself to working for the betterment of his persecuted community of Hazara Shia, of whom about 600,000 live in the southwestern Pakistani city.
The community - whose physical features make them easy targets - has been targeted in a sustained campaign of murders and bombings that has claimed at least 509 lives since 2013, according to Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).
The bizarre right-wing campaign to discredit striking Arizona teachers
Is it really a protest about school funding? Or do teachers have more sinister motives?
By
The teachers striking in Arizona have been called Democratic operatives. Masterminds of a national socialist revolution. Architects of a plot to legalize marijuana.
The backlash is fiercer than in other states where teachers have protested or gone on strike. And the comments aren’t coming from the ideological fringes of the internet. State politicians, lawmakers, and journalists are making these accusations to discredit teachers who are demanding higher pay and more funding for public schools.
Thousands of teachers in Arizona walked out of class on Friday for the second day in a row to protest low pay and cuts to public education funding. Like the teachers who went on strike in West Virginia and Oklahoma, teachers in Arizona are among the lowest-paid in the country and have suffered some of the deepest cuts to public school funding — largely a result of steep Republican tax cuts that didn’t bring the promised economic windfall.
Friday, April 27, 2018
How do we solve the plastic catastrophe?
Forty companies in the UK have pledged to reduce plastic waste over the next seven years.
If the current trend of pollution continues, scientists predict that by the year 2050 there could be more plastic in our oceans than fish.
That is an extraordinary prediction.
Now, more than 40 large companies in the UK have signed an agreement.
The aim: to eliminate single-use plastic or packaging that cannot be reused.
The goal: to do it in the next seven years.
The move is a first, and the decision is expected to be followed by companies in other countries.
Now, 1m plastic bottles are purchased every minute in the United States alone.
Six In The Morning Friday April 27
Korea summit: leaders vow to 'write new chapter' in peninsula’s history
Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands and step across concrete border line in Panmunjom, then enter Peace House for talks
The leaders of North and South Korea have vowed to “write a new chapter” in their peninsula’s troubled history at the start of a summit that has raised hopes for a resolution over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
On a bright spring morning Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, reached across a simple concrete slab marking the border between their countries and shook hands for more than 20 seconds.
After an exchange of words and broad smiles, Kim became the first North Koreanleader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war, planting a foot over the military demarcation line watched by dignitaries from both sides and millions following live TV coverage.
UN issues warning over deaths of disproportionate number of black people in police custody and ‘structural racism’ in UK
The United Nations has raised serious concern over the deaths of a “disproportionate number” of black and minority ethnic people in police custody in Britain.
“The deaths reinforce the experiences of structural racism, over-policing and criminalisation of people of African descent and other minorities in the UK,” a panel of human rights experts said.
They accused authorities of failing to properly and investigate police officers involved in the deaths, leaving a lack of accountability and the “denial of adequate remedies reparation for the families of the victims”.
How Nicaragua protests snapped Ortega's power grab
MODELS OF THOUGHT More than a week of rare nationwide protests in Nicaragua have forced President Daniel Ortega onto the defensive after a decade of increasing authoritarianism. Church leaders are mediating talks with civil society.
On a grassy embankment in Managua, dozens of metal crosses with black flags honoring the dead and disappeared stand as a coda to more than a week of anti-government unrest. Beside the makeshift memorial, protesters dressed in black chant, “They weren’t criminals, they were students!”
Amid a cacophony of clanging cymbals and honking klaxons, Maria, a chef in her late 50s, stands in front of one of the crosses. She laments her silence during the long and increasingly repressive rule of President Daniel Ortega, a Socialist revolutionary who joined the fight to oust a US-backed dictator in 1979.
“With this government, we’ve been quiet,” she says. “We thought that these people who have power now were saints. They aren’t saints, they’re criminals.”
What's behind the push against Iran nuclear deal?
Iran being 'demonised' for opposing western powers and their allies attempting to dominate the Middle East, experts say.by Ali Younes
A sustained effort by the administration of US President Donald Trump and its allies at home and in the Middle East to cancel, or at least renegotiate, the Iran nuclear deal appears to have succeeded in bringing one major European country, France, to its side.
French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to the United States this week that he hoped to "work on a new deal with Iran" following "frank discussions" with Trump.
The US president is a fierce critic of the landmark 2015 pact, signed between Tehran and the US, France, Russia, Germany, China, the UK and the European Union.
Russia Brings Syrians to The Hague to Make Underwhelming Case Chemical Attack Was Fake
OVER THE OBJECTIONS of chemical weapons inspectors who are still at work in Syria, trying to determine if gas was used to kill dozens of civilians in the former rebel stronghold of Douma on April 7, Russia flew 17 Syrians from the war zone to The Hague on Thursday, where they all testified that they had seen no sign of a chemical attack.
The Syrians were chosen because they had been seen in video recorded by an opposition activist in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The activist’s footage showed what looked like frantic efforts in the town’s hospital to treat survivors for possible exposure to a chemical agent, by dousing them with water and helping them to breath.
Record number of minors fall victim to crimes via social media in 2017
Today 06:35 am JST
Police investigated a record 1,813 cases involving minors who fell victim to sexual and other crimes perpetrated through the use of social media in 2017, official data showed Thursday.
The figure, excluding cases involving online dating services, is believed to have been pushed up by an increasing number of children who are coerced into sending naked photos of themselves to people they met through online social media services, according to police.
The number of minor-aged victims was up 77 from a year earlier to the highest level since comparable data became available in 2008, the National Police Agency said.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Japanology Plus - Miniature Culture
Japan has a serious fondness for doing things in miniature. Whether it's capsule toys, model trains, dioramas, or more, the country has a knack for extremely detailed, picture-perfect scaled-down representations of reality. How—and why—so much attention is paid to miniaturized detail, and what connection the love of miniatures has to Japanese society at large, is the theme of this edition of Japanology Plus. It goes without saying that miniatures, in the form of toys, models, etc., exist around the world. The word "miniature" itself comes from the 16th-century European fad of tiny, portable portraits. "Miniare," the Latin word from which miniature originates, means "to color with red lead," and refers to the red lettering on said portraits. (Incidentally, the word miniature, and its abbreviation "mini," have become a standard part of the Japanese lexicon.)
Between War and the Ban: A Yemeni-American Story
How the war in Yemen and Donald Trump's travel ban have left Yemeni-American families stranded between two homes.
Now in its fourth year, the war in Yemen has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, leading to widespread disease and famine - and over 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
As the conflict worsens, more and more Yemenis are trying to flee for safety and in many cases, desperately trying to reunite with family in the United States.
But with US President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban now in effect, the path to family reunification has been halted - leaving many families in limbo.
Six In The Morning
Donald Trump likely to scrap Iran deal amid 'insane' changes of stance, says Macron
French president’s frank comments come after Congress address in which he stood up for policies his US counterpart has sought to destroy
Emmanuel Macron conceded he had probably failed in his attempt during a three-day trip to Washington to persuade Donald Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, describing US flip-flopping on international agreements as “insane”.
The French president had hoped to convince Trump to continue to waive sanctions on Iran, as agreed by the 2015 nuclear deal, in which Iran agreed to accept strict curbs on its nuclear activities. Macron offered Trump the prospect of negotiations on a new complementary deal that would address Iranian missile development and Tehran’s military intervention in the Middle East.
But speaking to US reporters before leaving Washington, Macron said: “My view – I don’t know what your president will decide – is that he will get rid of this deal on his own, for domestic reasons.”
Kim Jong-un to walk across Korean border and plant tree with Moon Jae-in during historic meeting
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will plant a commemorative tree with South Korean president Moon Jae-in after walking across the border between the two countries for a historic summit on Friday.
The two leaders will also inspect a South Korean guard of honour before talks on the southern side of the uninhabited “truce village” of Panmunjom, Seoul said on Thursday.
Mr Kim will be the first North Korean leader to set foot in the south since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Turkey: Opposition Cumhuriyet journalists sentenced to jail on terror charges
International rights groups criticized the case as emblematic of deteriorating press freedom in Turkey. Cumhuriyet is one of the newspapers critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced 14 staff members of the country's main opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet, to prison on charges of supporting terrorist groups.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, had sharply criticized the case amid broader fears about a crackdown on press freedom in Turkey.
High court upholds ruling blaming local gov'ts over school kids' death in tsunami
A high court upheld a lower court ruling Thursday ordering the city of Ishinomaki and Miyagi Prefecture to pay around 1.4 billion yen in damages to the families of 23 elementary school pupils killed by tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan.
In the Sendai High Court ruling, Presiding Judge Hiroshi Ogawa said the authorities "failed to fulfil their obligation to revamp a risk management manual in line with the realities of Okawa Elementary School."
The focal point at the high court was whether the court would acknowledge any flaws in the disaster prevention measures taken by the city and the public school before the deadly tsunami, as the Sendai District Court ruling had denied such flaws.
HOW THE NYPD UNION IS MANUFACTURING OUTRAGE ABOUT A 70-YEAR-OLD BLACK PANTHER’S PAROLE
JUDGING BY TABLOID headlines appearing on New York City newsstands, it might appear as though hundreds of thousands of people object to the release of former Black Panther Herman Bell from prison. That’s how many letters, the tabloids proclaim, were written in protest of the New York State Parole Board’s decision last month to release the 70-year-old prisoner, after 45 years behind bars.
“367,000 reasons not to parole cop-killer Herman Bell,” pronounced a New York Post editorial, noting that “more than 367,000 online letters were sent to the state Board of Parole following its recent decision to release cop killer Herman Bell.” The city’s other big tabloid, the New York Daily News, cited the same figure, attributing it to the New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Generation Z: politicised by necessity and already changing the world
By Amelia Lester
What were you doing in the year 2000? The graduating students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida were not watching Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics. They were busy being born. In February this year, they saw 17 of their peers and teachers shot and killed on school grounds with a legally acquired semi-automatic rifle. In March, they organised an international protest, March for Our Lives, in which more than 1.2 million people took to the streets advocating for sensible gun laws; lately, they've been receiving admissions information from universities about where they're going next, and, hopefully, passing their driving tests.
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