BERLIN\u00a0–\u00a0Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, racing to finalize a 2024 budget draft that was delayed by a court ruling, has made unexpected changes, including modifying plans to cut subsidies for agriculture after a backlash from farmers.
\nThe changes will result in 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) less in savings than initially anticipated, but will not affect plans to adopt the budget at the start of February, a government spokesperson said.
\nThe revisions follow weeks of\u00a0haggling\u00a0over how to fill a 17 billion euro gap in the budget after a November court ruling threw the government’s financing framework into turmoil.
\nThe gradual phase-out of agricultural diesel subsidies, the postponement of a plastic levy and additional funds for the national railway were among the changes the government announced on Thursday following an agreement between Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
\n“We have been talking to each other intensively again in the last few days because we can see the burden on farmers,” Mr. Habeck said.
\n“Counter-financing has been found” for the amended plan, he added.
\nRather than abruptly ending the farmers’ tax break on agricultural diesel, the subsidy will be reduced by 40% this year, by 30% in 2025, and will end from 2026.
\nThe abolition of preferential treatment in vehicle tax for forestry and agriculture is also no longer planned, the government spokesperson said.
\n“Together we have found a solution that avoids a disproportionate burden being put on the agricultural and forestry industry,” Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir said.
\nHundreds of farmers\u00a0protested\u00a0in central Berlin last month at the prospect of losing the tax break and the president of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) said the changes were not enough.
\n“This can only be a first step. Our position remains unchanged: both proposals for cuts must be taken off the table,” said Joachim Rukwied. “This is clearly also about the future viability of our industry and the question of whether domestic food production is still desirable at all.”
\nNearly a third of the remaining spending gap from Thursday’s proposed changes is to be compensated for by making proceeds from 2023 off-shore wind projects available for the 2024 budget.
\nAdditional cuts at the agriculture ministry and the “leeway resulting from updated economic and budgetary data in the federal budget” will cover the rest, the statement said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BERLIN\u00a0–\u00a0Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, racing to finalize a 2024 budget draft that was delayed by a court ruling, has made unexpected changes, including modifying plans to cut subsidies for agriculture after a backlash from farmers.\nThe changes will result in 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) less in savings than initially anticipated, but will not affect plans to adopt the budget at the start of February, a government spokesperson said.\nThe revisions follow weeks of\u00a0haggling\u00a0over how to fill a 17 billion euro gap in the budget after a November court ruling threw the government’s financing framework into turmoil.\nThe gradual phase-out of agricultural diesel subsidies, the postponement of a plastic levy and additional funds for the national railway were among the changes the government announced on Thursday following an agreement between Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner.\n“We have been talking to each other intensively again in the last few days because we can see the burden on farmers,” Mr. Habeck said.\n“Counter-financing has been found” for the amended plan, he added.\nRather than abruptly ending the farmers’ tax break on agricultural diesel, the subsidy will be reduced by 40% this year, by 30% in 2025, and will end from 2026.\nThe abolition of preferential treatment in vehicle tax for forestry and agriculture is also no longer planned, the government spokesperson said.\n“Together we have found a solution that avoids a disproportionate burden being put on the agricultural and forestry industry,” Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir said.\nHundreds of farmers\u00a0protested\u00a0in central Berlin last month at the prospect of losing the tax break and the president of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) said the changes were not enough.\n“This can only be a first step. Our position remains unchanged: both proposals for cuts must be taken off the table,” said Joachim Rukwied. “This is clearly also about the future viability of our industry and the question of whether domestic food production is still desirable at all.”\nNearly a third of the remaining spending gap from Thursday’s proposed changes is to be compensated for by making proceeds from 2023 off-shore wind projects available for the 2024 budget.\nAdditional cuts at the agriculture ministry and the “leeway resulting from updated economic and budgetary data in the federal budget” will cover the rest, the statement said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-05T12:07:59+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-05T12:07:59+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Germany-skyline.jpg", "tags": [ "budget savings", "farmers", "germany", "Reuters", "subsidy cuts", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=567099", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/05/567099/weekly-us-jobless-claims-fall-to-two-month-low-labor-market-steadily-cooling/", "title": "Weekly US jobless claims fall to two-month low; labor market steadily cooling", "content_html": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a two-month low last week, pointing to underlying labor market strength even as demand for workers is easing.
\nWith the report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showing the number of people on unemployment rolls remained elevated towards the end of December, financial markets continued to anticipate that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates in March.
\nThe government reported on Wednesday that\u00a0job openings\u00a0fell to a near three-year low in November. Labor market resilience is expected to again shield the economy from recession this year.
\n“The labor market is not too hot and not too cold at the moment,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York. “The total number of Americans on the jobless rolls receiving benefits remains elevated relative to prior year levels, but at the moment there is not enough unemployment to say the economy is on the downward slope to recession.”
\nInitial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 202,000 for the week ended Dec. 30, the lowest level since mid-October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 216,000 claims for the latest week.
\nClaims data tend to be volatile around this time of year because of holidays. They have largely bounced around in the lower end of their 194,000-265,000 range for 2023.
\nUnadjusted claims fell 6,820 to 268,020 last week. Claims plunged by an estimated 7,572 in California and tumbled 6,080 in Texas. That helped to more than offset notable increases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
\nThe labor market is steadily cooling following 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The unemployment rate, however, has remained below 4% as companies hoard workers following difficulties finding labor in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
\n“The labor market is nowhere near a tipping point lower. That’s excellent news for consumption and the economy at large,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia. “Recession calls get trampled by a strong, employed consumer and that’s currently where things stand.”
\nStocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields rose.
\n\n
LAYOFFS LOW IN DECEMBER
\nLow layoffs were underscored by a separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday that showed job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers dropped 24% to 34,817 in December.
\nPlanned layoffs, however, jumped 98% to 721,677 in 2023, the highest annual count since 2020. That largely reflected cuts earlier in the year, with most of them in the technology, retail, healthcare and media sectors. Excluding the pandemic, it was the highest tally since 2009.
\nFinancial markets are betting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates as early as March. Minutes of the U.S. central bank’s\u00a0Dec. 12\u201313 policy meeting\u00a0published on Wednesday showed officials viewed the labor market as remaining tight, but also continuing to “come into better balance.”
\nThey also showed that “several participants noted the risk that, if labor demand were to weaken substantially further, the labor market could transition quickly from a gradual easing to a more abrupt downshift in conditions.”
\nThe US central bank held its policy rate steady in the current 5.25%-5.50% range at last month’s meeting and policymakers signaled in new economic projections that the historic monetary policy tightening engineered over the last two years is at an end and lower borrowing costs are coming in 2024.
\nThe number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, decreased 31,000 to 1.855 million during the week ending Dec. 23, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims have mostly increased since mid-September, a trend blamed largely on difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations after an unprecedented surge in filings early in the pandemic.
\nEconomists expect the distortion will be smoothed out when the government revises the data this year.
\nThe claims data have no bearing on the Labor Department’s employment report for December, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, as they fall outside the survey period. Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 170,000 jobs in December, according to a Reuters survey of economists, after rising by 199,000 jobs in November.
\nThe unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 3.8% from 3.7% in November.
\nAnother report on Thursday showed private payrolls increased by 164,000 jobs in December, the biggest gain in four months, after a rise of 101,000 in November.
\nThe ADP National Employment Report, however, has been unreliable in predicting the private payrolls count in the Labor Department’s monthly employment report. It showed wage growth continuing to slow, with salaries for workers staying at their current jobs rising 5.4% year-on-year in December after increasing 5.6% in November.
\n“The labor market is becoming less tight but not collapsing,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics in New York. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a two-month low last week, pointing to underlying labor market strength even as demand for workers is easing.\nWith the report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showing the number of people on unemployment rolls remained elevated towards the end of December, financial markets continued to anticipate that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates in March.\nThe government reported on Wednesday that\u00a0job openings\u00a0fell to a near three-year low in November. Labor market resilience is expected to again shield the economy from recession this year.\n“The labor market is not too hot and not too cold at the moment,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York. “The total number of Americans on the jobless rolls receiving benefits remains elevated relative to prior year levels, but at the moment there is not enough unemployment to say the economy is on the downward slope to recession.”\nInitial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 202,000 for the week ended Dec. 30, the lowest level since mid-October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 216,000 claims for the latest week.\nClaims data tend to be volatile around this time of year because of holidays. They have largely bounced around in the lower end of their 194,000-265,000 range for 2023.\nUnadjusted claims fell 6,820 to 268,020 last week. Claims plunged by an estimated 7,572 in California and tumbled 6,080 in Texas. That helped to more than offset notable increases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts and Connecticut.\nThe labor market is steadily cooling following 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The unemployment rate, however, has remained below 4% as companies hoard workers following difficulties finding labor in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.\n“The labor market is nowhere near a tipping point lower. That’s excellent news for consumption and the economy at large,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia. “Recession calls get trampled by a strong, employed consumer and that’s currently where things stand.”\nStocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields rose.\n \nLAYOFFS LOW IN DECEMBER\nLow layoffs were underscored by a separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday that showed job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers dropped 24% to 34,817 in December.\nPlanned layoffs, however, jumped 98% to 721,677 in 2023, the highest annual count since 2020. That largely reflected cuts earlier in the year, with most of them in the technology, retail, healthcare and media sectors. Excluding the pandemic, it was the highest tally since 2009.\nFinancial markets are betting the Fed will begin cutting interest rates as early as March. Minutes of the U.S. central bank’s\u00a0Dec. 12\u201313 policy meeting\u00a0published on Wednesday showed officials viewed the labor market as remaining tight, but also continuing to “come into better balance.”\nThey also showed that “several participants noted the risk that, if labor demand were to weaken substantially further, the labor market could transition quickly from a gradual easing to a more abrupt downshift in conditions.”\nThe US central bank held its policy rate steady in the current 5.25%-5.50% range at last month’s meeting and policymakers signaled in new economic projections that the historic monetary policy tightening engineered over the last two years is at an end and lower borrowing costs are coming in 2024.\nThe number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, decreased 31,000 to 1.855 million during the week ending Dec. 23, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims have mostly increased since mid-September, a trend blamed largely on difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations after an unprecedented surge in filings early in the pandemic.\nEconomists expect the distortion will be smoothed out when the government revises the data this year.\nThe claims data have no bearing on the Labor Department’s employment report for December, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, as they fall outside the survey period. Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 170,000 jobs in December, according to a Reuters survey of economists, after rising by 199,000 jobs in November.\nThe unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 3.8% from 3.7% in November.\nAnother report on Thursday showed private payrolls increased by 164,000 jobs in December, the biggest gain in four months, after a rise of 101,000 in November.\nThe ADP National Employment Report, however, has been unreliable in predicting the private payrolls count in the Labor Department’s monthly employment report. It showed wage growth continuing to slow, with salaries for workers staying at their current jobs rising 5.4% year-on-year in December after increasing 5.6% in November.\n“The labor market is becoming less tight but not collapsing,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics in New York. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-05T12:05:09+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-05T12:05:09+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/silhouette-confident-man-office.jpg", "tags": [ "america", "fall", "jobless claims", "jobs", "Reuters", "United States", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566927", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566927/japan-airlines-faces-over-100-m-losses-from-wrecked-tokyo-plane/", "title": "Japan Airlines faces over $100-M losses from wrecked Tokyo plane", "content_html": "TOKYO \u2014 Japan Airlines (JAL) on Thursday said it expected losses of more than $100 million after one of its planes was destroyed when it collided with another aircraft on the runway at Tokyo\u2019s Haneda airport this week.
\nAll 379 people on board the JAL Airbus A350 widebody jet escaped before the plane was completely engulfed in flames that took more than six hours to extinguish.
\nBut five of the six crew of the other aircraft \u2014 a smaller Coast Guard plane that had been on its way to deliver aid to quake-hit regions on Japan\u2019s west coast \u2014 were killed, with the surviving pilot badly injured.
\nAs investigators combed the charred wreckage on Thursday, transport authorities are probing the circumstances that led to the Coast Guard plane entering the runway where the passenger jet was landing. Police are also looking into possible professional negligence in the case, according to media reports.
\nTranscripts released by authorities show air traffic control ordering the Coast Guard plane to proceed to a holding point near the runway minutes before the crash, instructions the pilot appeared to have read back in acknowledgement.
\nJapanese authorities said on Wednesday the passenger jet had been given permission to land, but the smaller plane had not been cleared for take-off, based on the transcripts.
\nThe Coast Guard pilot said after the crash that he had been given permission to enter the runway, Coast Guard officials have said.
\nAuthorities have only just begun their investigations and aviation experts say it usually takes the failure of multiple safety guardrails for an airplane accident to happen.
\nA notice to pilots in force before the accident suggested that a strip of stop lights embedded in the tarmac as an extra safety measure to prevent wrong turns, was out of service, according to a copy of the bulletin posted by US regulators.
\nBIG LOSSES
\nJapan Airlines estimated on Thursday the disaster would result in an operating loss of about 15 billion yen ($105 million).
The loss of the aircraft will be covered by insurance, the company said, adding it was assessing the impact on its earnings forecast for the financial year ending March 31.
\nInsurance industry sources have said US insurer AIG was the lead insurer on a $130-million \u201call-risks\u201d policy for the two-year-old plane that was destroyed by the fire. AIG declined to comment.
\nIt was the first-ever hull loss globally for the A350 model, according to Aviation Safety Network. The type, made largely from carbon composite, entered commercial service in 2015.
\nShares of JAL fell as much as 2.4% before recovering to be up 0.6% as trading resumed after the New Year\u2019s holiday.
\nFrom the moment of the collision, it took crew 18 minutes to get everyone off the plane and safely accounted for.
\nJapan\u2019s second-biggest airline has detailed how the crew in the smoke-filled cabin followed emergency procedures in textbook fashion, even as passengers panicked, intercom systems failed and several evacuation chutes were out of use due to the fire.
\nMost of the passengers on the flight from Hokkaido were Japanese with at least 43 foreigners confirmed among them including Australians, Swedish, Hong Kong, Chinese and South Korean nationals, a JAL spokesperson said.
\nWreckage from the planes remained scattered around the runway on Thursday as several officials, some wearing masks, gloves and hard hats, surveyed the debris, footage on public broadcaster NHK showed. A Coast Guard official on Wednesday said they had recovered a voice recorder from the Coast Guard plane.
\nHundreds of flights in and out of Haneda have faced cancelation or delays since the crash on Tuesday, leaving many frustrated passengers at the airport.
\nMichio Kusunoki, a 67-year-old teacher, said she had faced two canceled flights as she tried to return to her home of Fukouka in Japan\u2019s south from Haneda.
\n\u201cI was meant to get on a plane yesterday evening at 7.30 p.m….Then I changed to this morning 8:30 a.m. and that flight was canceled too,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t get anything after that till 4:30 p.m. so I am going to roam around as I can\u2019t get home.\u201d
\nNearly 200 passengers were also stranded overnight at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido where the flight originated from. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "TOKYO \u2014 Japan Airlines (JAL) on Thursday said it expected losses of more than $100 million after one of its planes was destroyed when it collided with another aircraft on the runway at Tokyo\u2019s Haneda airport this week.\nAll 379 people on board the JAL Airbus A350 widebody jet escaped before the plane was completely engulfed in flames that took more than six hours to extinguish.\nBut five of the six crew of the other aircraft \u2014 a smaller Coast Guard plane that had been on its way to deliver aid to quake-hit regions on Japan\u2019s west coast \u2014 were killed, with the surviving pilot badly injured.\nAs investigators combed the charred wreckage on Thursday, transport authorities are probing the circumstances that led to the Coast Guard plane entering the runway where the passenger jet was landing. Police are also looking into possible professional negligence in the case, according to media reports.\nTranscripts released by authorities show air traffic control ordering the Coast Guard plane to proceed to a holding point near the runway minutes before the crash, instructions the pilot appeared to have read back in acknowledgement.\nJapanese authorities said on Wednesday the passenger jet had been given permission to land, but the smaller plane had not been cleared for take-off, based on the transcripts.\nThe Coast Guard pilot said after the crash that he had been given permission to enter the runway, Coast Guard officials have said.\nAuthorities have only just begun their investigations and aviation experts say it usually takes the failure of multiple safety guardrails for an airplane accident to happen.\nA notice to pilots in force before the accident suggested that a strip of stop lights embedded in the tarmac as an extra safety measure to prevent wrong turns, was out of service, according to a copy of the bulletin posted by US regulators.\nBIG LOSSES\nJapan Airlines estimated on Thursday the disaster would result in an operating loss of about 15 billion yen ($105 million).\nThe loss of the aircraft will be covered by insurance, the company said, adding it was assessing the impact on its earnings forecast for the financial year ending March 31.\nInsurance industry sources have said US insurer AIG was the lead insurer on a $130-million \u201call-risks\u201d policy for the two-year-old plane that was destroyed by the fire. AIG declined to comment.\nIt was the first-ever hull loss globally for the A350 model, according to Aviation Safety Network. The type, made largely from carbon composite, entered commercial service in 2015.\nShares of JAL fell as much as 2.4% before recovering to be up 0.6% as trading resumed after the New Year\u2019s holiday.\nFrom the moment of the collision, it took crew 18 minutes to get everyone off the plane and safely accounted for.\nJapan\u2019s second-biggest airline has detailed how the crew in the smoke-filled cabin followed emergency procedures in textbook fashion, even as passengers panicked, intercom systems failed and several evacuation chutes were out of use due to the fire.\nMost of the passengers on the flight from Hokkaido were Japanese with at least 43 foreigners confirmed among them including Australians, Swedish, Hong Kong, Chinese and South Korean nationals, a JAL spokesperson said.\nWreckage from the planes remained scattered around the runway on Thursday as several officials, some wearing masks, gloves and hard hats, surveyed the debris, footage on public broadcaster NHK showed. A Coast Guard official on Wednesday said they had recovered a voice recorder from the Coast Guard plane.\nHundreds of flights in and out of Haneda have faced cancelation or delays since the crash on Tuesday, leaving many frustrated passengers at the airport.\nMichio Kusunoki, a 67-year-old teacher, said she had faced two canceled flights as she tried to return to her home of Fukouka in Japan\u2019s south from Haneda.\n\u201cI was meant to get on a plane yesterday evening at 7.30 p.m….Then I changed to this morning 8:30 a.m. and that flight was canceled too,\u201d she said.\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t get anything after that till 4:30 p.m. so I am going to roam around as I can\u2019t get home.\u201d\nNearly 200 passengers were also stranded overnight at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido where the flight originated from. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:26:16+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:26:16+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Japan-Airlines-JAL-Airbus-A350-fire.jpg", "tags": [ "Japan Airlines", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566926", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566926/mask-mandates-return-at-some-us-hospitals-as-covid-flu-cases-jump/", "title": "Mask mandates return at some US hospitals as COVID, flu cases jump", "content_html": "\n
HOSPITALS in at least four US states have reinstated mask mandates amid a rise in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), seasonal flu and other respiratory illness.
\nHealthcare facilities in New York, California, Illinois and Massachusetts have made masks mandatory among patients and providers.
\nNew York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan told WABC TV on Wednesday that mask mandates had resumed at all 11 of the city\u2019s public hospitals, 30 health centers and five long-term care facilities.
\n\u201cWhat we don\u2019t want is staffing shortages, right? When we saw the Omicron wave in 2022, the biggest issues were not only people getting sick, but that we had a lot of frontline health workers, they were out with COVID,\u201d Mr. Vasan told WABC.
\nThe most recent weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed there were over 29,000 hospitalizations from COVID across the US from Dec. 17-23, up more than 16% from the previous week. The CDC also reported over 14,700 flu hospitalizations in that same period.
\nMask mandates were political and cultural flashpoints during the COVID pandemic, sparking anger among those who bucked medical advice and felt masks did little to suppress the spread of the illness.
\nA conservative-dominated Supreme Court struck down President Joseph R. Biden\u2019s federal vaccine-or-test mandate for companies, and a judge appointed by his Republican predecessor struck down his public transportation mask mandate.
\nThere was also deep resentment among those who did wear masks and felt their health was put in jeopardy by those who did not.
\nMore than 1.1 million Americans have died from COVID, CDC figures show, a greater rate than most other wealthy countries.
\nRush University medical system in Chicago said on Tuesday that it was requiring \u201cpatients, visitors and staff to wear hospital-approved masks in some areas of the campus. They include clinical waiting areas and patient registration.\u201d
\nCook County Health, which encompasses Chicago, and Endeavor Health in the Chicago suburbs, last month started requiring masks again, after the Illinois Department of Public Health asked hospitals to step up mitigation efforts in several areas, including facility-wide masking.
\nIn Massachusetts, Berkshire Health Systems began mandatory masking on Wednesday, according to a statement.
\nIn California, Los Angeles County on Saturday reinstated masking at all licensed health care facilities, according to a county statement provided to the City News Service. The county\u2019s health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "HOSPITALS in at least four US states have reinstated mask mandates amid a rise in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), seasonal flu and other respiratory illness.\nHealthcare facilities in New York, California, Illinois and Massachusetts have made masks mandatory among patients and providers.\nNew York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan told WABC TV on Wednesday that mask mandates had resumed at all 11 of the city\u2019s public hospitals, 30 health centers and five long-term care facilities.\n\u201cWhat we don\u2019t want is staffing shortages, right? When we saw the Omicron wave in 2022, the biggest issues were not only people getting sick, but that we had a lot of frontline health workers, they were out with COVID,\u201d Mr. Vasan told WABC. \nThe most recent weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed there were over 29,000 hospitalizations from COVID across the US from Dec. 17-23, up more than 16% from the previous week. The CDC also reported over 14,700 flu hospitalizations in that same period. \nMask mandates were political and cultural flashpoints during the COVID pandemic, sparking anger among those who bucked medical advice and felt masks did little to suppress the spread of the illness.\nA conservative-dominated Supreme Court struck down President Joseph R. Biden\u2019s federal vaccine-or-test mandate for companies, and a judge appointed by his Republican predecessor struck down his public transportation mask mandate.\nThere was also deep resentment among those who did wear masks and felt their health was put in jeopardy by those who did not.\nMore than 1.1 million Americans have died from COVID, CDC figures show, a greater rate than most other wealthy countries.\nRush University medical system in Chicago said on Tuesday that it was requiring \u201cpatients, visitors and staff to wear hospital-approved masks in some areas of the campus. They include clinical waiting areas and patient registration.\u201d\nCook County Health, which encompasses Chicago, and Endeavor Health in the Chicago suburbs, last month started requiring masks again, after the Illinois Department of Public Health asked hospitals to step up mitigation efforts in several areas, including facility-wide masking.\nIn Massachusetts, Berkshire Health Systems began mandatory masking on Wednesday, according to a statement.\nIn California, Los Angeles County on Saturday reinstated masking at all licensed health care facilities, according to a county statement provided to the City News Service. The county\u2019s health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:25:01+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:25:01+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/face-mask.jpg", "tags": [ "COVID", "flu", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566860", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566860/as-japans-wajima-city-digs-out-from-quake-hopes-fade-for-tourism-recovery/", "title": "As Japan\u2019s Wajima city digs out from quake, hopes fade for tourism recovery", "content_html": "\n
WAJIMA, Japan \u2014 Hotel chef Makoto Wakabayashi was among those in Wajima hoping for a banner year as visitors returned to the scenic, seaside town that weathered more than two years of pandemic gloom.
\nThose dreams came apart in minutes of violent shaking on New Year\u2019s Day, when the strongest earthquake to strike Japan in 13 years and multiple aftershocks devastated the city and claimed dozens of lives.
\nDays later, buckled roads continue to hamper the influx of aid, while rescuers search for survivors among the flattened structures. Among the badly damaged buildings is Mr. Wakabayashi\u2019s employer, the seaside Hotel Koshuen.
\nThe total toll on lives and industry in the region from the 7.6 magnitude quake is far from known. But it is already clear that Wajima -\u2014 renowned for its fisheries, lacquerware, and markets \u2014 faces a long road to recovery from not just the quake but a massive fire in a major tourist center.
\nTourism was just making a comeback from the COVID-19 crisis, Mr. Wakabayashi said, but he worries this quake may be a knockout blow.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely bad,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi, 62, told Reuters at a community center now serving as an evacuation center.
\nHe was among some 600 people of all ages packed into the building\u2019s three floors, where many slept on tatami mats and plastic sheets.
\nNearby was the nine-story Hotel Koshuen, one of the biggest accommodation centers in the city and boasting hot spring baths with views of the ocean. The upper floors were the most damaged as the force of the quake moved up the building, he said.
\n\u201cParts of walls came off and ceilings came down,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cI believe it will take half a year to a year to fully refurbish all the guest rooms.\u201d\u00a0
\nTourism was a bright spot for Japan\u2019s economy last year as infection controls were lifted and the weak yen lured international travelers. Inbound arrivals in October exceeded levels in 2019 for the first time since the pandemic clamped down international travel.
\nWajima, about 450 km (280 miles) northwest of Tokyo, has always been more of a draw for domestic visitors.
\nJust 15 minutes by foot from the Hotel Koshuen and near the evacuation center lays Wajima\u2019s famed Asaichi morning market, a 1,000-year old shopping district with some 200 stalls selling seafood, snacks and crafts.
\nNow much of it lays in ruin after a conflagration set off during the earthquake.
\n\u201cWajima\u2019s morning market is one of Japan\u2019s top three,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cThe fire practically destroyed it, as well as the houses of many who work there, just when the crab season is about to arrive.\u201d
\nThe veteran chef counts himself luckier than many Wajima residents who lost their homes, as he lives in an apartment provided by the hotel. He endured a substantial cut in wages during the pandemic, as both he and his employer held out for a recovery in tourism.
\n\u201cCustomers were bound to come back following the end of the pandemic,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cBut now, hotels need to do costly repairs. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019ll be able to keep their employees.\u201d \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WAJIMA, Japan \u2014 Hotel chef Makoto Wakabayashi was among those in Wajima hoping for a banner year as visitors returned to the scenic, seaside town that weathered more than two years of pandemic gloom.\nThose dreams came apart in minutes of violent shaking on New Year\u2019s Day, when the strongest earthquake to strike Japan in 13 years and multiple aftershocks devastated the city and claimed dozens of lives.\nDays later, buckled roads continue to hamper the influx of aid, while rescuers search for survivors among the flattened structures. Among the badly damaged buildings is Mr. Wakabayashi\u2019s employer, the seaside Hotel Koshuen.\nThe total toll on lives and industry in the region from the 7.6 magnitude quake is far from known. But it is already clear that Wajima -\u2014 renowned for its fisheries, lacquerware, and markets \u2014 faces a long road to recovery from not just the quake but a massive fire in a major tourist center.\nTourism was just making a comeback from the COVID-19 crisis, Mr. Wakabayashi said, but he worries this quake may be a knockout blow.\n\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely bad,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi, 62, told Reuters at a community center now serving as an evacuation center.\nHe was among some 600 people of all ages packed into the building\u2019s three floors, where many slept on tatami mats and plastic sheets.\nNearby was the nine-story Hotel Koshuen, one of the biggest accommodation centers in the city and boasting hot spring baths with views of the ocean. The upper floors were the most damaged as the force of the quake moved up the building, he said.\n\u201cParts of walls came off and ceilings came down,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cI believe it will take half a year to a year to fully refurbish all the guest rooms.\u201d\u00a0\nTourism was a bright spot for Japan\u2019s economy last year as infection controls were lifted and the weak yen lured international travelers. Inbound arrivals in October exceeded levels in 2019 for the first time since the pandemic clamped down international travel.\nWajima, about 450 km (280 miles) northwest of Tokyo, has always been more of a draw for domestic visitors.\nJust 15 minutes by foot from the Hotel Koshuen and near the evacuation center lays Wajima\u2019s famed Asaichi morning market, a 1,000-year old shopping district with some 200 stalls selling seafood, snacks and crafts.\nNow much of it lays in ruin after a conflagration set off during the earthquake.\n\u201cWajima\u2019s morning market is one of Japan\u2019s top three,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cThe fire practically destroyed it, as well as the houses of many who work there, just when the crab season is about to arrive.\u201d\nThe veteran chef counts himself luckier than many Wajima residents who lost their homes, as he lives in an apartment provided by the hotel. He endured a substantial cut in wages during the pandemic, as both he and his employer held out for a recovery in tourism.\n\u201cCustomers were bound to come back following the end of the pandemic,\u201d Mr. Wakabayashi said. \u201cBut now, hotels need to do costly repairs. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019ll be able to keep their employees.\u201d \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:23:29+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:24:03+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JAPAN-QUAKE-1.jpg", "tags": [ "Japan", "quake", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566861", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566861/south-korea-sees-slower-economic-recovery-inflation-cooldown/", "title": "South Korea sees slower economic recovery, inflation cooldown", "content_html": "\n
SEOUL \u2014 South Korea\u2019s government will put its focus on supporting people\u2019s livelihoods and managing risk factors, as it cut the country\u2019s 2024 gross domestic product forecast and raised its inflation projection.
\nIn its biannual economic policy plan released on Thursday, the finance ministry expected the economy to grow 2.2% in 2024, down from 2.4% seen in July, after expanding 1.4% in 2023 which was a three-year low.
\nThe ministry expected consumer prices to rise 2.6% this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.3%. In 2023, prices rose 3.6%. \u201cThe economic recovery will be stronger (than last year) amid improvements in global trade and demand for semiconductors, but there will be difficulties in domestic demand and people\u2019s livelihoods due to persistently high inflation and interest rates,\u201d the ministry said.
\nThe government will primarily focus on economic recovery for the common people, while managing potential risk factors, it said.
\nSouth Korea\u2019s exports rose for a third straight month in December as demand for chips started to pick up, raising hopes for an economic recovery driven by semiconductor exports.
\nThe country\u2019s central bank has maintained its policy interest rate at 3.5%, the highest since late 2008, since the last hike in January 2023, in its continued fight against slowly easing, but still high inflation.
\nThe finance ministry said it aims to bring down inflation, which stood at 3.2% in December, to the 2% level within the first half of 2024, with more policy measures, such as tax and tariff cuts, and freezing public utility costs.
\nTo boost consumption, the government plans to raise tax exemptions on credit card spending and continue efforts to attract more foreign tourists, including the exemption of visa issuance fees for group tourists from China and other Asian countries.
\nFor companies, the ministry said it will introduce new temporary tax cuts on investments in research and development and extend existing tax breaks on facility investments until end-2024.
\nThe ministry said it will expand liquidity support measures if needed to prevent a credit crunch in builders and real estate projects. Last month, a mid-sized builder applied for a debt restructuring, raising concerns over the construction sector. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "SEOUL \u2014 South Korea\u2019s government will put its focus on supporting people\u2019s livelihoods and managing risk factors, as it cut the country\u2019s 2024 gross domestic product forecast and raised its inflation projection.\nIn its biannual economic policy plan released on Thursday, the finance ministry expected the economy to grow 2.2% in 2024, down from 2.4% seen in July, after expanding 1.4% in 2023 which was a three-year low.\nThe ministry expected consumer prices to rise 2.6% this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.3%. In 2023, prices rose 3.6%. \u201cThe economic recovery will be stronger (than last year) amid improvements in global trade and demand for semiconductors, but there will be difficulties in domestic demand and people\u2019s livelihoods due to persistently high inflation and interest rates,\u201d the ministry said.\nThe government will primarily focus on economic recovery for the common people, while managing potential risk factors, it said.\nSouth Korea\u2019s exports rose for a third straight month in December as demand for chips started to pick up, raising hopes for an economic recovery driven by semiconductor exports.\nThe country\u2019s central bank has maintained its policy interest rate at 3.5%, the highest since late 2008, since the last hike in January 2023, in its continued fight against slowly easing, but still high inflation.\nThe finance ministry said it aims to bring down inflation, which stood at 3.2% in December, to the 2% level within the first half of 2024, with more policy measures, such as tax and tariff cuts, and freezing public utility costs.\nTo boost consumption, the government plans to raise tax exemptions on credit card spending and continue efforts to attract more foreign tourists, including the exemption of visa issuance fees for group tourists from China and other Asian countries.\nFor companies, the ministry said it will introduce new temporary tax cuts on investments in research and development and extend existing tax breaks on facility investments until end-2024.\nThe ministry said it will expand liquidity support measures if needed to prevent a credit crunch in builders and real estate projects. Last month, a mid-sized builder applied for a debt restructuring, raising concerns over the construction sector. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:22:56+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:22:57+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Korea-Seoul.jpg", "tags": [ "South Korea", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566925", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566925/epstein-accuser-says-prince-andrew-groped-her-documents-show/", "title": "Epstein accuser says Prince Andrew groped her, documents show", "content_html": "NEW YORK \u2014 A woman who has said she was victimized by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast at Epstein\u2019s Manhattan townhouse in 2001, according to court documents from a civil lawsuit unsealed on Wednesday.
\nThe incident, which has been previously reported by other media outlets and Andrew has denied, was among the details described in an initial trove of previously redacted documents that otherwise revealed few new details about the extent of Epstein\u2019s alleged sex trafficking activities.
\nMore documents are expected to be unsealed or unredacted in the coming days.
\nPrince Andrew could not immediately be reached for comment.
\nEpstein socialized with Wall Street titans, royalty and celebrities before pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. He took his own life in 2019 at age 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
\nDozens of women have accused Epstein of forcing them to provide sexual services to him and his guests at his private Caribbean island and homes he owned in New York, Florida and New Mexico.
\nThe names of more than 150 people mentioned in a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein\u2019s most prominent accusers, were kept under seal for years until a federal judge ruled last month that there was no legal justification to keep them private.
\nIn a deposition, Ms. Giuffre said she had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.
\nMs. Giuffre\u2019s deposition named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations, including hedge-fund owner Glenn Dubin, billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker and the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
\nShe said she also had sex with other political leaders whose names she could not remember.
\nMr. Dubin could not immediately reached for comment. A spokesperson for Mr. Pritzker said the businessman \u201ccontinues to vehemently deny\u201d the allegation.
\nSigrid McCawley, Ms. Giuffre\u2019s lawyer, said some questions about who enabled Epstein have still not been answered.
\n\u201cThe unsealing of these documents gets us closer to that goal,\u201d she said in a statement on Wednesday.
\nIn a separate deposition, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg said Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast to pose for a photo with Epstein, Ms. Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein\u2019s former girlfriend.
\nMs. Sjoberg said the photo also included a puppet that said \u201cPrince Andrew\u201d on it.
\nThis allegation was previously reported by the Mirror in 2020.
\nPrince Andrew has been stripped of most of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein.
\nHe settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, and has denied wrongdoing.
\nThe list stems from a long-settled defamation lawsuit that Giuffre filed against Maxwell.
\nMs. Maxwell, the daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She is appealing her conviction.
\nMs. Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her when she was underage for Epstein to abuse.
\nUS District Judge Loretta Preska, who is overseeing the case, ruled that some names would remain confidential, including those of people who were underage when Epstein abused them. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "NEW YORK \u2014 A woman who has said she was victimized by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast at Epstein\u2019s Manhattan townhouse in 2001, according to court documents from a civil lawsuit unsealed on Wednesday.\nThe incident, which has been previously reported by other media outlets and Andrew has denied, was among the details described in an initial trove of previously redacted documents that otherwise revealed few new details about the extent of Epstein\u2019s alleged sex trafficking activities.\nMore documents are expected to be unsealed or unredacted in the coming days.\nPrince Andrew could not immediately be reached for comment.\nEpstein socialized with Wall Street titans, royalty and celebrities before pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. He took his own life in 2019 at age 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.\nDozens of women have accused Epstein of forcing them to provide sexual services to him and his guests at his private Caribbean island and homes he owned in New York, Florida and New Mexico.\nThe names of more than 150 people mentioned in a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein\u2019s most prominent accusers, were kept under seal for years until a federal judge ruled last month that there was no legal justification to keep them private.\nIn a deposition, Ms. Giuffre said she had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.\nMs. Giuffre\u2019s deposition named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations, including hedge-fund owner Glenn Dubin, billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker and the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.\nShe said she also had sex with other political leaders whose names she could not remember.\nMr. Dubin could not immediately reached for comment. A spokesperson for Mr. Pritzker said the businessman \u201ccontinues to vehemently deny\u201d the allegation.\nSigrid McCawley, Ms. Giuffre\u2019s lawyer, said some questions about who enabled Epstein have still not been answered.\n\u201cThe unsealing of these documents gets us closer to that goal,\u201d she said in a statement on Wednesday.\nIn a separate deposition, Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg said Prince Andrew put his hand on her breast to pose for a photo with Epstein, Ms. Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein\u2019s former girlfriend.\nMs. Sjoberg said the photo also included a puppet that said \u201cPrince Andrew\u201d on it.\nThis allegation was previously reported by the Mirror in 2020.\nPrince Andrew has been stripped of most of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein.\nHe settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, and has denied wrongdoing.\nThe list stems from a long-settled defamation lawsuit that Giuffre filed against Maxwell.\nMs. Maxwell, the daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. She is appealing her conviction.\nMs. Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her when she was underage for Epstein to abuse.\nUS District Judge Loretta Preska, who is overseeing the case, ruled that some names would remain confidential, including those of people who were underage when Epstein abused them. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:21:58+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:26:51+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The_Duke_of_York_in_Belfast.jpg", "tags": [ "Jeffrey Epstein", "Prince Andrew", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566924", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566924/hezbollah-israel-appear-to-signal-no-desire-for-spread-of-gaza-war/", "title": "Hezbollah, Israel appear to signal no desire for spread of Gaza war", "content_html": "BEIRUT/CAIRO/GAZA \u2014 Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israeli army made statements suggesting the two avowed enemies wanted to avoid risking the further spread of war beyond the Gaza Strip after a drone strike killed a Palestinian Hamas deputy leader in Beirut.
\nIn a speech in Beirut on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his powerful Iran-backed Shi\u2019ite militia \u201ccannot be silent\u201d following the killing of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday.
\nMr. Nasrallah said his heavily armed forces would fight to the finish if Israel chose to extend the war to Lebanon, but he made no concrete threats to act against Israel in support of Hamas, Hezbollah\u2019s ally also backed by Iran.
\nIsrael neither confirmed nor denied assassinating Mr. Arouri but has promised to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group\u2019s Oct. 7 cross-border assault in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 abducted.
\nIsrael launched a ground and aerial blitz of Gaza in response, and the total recorded Palestinian death toll had reached 22,313 by Wednesday \u2014 almost 1% of its 2.3 million population, the Gaza health ministry said.
\nIsraeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, when asked what Israel was doing to prepare for a potential Hezbollah response, told a reporter: \u201cI won\u2019t respond to what you just mentioned. We are focused on the fight against Hamas.\u201d
\nWhite House spokesperson John Kirby, asked about Mr. Nasrallah\u2019s speech, told reporters: \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen Hezbollah jump in with both feet to come to Hamas\u2019 aid and assistance.\u201d
\nAnother US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, suggested neither Hezbollah nor Israel wanted a war.
\n\u201cFrom everything that we can tell, there is no clear desire for Hezbollah to go to war with Israel and vice versa,\u201d said the official.
\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart on Thursday for the Middle East, including a stop in Israel, as the United States continues diplomatic consultations on the Israel-Gaza conflict, a senior US official said on Wednesday.
\nThe official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said US diplomatic envoy Amos Hochstein will also travel to Israel to work to soothe tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
\nArouri\u2019s killing was a further sign of the potential the nearly three-month-old war might spread well beyond Gaza, drawing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanon-Israel border and Red Sea shipping lanes.
\nMr. Arouri, 57, who lived in Beirut, was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated outside Palestinian territories since Israel began its offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group following the Oct. 7 assault.
\nHezbollah has been embroiled in nearly daily exchanges of shelling with Israel across Lebanon\u2019s southern border since the Gaza war began. On Wednesday, a local Hezbollah official and three other members were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters.
\nMore than 120 Hezbollah fighters and two dozen civilians have been killed on Lebanese territory, as well as at least nine Israeli soldiers in Israel.
\nMr. Nasrallah said there would be \u201cno ceilings\u201d and \u201cno rules\u201d to Hezbollah\u2019s fighting if Israel launched a full war on Lebanon.
\nMr. Arouri\u2019s death removes a big name from Israel\u2019s most-wanted list of top Islamist foes, and could drive Hamas\u2019 exiled leaders deeper into hiding, hampering efforts to negotiate further Gaza ceasefires and hostage releases.
\nIsrael had long accused him of orchestrating attacks on its citizens. But a Hamas official said he was also \u201cat the heart of negotiations\u201d conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages.
\nMr. Nasrallah spoke to commemorate four years since the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards top commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq.
\nTwo explosions on Wednesday during a memorial ceremony at a cemetery in southeastern Iran where Soleimani is buried killed nearly 100 people, at a time of high tension between arch-enemies Iran and Israel.
\nAERIAL, GROUND BLITZ
\nIsraeli forces meanwhile kept up their aerial and ground blitz against Hamas militants, targeting the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Israeli bombardments have flattened much of the densely populated enclave, wreaking a humanitarian disaster. Most Gazans have been left homeless, crammed into shrinking areas in hope of rudimentary shelter, with food shortages threatening famine.
\nThe Israeli military says it tries to avoid harm to civilians and blames Hamas for embedding fighters within residential areas, a charge the group denies.
\nThe Israeli military said the number of its soldiers killed since its first ground incursion on Oct. 20 had reached 177. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BEIRUT/CAIRO/GAZA \u2014 Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israeli army made statements suggesting the two avowed enemies wanted to avoid risking the further spread of war beyond the Gaza Strip after a drone strike killed a Palestinian Hamas deputy leader in Beirut.\nIn a speech in Beirut on Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his powerful Iran-backed Shi\u2019ite militia \u201ccannot be silent\u201d following the killing of Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday.\nMr. Nasrallah said his heavily armed forces would fight to the finish if Israel chose to extend the war to Lebanon, but he made no concrete threats to act against Israel in support of Hamas, Hezbollah\u2019s ally also backed by Iran.\nIsrael neither confirmed nor denied assassinating Mr. Arouri but has promised to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, following the group\u2019s Oct. 7 cross-border assault in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 abducted.\nIsrael launched a ground and aerial blitz of Gaza in response, and the total recorded Palestinian death toll had reached 22,313 by Wednesday \u2014 almost 1% of its 2.3 million population, the Gaza health ministry said.\nIsraeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, when asked what Israel was doing to prepare for a potential Hezbollah response, told a reporter: \u201cI won\u2019t respond to what you just mentioned. We are focused on the fight against Hamas.\u201d\nWhite House spokesperson John Kirby, asked about Mr. Nasrallah\u2019s speech, told reporters: \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen Hezbollah jump in with both feet to come to Hamas\u2019 aid and assistance.\u201d\nAnother US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, suggested neither Hezbollah nor Israel wanted a war.\n\u201cFrom everything that we can tell, there is no clear desire for Hezbollah to go to war with Israel and vice versa,\u201d said the official.\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart on Thursday for the Middle East, including a stop in Israel, as the United States continues diplomatic consultations on the Israel-Gaza conflict, a senior US official said on Wednesday.\nThe official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said US diplomatic envoy Amos Hochstein will also travel to Israel to work to soothe tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.\nArouri\u2019s killing was a further sign of the potential the nearly three-month-old war might spread well beyond Gaza, drawing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanon-Israel border and Red Sea shipping lanes.\nMr. Arouri, 57, who lived in Beirut, was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated outside Palestinian territories since Israel began its offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group following the Oct. 7 assault.\nHezbollah has been embroiled in nearly daily exchanges of shelling with Israel across Lebanon\u2019s southern border since the Gaza war began. On Wednesday, a local Hezbollah official and three other members were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, two security sources told Reuters.\nMore than 120 Hezbollah fighters and two dozen civilians have been killed on Lebanese territory, as well as at least nine Israeli soldiers in Israel.\nMr. Nasrallah said there would be \u201cno ceilings\u201d and \u201cno rules\u201d to Hezbollah\u2019s fighting if Israel launched a full war on Lebanon.\nMr. Arouri\u2019s death removes a big name from Israel\u2019s most-wanted list of top Islamist foes, and could drive Hamas\u2019 exiled leaders deeper into hiding, hampering efforts to negotiate further Gaza ceasefires and hostage releases.\nIsrael had long accused him of orchestrating attacks on its citizens. But a Hamas official said he was also \u201cat the heart of negotiations\u201d conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages.\nMr. Nasrallah spoke to commemorate four years since the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards top commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq.\nTwo explosions on Wednesday during a memorial ceremony at a cemetery in southeastern Iran where Soleimani is buried killed nearly 100 people, at a time of high tension between arch-enemies Iran and Israel.\nAERIAL, GROUND BLITZ\nIsraeli forces meanwhile kept up their aerial and ground blitz against Hamas militants, targeting the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.\nIsraeli bombardments have flattened much of the densely populated enclave, wreaking a humanitarian disaster. Most Gazans have been left homeless, crammed into shrinking areas in hope of rudimentary shelter, with food shortages threatening famine.\nThe Israeli military says it tries to avoid harm to civilians and blames Hamas for embedding fighters within residential areas, a charge the group denies.\nThe Israeli military said the number of its soldiers killed since its first ground incursion on Oct. 20 had reached 177. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T18:21:42+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T18:27:46+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Israel-flag.jpg", "tags": [ "Gaza", "Hezbollah", "israel", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566854", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/technology/2024/01/04/566854/russian-hackers-were-inside-ukraine-telecoms-giant-for-months-cyber-spy-chief/", "title": "Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months \u2014 cyber spy chief", "content_html": "LONDON \u2014 Russian hackers were inside Ukrainian telecoms giant Kyivstar\u2019s system from at least May last year in a cyberattack that should serve as a \u201cbig warning\u201d to the West, Ukraine\u2019s cyber spy chief told Reuters.
\nThe\u00a0hack, one of the most dramatic since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, knocked out services provided by Ukraine\u2019s biggest telecoms operator for some 24 million users for days from Dec. 12.
\nIn an interview, Illia Vitiuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine\u2019s (SBU) cybersecurity department, disclosed exclusive details about the hack, which he said caused \u201cdisastrous\u201d destruction and aimed to land a psychological blow and gather intelligence.
\n\u201cThis attack is a big message, a big warning, not only to Ukraine, but for the whole Western world to understand that no one is actually untouchable,\u201d he said. He noted Kyivstar was a wealthy, private company that invested a lot in cybersecurity.
\nThe attack wiped \u201calmost everything\u201d, including thousands of virtual servers and PCs, he said, describing it as probably the first example of a destructive cyberattack that \u201ccompletely destroyed the core of a telecoms operator.\u201d
\nDuring its investigation, the SBU found the hackers probably attempted to penetrate Kyivstar in March or earlier, he said in a Zoom interview on Dec. 27.
\n\u201cFor now, we can say securely, that they were in the system at least since May 2023,\u201d he said. \u201cI cannot say right now, since what time they had … full access: probably at least since November.\u201d
\nThe SBU assessed the hackers would have been able to steal personal information, understand the locations of phones, intercept SMS-messages and perhaps steal Telegram accounts with the level of access they gained, he said.
\nA Kyivstar spokesperson said the company was working closely with the SBU to investigate the attack and would take all necessary steps to eliminate future risks, adding: \u201cNo facts of leakage of personal and subscriber data have been revealed.\u201d
\nMr. Vitiuk said the SBU helped Kyivstar restore its systems within days and to repel new cyber attacks.
\n\u201cAfter the major break there were a number of new attempts aimed at dealing more damage to the operator,\u201d he said.
\nKyivstar is the biggest of Ukraine\u2019s three main telecoms operators and there are some 1.1 million Ukrainians who live in small towns and villages where there are no other providers, Mr. Vitiuk said.
\nPeople rushed to buy other SIM cards because of the attack, creating large queues. ATMs using Kyivstar SIM cards for the internet ceased to work and the air-raid siren – used during missile and drone attacks – did not function properly in some regions, he said.
\nHe said the attack had no big impact on Ukraine\u2019s military, which did not rely on telecoms operators and made use of what he described as \u201cdifferent algorithms and protocols\u201d.
\n\u201cSpeaking about drone detection, speaking about missile detection, luckily, no, this situation didn\u2019t affect us strongly,\u201d he said.
\nRUSSIAN SANDWORM
\nInvestigating the attack is harder because of the wiping of Kyivstar\u2019s infrastructure.
Mr. Vitiuk said he was \u201cpretty sure\u201d it was carried out by Sandworm, a Russian military intelligence cyberwarfare unit that has been linked to cyberattacks in Ukraine and elsewhere.
\nA year ago, Sandworm penetrated a Ukrainian telecoms operator, but was detected by Kyiv because the SBU had itself been inside Russian systems, Mr.. Vitiuk said, declining to identify the company. The earlier hack has not been previously reported.
\nRussia\u2019s defense ministry did not respond to a written request for comment on Vitiuk\u2019s remarks.
\nMr. Vitiuk said the pattern of behavior suggested telecoms operators could remain a target of Russian hackers. The SBU thwarted over 4,500 major cyberattacks on Ukrainian governmental bodies and critical infrastructure last year, he said.
\nA group called\u00a0Solntsepyok, believed by the SBU to be affiliated with Sandworm, said it was responsible for the attack.
\nNr. Vitiuk said SBU investigators were still working to establish how Kyivstar was penetrated or what type of trojan horse malware could have been used to break in, adding that it could have been phishing, someone helping on the inside or something else.
\nIf it was an inside job, the insider who helped the hackers did not have a high level of clearance in the company, as the hackers made use of malware used to steal hashes of passwords, he said.
\nSamples of that malware have been recovered and are being analyzed, he added.
\nKyivstar\u2019s CEO, Oleksandr Komarov, said on Dec. 20 that all the company\u2019s services had been fully restored throughout the country. Mr. Vitiuk praised the SBU\u2019s incident response effort to safely restore the systems.
\nThe attack on Kyivstar may have been made easier because of similarities between it and Russian mobile operator Beeline, which was built with similar infrastructure, Mr. Vitiuk said.
\nThe sheer size of Kyivstar\u2019s infrastructure would have been easier to navigate with expert guidance, he added.
\nThe destruction at Kyivstar began at around 5:00 a.m. local time while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in Washington, pressing the West to continue supplying aid.
\nMr. Vitiuk said the attack was not accompanied by a major missile and drone strike at a time when people were having communication difficulties, limiting its impact while also relinquishing a powerful intelligence-gathering tool.
\nWhy the hackers chose Dec. 12 was unclear, he said, adding: \u201cMaybe some colonel wanted to become a general.\u201d \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "LONDON \u2014 Russian hackers were inside Ukrainian telecoms giant Kyivstar\u2019s system from at least May last year in a cyberattack that should serve as a \u201cbig warning\u201d to the West, Ukraine\u2019s cyber spy chief told Reuters.\nThe\u00a0hack, one of the most dramatic since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, knocked out services provided by Ukraine\u2019s biggest telecoms operator for some 24 million users for days from Dec. 12.\nIn an interview, Illia Vitiuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine\u2019s (SBU) cybersecurity department, disclosed exclusive details about the hack, which he said caused \u201cdisastrous\u201d destruction and aimed to land a psychological blow and gather intelligence.\n\u201cThis attack is a big message, a big warning, not only to Ukraine, but for the whole Western world to understand that no one is actually untouchable,\u201d he said. He noted Kyivstar was a wealthy, private company that invested a lot in cybersecurity.\nThe attack wiped \u201calmost everything\u201d, including thousands of virtual servers and PCs, he said, describing it as probably the first example of a destructive cyberattack that \u201ccompletely destroyed the core of a telecoms operator.\u201d\nDuring its investigation, the SBU found the hackers probably attempted to penetrate Kyivstar in March or earlier, he said in a Zoom interview on Dec. 27.\n\u201cFor now, we can say securely, that they were in the system at least since May 2023,\u201d he said. \u201cI cannot say right now, since what time they had … full access: probably at least since November.\u201d\nThe SBU assessed the hackers would have been able to steal personal information, understand the locations of phones, intercept SMS-messages and perhaps steal Telegram accounts with the level of access they gained, he said.\nA Kyivstar spokesperson said the company was working closely with the SBU to investigate the attack and would take all necessary steps to eliminate future risks, adding: \u201cNo facts of leakage of personal and subscriber data have been revealed.\u201d\nMr. Vitiuk said the SBU helped Kyivstar restore its systems within days and to repel new cyber attacks.\n\u201cAfter the major break there were a number of new attempts aimed at dealing more damage to the operator,\u201d he said.\nKyivstar is the biggest of Ukraine\u2019s three main telecoms operators and there are some 1.1 million Ukrainians who live in small towns and villages where there are no other providers, Mr. Vitiuk said.\nPeople rushed to buy other SIM cards because of the attack, creating large queues. ATMs using Kyivstar SIM cards for the internet ceased to work and the air-raid siren – used during missile and drone attacks – did not function properly in some regions, he said.\nHe said the attack had no big impact on Ukraine\u2019s military, which did not rely on telecoms operators and made use of what he described as \u201cdifferent algorithms and protocols\u201d.\n\u201cSpeaking about drone detection, speaking about missile detection, luckily, no, this situation didn\u2019t affect us strongly,\u201d he said.\nRUSSIAN SANDWORM\nInvestigating the attack is harder because of the wiping of Kyivstar\u2019s infrastructure.\nMr. Vitiuk said he was \u201cpretty sure\u201d it was carried out by Sandworm, a Russian military intelligence cyberwarfare unit that has been linked to cyberattacks in Ukraine and elsewhere.\nA year ago, Sandworm penetrated a Ukrainian telecoms operator, but was detected by Kyiv because the SBU had itself been inside Russian systems, Mr.. Vitiuk said, declining to identify the company. The earlier hack has not been previously reported.\nRussia\u2019s defense ministry did not respond to a written request for comment on Vitiuk\u2019s remarks.\nMr. Vitiuk said the pattern of behavior suggested telecoms operators could remain a target of Russian hackers. The SBU thwarted over 4,500 major cyberattacks on Ukrainian governmental bodies and critical infrastructure last year, he said.\nA group called\u00a0Solntsepyok, believed by the SBU to be affiliated with Sandworm, said it was responsible for the attack.\nNr. Vitiuk said SBU investigators were still working to establish how Kyivstar was penetrated or what type of trojan horse malware could have been used to break in, adding that it could have been phishing, someone helping on the inside or something else.\nIf it was an inside job, the insider who helped the hackers did not have a high level of clearance in the company, as the hackers made use of malware used to steal hashes of passwords, he said.\nSamples of that malware have been recovered and are being analyzed, he added.\nKyivstar\u2019s CEO, Oleksandr Komarov, said on Dec. 20 that all the company\u2019s services had been fully restored throughout the country. Mr. Vitiuk praised the SBU\u2019s incident response effort to safely restore the systems.\nThe attack on Kyivstar may have been made easier because of similarities between it and Russian mobile operator Beeline, which was built with similar infrastructure, Mr. Vitiuk said.\nThe sheer size of Kyivstar\u2019s infrastructure would have been easier to navigate with expert guidance, he added.\nThe destruction at Kyivstar began at around 5:00 a.m. local time while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in Washington, pressing the West to continue supplying aid.\nMr. Vitiuk said the attack was not accompanied by a major missile and drone strike at a time when people were having communication difficulties, limiting its impact while also relinquishing a powerful intelligence-gathering tool.\nWhy the hackers chose Dec. 12 was unclear, he said, adding: \u201cMaybe some colonel wanted to become a general.\u201d \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T14:55:26+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T14:55:26+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hacker-cyber-crime.jpg", "tags": [ "cyber spying", "hackers", "Reuters", "Russia", "russians", "telecom", "Ukraine", "Technology", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566849", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566849/australia-struggles-to-ditch-suv-habit-even-as-electric-vehicle-sales-hit-record/", "title": "Australia struggles to ditch SUV habit even as electric vehicle sales hit record", "content_html": "SYDNEY \u2014 Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Australia hit an all-time high in 2023, according to the country\u2019s automotive association, however light vehicle sales remained dominated by emissions-intensive trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
\nBattery-electric vehicles were 7.2% of all vehicles sold last year, more than double the 3.1% recorded in 2022, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Thursday.
\nThe sales share for 2023 rises to 16.2% of all new vehicle sales once hybrids and plug-in hybrids are included, almost one in every five vehicles.
\nAfter a decade under conservative governments that opposed EV adoption, the current center-left Labor government, which won power in 2022, has launched a national EV strategy and provided hundreds of millions for clean transport.
\nTransport is one of Australia\u2019s largest sources of emissions and the growing adoption of electric vehicles bolsters the government\u2019s pledge to cut emissions by 43% by 2030.
\nHowever, Australian\u2019s continue to prefer SUVs or light commercial vehicles, models which usually come with higher emissions when fossil fueled. The two categories accounted for 78.4% of all new vehicle sales last year.
\nThe Ford Ranger and Toyota Hi-Lux, the two most popular vehicles and a tenth of all those sold in 2023, tend to emit more carbon dioxide than average.
\nEfforts to increase the take-up of electric vehicles have long been plagued by shortages, a limited number of models and\u00a0sparse and sometimes faulty charging equipment.
\nAs a result adoption for many years lagged countries like the US or Britain, where sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids hit 7.7% and 23%, respectively in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
\nEnergy Minister Chris Bowen said in November the government would soon release details of its\u00a0long-awaited fuel efficiency standards, a policy that advocates say will spur manufacturers to send more EVs to Australia and further boost adoption. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "SYDNEY \u2014 Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Australia hit an all-time high in 2023, according to the country\u2019s automotive association, however light vehicle sales remained dominated by emissions-intensive trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).\nBattery-electric vehicles were 7.2% of all vehicles sold last year, more than double the 3.1% recorded in 2022, according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Thursday.\nThe sales share for 2023 rises to 16.2% of all new vehicle sales once hybrids and plug-in hybrids are included, almost one in every five vehicles.\nAfter a decade under conservative governments that opposed EV adoption, the current center-left Labor government, which won power in 2022, has launched a national EV strategy and provided hundreds of millions for clean transport.\nTransport is one of Australia\u2019s largest sources of emissions and the growing adoption of electric vehicles bolsters the government\u2019s pledge to cut emissions by 43% by 2030.\nHowever, Australian\u2019s continue to prefer SUVs or light commercial vehicles, models which usually come with higher emissions when fossil fueled. The two categories accounted for 78.4% of all new vehicle sales last year.\nThe Ford Ranger and Toyota Hi-Lux, the two most popular vehicles and a tenth of all those sold in 2023, tend to emit more carbon dioxide than average.\nEfforts to increase the take-up of electric vehicles have long been plagued by shortages, a limited number of models and\u00a0sparse and sometimes faulty charging equipment.\nAs a result adoption for many years lagged countries like the US or Britain, where sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids hit 7.7% and 23%, respectively in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.\nEnergy Minister Chris Bowen said in November the government would soon release details of its\u00a0long-awaited fuel efficiency standards, a policy that advocates say will spur manufacturers to send more EVs to Australia and further boost adoption. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T14:46:41+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T14:46:41+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bmw-suv-car.jpg", "tags": [ "Australia", "electric vehicle", "EV", "record", "Reuters", "Sales", "sport utility vehicle", "SUV", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566843", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/04/566843/china-conducts-patrols-in-south-china-sea-amid-ongoing-run-ins/", "title": "China conducts patrols in South China Sea amid ongoing run-ins", "content_html": "BEIJING – China’s military will conduct routine patrols with its naval and air forces in the South China Sea from Wednesday to Thursday, the military’s Southern Theater Command said, as ongoing tensions simmer in the region over disputed territories.
\nChina’s military did not say where exactly the patrols would be held but they were announced as the Philippines and the United States were carrying out a two-day joint patrol in the highly strategic waterway, a move that likely irked Beijing.
\nThe maritime exercises between Manila and Washington which began on Wednesday are the second in less than two months, and follow Beijing’s warning to the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating dispute in the South China Sea would bring a resolute response.
\n“What we are witnessing is the U.S. and China engaging each other in a dangerous game of shadowboxing in the South China Sea,” international studies professor Renato de Castro said.
\nChina’s military said troops in the area will be on high alert at all times, and will defend national sovereignty, security and maritime rights.
\nThe patrols also aim to deter activities that disrupt the South China Sea and create “hot spots,” the military said on its Southern Theater Command’s Wechat account.
\nBeijing and Manila have traded sharp accusations in recent months over several run-ins in the South China Sea, including charges that China rammed a ship earlier this month carrying the Philippine armed forces chief of staff.
\n“Chinese actions are pushing (the Philippines) further to U.S. arms. China has no one to blame for closer U.S.-Philippine security relations but itself,” De Castro added.
\nThe Philippine military said on Wednesday their second joint patrol this week involves four vessels from the Philippine navy and four ships from the U.S. Indo-Pacific command that include an aircraft carrier, a cruiser and two destroyers.
\nLast week, the Philippines said it was not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, responding to China’s accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing’s territory.
\nChina has repeatedly warned the Philippines of breaching areas of the South China Sea it considers its territory. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, while the Philippines refers to the part of South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippines Sea.
\nChina said the Philippines has relied on U.S. support to continually provoke China.
\nThe Philippines and the U.S. first launched joint patrols in November, and security engagements between the treaty allies soared last year amid growing tensions in the South China Sea. — Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BEIJING – China’s military will conduct routine patrols with its naval and air forces in the South China Sea from Wednesday to Thursday, the military’s Southern Theater Command said, as ongoing tensions simmer in the region over disputed territories.\nChina’s military did not say where exactly the patrols would be held but they were announced as the Philippines and the United States were carrying out a two-day joint patrol in the highly strategic waterway, a move that likely irked Beijing.\nThe maritime exercises between Manila and Washington which began on Wednesday are the second in less than two months, and follow Beijing’s warning to the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating dispute in the South China Sea would bring a resolute response.\n“What we are witnessing is the U.S. and China engaging each other in a dangerous game of shadowboxing in the South China Sea,” international studies professor Renato de Castro said.\nChina’s military said troops in the area will be on high alert at all times, and will defend national sovereignty, security and maritime rights.\nThe patrols also aim to deter activities that disrupt the South China Sea and create “hot spots,” the military said on its Southern Theater Command’s Wechat account.\nBeijing and Manila have traded sharp accusations in recent months over several run-ins in the South China Sea, including charges that China rammed a ship earlier this month carrying the Philippine armed forces chief of staff.\n“Chinese actions are pushing (the Philippines) further to U.S. arms. China has no one to blame for closer U.S.-Philippine security relations but itself,” De Castro added.\nThe Philippine military said on Wednesday their second joint patrol this week involves four vessels from the Philippine navy and four ships from the U.S. Indo-Pacific command that include an aircraft carrier, a cruiser and two destroyers.\nLast week, the Philippines said it was not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, responding to China’s accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing’s territory.\nChina has repeatedly warned the Philippines of breaching areas of the South China Sea it considers its territory. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, while the Philippines refers to the part of South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippines Sea.\nChina said the Philippines has relied on U.S. support to continually provoke China.\nThe Philippines and the U.S. first launched joint patrols in November, and security engagements between the treaty allies soared last year amid growing tensions in the South China Sea. — Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-04T12:04:21+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-04T12:04:21+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/rgentribirthfurd/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/67e0d160ec455979f75e504cb026950a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/rgentribirthfurd/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/67e0d160ec455979f75e504cb026950a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/China-Flag.jpg", "tags": [ "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566655", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566655/police-probe-possible-negligence-in-tokyo-airport-runway-collision/", "title": "Police probe possible negligence in Tokyo airport runway collision", "content_html": "TOKYO \u2014 Police are investigating whether a crash between an airliner and a smaller plane at a Tokyo airport may involve professional negligence, media reported on Wednesday, as transport authorities began inspecting the charred wreckage for clues.
\nAll 379 people miraculously escaped the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 which erupted into flames after colliding with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda on Tuesday evening.
\nFive of the six Coast Guard crew, responding to a major earthquake that struck the country\u2019s west coast, died.
\nOnce a recurring safety problem, aviation experts say the number of such runway collisions or incursions have become far less frequent with modern ground tracking technology and procedures.
\nJapanese authorities say the cause of the crash remains unclear.
\nTokyo Metropolitan Police Department are investigating whether possible professional negligence led to deaths and injuries, several news outlets including Kyodo news agency and Nikkei Asia reported.
\nA police spokesperson said a special unit had set up at the airport and was investigating the runway and planning to interview people involved, but declined to comment on whether they were looking into possible professional negligence.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a strong possibility there was a human error,\u201d said Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former JAL pilot and aviation analyst.
\n\u201cOnly one plane is generally allowed to enter the runway but even though landing clearance had been given, the Japan Coast Guard aircraft was on the runway.\u201d
\nThe JAL plane was told to continue its approach to runway 34R at 1743 local time (0843GMT), and was given clearance to land at 1745, two minutes before authorities say the collision occurred on the same runway at 1747, according to air traffic control recordings available at liveATC.net.
\n\u201cClear to land 34R Japan Airlines 516,\u201d a controller can be heard saying in a recording.
\nHaneda airport did not immediately have comment on the recordings.
\nJAL said in a statement on Tuesday the aircraft recognized and repeated the landing permission from air traffic control before approaching and touching down.
\nThe Coast Guard has declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the crash, including why the plane was on the runway and whether it was stationary or moving when disaster struck.
\nThe plane, one of six Coast Guard aircraft based at the airport, had been due to deliver aid to regions hit by a deadly earthquake on Monday.
\nTWO INVESTIGATIONS
\nAs well as the police probe, the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) is also investigating the crash, with participation from agencies in France, where the Airbus airplane was built, and Britain where its two Rolls-Royce engines were manufactured, people familiar with the matter said.
Airbus said it was also sending technical advisers to assist in the investigation.
\nJTSB has recovered flight and voice recorders from the coast guard aircraft, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the agency.
\nWhile all passengers and crew were evacuated around 20 minutes after the crash, the aircraft was completely engulfed in flames and burned for more than six hours, the airline said.
\nAuthorities were set to begin work to remove the charred remains of the JAL aircraft in the afternoon, Kyodo reported, while TV footage showed police and fire department personnel inspecting the site of the accident on Wednesday. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "TOKYO \u2014 Police are investigating whether a crash between an airliner and a smaller plane at a Tokyo airport may involve professional negligence, media reported on Wednesday, as transport authorities began inspecting the charred wreckage for clues.\nAll 379 people miraculously escaped the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 which erupted into flames after colliding with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda on Tuesday evening.\nFive of the six Coast Guard crew, responding to a major earthquake that struck the country\u2019s west coast, died.\nOnce a recurring safety problem, aviation experts say the number of such runway collisions or incursions have become far less frequent with modern ground tracking technology and procedures.\nJapanese authorities say the cause of the crash remains unclear.\nTokyo Metropolitan Police Department are investigating whether possible professional negligence led to deaths and injuries, several news outlets including Kyodo news agency and Nikkei Asia reported.\nA police spokesperson said a special unit had set up at the airport and was investigating the runway and planning to interview people involved, but declined to comment on whether they were looking into possible professional negligence.\n\u201cThere\u2019s a strong possibility there was a human error,\u201d said Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former JAL pilot and aviation analyst.\n\u201cOnly one plane is generally allowed to enter the runway but even though landing clearance had been given, the Japan Coast Guard aircraft was on the runway.\u201d \nThe JAL plane was told to continue its approach to runway 34R at 1743 local time (0843GMT), and was given clearance to land at 1745, two minutes before authorities say the collision occurred on the same runway at 1747, according to air traffic control recordings available at liveATC.net.\n\u201cClear to land 34R Japan Airlines 516,\u201d a controller can be heard saying in a recording.\nHaneda airport did not immediately have comment on the recordings.\nJAL said in a statement on Tuesday the aircraft recognized and repeated the landing permission from air traffic control before approaching and touching down.\nThe Coast Guard has declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the crash, including why the plane was on the runway and whether it was stationary or moving when disaster struck.\nThe plane, one of six Coast Guard aircraft based at the airport, had been due to deliver aid to regions hit by a deadly earthquake on Monday.\nTWO INVESTIGATIONS\nAs well as the police probe, the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) is also investigating the crash, with participation from agencies in France, where the Airbus airplane was built, and Britain where its two Rolls-Royce engines were manufactured, people familiar with the matter said.\nAirbus said it was also sending technical advisers to assist in the investigation.\nJTSB has recovered flight and voice recorders from the coast guard aircraft, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the agency.\nWhile all passengers and crew were evacuated around 20 minutes after the crash, the aircraft was completely engulfed in flames and burned for more than six hours, the airline said.\nAuthorities were set to begin work to remove the charred remains of the JAL aircraft in the afternoon, Kyodo reported, while TV footage showed police and fire department personnel inspecting the site of the accident on Wednesday. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T17:22:23+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T17:25:36+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Japan-Airlines-JAL-Airbus-A350-fire.jpg", "tags": [ "Japan", "Japan Airlines", "police", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566638", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566638/hawkish-china-military-pressure-on-taiwan-likely-after-presidential-election/", "title": "\u2018Hawkish\u2019 China military pressure on Taiwan likely after presidential election", "content_html": "BEIJING/HONG KONG \u2014 The arms race across the Taiwan Strait and Chinese military pressure against the island Beijing claims as its \u201csacred\u201d territory is unlikely to end no matter who wins Taiwan\u2019s closely watched elections.
\nChina has cast the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between war and peace, warning an attempt to push for Taiwan\u2019s formal independence means conflict.
\nChina has focused its anger on the run-up to the vote on Lai Ching-te, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party\u2019s (DPP) presidential candidate, rebuffing his calls for talks as it views him as a separatist.
\nBoth the DPP and Taiwan\u2019s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), say only they can preserve the peace, and both have also committed to bolstering Taiwan\u2019s defenses and say only the island\u2019s people can decide their future.
\nThe KMT traditionally favors close ties with China although it denies being pro-Beijing.
\nWang Zaixi, a deputy head of China\u2019s Taiwan Affairs Office between 2000 and 2006 and a retired Chinese army major general, was quoted last month in China\u2019s Global Times newspaper as saying the DPP\u2019s Mr. Lai was an \u201cextremist\u201d independence supporter.
\n\u201cIf he is elected, you cannot rule out the possibility of a military clash across the Taiwan Strait. We need to be fully aware of this,\u201d Mr. Wang said.
\nSuch an outcome could have grave geopolitical and economic outcomes, pitting China against the United States \u2014 the world\u2019s two leading military powers \u2014 while blocking key shipping lanes and disrupting semiconductor and commodity supply chains.
\n\u201cI believe they will take more hawkish actions to try to warn the new president over his future policies towards China,\u201d Admiral Lee Hsi-ming, a former Taiwan military chief, told Reuters, referring to Beijing.
\nWestern security officials are trying to gauge how serious China could be about a military response to the election outcome.
\nOne official, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Beijing may wait and see, with any strong reaction coming after May 20 when the next president takes office and gives an inauguration speech.
\nIf the DPP wins the presidency but loses its majority in parliament, that could also temper China\u2019s response given it would weaken the DPP\u2019s ability to pass legislation, the Western official added.
\nChina\u2019s defense ministry, which has decried Taiwan\u2019s government for deliberately \u201chyping up\u201d a military threat from China for electoral gain, did not respond to a request for comment.
\nTaiwan defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters its assessment of China\u2019s moves would not be based on whether there is an election or not.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll look at the signs and what the enemy is up to as a basis for our judgement,\u201d he said.
\nNEW STATUS QUO
\nAfter Chinese and US leaders met in San Francisco in November, President Xi Jinping reportedly stressed to President Joseph R. Biden that while Taiwan is the most \u201cdangerous\u201d bilateral issue, he indicated China is not preparing for an invasion of Taiwan.
However, since the last Taiwan presidential poll in 2020, China has engaged in an unprecedented level of military activity in the Taiwan Strait, including holding two rounds of major war games near the island in the past year-and-a-half.
\nChinese jets now regularly cross an unofficial median line in the strait, seeking to wear down Taiwan\u2019s far smaller air force by making them repeatedly scramble.
\nSome analysts see Taiwan\u2019s contiguous zone that is 24 nautical miles (44 km) off its coast, being increasingly challenged by the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) in the coming years.
\nTaiwan is strengthening its armor.
\nA second Western security official said China was well aware that every year they wait to \u201cresolve the Taiwan problem,\u201d it gives Taipei a further opportunity to beef up its defenses.
\n\u201cThat is not good for the PLA,\u201d the official said.
\nDefense has featured prominently on the campaign trail.-
\nThe DPP has repeatedly brought up Taiwan\u2019s indigenous submarine, while other arms programs including drones are being developed.
\nThe KMT champions the \u201c3Ds\u201d \u2014 deterrence, dialogue and de-escalation.
\nJaw Shaw-kong, the KMT\u2019s vice president candidate, said last month Taiwan should ramp up missile production to show it can strike into China in the event of war, although he also said China should allow in Taiwanese military observers as a sign of goodwill and to lessen tensions.
\nWhoever wins, Taiwan has a big weapons order backlog from the United States.
\nIn the next few years, Taiwan is due to get advanced US weapons including F-16V fighter jets, M-1A tanks, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.
\nOTHER OPTIONS
\nWhile clearly a superior military power, recent purges in the PLA that have felled generals in the Rocket Force, navy and air force and a former defense minister could lower the risk of conflict.
\u201cThe more problems they have, the more corruption they have, the better it is for us,\u201d said Lee, the former Taiwan military head. \u201cI don\u2019t think there will be a full-scale invasion in the next few years because they have their own difficulties.\u201d
\nOver the past week or so, Mr. Xi has given two speeches where he reiterated the need for \u201creunification\u201d with Taiwan. On both occasions he made no mention of using force, though Beijing has never renounced that possibility.
\nChina could also wield economic pressure post-election, targeting a trade deal signed in 2010 which Beijing says Taipei has breached with unfair trade barriers. Beijing could also ramp up operations to influence people in Taiwan through its \u201cUnited Front\u201d department.
\n\u201cChina needs to be able to lead and control the situation in Taiwan, and we do that via a variety of means, not just by one means,\u201d said Wu Xinbo, a professor at Shanghai\u2019s Fudan University. \u2014\u00a0Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BEIJING/HONG KONG \u2014 The arms race across the Taiwan Strait and Chinese military pressure against the island Beijing claims as its \u201csacred\u201d territory is unlikely to end no matter who wins Taiwan\u2019s closely watched elections.\nChina has cast the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between war and peace, warning an attempt to push for Taiwan\u2019s formal independence means conflict.\nChina has focused its anger on the run-up to the vote on Lai Ching-te, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party\u2019s (DPP) presidential candidate, rebuffing his calls for talks as it views him as a separatist.\nBoth the DPP and Taiwan\u2019s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), say only they can preserve the peace, and both have also committed to bolstering Taiwan\u2019s defenses and say only the island\u2019s people can decide their future.\nThe KMT traditionally favors close ties with China although it denies being pro-Beijing.\nWang Zaixi, a deputy head of China\u2019s Taiwan Affairs Office between 2000 and 2006 and a retired Chinese army major general, was quoted last month in China\u2019s Global Times newspaper as saying the DPP\u2019s Mr. Lai was an \u201cextremist\u201d independence supporter.\n\u201cIf he is elected, you cannot rule out the possibility of a military clash across the Taiwan Strait. We need to be fully aware of this,\u201d Mr. Wang said.\nSuch an outcome could have grave geopolitical and economic outcomes, pitting China against the United States \u2014 the world\u2019s two leading military powers \u2014 while blocking key shipping lanes and disrupting semiconductor and commodity supply chains.\n\u201cI believe they will take more hawkish actions to try to warn the new president over his future policies towards China,\u201d Admiral Lee Hsi-ming, a former Taiwan military chief, told Reuters, referring to Beijing.\nWestern security officials are trying to gauge how serious China could be about a military response to the election outcome.\nOne official, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Beijing may wait and see, with any strong reaction coming after May 20 when the next president takes office and gives an inauguration speech.\nIf the DPP wins the presidency but loses its majority in parliament, that could also temper China\u2019s response given it would weaken the DPP\u2019s ability to pass legislation, the Western official added.\nChina\u2019s defense ministry, which has decried Taiwan\u2019s government for deliberately \u201chyping up\u201d a military threat from China for electoral gain, did not respond to a request for comment.\nTaiwan defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters its assessment of China\u2019s moves would not be based on whether there is an election or not.\n\u201cWe\u2019ll look at the signs and what the enemy is up to as a basis for our judgement,\u201d he said.\nNEW STATUS QUO\nAfter Chinese and US leaders met in San Francisco in November, President Xi Jinping reportedly stressed to President Joseph R. Biden that while Taiwan is the most \u201cdangerous\u201d bilateral issue, he indicated China is not preparing for an invasion of Taiwan.\nHowever, since the last Taiwan presidential poll in 2020, China has engaged in an unprecedented level of military activity in the Taiwan Strait, including holding two rounds of major war games near the island in the past year-and-a-half.\nChinese jets now regularly cross an unofficial median line in the strait, seeking to wear down Taiwan\u2019s far smaller air force by making them repeatedly scramble.\nSome analysts see Taiwan\u2019s contiguous zone that is 24 nautical miles (44 km) off its coast, being increasingly challenged by the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) in the coming years.\nTaiwan is strengthening its armor.\nA second Western security official said China was well aware that every year they wait to \u201cresolve the Taiwan problem,\u201d it gives Taipei a further opportunity to beef up its defenses.\n\u201cThat is not good for the PLA,\u201d the official said.\nDefense has featured prominently on the campaign trail.-\nThe DPP has repeatedly brought up Taiwan\u2019s indigenous submarine, while other arms programs including drones are being developed.\nThe KMT champions the \u201c3Ds\u201d \u2014 deterrence, dialogue and de-escalation.\nJaw Shaw-kong, the KMT\u2019s vice president candidate, said last month Taiwan should ramp up missile production to show it can strike into China in the event of war, although he also said China should allow in Taiwanese military observers as a sign of goodwill and to lessen tensions.\nWhoever wins, Taiwan has a big weapons order backlog from the United States.\nIn the next few years, Taiwan is due to get advanced US weapons including F-16V fighter jets, M-1A tanks, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.\nOTHER OPTIONS\nWhile clearly a superior military power, recent purges in the PLA that have felled generals in the Rocket Force, navy and air force and a former defense minister could lower the risk of conflict.\n\u201cThe more problems they have, the more corruption they have, the better it is for us,\u201d said Lee, the former Taiwan military head. \u201cI don\u2019t think there will be a full-scale invasion in the next few years because they have their own difficulties.\u201d\nOver the past week or so, Mr. Xi has given two speeches where he reiterated the need for \u201creunification\u201d with Taiwan. On both occasions he made no mention of using force, though Beijing has never renounced that possibility.\nChina could also wield economic pressure post-election, targeting a trade deal signed in 2010 which Beijing says Taipei has breached with unfair trade barriers. Beijing could also ramp up operations to influence people in Taiwan through its \u201cUnited Front\u201d department.\n\u201cChina needs to be able to lead and control the situation in Taiwan, and we do that via a variety of means, not just by one means,\u201d said Wu Xinbo, a professor at Shanghai\u2019s Fudan University. \u2014\u00a0Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T17:21:56+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T17:24:34+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/China-Taiwan-globe.jpg", "tags": [ "China", "Taiwan", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566639", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566639/killing-of-hamas-deputy-leader-raises-risk-of-gaza-war-spreading/", "title": "Killing of Hamas deputy leader raises risk of Gaza war spreading", "content_html": "BEIRUT/CAIRO/GAZA \u2014 Israel killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in Lebanon\u2019s capital Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanese and Palestinian security sources said, raising the potential risk of the war in Gaza spreading well beyond the Palestinian enclave.
\nMr. Arouri, 57, was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since Israel launched a shattering air and ground offensive against the group almost three months ago after its shock assault and rampage into Israeli towns.
\nLebanon\u2019s heavily armed Hezbollah group, a Hamas ally, has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel across Lebanon\u2019s southern border since the war in Gaza began in October.
\nHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel against carrying out any assassinations on Lebanese soil, vowing a \u201csevere reaction.\u201d
\nHezbollah said on Tuesday it had targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Marj with missiles, following Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing.
\nIsrael has long accused Mr. Arouri of lethal attacks on its citizens, but a Hamas official said he was also \u201cat the heart of negotiations\u201d conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages.
\nIsrael neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the killing, but its military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
\n\u201cThe most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas,\u201d he said when asked by a reporter about the reports of Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing.
\n\u2018WAITING FOR MARTYRDOM\u2019
\nIsrael had accused Mr. Arouri, a co-founder of the Hamas\u2019 military wing, the Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, of ordering and supervising Hamas attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years.
\u201cI am waiting for martyrdom (death) and I think I have lived too long,\u201d Mr. Arouri said in August 2023, alluding to Israeli threats to eliminate Hamas leaders whether in Gaza or abroad.
\nNasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the foreign ministry of Iran, a major supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, said Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing would \u201cundoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all freedom-seekers worldwide.\u201d
\nHundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah and other towns in the West Bank to condemn Arouri\u2019s killing, chanting, \u201cRevenge, revenge, Qassam!\u201d
\nIranian-backed Houthis rebels in Yeman have vowed to continue their attacks on shipping in the Rea Sea until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza, and warned that it would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted.
\nHouthi militants fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea, though no damage was reported, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late on Tuesday.
\nBritain\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Authority reported up to three explosions near a merchant vessel in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, east of Eritrea\u2019s Assab, with no reports of damage.
\nThe US has announced an international maritime task force to protect shipping through the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal, a shipping route which carries roughly one third of global container cargo.
\nAL SHIFA HOSPITAL
\nThe Gaza war was triggered by a shock cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages spirited back to Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry said 207 people had been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recorded Palestinian death toll to 22,185 in nearly three months of war in Gaza.
\nIsrael says it tries to avoid harm to civilians and blames Hamas for embedding fighters among them, an accusation Hamas denies.
\nThe Israeli targeting of Gaza City\u2019s Al Shifa hospital last November stoked global alarm over the fate of civilians and patients who were inside.
\nIsrael said Hamas used tunnels beneath the hospital as a headquarters and was using its patients as shields.
\nA US official said on Tuesday, citing declassified US intelligence, that US spy agencies assessed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had used Al Shifa to command forces and hold some hostages but largely evacuated it before Israeli troops entered.
\nIsraeli bombardments have engulfed Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million residents in a humanitarian disaster in which thousands have been left destitute and threatened by famine due to a lack of food supplies.
\nHAMAS RESPONDS TO CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL
\nShortly before Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing, Hamas\u2019 paramount leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is also based outside Gaza, said the movement had delivered its response to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.
He reiterated that Hamas\u2019 conditions entailed \u201ca complete cessation\u201d of Israel\u2019s offensive in exchange for further releases of hostages.
\nIsrael believes 129 hostages remain in Gaza after some were released during a brief truce in late November and others were killed during air strikes and rescue or escape attempts.
\nIsrael has vowed to keep fighting until it has wiped out Hamas but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave should it succeed, and where that leaves the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
\nIn Washington, the State Department denounced as \u201cinflammatory and irresponsible\u201d statements by Israeli cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
\nSuch statements underscore fears among some in the Arab world that Israel wants to drive Palestinians out of land where they envision a future state, repeating the mass dispossession of Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BEIRUT/CAIRO/GAZA \u2014 Israel killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in Lebanon\u2019s capital Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanese and Palestinian security sources said, raising the potential risk of the war in Gaza spreading well beyond the Palestinian enclave.\nMr. Arouri, 57, was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since Israel launched a shattering air and ground offensive against the group almost three months ago after its shock assault and rampage into Israeli towns.\nLebanon\u2019s heavily armed Hezbollah group, a Hamas ally, has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel across Lebanon\u2019s southern border since the war in Gaza began in October.\nHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel against carrying out any assassinations on Lebanese soil, vowing a \u201csevere reaction.\u201d\nHezbollah said on Tuesday it had targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Marj with missiles, following Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing.\nIsrael has long accused Mr. Arouri of lethal attacks on its citizens, but a Hamas official said he was also \u201cat the heart of negotiations\u201d conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages.\nIsrael neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the killing, but its military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.\n\u201cThe most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas,\u201d he said when asked by a reporter about the reports of Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing.\n\u2018WAITING FOR MARTYRDOM\u2019\nIsrael had accused Mr. Arouri, a co-founder of the Hamas\u2019 military wing, the Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, of ordering and supervising Hamas attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years.\n\u201cI am waiting for martyrdom (death) and I think I have lived too long,\u201d Mr. Arouri said in August 2023, alluding to Israeli threats to eliminate Hamas leaders whether in Gaza or abroad.\nNasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the foreign ministry of Iran, a major supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, said Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing would \u201cundoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all freedom-seekers worldwide.\u201d\nHundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of Ramallah and other towns in the West Bank to condemn Arouri\u2019s killing, chanting, \u201cRevenge, revenge, Qassam!\u201d\nIranian-backed Houthis rebels in Yeman have vowed to continue their attacks on shipping in the Rea Sea until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza, and warned that it would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted.\nHouthi militants fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea, though no damage was reported, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late on Tuesday.\nBritain\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Authority reported up to three explosions near a merchant vessel in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, east of Eritrea\u2019s Assab, with no reports of damage.\nThe US has announced an international maritime task force to protect shipping through the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal, a shipping route which carries roughly one third of global container cargo.\nAL SHIFA HOSPITAL\nThe Gaza war was triggered by a shock cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages spirited back to Gaza.\nThe Gaza health ministry said 207 people had been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recorded Palestinian death toll to 22,185 in nearly three months of war in Gaza.\nIsrael says it tries to avoid harm to civilians and blames Hamas for embedding fighters among them, an accusation Hamas denies.\nThe Israeli targeting of Gaza City\u2019s Al Shifa hospital last November stoked global alarm over the fate of civilians and patients who were inside.\nIsrael said Hamas used tunnels beneath the hospital as a headquarters and was using its patients as shields.\nA US official said on Tuesday, citing declassified US intelligence, that US spy agencies assessed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had used Al Shifa to command forces and hold some hostages but largely evacuated it before Israeli troops entered.\nIsraeli bombardments have engulfed Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million residents in a humanitarian disaster in which thousands have been left destitute and threatened by famine due to a lack of food supplies.\nHAMAS RESPONDS TO CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL\nShortly before Mr. Arouri\u2019s killing, Hamas\u2019 paramount leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is also based outside Gaza, said the movement had delivered its response to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.\nHe reiterated that Hamas\u2019 conditions entailed \u201ca complete cessation\u201d of Israel\u2019s offensive in exchange for further releases of hostages.\nIsrael believes 129 hostages remain in Gaza after some were released during a brief truce in late November and others were killed during air strikes and rescue or escape attempts.\nIsrael has vowed to keep fighting until it has wiped out Hamas but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave should it succeed, and where that leaves the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.\nIn Washington, the State Department denounced as \u201cinflammatory and irresponsible\u201d statements by Israeli cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.\nSuch statements underscore fears among some in the Arab world that Israel wants to drive Palestinians out of land where they envision a future state, repeating the mass dispossession of Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T17:20:31+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T17:23:39+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Israeli-strikes-in-Gaza.jpg", "tags": [ "Gaza", "Hamas", "Saleh al-Arouri", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566602", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566602/us-public-debt-tops-34-trln-as-congress-heads-into-funding-fight/", "title": "US public debt tops $34 trln as Congress heads into funding fight", "content_html": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0The US federal government’s total public debt has reached $34 trillion for the first time, the US Treasury Department reported on Tuesday, as members of Congress gear up for another series of federal funding battles in the coming weeks.
\nThe Daily Treasury Statement for Friday showed that the total public debt outstanding rose to $34.001 trillion from $33.911 on Thursday.
\nThe debt that counts toward the federal debt ceiling rose to $33.89 trillion on Friday from $33.794 trillion on Thursday. This “debt subject to limit” category excludes the unamortized discount on Treasury bills and zero coupon bonds, debt issued by the Federal Financing Bank and guaranteed debt of certain other agencies.
\nThe milestone comes shortly after the federal debt topped $33 trillion in September amid rising federal deficits fueled by falling tax revenues and rising federal expenditures.
\nCongress returns to Washington next week to tackle Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 deadlines for settling government spending through September, amid Republican demands to reduce fiscal 2024 discretionary spending below caps agreed in June. Lawmakers also hope to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, possibly with unrelated US border security provisions\u00a0attached.
\nFailure to approve the one-dozen fiscal 2024 spending bills would plunge Washington agencies into shutdown mode. But reaching a compromise could become more difficult with November presidential and congressional elections coming quickly into focus.
\nMaya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group, called the $34 trillion federal debt figure “a truly depressing achievement,” attributing it to political leaders’ unwillingness to make difficult fiscal choices.
\n“We remain hopeful that policymakers will take further measures to reduce our borrowing either by raising taxes, reducing spending, or creating a fiscal commission \u2013 or ideally by doing all of the above,” Ms. MacGuineas said in a statement.
\nWhite House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said the debt increases were “trickle-down debt” driven by Republican-passed tax cuts in 2017 that benefited corporations and wealthy Americans.
\n“Congressional Republicans want to double down on MAGAnomics with more than $3 trillion in giveaways skewed to the wealthy while forcing hardworking Americans to pay the price by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” Kikukawa said in a statement.
\nHe added that Mr. Biden plans to reduce US deficits by $2.5 trillion over 10 years by increasing taxes on large corporations and wealthy Americans and cutting spending on pharmaceuticals and tax breaks for oil companies. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0The US federal government’s total public debt has reached $34 trillion for the first time, the US Treasury Department reported on Tuesday, as members of Congress gear up for another series of federal funding battles in the coming weeks.\nThe Daily Treasury Statement for Friday showed that the total public debt outstanding rose to $34.001 trillion from $33.911 on Thursday.\nThe debt that counts toward the federal debt ceiling rose to $33.89 trillion on Friday from $33.794 trillion on Thursday. This “debt subject to limit” category excludes the unamortized discount on Treasury bills and zero coupon bonds, debt issued by the Federal Financing Bank and guaranteed debt of certain other agencies.\nThe milestone comes shortly after the federal debt topped $33 trillion in September amid rising federal deficits fueled by falling tax revenues and rising federal expenditures.\nCongress returns to Washington next week to tackle Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 deadlines for settling government spending through September, amid Republican demands to reduce fiscal 2024 discretionary spending below caps agreed in June. Lawmakers also hope to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, possibly with unrelated US border security provisions\u00a0attached.\nFailure to approve the one-dozen fiscal 2024 spending bills would plunge Washington agencies into shutdown mode. But reaching a compromise could become more difficult with November presidential and congressional elections coming quickly into focus.\nMaya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group, called the $34 trillion federal debt figure “a truly depressing achievement,” attributing it to political leaders’ unwillingness to make difficult fiscal choices.\n“We remain hopeful that policymakers will take further measures to reduce our borrowing either by raising taxes, reducing spending, or creating a fiscal commission \u2013 or ideally by doing all of the above,” Ms. MacGuineas said in a statement.\nWhite House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said the debt increases were “trickle-down debt” driven by Republican-passed tax cuts in 2017 that benefited corporations and wealthy Americans.\n“Congressional Republicans want to double down on MAGAnomics with more than $3 trillion in giveaways skewed to the wealthy while forcing hardworking Americans to pay the price by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” Kikukawa said in a statement.\nHe added that Mr. Biden plans to reduce US deficits by $2.5 trillion over 10 years by increasing taxes on large corporations and wealthy Americans and cutting spending on pharmaceuticals and tax breaks for oil companies. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:35:22+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:35:22+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/dollars-currency.jpg", "tags": [ "$34.001 trillion", "debt", "federal government", "Reuters", "United States", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566600", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566600/s-korea-opposition-leader-in-icu-after-knife-attack-amid-calls-for-stronger-security/", "title": "S.Korea opposition leader in ICU after knife attack amid calls for stronger security", "content_html": "SEOU\u00a0–\u00a0South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung remained hospitalized in intensive care on Wednesday, a day after a knife attack on him shocked political leaders who were vying for the upper hand in a major election three months away.
\nSurgeons operated on Mr. Lee for more than two hours late on Wednesday to repair a major blood vessel in his neck that was sliced when an assailant lunged and stabbed him with a knife.
\n“The act of terror against Chairman Lee Jae-myung was clearly a challenge against democracy and a threat against democracy,” Democratic Party floor leader Hong Ik-pyo said at a party leadership council meeting.
\nHe urged a speedy investigation and tougher security for high-profile political figures, echoing renewed questions about the safety on campaign trails in a country with a\u00a0history of political violence\u00a0despite tight restrictions on gun ownership.
\nJin Jeong-hwa, a party supporter who was a witness at the scene of the stabbing, said the incident clearly showed the need for stronger and professional security protection for political leaders, not simply police who are deployed to monitor.
\n“People like opposition leaders really need a dedicated security detail,” Mr. Jin said in an interview with Reuters. He added it was clear from his experience at political events that Lee was very much exposed to personal safety threats.
\nMr. Lee, a tough talking progressive who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, had been rallying the party to retain the parliamentary majority it holds against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservatives.
\nSouth Korea holds a pivotal election on April 10 where the conservatives will try to win back a majority for the first time since 2016 and help President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pro-business policies including tax cuts, deregulation and social reforms.
\nThe attack against Mr. Lee, which unfolded quickly but was widely captured in footage of the outdoors public event, shocked his party and his rivals alike, who condemned all violence against political figures.
\nMr. Lee was airlifted from Busan, where the attack occurred, to Seoul on Tuesday where he received surgery to reconstruct the jugular vein that pumps blood from the head back to the heart and insert a tube to support the damaged vessel.
\nHe was conscious and recovering in the intensive care unit, party officials said.
\nThe leader of the conservative People Power Party scaled back scheduled public events, and both parties urged members to refrain from comments that could inflame voters as Lee recuperates.
\nMr. Lee lost to Yoon by less than 1% point of votes, the narrowest margin, in a bitterly fought presidential election and has since faced bribery allegations stemming from a development project when he was mayor of a city near Seoul. He denies wrongdoing. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "SEOU\u00a0–\u00a0South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung remained hospitalized in intensive care on Wednesday, a day after a knife attack on him shocked political leaders who were vying for the upper hand in a major election three months away.\nSurgeons operated on Mr. Lee for more than two hours late on Wednesday to repair a major blood vessel in his neck that was sliced when an assailant lunged and stabbed him with a knife.\n“The act of terror against Chairman Lee Jae-myung was clearly a challenge against democracy and a threat against democracy,” Democratic Party floor leader Hong Ik-pyo said at a party leadership council meeting.\nHe urged a speedy investigation and tougher security for high-profile political figures, echoing renewed questions about the safety on campaign trails in a country with a\u00a0history of political violence\u00a0despite tight restrictions on gun ownership.\nJin Jeong-hwa, a party supporter who was a witness at the scene of the stabbing, said the incident clearly showed the need for stronger and professional security protection for political leaders, not simply police who are deployed to monitor.\n“People like opposition leaders really need a dedicated security detail,” Mr. Jin said in an interview with Reuters. He added it was clear from his experience at political events that Lee was very much exposed to personal safety threats.\nMr. Lee, a tough talking progressive who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, had been rallying the party to retain the parliamentary majority it holds against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservatives.\nSouth Korea holds a pivotal election on April 10 where the conservatives will try to win back a majority for the first time since 2016 and help President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pro-business policies including tax cuts, deregulation and social reforms.\nThe attack against Mr. Lee, which unfolded quickly but was widely captured in footage of the outdoors public event, shocked his party and his rivals alike, who condemned all violence against political figures.\nMr. Lee was airlifted from Busan, where the attack occurred, to Seoul on Tuesday where he received surgery to reconstruct the jugular vein that pumps blood from the head back to the heart and insert a tube to support the damaged vessel.\nHe was conscious and recovering in the intensive care unit, party officials said.\nThe leader of the conservative People Power Party scaled back scheduled public events, and both parties urged members to refrain from comments that could inflame voters as Lee recuperates.\nMr. Lee lost to Yoon by less than 1% point of votes, the narrowest margin, in a bitterly fought presidential election and has since faced bribery allegations stemming from a development project when he was mayor of a city near Seoul. He denies wrongdoing. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:33:39+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:33:39+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/South-Korea-flags.jpg", "tags": [ "democratic party", "icu", "knife attack", "Lee Jae-myung", "Reuters", "South Korea", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566597", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566597/runway-safety-concerns-in-focus-as-japan-probes-tokyo-crash/", "title": "Runway safety concerns in focus as Japan probes Tokyo crash", "content_html": "PARIS\u00a0–\u00a0Japanese investigators are preparing to probe\u00a0the collision\u00a0of two airplanes at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, weeks after the global airline industry heard fresh warnings about runway safety.
\nAll 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines\u00a0Airbus A350 escaped after a collision with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop that killed five of six crew on the smaller aircraft.
\nPeople familiar with the investigation said the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) would lead the probe with participation from agencies in France, where the airplane was built, and Britain where its two Rolls-Royce engines were manufactured.
\nExperts have cautioned it is too early to pinpoint a cause and stress most accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors.
\nBut investigators are widely expected to explore what instructions were given by controllers to the two aircraft, alongside a detailed examination of plane and\u00a0airport\u00a0systems.
\nA ministry official told reporters in Japan on Tuesday that the A350 was attempting to land normally when it collided with the Coast Guard plane, also known as a Bombardier Dash-8.
\nOne of the first tasks will be to recover black box recorders with flight data and cockpit voice recordings.
\nExperts said the location of the accident means physical evidence, radar data and witness accounts or camera footage are likely to be readily available, easing the huge forensic task.
\n“One obvious question is whether the coastguard plane was on the runway and if so why,” said Paul Hayes, director of aviation safety at UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium.
\nThe crash is the first significant accident involving the Airbus A350, Europe’s premier\u00a0twin-engined\u00a0long-haul jet, in service since 2015.
\nAnd according to preliminary 2023 data, the collision of the Coast Guard plane with a two-year-old jetliner three times its length follows one of the safest years in aviation.
\nBut it also comes after a US-based safety group warned last month about the risk of runway collisions or “incursions”.
\nThe Flight Safety Foundation called for global action to prevent a new uptick in runway incursions as skies become more congested.
\n“Despite efforts over the years to prevent incursions, they still happen,” CEO Hassan Shahidi said in a statement.
\n“The risk of runway incursions is a global concern, and the potential consequences of an incursion are severe.”
\nAlthough ground collisions involving injury or damage have become rare, their potential for loss of life is among the highest of any category and near-misses are more common.
\nA collision between two Boeing 747s in Tenerife in 1977, killing 583 people, remains aviation’s most deadly accident.
\n\n
‘TECHNOLOGY GAP’
\nThe Washington-based foundation has found that breakdowns in communication and coordination can play a role in runway crashes\u00a0or near misses.
\nBut a shortage of electronics to avoid collisions on the ground, rather than in the air where software to trigger avoidance has been available since the 1980s, is also a concern.
\n“Many of the serious incidents could have been avoided through better situational awareness technologies that can help air traffic controllers and pilots detect potential runway conflicts,” Shahidi said.
\nThe Federal Aviation Administration says some three dozen U.S. airports are fitted with a system called ASDE-X that uses radar, satellites and a navigation tool called multilateration to track ground movements.
\nBut National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said in November the U.S. aviation\u00a0network\u00a0– a bellwether for airports worldwide – lacks sufficient technology to prevent runway incursions.
\nIn 2018, Airbus said it was working with Honeywell\u00a0HON.N\u00a0on a system called SURF-A or Surface-Alert designed to help prevent runway collisions by giving pilots visual and audio warnings about approaching hazards on the runway.
\nHoneywell Aerospace Technologies expects SURF-A, which is operational on its experimental test aircraft, to be certified and available to airlines gradually over the next few years, division CEO Jim Currier said by email.
\nFar-reaching reforms of European and US air traffic networks that could accelerate the use of such computerized systems have faced chronic delays.
\nAirbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
\nSteve Creamer, a former senior director at the International Civil Aviation Organization, said preventing a landing aircraft striking a plane is among the top five global safety priorities.
\nAlthough automated landings are increasing, experts say much still depends on visual checks by pilots who may be distracted by a high workload or the blur of a night-time runway.
\n“I think the investigation will focus a lot on the clearances … and then also what the (JAL) crew could see. Could they physically see that airplane on the runway,” said former U.S. air accident investigator John Cox.
\nLighting was an issue in a 1991 collision between a USAir plane and SkyWest Airlines aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport in California, for example.
\n“One of the things that came out of that was that the USAir crew physically could not see the SkyWest Metroliner there. Although it was on the runway, the lighting was such that you \u2026 physically couldn\u2019t see it,” he said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "PARIS\u00a0–\u00a0Japanese investigators are preparing to probe\u00a0the collision\u00a0of two airplanes at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, weeks after the global airline industry heard fresh warnings about runway safety.\nAll 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines\u00a0Airbus A350 escaped after a collision with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop that killed five of six crew on the smaller aircraft.\nPeople familiar with the investigation said the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) would lead the probe with participation from agencies in France, where the airplane was built, and Britain where its two Rolls-Royce engines were manufactured.\nExperts have cautioned it is too early to pinpoint a cause and stress most accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors.\nBut investigators are widely expected to explore what instructions were given by controllers to the two aircraft, alongside a detailed examination of plane and\u00a0airport\u00a0systems.\nA ministry official told reporters in Japan on Tuesday that the A350 was attempting to land normally when it collided with the Coast Guard plane, also known as a Bombardier Dash-8.\nOne of the first tasks will be to recover black box recorders with flight data and cockpit voice recordings.\nExperts said the location of the accident means physical evidence, radar data and witness accounts or camera footage are likely to be readily available, easing the huge forensic task.\n“One obvious question is whether the coastguard plane was on the runway and if so why,” said Paul Hayes, director of aviation safety at UK-based consultancy Ascend by Cirium.\nThe crash is the first significant accident involving the Airbus A350, Europe’s premier\u00a0twin-engined\u00a0long-haul jet, in service since 2015.\nAnd according to preliminary 2023 data, the collision of the Coast Guard plane with a two-year-old jetliner three times its length follows one of the safest years in aviation.\nBut it also comes after a US-based safety group warned last month about the risk of runway collisions or “incursions”.\nThe Flight Safety Foundation called for global action to prevent a new uptick in runway incursions as skies become more congested.\n“Despite efforts over the years to prevent incursions, they still happen,” CEO Hassan Shahidi said in a statement.\n“The risk of runway incursions is a global concern, and the potential consequences of an incursion are severe.”\nAlthough ground collisions involving injury or damage have become rare, their potential for loss of life is among the highest of any category and near-misses are more common.\nA collision between two Boeing 747s in Tenerife in 1977, killing 583 people, remains aviation’s most deadly accident.\n \n‘TECHNOLOGY GAP’\nThe Washington-based foundation has found that breakdowns in communication and coordination can play a role in runway crashes\u00a0or near misses.\nBut a shortage of electronics to avoid collisions on the ground, rather than in the air where software to trigger avoidance has been available since the 1980s, is also a concern.\n“Many of the serious incidents could have been avoided through better situational awareness technologies that can help air traffic controllers and pilots detect potential runway conflicts,” Shahidi said.\nThe Federal Aviation Administration says some three dozen U.S. airports are fitted with a system called ASDE-X that uses radar, satellites and a navigation tool called multilateration to track ground movements.\nBut National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said in November the U.S. aviation\u00a0network\u00a0– a bellwether for airports worldwide – lacks sufficient technology to prevent runway incursions.\nIn 2018, Airbus said it was working with Honeywell\u00a0HON.N\u00a0on a system called SURF-A or Surface-Alert designed to help prevent runway collisions by giving pilots visual and audio warnings about approaching hazards on the runway.\nHoneywell Aerospace Technologies expects SURF-A, which is operational on its experimental test aircraft, to be certified and available to airlines gradually over the next few years, division CEO Jim Currier said by email.\nFar-reaching reforms of European and US air traffic networks that could accelerate the use of such computerized systems have faced chronic delays.\nAirbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\nSteve Creamer, a former senior director at the International Civil Aviation Organization, said preventing a landing aircraft striking a plane is among the top five global safety priorities.\nAlthough automated landings are increasing, experts say much still depends on visual checks by pilots who may be distracted by a high workload or the blur of a night-time runway.\n“I think the investigation will focus a lot on the clearances … and then also what the (JAL) crew could see. Could they physically see that airplane on the runway,” said former U.S. air accident investigator John Cox.\nLighting was an issue in a 1991 collision between a USAir plane and SkyWest Airlines aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport in California, for example.\n“One of the things that came out of that was that the USAir crew physically could not see the SkyWest Metroliner there. Although it was on the runway, the lighting was such that you \u2026 physically couldn\u2019t see it,” he said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:30:38+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:30:38+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/jet-437741_1280.jpg", "tags": [ "airlines", "collision", "Japan", "Reuters", "runway", "technology", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566595", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566595/singapores-clandestine-cats-can-soon-legally-call-the-city-state-home/", "title": "Singapore\u2019s clandestine cats can soon legally call the city-state home", "content_html": "SINGAPORE\u00a0–\u00a0Sunny prides herself on being a law-abiding Singaporean citizen, but for the last three years, she’s been hiding a feline fugitive called Mooncake.
\nThe fluffy ragdoll lives with Sunny in defiance of a 34-year-old law banning cats in the government-built apartments that house the vast majority of Singaporeans. Luckily for Mooncake, Singapore plans to scrap the ban later this year, freeing Sunny from the threat of a S$4,000 ($3,007) fine or her pet’s potential eviction.
\n“Cats are so much quieter than dogs. If they allow dogs, I don’t understand why not cats,” said 30-year-old Sunny, who works in marketing and asked to be identified only by her first name because she didn’t want to risk her cat being taken away.
\nAuthorities rarely enforce the ban, which only applies to the high-rise Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartment blocks where 80% of 3.6 million Singaporeans live, and it has long been flouted by countless cat lovers.
\nThe ban does, however, make things difficult: because they technically shouldn’t exist, HDB pet cats like Mooncake are not eligible for pet insurance. Lawmaker Louis Ng, who has campaigned to revoke the ban, said the regulation sometimes becomes leverage for warring neighbors.
\n“A lot of times, the cats are collateral when there’s neighborly disputes,” he said. “The neighbor will just say: ‘Oh you’re keeping cats, I’ll go and alert (the authorities)’.”
\n\n
“CATERWAULING”
\nSingapore’s ban on cats in HDB housing is yet another example of the city-state’s infamously exacting rules-based culture, in which, for example, the sale and import of chewing gum remains banned.
\nEstablished in 1960, the\u00a0HDB scheme\u00a0sells government-built units directly to qualified citizens on 99-year leases. It has led to one of the world’s highest home-ownership rates, but residents are subject to many restrictions and regulations.
\nCats were allowed in HDB flats until parliament amended the housing law in 1989. On its website, the HDB justifies the ban by saying that cats are “difficult to contain within the flat … they tend to shed fur and defecate or urinate in public areas, and also make caterwauling sounds, which can inconvenience your neighbors”.
\nIt’s not clear what made the Singapore government change its mind, but the tipping point appears to be an official survey in 2022 that showed 9 out of 10 respondents agreed that cats were suitable pets to keep, including in HDB flats.
\nThe authorities are now surveying members of the public on the “proposed cat management framework” which should come into place later in 2024.
\nDogs have not been subject to a similar ban, but they are limited to one per household and only certain breeds and sizes can be kept as pets: ‘yes’ to miniature poodles, ‘no’ to golden retrievers, for example.
\nMarket research firm Euromonitor International has predicted a surge in cat ownership. In a report on prospects for cat food companies, it estimated Singapore’s current pet population at around 94,000 cats and 113,000 dogs.
\nLawmaker Ng, who ran an animal welfare group before joining parliament in 2015, also hopes the change will lead more people to adopt rescued cats.
\nUnder the new framework, HDB residents would be limited to two cats. It also mandates licensing and microchipping cats, as well as installing mesh screens on windows so cats don’t fall out.
\nSome cat lovers say the new regulations don’t go far enough.
\nThenuga Vijakumar from the Cat Welfare Society wants the law to mandate sterilization. Cat rescuer Chan Chow Wah, 50, also wants penalties for irresponsible owners. He said he had to take care of a cat that fell from the third-story and whose owners refused to pay its medical bills, as well as another cat that was abandoned after being diagnosed with heart disease.
\n“I end up taking over these cases. Basically, I look after them until they pass away,” said Chan, estimating he spent S$60,000 ($45,100) on vet bills in 2022.
\nBut for many cat owners like Mooncake’s “mama” Sunny, the law is a blessing that will bring her peace of mind.
\n“I think it’s a good thing and it’s a step forward after 30 years,” she said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "SINGAPORE\u00a0–\u00a0Sunny prides herself on being a law-abiding Singaporean citizen, but for the last three years, she’s been hiding a feline fugitive called Mooncake.\nThe fluffy ragdoll lives with Sunny in defiance of a 34-year-old law banning cats in the government-built apartments that house the vast majority of Singaporeans. Luckily for Mooncake, Singapore plans to scrap the ban later this year, freeing Sunny from the threat of a S$4,000 ($3,007) fine or her pet’s potential eviction.\n“Cats are so much quieter than dogs. If they allow dogs, I don’t understand why not cats,” said 30-year-old Sunny, who works in marketing and asked to be identified only by her first name because she didn’t want to risk her cat being taken away.\nAuthorities rarely enforce the ban, which only applies to the high-rise Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartment blocks where 80% of 3.6 million Singaporeans live, and it has long been flouted by countless cat lovers.\nThe ban does, however, make things difficult: because they technically shouldn’t exist, HDB pet cats like Mooncake are not eligible for pet insurance. Lawmaker Louis Ng, who has campaigned to revoke the ban, said the regulation sometimes becomes leverage for warring neighbors.\n“A lot of times, the cats are collateral when there’s neighborly disputes,” he said. “The neighbor will just say: ‘Oh you’re keeping cats, I’ll go and alert (the authorities)’.”\n \n“CATERWAULING”\nSingapore’s ban on cats in HDB housing is yet another example of the city-state’s infamously exacting rules-based culture, in which, for example, the sale and import of chewing gum remains banned.\nEstablished in 1960, the\u00a0HDB scheme\u00a0sells government-built units directly to qualified citizens on 99-year leases. It has led to one of the world’s highest home-ownership rates, but residents are subject to many restrictions and regulations.\nCats were allowed in HDB flats until parliament amended the housing law in 1989. On its website, the HDB justifies the ban by saying that cats are “difficult to contain within the flat … they tend to shed fur and defecate or urinate in public areas, and also make caterwauling sounds, which can inconvenience your neighbors”.\nIt’s not clear what made the Singapore government change its mind, but the tipping point appears to be an official survey in 2022 that showed 9 out of 10 respondents agreed that cats were suitable pets to keep, including in HDB flats.\nThe authorities are now surveying members of the public on the “proposed cat management framework” which should come into place later in 2024.\nDogs have not been subject to a similar ban, but they are limited to one per household and only certain breeds and sizes can be kept as pets: ‘yes’ to miniature poodles, ‘no’ to golden retrievers, for example.\nMarket research firm Euromonitor International has predicted a surge in cat ownership. In a report on prospects for cat food companies, it estimated Singapore’s current pet population at around 94,000 cats and 113,000 dogs.\nLawmaker Ng, who ran an animal welfare group before joining parliament in 2015, also hopes the change will lead more people to adopt rescued cats.\nUnder the new framework, HDB residents would be limited to two cats. It also mandates licensing and microchipping cats, as well as installing mesh screens on windows so cats don’t fall out.\nSome cat lovers say the new regulations don’t go far enough.\nThenuga Vijakumar from the Cat Welfare Society wants the law to mandate sterilization. Cat rescuer Chan Chow Wah, 50, also wants penalties for irresponsible owners. He said he had to take care of a cat that fell from the third-story and whose owners refused to pay its medical bills, as well as another cat that was abandoned after being diagnosed with heart disease.\n“I end up taking over these cases. Basically, I look after them until they pass away,” said Chan, estimating he spent S$60,000 ($45,100) on vet bills in 2022.\nBut for many cat owners like Mooncake’s “mama” Sunny, the law is a blessing that will bring her peace of mind.\n“I think it’s a good thing and it’s a step forward after 30 years,” she said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:25:10+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:25:10+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cat.jpg", "tags": [ "apartments", "ban", "cats", "government built", "Reuters", "Singapore", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566593", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/health/2024/01/03/566593/record-breaking-doctors-strike-to-pile-pressure-on-health-service-in-england/", "title": "Record-breaking doctors\u2019 strike to pile pressure on health service in England", "content_html": "LONDON\u00a0–\u00a0Junior doctors in England will begin a six-day walkout on Wednesday, the longest strike in the state-run National Health Service’s (NHS) 75-year history which is set to hit patient care during its\u00a0seasonal winter peak in demand.
\nLike in other\u00a0key sectors\u00a0over the past year, junior doctors represented by the\u00a0British Medical Association (BMA) have staged\u00a0a series of walkouts\u00a0in demand of better pay in the face of soaring inflation.
\nCumulatively, the NHS, which has provided healthcare free at the point of use since it was founded in 1948, cancelled 1.2 million appointments in 2023 due to strikes.
\nThe BMA abandoned talks with the government after being offered a pay rise of 8-10%, and held strikes on Dec. 20-23. The union is seeking a 35% improvement which it says is needed to cover the impact of inflation over several years.
\nThe government, which has agreed new pay deals with other healthcare workers, including nurses and senior doctors in recent months,\u00a0has resisted hikes it says would worsen inflation.
\nThe strikes threaten to increase the pressure on the health service where over 7.7 million patients are on waiting lists for procedures and appointments.
\n“This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced,” NHS National Medical Director Stephen Powis said\u00a0in a statement.
\n“The action will not only have an enormous impact on planned care, but comes on top of a host of seasonal pressures such as covid, flu, and staff absences due to sickness.”
\nJunior doctors are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent a large part of the country’s medical community.
\nA spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said deals with other healthcare workers’ unions showed that the striking junior doctors were “outliers”.
\n“We have sought to come to a fair resolution – fair for the taxpayer, fair for hardworking doctors and health workers. We have achieved that in the majority of cases … we are willing to have further discussions. But obviously the first thing to do is to stop striking,” he told reporters.
\nThe BMA said a record waiting list and underinvestment over the past decade had undermined the NHS.
\n“As a profession we are exhausted, disenchanted, and questioning whether we want to stay in the health service at all. Add to this years of pay erosion, and it\u2019s no wonder that morale on the frontline has never been lower,” the union said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "LONDON\u00a0–\u00a0Junior doctors in England will begin a six-day walkout on Wednesday, the longest strike in the state-run National Health Service’s (NHS) 75-year history which is set to hit patient care during its\u00a0seasonal winter peak in demand.\nLike in other\u00a0key sectors\u00a0over the past year, junior doctors represented by the\u00a0British Medical Association (BMA) have staged\u00a0a series of walkouts\u00a0in demand of better pay in the face of soaring inflation.\nCumulatively, the NHS, which has provided healthcare free at the point of use since it was founded in 1948, cancelled 1.2 million appointments in 2023 due to strikes.\nThe BMA abandoned talks with the government after being offered a pay rise of 8-10%, and held strikes on Dec. 20-23. The union is seeking a 35% improvement which it says is needed to cover the impact of inflation over several years.\nThe government, which has agreed new pay deals with other healthcare workers, including nurses and senior doctors in recent months,\u00a0has resisted hikes it says would worsen inflation.\nThe strikes threaten to increase the pressure on the health service where over 7.7 million patients are on waiting lists for procedures and appointments.\n“This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced,” NHS National Medical Director Stephen Powis said\u00a0in a statement.\n“The action will not only have an enormous impact on planned care, but comes on top of a host of seasonal pressures such as covid, flu, and staff absences due to sickness.”\nJunior doctors are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent a large part of the country’s medical community.\nA spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said deals with other healthcare workers’ unions showed that the striking junior doctors were “outliers”.\n“We have sought to come to a fair resolution – fair for the taxpayer, fair for hardworking doctors and health workers. We have achieved that in the majority of cases … we are willing to have further discussions. But obviously the first thing to do is to stop striking,” he told reporters.\nThe BMA said a record waiting list and underinvestment over the past decade had undermined the NHS.\n“As a profession we are exhausted, disenchanted, and questioning whether we want to stay in the health service at all. Add to this years of pay erosion, and it\u2019s no wonder that morale on the frontline has never been lower,” the union said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:17:16+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:17:16+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/doctor-is-going-examine-his-patient.jpg", "tags": [ "doctors", "england", "health services", "Reuters", "strike", "Health", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566584", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/health/2024/01/03/566584/texas-can-ban-emergency-abortions-despite-federal-guidance-court-rules/", "title": "Texas can ban emergency abortions despite federal guidance, court rules", "content_html": "The US government cannot enforce federal guidance in Texas requiring emergency room doctors to perform abortions if necessary to stabilize emergency room patients, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, siding with the state in a lawsuit accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of overstepping its authority.
\nThe ruling by a unanimous panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals comes amid a wave of lawsuits\u00a0focusing on when abortions can be provided in states whose abortion bans have exceptions for medical emergencies.
\nThe US Department of Justice declined to comment. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two anti-abortion medical associations that challenged the guidance – the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
\nThe Biden administration in July 2022 issued guidance stating that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law governing emergency rooms, can require abortion when necessary to stabilize a patient with a medical emergency, even in states where it is banned. The guidance came soon after the U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which since 1973 had guaranteed a right to abortion nationwide.
\nTexas and the associations immediately sued the administration, saying the guidance interfered with the state’s right to restrict abortion. A lower court judge in August 2022\u00a0agreed, finding that EMTALA was silent as to what a doctor should do when there is a conflict between the health of the mother and the unborn child and that the Texas abortion ban “fills that void” by including narrow exceptions to save the mother’s life or prevent serious bodily injury in some cases.
\nCircuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt, writing for the 5th Circuit panel, agreed, writing that EMTALA also includes a requirement to deliver an unborn child and it was up to doctors to balance the medical needs of the mother and fetus, while complying with any state abortion laws.
\nThe law “does not provide an unqualified right for the pregnant mother to abort her child,” he wrote.
\nThe ruling upheld a lower court order that blocked enforcement of the guidance in Texas and also blocked the administration from enforcing it against members of two anti-abortion medical associations anywhere in the country.
\nThe federal court’s decision comes a month after Texas’s highest state court\u00a0ruled against\u00a0a woman seeking an emergency abortion of her non-viable pregnancy. That court\u00a0is currently considering\u00a0a separate lawsuit by 22 women about the scope of the emergency medical exception to Texas’s abortion ban.
\nA federal judge last year reached the opposite conclusion in a similar lawsuit in Idaho, blocking that state’s abortion ban after finding it conflicted with EMTALA. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear the state’s appeal of that ruling later this month. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "The US government cannot enforce federal guidance in Texas requiring emergency room doctors to perform abortions if necessary to stabilize emergency room patients, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, siding with the state in a lawsuit accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of overstepping its authority.\nThe ruling by a unanimous panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals comes amid a wave of lawsuits\u00a0focusing on when abortions can be provided in states whose abortion bans have exceptions for medical emergencies.\nThe US Department of Justice declined to comment. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two anti-abortion medical associations that challenged the guidance – the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\nThe Biden administration in July 2022 issued guidance stating that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law governing emergency rooms, can require abortion when necessary to stabilize a patient with a medical emergency, even in states where it is banned. The guidance came soon after the U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which since 1973 had guaranteed a right to abortion nationwide.\nTexas and the associations immediately sued the administration, saying the guidance interfered with the state’s right to restrict abortion. A lower court judge in August 2022\u00a0agreed, finding that EMTALA was silent as to what a doctor should do when there is a conflict between the health of the mother and the unborn child and that the Texas abortion ban “fills that void” by including narrow exceptions to save the mother’s life or prevent serious bodily injury in some cases.\nCircuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt, writing for the 5th Circuit panel, agreed, writing that EMTALA also includes a requirement to deliver an unborn child and it was up to doctors to balance the medical needs of the mother and fetus, while complying with any state abortion laws.\nThe law “does not provide an unqualified right for the pregnant mother to abort her child,” he wrote.\nThe ruling upheld a lower court order that blocked enforcement of the guidance in Texas and also blocked the administration from enforcing it against members of two anti-abortion medical associations anywhere in the country.\nThe federal court’s decision comes a month after Texas’s highest state court\u00a0ruled against\u00a0a woman seeking an emergency abortion of her non-viable pregnancy. That court\u00a0is currently considering\u00a0a separate lawsuit by 22 women about the scope of the emergency medical exception to Texas’s abortion ban.\nA federal judge last year reached the opposite conclusion in a similar lawsuit in Idaho, blocking that state’s abortion ban after finding it conflicted with EMTALA. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear the state’s appeal of that ruling later this month. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T11:15:53+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T11:15:53+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pregnant-woman.jpg", "tags": [ "america", "court rule", "emergency abortion", "texas", "United States", "Health", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566578", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566578/imfs-georgieva-says-americans-should-cheer-up-about-falling-inflation-cnn/", "title": "IMF\u2019s Georgieva says Americans should \u2018cheer up\u2019 about falling inflation -CNN", "content_html": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Americans should “cheer up” about the US economy, as inflation subsides further in 2024 amid a strong job market and moderating interest rates.
\nMs. Georgieva told CNN in an interview that aired on Tuesday that the US economy is “definitely” headed for a “soft landing” with fairly strong growth prospects.
\n“People should be feeling good about the economy because they finally would see relief in terms of prices,” Georgieva said, praising the Federal Reserve’s “decisiveness” in raising interest rates to fight inflation.
\n“While that has been painful, especially for small businesses, it has brought the desired impact without pushing the economy into recession,” Georgieva added.
\nAsked why many polls show Americans pessimistic about the economy, the IMF chief said that consumers had become accustomed to low inflation and very low interest rates for many years, and when both jumped in recent years, it was a shock.
\n“My message to everyone is, you have a job and interest rates are going to moderate this year because inflation is going down. Cheer up. It is a new year, people,” Ms. Georgieva said.
\nMs. Georgieva repeated her warnings against fragmentation of the global economy along geopolitical lines due to increasing national security restrictions, with countries gravitating towards separate blocs led by the United States and China.
\nAllowed to continue, she said this could ultimately reduce Global GDP by 7% – roughly equal to the annual out put of France and Germany,” and urged Washington and Beijing to compete on a rational basis, while cooperate on globally important issues.
\n“So we are all better off to find ways to reduce frictions, to concentrate on security concerns that are real and meaningful, and not go willy-nilly in fragmenting the world economy. We would end up with a smaller pie,” Ms. Georgieva said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Americans should “cheer up” about the US economy, as inflation subsides further in 2024 amid a strong job market and moderating interest rates.\nMs. Georgieva told CNN in an interview that aired on Tuesday that the US economy is “definitely” headed for a “soft landing” with fairly strong growth prospects.\n“People should be feeling good about the economy because they finally would see relief in terms of prices,” Georgieva said, praising the Federal Reserve’s “decisiveness” in raising interest rates to fight inflation.\n“While that has been painful, especially for small businesses, it has brought the desired impact without pushing the economy into recession,” Georgieva added.\nAsked why many polls show Americans pessimistic about the economy, the IMF chief said that consumers had become accustomed to low inflation and very low interest rates for many years, and when both jumped in recent years, it was a shock.\n“My message to everyone is, you have a job and interest rates are going to moderate this year because inflation is going down. Cheer up. It is a new year, people,” Ms. Georgieva said.\nMs. Georgieva repeated her warnings against fragmentation of the global economy along geopolitical lines due to increasing national security restrictions, with countries gravitating towards separate blocs led by the United States and China.\nAllowed to continue, she said this could ultimately reduce Global GDP by 7% – roughly equal to the annual out put of France and Germany,” and urged Washington and Beijing to compete on a rational basis, while cooperate on globally important issues.\n“So we are all better off to find ways to reduce frictions, to concentrate on security concerns that are real and meaningful, and not go willy-nilly in fragmenting the world economy. We would end up with a smaller pie,” Ms. Georgieva said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T10:54:49+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T10:54:49+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMF-Kristalina-Georgieva.jpg", "tags": [ "america", "falling inflation", "IMF", "Kristalina Georgieva", "Reuters", "United States", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566575", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/technology/2024/01/03/566575/us-charges-ex-fintech-ceo-with-fraud/", "title": "US charges ex-fintech CEO who tried to buy Sheffield United with fraud", "content_html": "NEW YORK\u00a0–\u00a0US prosecutors in Manhattan unveiled criminal charges against a Nigerian fintech businessman who recently bid unsuccessfully for an English Premier League soccer club, saying he lied to investors about the finances of his companies.
\nOdogwu Banye Mmobuosi, the former co-chief executive officer of Tingo Group, was charged with securities fraud, making false US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and conspiracy in an indictment made public on Tuesday.
\nProsecutors said the defendant, known as Dozy, falsely represented that his Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods were profitable businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.
\nMmobuosi sold the businesses to Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, caused them to falsely portray his businesses as “cash-rich, revenue-generating companies,” and looted millions of dollars by misappropriating cash and selling stock at inflated prices, the indictment said.
\nA lawyer for Mr. Mmobuosi could not immediately be identified. Tingo Group, based in Montvale, New Jersey, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The alleged scheme occurred from 2019 to 2023, prosecutors said.
\nMr. Mmobuosi temporarily\u00a0stepped down\u00a0as Tingo Group’s co-CEO last month, after the SEC filed\u00a0civil charges\u00a0accusing him of orchestrating a “staggering” fraud.
\nThe SEC said Mr. Mmobuosi siphoned at least $16 million from Tingo Group and used it to buy luxury cars and travel on private jets, and try to buy the Sheffield United soccer team.
\nAccording to the SEC complaint, Tingo Mobile purportedly supplies mobile handsets and related services to farmers in Nigeria, while Tingo Foods is a purported food processor.
\nTingo Group is a defendant in the SEC case, and has said it intended to vigorously defend itself.
\nThe indictment was made public nearly seven months after the short-seller Hindenburg Research\u00a0accused Tingo Group of having “fabricated” its financials, and challenged Mr. Mmobuosi’s claim to have developed Nigeria’s first mobile payment app.
\nThe case is US v. Mmobuosi, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-cr-00601. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "NEW YORK\u00a0–\u00a0US prosecutors in Manhattan unveiled criminal charges against a Nigerian fintech businessman who recently bid unsuccessfully for an English Premier League soccer club, saying he lied to investors about the finances of his companies.\nOdogwu Banye Mmobuosi, the former co-chief executive officer of Tingo Group, was charged with securities fraud, making false US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and conspiracy in an indictment made public on Tuesday.\nProsecutors said the defendant, known as Dozy, falsely represented that his Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods were profitable businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.\nMmobuosi sold the businesses to Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, caused them to falsely portray his businesses as “cash-rich, revenue-generating companies,” and looted millions of dollars by misappropriating cash and selling stock at inflated prices, the indictment said.\nA lawyer for Mr. Mmobuosi could not immediately be identified. Tingo Group, based in Montvale, New Jersey, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The alleged scheme occurred from 2019 to 2023, prosecutors said.\nMr. Mmobuosi temporarily\u00a0stepped down\u00a0as Tingo Group’s co-CEO last month, after the SEC filed\u00a0civil charges\u00a0accusing him of orchestrating a “staggering” fraud.\nThe SEC said Mr. Mmobuosi siphoned at least $16 million from Tingo Group and used it to buy luxury cars and travel on private jets, and try to buy the Sheffield United soccer team.\nAccording to the SEC complaint, Tingo Mobile purportedly supplies mobile handsets and related services to farmers in Nigeria, while Tingo Foods is a purported food processor.\nTingo Group is a defendant in the SEC case, and has said it intended to vigorously defend itself.\nThe indictment was made public nearly seven months after the short-seller Hindenburg Research\u00a0accused Tingo Group of having “fabricated” its financials, and challenged Mr. Mmobuosi’s claim to have developed Nigeria’s first mobile payment app.\nThe case is US v. Mmobuosi, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-cr-00601. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T10:53:00+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T10:58:26+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/technology-default.jpg", "tags": [ "fintech", "odgwu banye mmobuosi", "Reuters", "tingo group", "Technology", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566572", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/health/2024/01/03/566572/us-fda-approvals-bounce-back-in-2023-sparking-hopes-of-a-biotech-recovery/", "title": "US FDA approvals bounce back in 2023, sparking hopes of a biotech recovery", "content_html": "The US Food and Drug Administration approved nearly 50% more novel drugs in 2023 than in 2022, putting it back on pace with historical levels, an improvement analysts and investors said could lead to increased investment in biotech firms.
\nFDA nods for innovative therapies containing an active ingredient or molecule not previously approved, rose to 55 in 2023, up from 37 in 2022 and 51 in 2021. Historical data shows the FDA typically green lights about 45-50 new drugs a year and hit a peak of 59 in 2018.
\nThe agency approved several high-profile therapies such as Eli Lilly’s\u00a0obesity drug Zepbound and Eisai\u00a04523.T and Biogen’s\u00a0Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi. It also approved five gene therapies in addition to the 55 novel drugs, including a sickle cell disease treatment from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics\u00a0using the latter’s innovative gene editing technology.
\n“It is good to see the FDA approvals go up,” said John Stanford, executive director of Incubate, a Washington-based group of life sciences investors. He called the advance of gene editing technology particularly encouraging.
\n“Our scientists can do a lot more, and from that perspective we are excited about what’s coming down the pipeline, not just in 2024, but beyond that,” he said.
\nThe FDA in a statement said, “the number of novel drugs approved varies from year to year, and may be due to a variety of factors.” Those include the complexity of new drugs in development as well as advances in scientific understanding of diseases and disease targets, it said.
\nThe agency did not provide a specific reason for the big drop in approvals in 2022.
\nTD Cowen analyst Ritu Baral said the COVID-19 pandemic was likely a factor. When the pandemic hit, the agency moved from approving drugs at record pace to operating with a remote workforce, which caused disruption and issues such as delayed inspections that affected drug reviews.
\n“We’re back at those peak levels, which hopefully means that the workflow disruptions, staffing and bandwidth issues and, most importantly, communications with developers, have hopefully been improving, Baral said, adding that she expects a similar level of FDA approvals in 2024.
\n\n
INVESTMENT DECLINES
\nInvestment in biotech companies over the past two years has been a fraction of historical levels.
\nAfter 108 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2021, there were only 18 each in 2022 and in 2023 as of mid-December. A basket of biotech-focused funds tracked by Piper Sandler saw $15.8 billion in capital outflow in 2023, the largest ever going back to 1992, according to the brokerage.
\n“2023 has been a year where the market was selective in the companies able to access capital,” William Blair analysts said in a December note.
\nThey noted that companies developing GLP-1 weight-loss treatments, the same class as Novo Nordisk’s\u00a0NOVOb.DE\u00a0wildly popular Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound, have had better access to the IPO market.
\nIndustry analysts also said lingering investor concern about high interest rates and government scrutiny of drugmakers could hamper a full funding recovery.
\n“While we don’t expect capital markets to return to peak 2020-21, we do think that conditions will improve and that the window will open up,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said.
\nIncubate’s Stanford said some investors may remain on the sidelines due to increased oversight of deals in the sector, the government’s drug price negotiation plans and the threat that the Biden administration is looking to seize patents of medicines developed with government funding if the prices are deemed to be too high. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "The US Food and Drug Administration approved nearly 50% more novel drugs in 2023 than in 2022, putting it back on pace with historical levels, an improvement analysts and investors said could lead to increased investment in biotech firms.\nFDA nods for innovative therapies containing an active ingredient or molecule not previously approved, rose to 55 in 2023, up from 37 in 2022 and 51 in 2021. Historical data shows the FDA typically green lights about 45-50 new drugs a year and hit a peak of 59 in 2018.\nThe agency approved several high-profile therapies such as Eli Lilly’s\u00a0obesity drug Zepbound and Eisai\u00a04523.T and Biogen’s\u00a0Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi. It also approved five gene therapies in addition to the 55 novel drugs, including a sickle cell disease treatment from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics\u00a0using the latter’s innovative gene editing technology.\n“It is good to see the FDA approvals go up,” said John Stanford, executive director of Incubate, a Washington-based group of life sciences investors. He called the advance of gene editing technology particularly encouraging.\n“Our scientists can do a lot more, and from that perspective we are excited about what’s coming down the pipeline, not just in 2024, but beyond that,” he said.\nThe FDA in a statement said, “the number of novel drugs approved varies from year to year, and may be due to a variety of factors.” Those include the complexity of new drugs in development as well as advances in scientific understanding of diseases and disease targets, it said.\nThe agency did not provide a specific reason for the big drop in approvals in 2022.\nTD Cowen analyst Ritu Baral said the COVID-19 pandemic was likely a factor. When the pandemic hit, the agency moved from approving drugs at record pace to operating with a remote workforce, which caused disruption and issues such as delayed inspections that affected drug reviews.\n“We’re back at those peak levels, which hopefully means that the workflow disruptions, staffing and bandwidth issues and, most importantly, communications with developers, have hopefully been improving, Baral said, adding that she expects a similar level of FDA approvals in 2024.\n \nINVESTMENT DECLINES\nInvestment in biotech companies over the past two years has been a fraction of historical levels.\nAfter 108 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2021, there were only 18 each in 2022 and in 2023 as of mid-December. A basket of biotech-focused funds tracked by Piper Sandler saw $15.8 billion in capital outflow in 2023, the largest ever going back to 1992, according to the brokerage.\n“2023 has been a year where the market was selective in the companies able to access capital,” William Blair analysts said in a December note.\nThey noted that companies developing GLP-1 weight-loss treatments, the same class as Novo Nordisk’s\u00a0NOVOb.DE\u00a0wildly popular Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound, have had better access to the IPO market.\nIndustry analysts also said lingering investor concern about high interest rates and government scrutiny of drugmakers could hamper a full funding recovery.\n“While we don’t expect capital markets to return to peak 2020-21, we do think that conditions will improve and that the window will open up,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said.\nIncubate’s Stanford said some investors may remain on the sidelines due to increased oversight of deals in the sector, the government’s drug price negotiation plans and the threat that the Biden administration is looking to seize patents of medicines developed with government funding if the prices are deemed to be too high. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T10:49:27+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T10:49:27+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/medicines-pills.jpg", "tags": [ "america", "approvals", "FDA", "medicine", "Reuters", "United States", "Health", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566569", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566569/airlines-urge-us-to-do-more-to-address-flight-delays/", "title": "Airlines urge US to do more to address flight delays", "content_html": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0A group representing major passenger airlines on Friday urged US transportation officials to do more to address the impact of private planes and air traffic controller staffing shortages on holiday flight delays and cancellations.
\nAirlines for America, a group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines\u00a0and others, urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Whitaker to “take all possible actions to find the appropriate balance between commercial and private aviation traffic with the goal of minimizing delays and cancellations for the traveling public.”
\nThe group in a letter also urged “all possible steps be taken to avert additional staffing triggers, particularly in high volume centers” for air traffic control.
\nThe FAA said airlines, general aviation and others “have a seat at the Command Center, where the FAA monitors the airspace 24/7 and gives updates every two hours.”
\nThe FAA said “as air travel continues to rebound, the agency is taking immediate action to recruit, train and hire more air traffic controllers” but has acknowledged it is still about\u00a03,000 controllers below optimal levels.
\nPreliminary data from December 20\u201427 show 77% of delays have been due to volume, 19.1% to weather, and 0.9% due to FAA staffing, the agency said.
\nThe National Business Aviation Association said independent studies previously have shown flights by mostly small, non-airline general aviation planes “are not a significant causal factor in aviation-system delays” and added “delays are most often caused by weather and the practices of the airlines themselves.”
\nButtigieg said this month the U.S. is on pace to have the lowest number of flight cancellations in five years. He and Whitaker have prioritized boosting air traffic control staffing.
\nThe FAA in September extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2024, citing staffing shortages. New York Terminal Radar Approach Control staffing is just at 54% of recommended levels.
\nIn June, a government watchdog report said critical air traffic facilities face significant staffing challenges, posing risks to air traffic operations. At many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover the shortage.
\nWhitaker\u00a0last week said he was naming a panel led by a former safety board official to address air traffic controller fatigue after a series of near-miss incidents. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WASHINGTON\u00a0–\u00a0A group representing major passenger airlines on Friday urged US transportation officials to do more to address the impact of private planes and air traffic controller staffing shortages on holiday flight delays and cancellations.\nAirlines for America, a group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines\u00a0and others, urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michael Whitaker to “take all possible actions to find the appropriate balance between commercial and private aviation traffic with the goal of minimizing delays and cancellations for the traveling public.”\nThe group in a letter also urged “all possible steps be taken to avert additional staffing triggers, particularly in high volume centers” for air traffic control.\nThe FAA said airlines, general aviation and others “have a seat at the Command Center, where the FAA monitors the airspace 24/7 and gives updates every two hours.”\nThe FAA said “as air travel continues to rebound, the agency is taking immediate action to recruit, train and hire more air traffic controllers” but has acknowledged it is still about\u00a03,000 controllers below optimal levels.\nPreliminary data from December 20\u201427 show 77% of delays have been due to volume, 19.1% to weather, and 0.9% due to FAA staffing, the agency said.\nThe National Business Aviation Association said independent studies previously have shown flights by mostly small, non-airline general aviation planes “are not a significant causal factor in aviation-system delays” and added “delays are most often caused by weather and the practices of the airlines themselves.”\nButtigieg said this month the U.S. is on pace to have the lowest number of flight cancellations in five years. He and Whitaker have prioritized boosting air traffic control staffing.\nThe FAA in September extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2024, citing staffing shortages. New York Terminal Radar Approach Control staffing is just at 54% of recommended levels.\nIn June, a government watchdog report said critical air traffic facilities face significant staffing challenges, posing risks to air traffic operations. At many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover the shortage.\nWhitaker\u00a0last week said he was naming a panel led by a former safety board official to address air traffic controller fatigue after a series of near-miss incidents. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T10:47:00+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T10:47:00+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/touris-travel-airport.jpg", "tags": [ "airlines", "airports", "flight delays", "Reuters", "United States", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566566", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/03/566566/five-dead-after-jal-airliner-crashes-into-quake-aid-plane-at-tokyo-airport/", "title": "Five dead after JAL airliner crashes into quake aid plane at Tokyo airport", "content_html": "TOKYO\u00a0–\u00a0All 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane escaped the burning airliner after a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport that killed five of six crew on the smaller craft on Tuesday.
\nLive footage on public broadcaster NHK showed the JAL Airbus\u00a0A350 airliner burst into flames as it skidded down the tarmac shortly before 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).
\nVideo and images shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the plane’s smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac after escaping via an evacuation slide.
\nAt one point a child’s voice can be heard shouting: “Let us get out quickly! Let us get out quickly!”
\nAll 367 passengers and 12 crew were evacuated from the\u00a0blazing airliner,\u00a0but the fire was not extinguished until shortly after midnight, after burning for more than six hours, broadcaster TBS reported citing the fire department.
\n“I was wondering what happened and then I felt the airplane tilted to the side at the runway and felt a big bump,” said Satoshi Yamake, 59, a telecommunications company worker who was on board. “The flight attendants told us to stay calm and instructed us to get off the plane.”
\nAt least 17 people on\u00a0the passenger plane\u00a0were injured,\u00a0according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency,\u00a0of whom four were taken to hospital. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
\nTransport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed that five of the Coast Guard aircraft’s crew had died,\u00a0while the\u00a039-year-old\u00a0captain of the plane\u00a0escaped but was\u00a0injured.
\nA ministry official told a press briefing the JAL plane was attempting to land normally when it collided with the Coast Guard’s Bombardier-built Dash-8 maritime patrol plane on the runway.
\nThere had been no reports of engine or other problems on the airliner before the landing, the official said.
\nThe Coast Guard said its plane was headed to Niigata on Japan’s west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a\u00a0powerful earthquake\u00a0that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 55 people.
\nA JAL official told a press briefing it was the airline’s understanding that the flight had received permission to land, although he added that exchanges with flight control were still under investigation.
\n\n
‘IT WAS A MIRACLE’
\nPassengers and aviation experts praised the speed of the evacuation.
\n“I heard an explosion about 10 minutes after everyone and I got off the plane,” said 28-year-old passenger Tsubasa Sawada. “I can only say it was a miracle, we could have died if we were late.”
\nPaul Hayes, director of air safety at UK-based aviation consultancy Ascend by Cirium, noted that no-one leaving the plane appeared to be carrying hand luggage – safety agencies have warned for years that pausing to collect carry-on bags during an evacuation risks lives.
\n“The cabin crew must have done an excellent job… It was a miracle that all the passengers got off,”\u00a0he\u00a0said.
\nKaoru Ishii, who was waiting outside the arrival gate for her 29-year-old daughter and boyfriend, said she initially thought the flight was delayed until her daughter called to explain.
\n“She said the plane had caught fire and she exited via a slide,” Ishii said. “I was really relieved that she was alright.”
\nA JAL spokesperson said its aircraft had departed from New Chitose airport on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.
\n\n
CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION
\nHaneda, one of the two main airports serving the Japanese capital Tokyo, was closed for several hours following the accident, but the transport ministry official said three runways had since resumed operations.
\nJAL’s Japanese rival ANA\u00a0had earlier said it had cancelled 110 domestic flights departing and landing at Haneda for the rest of Tuesday.
\nTransport Minister Saito said the cause of the accident was unclear and the Japan Transport Safety Board, police and other departments would continue to investigate.
\nPrime Minister Fumio Kishida said authorities were working to ensure the accident did not affect deliveries of earthquake relief supplies,\u00a0and expressed sorrow over the deaths of the Coast Guard crew.
\n“This is a great regret as the crew members performed their duties with a strong sense of mission and responsibility for the victims of the disaster area,” he said. – Reuters
\n", "content_text": "TOKYO\u00a0–\u00a0All 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane escaped the burning airliner after a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport that killed five of six crew on the smaller craft on Tuesday.\nLive footage on public broadcaster NHK showed the JAL Airbus\u00a0A350 airliner burst into flames as it skidded down the tarmac shortly before 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).\nVideo and images shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the plane’s smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac after escaping via an evacuation slide.\nAt one point a child’s voice can be heard shouting: “Let us get out quickly! Let us get out quickly!”\nAll 367 passengers and 12 crew were evacuated from the\u00a0blazing airliner,\u00a0but the fire was not extinguished until shortly after midnight, after burning for more than six hours, broadcaster TBS reported citing the fire department.\n“I was wondering what happened and then I felt the airplane tilted to the side at the runway and felt a big bump,” said Satoshi Yamake, 59, a telecommunications company worker who was on board. “The flight attendants told us to stay calm and instructed us to get off the plane.”\nAt least 17 people on\u00a0the passenger plane\u00a0were injured,\u00a0according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency,\u00a0of whom four were taken to hospital. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.\nTransport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed that five of the Coast Guard aircraft’s crew had died,\u00a0while the\u00a039-year-old\u00a0captain of the plane\u00a0escaped but was\u00a0injured.\nA ministry official told a press briefing the JAL plane was attempting to land normally when it collided with the Coast Guard’s Bombardier-built Dash-8 maritime patrol plane on the runway.\nThere had been no reports of engine or other problems on the airliner before the landing, the official said.\nThe Coast Guard said its plane was headed to Niigata on Japan’s west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a\u00a0powerful earthquake\u00a0that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 55 people.\nA JAL official told a press briefing it was the airline’s understanding that the flight had received permission to land, although he added that exchanges with flight control were still under investigation.\n \n‘IT WAS A MIRACLE’\nPassengers and aviation experts praised the speed of the evacuation.\n“I heard an explosion about 10 minutes after everyone and I got off the plane,” said 28-year-old passenger Tsubasa Sawada. “I can only say it was a miracle, we could have died if we were late.”\nPaul Hayes, director of air safety at UK-based aviation consultancy Ascend by Cirium, noted that no-one leaving the plane appeared to be carrying hand luggage – safety agencies have warned for years that pausing to collect carry-on bags during an evacuation risks lives.\n“The cabin crew must have done an excellent job… It was a miracle that all the passengers got off,”\u00a0he\u00a0said.\nKaoru Ishii, who was waiting outside the arrival gate for her 29-year-old daughter and boyfriend, said she initially thought the flight was delayed until her daughter called to explain.\n“She said the plane had caught fire and she exited via a slide,” Ishii said. “I was really relieved that she was alright.”\nA JAL spokesperson said its aircraft had departed from New Chitose airport on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.\n \nCAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION\nHaneda, one of the two main airports serving the Japanese capital Tokyo, was closed for several hours following the accident, but the transport ministry official said three runways had since resumed operations.\nJAL’s Japanese rival ANA\u00a0had earlier said it had cancelled 110 domestic flights departing and landing at Haneda for the rest of Tuesday.\nTransport Minister Saito said the cause of the accident was unclear and the Japan Transport Safety Board, police and other departments would continue to investigate.\nPrime Minister Fumio Kishida said authorities were working to ensure the accident did not affect deliveries of earthquake relief supplies,\u00a0and expressed sorrow over the deaths of the Coast Guard crew.\n“This is a great regret as the crew members performed their duties with a strong sense of mission and responsibility for the victims of the disaster area,” he said. – Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-03T01:56:18+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-03T01:56:18+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/blexticauldulack/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bb9711778f8535a5c41d2e047686ad3e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/world-default.jpg", "tags": [ "Airline", "collision", "five dead", "Japan", "Reuters", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566403", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/02/566403/earthquake-toll-rises-in-japan-as-rescuers-race-to-find-survivors/", "title": "Earthquake toll rises in Japan as rescuers race to find survivors", "content_html": "WAJIMA, Japan \u2014 At least 48 people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit Japan on New Year\u2019s Day, with rescue teams struggling on Tuesday to reach isolated areas where buildings had been toppled, roads wrecked and power cut to tens of thousands of homes.
\nThe quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck on Monday afternoon, prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves hit Japan\u2019s west coast, sweeping some cars and houses into the sea.
\nA 3,000-strong rescue crew of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the quake sites on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.
\n\u201cThe search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,\u201d Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency meeting on Tuesday, donning a blue outfit commonly worn by officials during disaster relief operations.
\nMr. Kishida said rescuers were finding it very difficult to access the northern tip of the Noto peninsula where helicopter surveys had discovered many fires and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure. There are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue, his government spokesperson later said.
\nMany rail services and flights into the area have been suspended. Noto\u2019s airport closed due to damage to its runway, terminal and access roads, with 500 people stranded inside vehicles in its parking lot, public broadcaster NHK reported.
\nIn Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 households near the quake\u2019s epicenter, there may have been up to 1,000 houses destroyed, according to its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.
\n\u201cThe situation is catastrophic,\u201d he said.
\nAuthorities have confirmed 48 fatalities, all in Ishikawa prefecture, making it Japan\u2019s deadliest earthquake since at least 2016 when a 7.3 magnitude one struck in Kumamoto on the southern island of Japan, killing more than 220 people.
\nMany of those killed are in Wajima, a city on the remote northern tip of the Noto peninsula.
\nScores more have been injured and authorities were battling blazes in several cities on Tuesday and hauling people from collapsed buildings.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced a quake that powerful,\u201d said Wajima resident Shoichi Kobayashi, 71, who was at home having a celebratory New Year\u2019s meal with his wife and son when the quake struck,sending furniture flying across the dining room.
\n\u201cEven the aftershocks made it difficult to stand up straight,\u201d he said, adding his family were sleeping in their car because they could not return to theirbadly damaged home.
\nAround 200 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned more strong shocks could hit in the coming days.
\nWRECKED HOMES
\nFujiko Ueno, 73, said nearly 20 people were in her house for a New Year celebration when the quake struck but miraculously all emerged uninjured.
\u201cIt all happened in the blink of an eye\u201d she said, standing in the street among debris from the wreckage and mud that oozed out of the road\u2019s cracked surface.
\nSeveral world leaders sent condolence messages with President Joseph R. Biden saying in a statement the United States was ready to provide any necessary help to Japan.
\nThe Japanese government ordered around 100,000 people to evacuate their homes on Monday night, sending them to sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centers in emergencies.
\nAlmost half of those evacuated had returned to their homes on Tuesday after authorities lifted tsunami warnings.
\nBut around 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa prefecture on Tuesday after a night where temperatures dropped below freezing, according to Hokuriku Electric Power\u2019s website. Nearly 20,000 homes have no water supply.
\nThe Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako\u2019s slated New Year appearance on Tuesday following the disaster. Mr. Kishida postponed his New Year visit to Ise Shrine scheduled for Thursday.
\nJapan\u2019s defense minister told reporters on Tuesday that 1,000 army personnel are currently involved in rescue efforts and that 10,000 could eventually be deployed.
\nNUCLEAR PLANTS
\nThe quake also comes at a sensitive time for Japan\u2019s nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in that disaster and nearly 20,000 people perished.
Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world\u2019s biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami.
\nThe Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities were found at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power\u2019s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.
\nHokuriku Electric\u2019s Shika plant, the closest to the epicenter, has also been idled since 2011. The company said there had been some power outages and oil leaks following Monday\u2019s jolt but no radiation leakage.
\nThe company had previously said it hoped to restart the reactor in 2026.
\nChip equipment maker Kokusai Electric said it is investigating further after finding some damage at its factory in Toyama ahead of the planned resumption of operations on Thursday.
\nCompanies including Sharp, Komatsu and Toshiba have been checking whether their factories in the area have been damaged. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "WAJIMA, Japan \u2014 At least 48 people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit Japan on New Year\u2019s Day, with rescue teams struggling on Tuesday to reach isolated areas where buildings had been toppled, roads wrecked and power cut to tens of thousands of homes.\nThe quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck on Monday afternoon, prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves hit Japan\u2019s west coast, sweeping some cars and houses into the sea.\nA 3,000-strong rescue crew of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the quake sites on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.\n\u201cThe search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,\u201d Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency meeting on Tuesday, donning a blue outfit commonly worn by officials during disaster relief operations.\nMr. Kishida said rescuers were finding it very difficult to access the northern tip of the Noto peninsula where helicopter surveys had discovered many fires and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure. There are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue, his government spokesperson later said.\nMany rail services and flights into the area have been suspended. Noto\u2019s airport closed due to damage to its runway, terminal and access roads, with 500 people stranded inside vehicles in its parking lot, public broadcaster NHK reported.\nIn Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 households near the quake\u2019s epicenter, there may have been up to 1,000 houses destroyed, according to its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.\n\u201cThe situation is catastrophic,\u201d he said.\nAuthorities have confirmed 48 fatalities, all in Ishikawa prefecture, making it Japan\u2019s deadliest earthquake since at least 2016 when a 7.3 magnitude one struck in Kumamoto on the southern island of Japan, killing more than 220 people.\nMany of those killed are in Wajima, a city on the remote northern tip of the Noto peninsula.\nScores more have been injured and authorities were battling blazes in several cities on Tuesday and hauling people from collapsed buildings.\n\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced a quake that powerful,\u201d said Wajima resident Shoichi Kobayashi, 71, who was at home having a celebratory New Year\u2019s meal with his wife and son when the quake struck,sending furniture flying across the dining room.\n\u201cEven the aftershocks made it difficult to stand up straight,\u201d he said, adding his family were sleeping in their car because they could not return to theirbadly damaged home.\nAround 200 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which warned more strong shocks could hit in the coming days.\nWRECKED HOMES\nFujiko Ueno, 73, said nearly 20 people were in her house for a New Year celebration when the quake struck but miraculously all emerged uninjured.\n\u201cIt all happened in the blink of an eye\u201d she said, standing in the street among debris from the wreckage and mud that oozed out of the road\u2019s cracked surface.\nSeveral world leaders sent condolence messages with President Joseph R. Biden saying in a statement the United States was ready to provide any necessary help to Japan.\nThe Japanese government ordered around 100,000 people to evacuate their homes on Monday night, sending them to sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centers in emergencies.\nAlmost half of those evacuated had returned to their homes on Tuesday after authorities lifted tsunami warnings.\nBut around 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa prefecture on Tuesday after a night where temperatures dropped below freezing, according to Hokuriku Electric Power\u2019s website. Nearly 20,000 homes have no water supply.\nThe Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako\u2019s slated New Year appearance on Tuesday following the disaster. Mr. Kishida postponed his New Year visit to Ise Shrine scheduled for Thursday.\nJapan\u2019s defense minister told reporters on Tuesday that 1,000 army personnel are currently involved in rescue efforts and that 10,000 could eventually be deployed.\nNUCLEAR PLANTS\nThe quake also comes at a sensitive time for Japan\u2019s nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in that disaster and nearly 20,000 people perished.\nJapan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world\u2019s biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami.\nThe Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities were found at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power\u2019s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.\nHokuriku Electric\u2019s Shika plant, the closest to the epicenter, has also been idled since 2011. The company said there had been some power outages and oil leaks following Monday\u2019s jolt but no radiation leakage.\nThe company had previously said it hoped to restart the reactor in 2026.\nChip equipment maker Kokusai Electric said it is investigating further after finding some damage at its factory in Toyama ahead of the planned resumption of operations on Thursday.\nCompanies including Sharp, Komatsu and Toshiba have been checking whether their factories in the area have been damaged. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-02T18:34:22+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-02T18:34:22+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JAPAN-QUAKE.jpg", "tags": [ "earthquake", "Japan", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566402", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/02/566402/south-koreas-opposition-party-leader-lee-jae-myung-stabbed-by-autograph-seeker/", "title": "South Korea\u2019s opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung stabbed by autograph-seeker", "content_html": "SEOUL \u2014 South Korea\u2019s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southern city of Busan on Tuesday and was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, party and fire officials said.
\nMr. Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, was conscious and being flown to Seoul National University in the capital after receiving emergency treatment at the Pusan National University Hospital, party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung said.
\nThe transfer to Seoul was possible after medical staff determined his condition was not life-threatening based on emergency treatment and a CT scan, a Pusan National University Hospital official told Reuters.
\nMr. Kwon, speaking outside the hospital soon after Mr. Lee was airlifted by helicopter, said Pusan National University Hospital medical staff suspected damage to a jugular vein that carries blood from the head to the heart.
\n\u201cThere is concern that there could be large hemorrhage or additional hemorrhage, according to medical staff,\u201d Mr. Kwon said.
\nThe attack by the assailant, seen in video footage and photographs, unfolded quickly while Mr. Lee was touring the site of a proposed airport in Busan.
\nThe man \u2014 who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s and wearing a paper crown with Mr. Lee\u2019s name on it \u2014 approached and asked for an autograph as Mr. Lee spoke among a throng of supporters and reporters, then lunged forward and attacked him, video footage showed.
\nTelevision footage and a video clip on the social media platform X showed the man lunging with his arm stretched out and stabbing Mr. Lee in the neck, the force of the attack pushing Mr. Lee back into the crowd behind him. Mr. Lee grimaced and collapsed to the ground.
\nNews photographs showed Mr. Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and bleeding, and people pressing a handkerchief against his neck.
\nJin Jeong-hwa, a Lee supporter who was at the scene livestreaming the event, told Reuters there were more than two dozen police officers present.
\nThe assailant was quickly subdued by men including police officers, the footage showed.
\nHe was refusing to answer police questions about his motives, daily Busan Ilbo reported.
\nPRESIDENT CONDEMNS ATTACK
\nPresident Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack and instructed best care be given, his office said.
\u201cThis type of violence must never be tolerated under any circumstances,\u201d his office quoted Mr. Yoon as saying.
\nA former governor of Gyeonggi province, Mr. Lee narrowly lost to conservative Mr. Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, in the 2022 presidential election. He has led the main opposition party since August 2022.
\nMr. Lee is currently on trial for alleged bribery stemming from a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul. He has denied any wrongdoing.
\nSouth Korea\u2019s next parliamentary elections are slated for April.
\nSouth Korea has a history of political violence although it has strict restrictions on gun possession. There is police presence at major events but political leaders are not normally under close security protection.
\nMr. Lee\u2019s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head, causing a laceration.
\nThen conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was stabbed at an event in 2006 and suffered a gash on her face that required surgery.
\nHer father, Park Chung-hee, who was president for 16 years after taking power in a military coup, was shot and killed by his disgruntled spy chief in 1979 at a drunken private dinner.
\nIn 2015, then US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "SEOUL \u2014 South Korea\u2019s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southern city of Busan on Tuesday and was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, party and fire officials said.\nMr. Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, was conscious and being flown to Seoul National University in the capital after receiving emergency treatment at the Pusan National University Hospital, party spokesman Kwon Chil-seung said.\nThe transfer to Seoul was possible after medical staff determined his condition was not life-threatening based on emergency treatment and a CT scan, a Pusan National University Hospital official told Reuters. \nMr. Kwon, speaking outside the hospital soon after Mr. Lee was airlifted by helicopter, said Pusan National University Hospital medical staff suspected damage to a jugular vein that carries blood from the head to the heart. \n\u201cThere is concern that there could be large hemorrhage or additional hemorrhage, according to medical staff,\u201d Mr. Kwon said.\nThe attack by the assailant, seen in video footage and photographs, unfolded quickly while Mr. Lee was touring the site of a proposed airport in Busan.\nThe man \u2014 who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s and wearing a paper crown with Mr. Lee\u2019s name on it \u2014 approached and asked for an autograph as Mr. Lee spoke among a throng of supporters and reporters, then lunged forward and attacked him, video footage showed.\nTelevision footage and a video clip on the social media platform X showed the man lunging with his arm stretched out and stabbing Mr. Lee in the neck, the force of the attack pushing Mr. Lee back into the crowd behind him. Mr. Lee grimaced and collapsed to the ground.\nNews photographs showed Mr. Lee lying on the ground with his eyes closed and bleeding, and people pressing a handkerchief against his neck.\nJin Jeong-hwa, a Lee supporter who was at the scene livestreaming the event, told Reuters there were more than two dozen police officers present.\nThe assailant was quickly subdued by men including police officers, the footage showed.\nHe was refusing to answer police questions about his motives, daily Busan Ilbo reported.\nPRESIDENT CONDEMNS ATTACK\nPresident Yoon Suk Yeol condemned the attack and instructed best care be given, his office said.\n\u201cThis type of violence must never be tolerated under any circumstances,\u201d his office quoted Mr. Yoon as saying.\nA former governor of Gyeonggi province, Mr. Lee narrowly lost to conservative Mr. Yoon, a former chief prosecutor, in the 2022 presidential election. He has led the main opposition party since August 2022.\nMr. Lee is currently on trial for alleged bribery stemming from a development project when he was mayor of Seongnam near Seoul. He has denied any wrongdoing.\nSouth Korea\u2019s next parliamentary elections are slated for April.\nSouth Korea has a history of political violence although it has strict restrictions on gun possession. There is police presence at major events but political leaders are not normally under close security protection.\nMr. Lee\u2019s predecessor, Song Young-gil, was attacked in 2022 at a public event by an assailant who swung a blunt object against his head, causing a laceration.\nThen conservative opposition party leader Park Geun-hye, who later served as president, was stabbed at an event in 2006 and suffered a gash on her face that required surgery.\nHer father, Park Chung-hee, who was president for 16 years after taking power in a military coup, was shot and killed by his disgruntled spy chief in 1979 at a drunken private dinner.\nIn 2015, then US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by an assailant while attending a public event, suffering a large gash on his face. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-02T18:33:44+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-02T18:33:44+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SOUTH-KOREA-POLITICS-Lee-Jae-myung.jpg", "tags": [ "Lee Jae-myung", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566401", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/02/566401/pope-denounces-violence-against-women-as-italy-searches-soul-over-murder/", "title": "Pope denounces violence against women as Italy searches soul over murder", "content_html": "\n
VATICAN CITY \u2014 Pope Francis on Monday denounced violence against women, speaking as Italy is in the midst of national soul-searching about how to shed an entrenched culture of male chauvinism that often has led to femicide.
\nFrancis has made numerous appeals for an end to violence against women in the past. But his words on Monday were the first in a speech since Italy was angered by the brutal killing of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin in November.
\nThe killing sparked protests around the country and led to calls that teaching respect for girls become part of school programmes beginning at kindergarten level.
\n\u201cEvery society needs to accept the gift that is woman, every woman: to respect, defend and esteem women, in the knowledge that whosoever harms a single woman profanes God, who was born of a woman,\u201d he said.
\nItalian lawmakers unanimously backed a raft of measures to clamp down on violence against women after the killing reopened a national debate on the subject.
\nHer ex-boyfriend has confessed to the killing, his lawyer has told reporters.
\nAccording to Italy\u2019s interior ministry, more than 100 women were killed in 2023, about half of them by their partner or former partner. Femicide has become a common word in newspaper headlines.
\nThe outrage over Ms. Cecchettin\u2019s killing coincided with the box office success of a film titled C\u2019e Ancora Domani (There\u2019s Still Tomorrow), which tells the story of a woman beaten by her husband.
\nSet in Rome just after World War II, when women won the right to vote, the film is now being used as a teaching tool in schools throughout the country.
\nThe pope made his comments in a homily of a Mass in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica on the day the Roman Catholic Church marks the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God, which is also the Church\u2019s World Day of Peace.
\nPope Francis said women had a crucial role in being models for peace.
\n\u201cThe world, too, needs to look to mothers and to women in order to find peace, to emerge from the spiral of violence and hatred, and once more see things with genuinely human eyes and hearts,\u201d he said. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "VATICAN CITY \u2014 Pope Francis on Monday denounced violence against women, speaking as Italy is in the midst of national soul-searching about how to shed an entrenched culture of male chauvinism that often has led to femicide.\nFrancis has made numerous appeals for an end to violence against women in the past. But his words on Monday were the first in a speech since Italy was angered by the brutal killing of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin in November.\nThe killing sparked protests around the country and led to calls that teaching respect for girls become part of school programmes beginning at kindergarten level.\n\u201cEvery society needs to accept the gift that is woman, every woman: to respect, defend and esteem women, in the knowledge that whosoever harms a single woman profanes God, who was born of a woman,\u201d he said.\nItalian lawmakers unanimously backed a raft of measures to clamp down on violence against women after the killing reopened a national debate on the subject.\nHer ex-boyfriend has confessed to the killing, his lawyer has told reporters.\nAccording to Italy\u2019s interior ministry, more than 100 women were killed in 2023, about half of them by their partner or former partner. Femicide has become a common word in newspaper headlines.\nThe outrage over Ms. Cecchettin\u2019s killing coincided with the box office success of a film titled C\u2019e Ancora Domani (There\u2019s Still Tomorrow), which tells the story of a woman beaten by her husband.\nSet in Rome just after World War II, when women won the right to vote, the film is now being used as a teaching tool in schools throughout the country.\nThe pope made his comments in a homily of a Mass in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica on the day the Roman Catholic Church marks the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God, which is also the Church\u2019s World Day of Peace.\nPope Francis said women had a crucial role in being models for peace.\n\u201cThe world, too, needs to look to mothers and to women in order to find peace, to emerge from the spiral of violence and hatred, and once more see things with genuinely human eyes and hearts,\u201d he said. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-02T18:33:08+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-02T18:33:08+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Pope-Francis-e1638772079289.jpg", "tags": [ "Pope Francis", "Editors' Picks", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566400", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/02/566400/thailand-china-set-to-permanently-waive-visas-for-each-others-citizens/", "title": "Thailand, China set to permanently waive visas for each other\u2019s citizens", "content_html": "\n
BANGKOK \u2014 Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other\u2019s citizens from March, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday.
\nSoutheast Asia\u2019s second-largest economy, which relies heavily on tourism, in September waived entry requirements for Chinese tourists until February this year.
\n\u201cThis will upgrade the relationship between the two countries,\u201d Mr. Srettha told reporters.
\nIn 2023, Thailand welcomed 28 million foreign tourists, slightly above its target, generating 1.2 trillion baht ($34.93 billion) of revenue, government data showed.
\nOf that, the top source market was Malaysia with 4.5 million visitors, followed by 3.5 million arrivals from China.
\nThat compared with a pre-COVID record of 39 million arrivals with 11 million from China.\u00a0 \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "BANGKOK \u2014 Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other\u2019s citizens from March, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday. \nSoutheast Asia\u2019s second-largest economy, which relies heavily on tourism, in September waived entry requirements for Chinese tourists until February this year.\n\u201cThis will upgrade the relationship between the two countries,\u201d Mr. Srettha told reporters.\nIn 2023, Thailand welcomed 28 million foreign tourists, slightly above its target, generating 1.2 trillion baht ($34.93 billion) of revenue, government data showed. \nOf that, the top source market was Malaysia with 4.5 million visitors, followed by 3.5 million arrivals from China.\nThat compared with a pre-COVID record of 39 million arrivals with 11 million from China.\u00a0 \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-02T18:32:46+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-02T18:32:46+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Grand-Palace-in-Bangkok-tourist.jpg", "tags": [ "China", "Thailand", "World" ] }, { "id": "https://www.bworldonline.com/?p=566399", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/world/2024/01/02/566399/nobel-laureate-yunus-convicted-in-bangladesh-labor-law-case/", "title": "Nobel laureate Yunus convicted in Bangladesh labor law case", "content_html": "DHAKA \u2014 A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for labor law violations, prosecutors said, for what he said was a crime he did not commit.
\nMr. Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit.
\nPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, accused him of \u201csucking blood from the poor.\u201d His supporters say the government is attempting to discredit him because he once considered setting up a political party to rival Ms. Hasina\u2019s Awami League.
\nMr. Yunus, an economist, and three employees from Grameen Telecom, a company he founded, were convicted on Monday of failing to create a welfare fund for its employees.
\n\u201cThis verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic. I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favor of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens,\u201d he said in a statement after the verdict.
\nResponding to petitions submitted by the accused, the court granted them bail pending a possible appeal.
\n\u201cThe court granted their bail, giving them one month to file an appeal against the verdict of the court,\u201d prosecutor Khurshid Alam Khan said.
\nAbdullah Al Mamun, a lawyer for Mr. Yunus, said the accused would appeal against the verdict, describing the case as politically motivated and aimed at harassing Mr. Yunus.
\nMr. Yunus is facing more than 100 other charges over labor law violations and alleged corruption.
\nHuman rights groups have accused the government of Ms. Hasina of targeting political dissent.
\nMs. Hasina is seeking a fifth term \u2014 and her fourth consecutive one \u2014 in an election on Jan. 7 which the main opposition party has boycotted. \u2014 Reuters
\n", "content_text": "DHAKA \u2014 A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for labor law violations, prosecutors said, for what he said was a crime he did not commit.\nMr. Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit.\nPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, accused him of \u201csucking blood from the poor.\u201d His supporters say the government is attempting to discredit him because he once considered setting up a political party to rival Ms. Hasina\u2019s Awami League.\nMr. Yunus, an economist, and three employees from Grameen Telecom, a company he founded, were convicted on Monday of failing to create a welfare fund for its employees.\n\u201cThis verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic. I call for the Bangladeshi people to speak in one voice against injustice and in favor of democracy and human rights for each and every one of our citizens,\u201d he said in a statement after the verdict.\nResponding to petitions submitted by the accused, the court granted them bail pending a possible appeal.\n\u201cThe court granted their bail, giving them one month to file an appeal against the verdict of the court,\u201d prosecutor Khurshid Alam Khan said.\nAbdullah Al Mamun, a lawyer for Mr. Yunus, said the accused would appeal against the verdict, describing the case as politically motivated and aimed at harassing Mr. Yunus.\nMr. Yunus is facing more than 100 other charges over labor law violations and alleged corruption.\nHuman rights groups have accused the government of Ms. Hasina of targeting political dissent.\nMs. Hasina is seeking a fifth term \u2014 and her fourth consecutive one \u2014 in an election on Jan. 7 which the main opposition party has boycotted. \u2014 Reuters", "date_published": "2024-01-02T18:32:10+08:00", "date_modified": "2024-01-02T18:32:10+08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "BusinessWorld", "url": "https://www.bworldonline.com/author/cedadiantityclea/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eda8ffc51ac7ec8b231b61b4c6a0d14e?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Muhammad_Yunus-wiki.jpg", "tags": [ "Bangladesh", "World" ] } ] }