Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Bilvinduet

Hyundai employed child labor in US factory

Bilvinduet — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:46:50 +0800

A subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co has used child labor at a plant that supplies parts for the Korean carmaker's assembly line in nearby Montgomery, Alabama, according to area police, the family of three underage workers, and eight former and current employees of the factory.

Underage workers, in some cases as young as 12, have recently worked at a metal stamping plant operated by SMART Alabama LLC, these people said. SMART, listed by Hyundai in corporate filings as a majority-owned unit, supplies parts for some of the most popular cars and SUVs built by the automaker in Montgomery, its flagship U.S. assembly plant.

In a statement sent after Reuters first published its findings on Friday, Hyundai (005380.KS) said it "does not tolerate illegal employment practices at any Hyundai entity. We have policies and procedures in place that require compliance with all local, state and federal laws." It didn't answer detailed questions from Reuters about the findings.

SMART, in a separate statement, said it follows federal, state and local laws and "denies any allegation that it knowingly employed anyone who is ineligible for employment." The company said it relies on temporary work agencies to fill jobs and expects "these agencies to follow the law in recruiting, hiring, and placing workers on its premises."

SMART didn't answer specific questions about the workers cited in this story or on-the-job scenes they and other people familiar with the factory described.

Reuters learned of underage workers at the Hyundai-owned supplier following the brief disappearance in February of a Guatemalan migrant child from her family's home in Alabama.

The girl, who turns 14 this month, and her two brothers, aged 12 and 15, all worked at the plant earlier this year and weren't going to school, according to people familiar with their employment. Their father, Pedro Tzi, confirmed these people's account in an interview with Reuters.

Police in the Tzi family's adopted hometown of Enterprise also told Reuters that the girl and her siblings had worked at SMART. The police, who helped locate the missing girl, at the time of their search identified her by name in a public alert.

Reuters is not using her name in this article because she is a minor.

The police force in Enterprise, about 45 miles from the plant in Luverne, doesn't have jurisdiction to investigate possible labor-law violations at the factory. Instead, the force notified the state attorney general's office after the incident, James Sanders, an Enterprise police detective, told Reuters.

Mike Lewis, a spokesperson at the Alabama attorney general's office, declined to comment. It's unclear whether the office or other investigators have contacted SMART or Hyundai about possible violations. On Friday, in response to Reuters' reporting, a spokesperon for the Alabama Department of Labor said it would be coordinating with the U.S. Department of labor and other agencies to investigate.

Pedro Tzi's children, who have now enrolled for the upcoming school term, were among a larger cohort of underage workers who found jobs at the Hyundai-owned supplier over the past few years, according to interviews with a dozen former and current plant employees and labor recruiters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-...ory-2022-07-22/

California rules that bumblebees are fish

Bilvinduet — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 21:55:14 +0800

Last week, a California court ruled that bees could legally be considered a type of fish. Yes, fish. It’s the latest development in a years-long battle over semantics that began in 2019 when the California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) designated four species of bumble bees as endangered under California’s Endangered Species Act (CESA). While the CESA explicitly applies only to “native species or subspecies of bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, or plant,” the CFGC successfully argued that bees could be considered a type of fish based on the Act’s definition of the category, which asserts that a “fish” is a “wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals.” Technically, bees are invertebrates—animals that lack a backbone—though they live on land.

Several of the state’s large agricultural groups, led by the Almond Alliance of California, called foul, arguing that the word “invertebrate” clearly refers to an aquatic species. In 2020, the California Superior Court agreed, delisting the bees and removing their added protections. But on May 31, 2022, the California 3rd District Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The four species of bees in question—Crotch’s bumble bee, Franklin’s bumble bee, the western bumble bee, and the Suckley Cuckoo bumble bee—are once again considered endangered species…of fish.

“Although the term fish is colloquially and commonly understood to refer to aquatic species, the legislative history supports the liberal interpretation of the Act,” wrote the judges in their ruling. An example of that legislative history is the CESA’s protection of the Trinity bristle snail, a terrestrial mollusk. The snail has been listed as an endangered fish in California since 1980, proving that the state is already protecting non-aquatic invertebrates under the Act.

The California Almond Alliance, which has contended that protections for the bees will result in a significant financial burden on growers, has yet to respond to the ruling or indicate whether it plans to appeal it. Meanwhile, the Center for Food Safety, one of the original organizations that petitioned CFGC to list the bees in 2018, hailed the decision. “With one out of every three bites of food we eat coming from a crop pollinated by bees, this court decision is critical to protecting our food supply,” the group said in a press release. “The decision clarifies that insects such as bees qualify for protections under CESA, which are necessary to ensure that populations of endangered species can survive and thrive.”

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation...-bees-are-fish/

China releases most detailed map of the moon yet

Bilvinduet — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:07:39 +0800

China has released a new comprehensive geologic map of the moon to a scale of 1:2,500,000, the most detailed to date.

Chinese scientists from multiple research institutes and universities have created the high resolution topographic map based on data from China's lunar exploration Chang'e project and other data and research findings from international organizations.

The map includes 12,341 impact craters, 81 impact basins, 17 rock types and 14 types of structures, providing abundant information about geology of the moon and its evolution. It is expected to make a great contribution to scientific research, exploration and landing site selection on the moon.

The Institute of Geochemistry of Chinese Academy of Sciences has led the project, along with other organizations such as Chinese Academy of Geological Science, China University of Geosciences and Shandong University.

The map was published by Science Bulletin on May 30.

Previously, USGS Astrogeology Science Center completed and released a moon map to a scale of 1:5,000,000 in 2020.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-06-08/China...O0Ok/index.html

US holds world largest naval exercise in Pacific

Bilvinduet — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 14:07:20 +0800

The U.S. is hosting the world’s largest naval war games in the Pacific ocean this summer in a loud message to China. All four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (also known as “The Quad”) and at least five countries from the South China Sea will be in attendance.

In a Tuesday press release, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said the 2022 Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) will see 38 surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 170 aircraft and approximately 25,000 personnel from 26 different countries. This year’s iteration of the biennial RIMPAC, which is the largest international maritime exercise, will run from June 29 through Aug. 4.

The participating countries include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Participants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore all border the South China Sea, where China has broad maritime claims that conflict with other countries in the region.

Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. are all members of the Quad, a strategic security dialogue focused on maintaining regional stability in the Pacific.

Australia and the U.S. are also part of trilateral security and military technology-sharing pact with the U.K. called AUKUS.

China has expressed opposition to both the Quad and AUKUS. Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. announced AUKUS in September of last year, along with plans for the U.S. and U.K. to share their highly secretive nuclear submarine propulsion technology with Australia. China was quick to condemn the new trilateral security arrangement, saying it “has seriously undermined regional peace and stability, intensified the arms race and undermined international non-proliferation efforts” and reinforces a “Cold War” mentality against China.

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/06/us...ise-in-pacific/

Police stood outside while gunman killed children

Bilvinduet — Thu, 26 May 2022 21:34:07 +0800

Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, witnesses said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team.

“Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the close-knit town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not go in.

Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still gathered outside the building.

Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.

“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said. “More could have been done.”

“They were unprepared,” he added.

Minutes earlier, Carranza had watched as Salvador Ramos crashed his truck into a ditch outside the school, grabbed his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and shot at two people outside a nearby funeral home who ran away uninjured.

Officials say he “encountered” a school district security officer outside the school, though there were conflicting reports from authorities on whether the men exchanged gunfire. After running inside, he fired on two arriving Uvalde police officers who were outside the building, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Travis Considine. The police officers were injured.

After entering the school, Ramos charged into one classroom and began to kill.

He “barricaded himself by locking the door and just started shooting children and teachers that were inside that classroom,” Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Department of Public Safety told CNN. “It just shows you the complete evil of the shooter.”

All those killed were in the same classroom, he said.

Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters that 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him, though a department spokesman said later that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed.

“The bottom line is law enforcement was there,” McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain (Ramos) in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the Border Patrol agents had trouble breaching the classroom door and had to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Carranza said the officers should have entered the school sooner.

“There were more of them. There was just one of him,” he said.

Uvalde is a largely Latino town of some 16,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the Mexican border. Robb Elementary, which has nearly 600 students in second, third and fourth grades, is a single-story brick structure in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes.

https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-texas-sch...e482483df6e4683

US to block all means of Russia to repay debt

Bilvinduet — Wed, 18 May 2022 11:55:06 +0800

The Biden administration is poised to fully block Russia’s ability to pay US bondholders after a deadline expires next week, a move that could bring Moscow closer to the brink of default.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is expected to let a temporary exemption lapse once it expires on May 25, according to people familiar with the matter. The waiver, issued shortly after the US levied sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February, has given Moscow room to pay coupons, helping it avert default on its government debt.

The end of the carve-out could be the final straw in Russia’s debt saga after almost three months of war in Ukraine. It’s managed to make all its payments to creditors so far, weaving through the tangle of sanctions that closed off some avenues.

That includes an 11th-hour escape earlier this month, when blocked payments were eventually allowed through after Moscow tapped its domestic dollar reserves. But it’s unclear how it can sidestep the end of the US loophole.

Some Treasury officials had privately argued that allowing Russia to pay its debt would further drain its coffers and redirect resources that would otherwise be spent on weapons and military operations in Ukraine. But the administration has decided against extending the waiver as a way to maintain financial pressure on Moscow, the people said.

Another person familiar with the matter said that Treasury hasn’t made a final decision. Spokespeople at the White House and Treasury Department had no immediate comment.

Ultimately, any impact on Russia’s finances from payments to creditors is dwarfed by the money the country is earning every week on exports of oil, gas and other commodities.

“It is an interesting one,” said Matthew Vogel, a London-based portfolio manager and head of sovereign research at FIM Partners. The move would leave Russia as “a debtor seemingly desperate to make payments, but not allowed to do so.”

Moscow’s next debt payments are due May 27, on foreign bonds maturing in 2026 and 2036. The former is dollar-denominated but allows for payment in euros, Swiss francs or sterling, as well as for interest payments in dollars to accounts in Switzerland, the U.K. or the EU.

The euro-denominated 2036 bond has an additional clause allowing payment in rubles.

But given the US decision effectively stops US investors from getting money from Moscow, those clauses may not be enough to allow Russia to sidestep tougher restrictions.

If Russia does find a route, the next sovereign transfer stipulating payment in dollars is on June 24, when the interest on a 2028 sovereign note comes due. Overall, Russia is staring down more than $490 million in foreign-currency bond payments owed to creditors by the end of June.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/202...odds-of-default

Boris Johnson calls for 90k civil service job cuts

Bilvinduet — Fri, 13 May 2022 16:22:40 +0800

More than 90,000 civil servants are likely to lose their jobs in an attempt by Boris Johnson to find money to ease the cost of living crisis.

The prime minister is understood to have tasked the cabinet with cutting staff by a fifth, telling them every bit of cash saved on government spending could be better used elsewhere.

He is thought to have made the demand to ministers during an away day in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday.

“We have got to cut the cost of government to reduce the cost of living,” he told the Daily Mail.

He hinted at future tax cuts, suggesting the billions saved from reducing civil servant numbers could help fund such measures.

“Every pound the government pre-empts from the taxpayer is money they can spend on their own priorities, on their own lives,” he said.

Johnson ordered ministers to return civil servant numbers to those of 2016 in the coming years, with staffing having increased by almost 25% to 475,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

Ministers will have a month to put together proposals for how they will achieve this within their departments.

A government spokesperson said: “The PM and ministers are clear that the civil service does an outstanding job delivering for the public and driving progress on the government’s priorities.

“But when people and businesses across the country are facing rising costs, the public rightly expect their government to lead by example and run as efficiently as possible.”

Johnson has reportedly indicated the government was poised to cut taxes amid the cost of living crisis – but the idea was quickly shut down by the Treasury.

“We will have the maximum energy, effort and ingenuity to help the British people,” Johnson said the following day.

“You know the money we’re already spending. Of course there will be more support in the months ahead, as things continue to be tough with the increase in energy prices.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/m...o-fund-tax-cuts

Biden names black gay woman as press secretary

Bilvinduet — Fri, 06 May 2022 09:51:26 +0800

Joe Biden has named his new press secretary, after it was announced that Jen Psaki will leave the administration, expected to become a TV host at MSNBC.

Karine Jean-Pierre, currently the principal deputy press secretary, will be taking over the role after Psaki leaves in mid-May. Jean-Pierre, a political analyst, was Kamala Harris’s chief of staff during the vice-president’s presidential campaign in 2020 and served on Barack Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012. She was also an adviser and spokesperson for MoveOn.org, a progressive Pac.

Jean-Pierre will be the first Black person and first out gay person in the role. She has filled in for Psaki on several occasions, most recently while her predecessor was quarantining with Covid-19.

“She is passionate. She is smart and she has a moral core that makes her not just a great colleague, but an amazing mom and human,” Psaki said on Twitter. “Plus, she has a great sense of humor.”

In his statement, Biden also lauded Jean-Pierre’s “experience, talent and integrity”.

“Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this administration,” he said.

Biden also lauded Psaki for her work in the role, which spanned tumultuous moments for the administration, including the Afghanistan evacuation, Omicron wave and, most recently, the leaked supreme court draft signaling the end of Roe v Wade.

“Jen Psaki has set the standard for returning decency, respect and decorum to the White House briefing room.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/ma...ine-jean-pierre

Pope: NATO started war in Ukraine

Bilvinduet — Wed, 04 May 2022 21:39:01 +0800

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis has floated the idea that he wants to take a trip to Kyiv to try to broker a ceasefire. But now he says he would prefer to go to Moscow to try to talk some sense into Vladimir Putin, who he has not outwardly condemned in the now nearly three-month-old war and only did so lightly in a lengthy interview with an Italian newspaper.

“I feel that before going to Kyiv, I must go to Moscow,” he told Corriere Della Sera in an interview that ran Tuesday. But the meeting would not exactly be to condemn Putin, based on what he told the paper. He said that the real “scandal” of Putin’s war is “NATO barking at Russia’s door,” which he said caused the Kremlin to “react badly and unleash the conflict.”

Never mind that the 85-year-old pontiff is unable to walk after tearing a ligament in his knee (for which he says he will soon have surgery), or that Putin won’t even answer his calls. Francis repeated comments he has made in general audiences and in other interviews that the war is nothing more than a giant opportunity for a “trade in arms” and that it is still ongoing because of the constant shuttling of weapons to Ukraine. He has spoken twice by phone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but mostly to urge him not to fight back. He also went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See days after the invasion began to “register his concerns” about what was happening.

“I don’t know how to answer—I’m too far away—the question of whether it is right to supply the Ukrainians,” he told the paper. “The clear thing is that weapons are being tested there. The Russians now know that tanks are of little use and are thinking of other things. This is why wars are waged: to test the weapons we have produced. Few people are fighting this trade, but more should be done.”

Whether the Italian journalists didn’t ask—or whether he didn’t answer— there was no mention about what would happen if Ukrainians were not fiercely fighting back, whether it would mean a full annexation of the entire country, millions of deaths, or empowering an already insatiably power-hungry Putin.

Francis veered toward conspiracy theory as he blamed the international community for instigating the war. “You cannot think that a free state can make war on another free state,” he said. “In Ukraine, it seems that it was others who created the conflict. I am pessimistic but we must do everything possible to stop the war.” The pope then said that in a state visit to Rome by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, he was told “the Russians have a plan, that everything will end on May 9” without giving any further explanation. May 9 is the day Russia celebrates its liberation and the end of World War II.

https://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-says-na...-135952616.html

West looking to target China next

Bilvinduet — Mon, 02 May 2022 14:59:11 +0800

[twt]https://twitter.com/sdmoores/status/1520904149646417920[/twt]

US warn Solomon Islands over pact with China

Bilvinduet — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 09:00:18 +0800

A delegation from the United States told Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Friday its concerns about a security pact he had signed with China and warned that should Beijing maintain any military presence there, the US would “respond accordingly”.

The White House also said it would expedite the opening of a US embassy in Honiara, the island nation’s capital, and the two countries agreed to initiate a strategic dialogue and a programme on maritime domain awareness as well as advance a range of other initiatives.

The delegation, led by National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell, flew to Honiara after it was announced this week that China and the Solomons had signed the security agreement. While details have not been released, a draft of the deal – leaked in March by political opponents of Sogavare – would allow the Chinese navy to dock in the islands and Beijing to deploy its police and armed forces there.

According to the White House, Solomon officials emphasised that the pact with China “had solely domestic applications”; Sogavare tried to assure the delegation that “there would be no military base, no long-term presence, and no power projection capability” as a result of the agreement.

Even so, the security pact is seen as a major inroad for China in the Pacific – where the Solomon Islands occupy a strategic position – and troubles other Pacific powers as well, including Japan, New Zealand and especially Australia, which pressed the Solomon Islands to scrap the deal. The distance between Australia and the Solomons is roughly 2,000km (1,200 miles), or nearly half that between Australia and mainland China.

The US delegation met with senior officials from those three countries in Hawaii during the first leg of the delegation’s Pacific tour.

China has long courted the Solomons through economic diplomacy. In 2019, the island nation broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognised Beijing. At the time, Sogavare said the switch put his country “on the right side of history”, but opposition was strong in some parts of the Solomons; violence erupted late last year when protesters clashed with police, causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

Sogavare, who narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in December, said the deal would allow Chinese police to protect Chinese-financed infrastructure projects.

Campbell had been expected to push Sogavare to back out of the deal, but it was signed before the US delegation arrived.

China says that the deal is meant to promote peace and stability in the region. Its ambassador to the Solomon Islands, Li Ming, defended the pact on Friday.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/a...pgtype=homepage

Remove NZ from Five Eyes due to China stance

Bilvinduet — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:54:41 +0800

As a sovereign democracy, New Zealand has the absolute right to set its own foreign policy. Its nominally closest allies have that same right, however.

Considering New Zealand's now unambiguous foreign policy service of China's interests, the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada should move to suspend Wellington from the Five Eyes alliance. That alliance involves the cooperative collection and sharing of intelligence material gathered around the world. It thus gives New Zealand access to exquisite intelligence reporting that Wellington otherwise would have no means of gathering.

Unfortunately, as I noted last year, New Zealand's refusal to counter China's global aggression means that it's no longer reliable as a Five Eyes member.

This is a great shame. New Zealand has traditionally been a very close U.S. ally. Its armed forces served with honor in Afghanistan, losing 10 of their own. New Zealand's special forces showed especial skill and courage. Sadly, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has again reminded us why her government cannot be trusted with the most sensitive U.S. intelligence material.

In a BBC News interview published on Wednesday, Ardern said that New Zealand has a "mature" relationship with China. When addressing disagreements with Beijing, including on "human rights," Ardern insisted her government is "very forthright and clear."

Fact check: false.

It was only last week, after all, that Wellington allowed the extradition to China of a permanent New Zealand resident. While China accuses the man of murder, there is literally zero chance that he will receive a fair trial. This extradition is thus a plain betrayal of New Zealand's supposed sacredly held commitment to the rule of law. No worries, however, because in supporting the extradition request, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta told the court that China had pledged to treat the man fairly.

Even by the standards of Ardern's government, Mahuta is an unusually zealous appeaser of Beijing. But her pledge is, of course, worse than worthless — worse, because it only proves that New Zealand needs the most pathetic pretense in order to sell its soul to Beijing. Don't believe me? Then consider China's record on pledges. Consider its treaty commitment via Britain to respect Hong Kong's democratic rights until 2047. China has eviscerated that pledge in recent years. Or consider China's 2015 pledge to end its U.S. intellectual property theft. That pledge is being broken each year to the price tag of hundreds of billions of dollars. Or consider China's new pledge to adopt international forced labor standards. Does anyone expect it to include the Uyghur people?

Give me a break. Ardern's government refuses even to join collective condemnations of Beijing's human rights abuses. It knows that China is particularly infuriated by collective action, fearing international isolation and loss of influence.

This obsession with keeping China happy is so unrelenting it is now patently absurd. In condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for example, Ardern noted that Russia must be resisted because it has attacked the democratic international order. She says that this "threatens everyone, including New Zealand."

This is true.

But so also does China grossly undermine international order with its threats to subjugate Taiwan, seize the South China Sea, turn poorer nations into feudal subjects, unilaterally dredge the oceans of wildlife, and threaten small, far-away nations such as Lithuania that dare speak up for human freedom. Ardern has a solemn commitment to international order, just excluding the greatest threat to that order!

Proving as much, the prime minister rejected the notion that Russia's war reflects a broader effort by autocracies to impose their will upon smaller nations: China against Taiwan, for example. "Let's not be quick to create a binary situation between two differing schisms in the world," she said. This rhetoric is in pitch-perfect tune with the Chinese foreign ministry's screeching that efforts to counter autocratic intimidation, such as the AUKUS alignment (from which New Zealand is notably absent), reflect an unacceptable "Cold War mentality."

Where does this leave us?

Appeasement might earn New Zealand its lucrative trade and the avoidance of Beijing's more ludicrous insults. But Wellington's betrayal of democratic values and security is no longer tolerable. Australia can replace Five Eyes signal intelligence stations currently on New Zealand's territory, but the risk of sharing the most sensitive U.S. intelligence with Ardern's government is no longer sustainable.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/...e-eyes-alliance

China: Respect religious beliefs of Muslims

Bilvinduet — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 11:45:44 +0800

China, on Wednesday, criticised Sweden after a recent incident took place involving the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart," said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, referring to the incident that triggered widespread condemnation across the Muslim world.

"We hope Sweden can earnestly respect the religious beliefs of minority groups, including Muslims," Wang said, according to the Chinese daily, Global Times.

Last week, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) group, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book in Sweden's southern Linkoping city. He also threatened to burn copies of the Quran in future rallies.

Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and a host of Arab and Muslim countries and organisations have condemned the Quran burning, terming the act as provocation and incitement against Muslims.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation was among those that strongly condemned the incident.

Its chief, Hissein Brahim Taha, denounced "the provocative actions of burning copies of the Holy Quran during anti-Muslim demonstrations, which have been taking place in Linkoping, Norrkoping and other cities in Sweden."

The pan-Muslim organisation said the burning raised Muslim concerns of "the alarming trend of Islamophobia perpetuated by extreme right supporters."

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220420-...a-tells-sweden/

Japan want ASEAN support sanctions against Russia

Bilvinduet — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 09:14:19 +0800

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to have a busy diplomatic schedule in the coming weeks as he seeks to use a flurry of meetings with visiting leaders and a coming Southeast Asia tour to corral firm support from Asia on sanctions against Russia.

Having passed the six-month mark of his prime ministership on April 4, Kishida may also be eyeing a means to burnish his domestic credentials as a respected statesman with the high-intensity set of meetings, analysts say.

Nikkei Asia last week reported Kishida was planning to travel during Japan’s Golden Week from late April to early May, with possible stops in Indonesia – this year’s G20 meetings host – Thailand, Vietnam as well Europe “if his schedule allows”.

After that the Japanese leader is expected to play host on May 24 to the three other leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad: United States President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The attendance of the Australian leader is not yet confirmed – he is facing a federal election on May 21 and may not make the trip depending on the vote’s outcome. Biden is expected to attend bilateral talks with Kishida ahead of the Quad summit.

Separately, the Japanese leader is hosting New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week, and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit Tokyo later in April, according to Japanese media reports.

“Kishida is trying to show the rest of the world that Japan is a serious player, and that is a position that will play well in Washington,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.

His efforts in Southeast Asia can be viewed as “reaching out to nations that are ambivalent or doubtful about the ‘concert of democracy’ that is rallying in support of Ukraine,” Kingston told This Week in Asia.

The Japanese leader hopes to use his nation’s long ties to the region to bolster support against Moscow, although Indonesia’s decision not to exclude Russia from the G20 meeting later in the year suggests that Kishida is not winning over every government.

But Japan’s prime minister has his own nation’s interests at heart as well, Kingston said.

“Kishida will be demonstrating solidarity with Nato and the European Union, but that is also based on expectations of reciprocity if something should happen in this part of the world,” he added, pointing out that Japan frequently finds itself at odds with China, North Korea and Russia over issues of history and sovereignty.

“Governments tend to work on worst-case scenarios, and he will want to strengthen relations with Europe and Japan’s strategic partners in Asia,” he said.

Both Tokyo and Washington will have been very relieved to see early signs that the incoming government in South Korea appears to be willing to return to being a partner in the region rather than the adversary it has so often been under President Moon Jae-in, Kingston surmised.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/art...pgtype=homepage

Hypersonic missile on China's Type-055 cruiser

Bilvinduet — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 21:48:53 +0800

[twt]https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1516520842334720006[/twt]

UK deal to deport refugees to Rwanda

Bilvinduet — Sun, 17 Apr 2022 21:50:15 +0800

The British government has been accused of trading people like commodities after it unveiled a controversial plan to send asylum seekers on a one-way ticket 6,000km (3,700 miles) away to Rwanda.

In a speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said anyone who has entered the United Kingdom irregularly since the start of the year “may” be relocated to the country in central-east Africa.

“Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not,” he said in Kent, a county in the UK’s southeast and a hotspot for refugees and migrants who cross the English Channel and land on British soil.

Johnson said “thousands of refugees” could be transported during the years under the scheme, which, he argued, would “save countless lives” and clamp down on human smugglers.

Many disagreed, however. Rights groups and refugee organisations swiftly blasted what they called a “cruel”, “inhumane” and “neo-colonial” plan, and questioned both its cost to the British taxpayers and effect on migration.

“It’s truly shocking and inhumane,” said Steve Valdez-Symonds, the refugee and migrant rights programme director at Amnesty International UK.

“The plan is not going to decrease the number of refugees. It will inflict a huge amount of cruelty and fuel more dangerous refugee routes to be set up,” Valdez-Symonds told Al Jazeera.

According to the plan, the British government would screen asylum seekers after arriving and provide their personal information to the Rwandan officials before they are transported to Kigali. The Rwandan government would deal with the asylum process and, if they are successful, asylum seekers will settle in the country.

Some details are still a bit murky but all refugees arriving in the UK in boats will be sent to Rwanda. If their application is successful, they will not be given refugee status in the UK but will be granted asylum by Rwanda. Those unsuccessful could be deported back to their country of origin, or another country where they have a right to reside.

Refugees who flee to the UK from prosecution, civil war and torture have the right to claim refugee status under international agreements. However, they can only claim asylum in the UK on British soil.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/15/in...parks-criticism

US unveils first new ICBM in 50 years

Bilvinduet — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 16:54:41 +0800

The Department of the Air Force’s new weapon system, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, has officially been designated the LGM-35A Sentinel.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall approved the designation for the system that modernizes the ICBM leg of the Nation’s nuclear triad.

“Our Nation’s nuclear deterrent force, two legs of which is operated by Airmen, has quietly provided a strategic security shield for decades,” Kendall said. “All that time, the Department of the Air Force has kept the watch; always vigilant and ready. The name Sentinel recognizes the mindset that thousands of Airmen, past and present, have brought to the deterrence mission, and will serve as a reminder for those who operate, secure, and maintain this system in the future about the discipline and responsibility their duty entails.”

The Air Force determined the LGM-35A Sentinel would provide continuity in strategic deterrence and cost less than extending the life of the current ICBM fleet, comprised of the aging Minuteman III. Replacing the 1970s-era missile modernizes the ground-based leg of the nuclear triad and brings the Minuteman’s more than 50 years of service to a close.

“As the Air Force celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the Minuteman III Weapon System has been and will continue to be integral to our Nation’s defense,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “As we look ahead to the next 75 years, investing in nuclear modernization is as relevant as ever and we are committed to transitioning to the Sentinel, which will ensure our Nation is ready to provide strategic deterrence for tomorrow.”

The new system will incorporate low risk, technically mature components, feature a modular architecture that can easily incorporate emerging technology to adapt in rapidly evolving threat environments, and will be easier to maintain than the Minuteman system – all of which will enable cost-savings and ensure relevancy as the Sentinel operates well into the 2070s.

“Sentinel is the next-generation, capable ICBM we need,” said Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander, Air Force Global Strike Command. “Nuclear deterrence is central to our defense posture and more important now than it’s ever been. This system will be a highly resilient and capable deterrent that will bring global stability to us and our allies for decades to come.”

The Sentinel will not just be a new missile but a fully integrated launch, flight and infrastructure system with modern command and control features. It will backstop our Nation’s integrated deterrence and provide the bedrock for a stable international order for our partners and allies.

Existing missile bases, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and Minot AFB, North Dakota, will be home to the new system. Using infrastructure at current locations will allow both the Minuteman III and Sentinel weapons systems to continue meeting all nuclear surety and safety standards during the transition period.

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Art...-name-sentinel/

US stop Russia using own money to repay bonds

Bilvinduet — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 13:35:23 +0800

The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at American banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of U.S. dollars.

Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen.

But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis.

On Monday, as the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond, the U.S. government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds, according to a U.S. Treasury spokesperson.

An $84 million coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond.

The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said.

Russia faces a historic default if it chooses to not do so.

"Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default," the spokesperson said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), which had been processing payments as a correspondent bank so far, was stopped by the Treasury, a source familiar with the matter said.

The correspondent bank processes the coupon payments from Russia, sending them to the payment agent to distribute to overseas bondholders.

The country has a 30-day grace period to make the payment, the source said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-cracks-...ted-2022-04-05/

US sanctions Singapore company over Russia

Bilvinduet — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 09:16:00 +0800

The latest sanctions from the US covering a number of businesses for their ties to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, including a Singaporean entity, acts as a warning shot to Chinese businesses with exposure to the market, analysts say.

The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed fresh sanctions on 21 entities and 13 people, including Joint Stock Company Mikron, Russia’s largest chip maker, and Alexsong Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based telecoms electronics wholesaler that allegedly facilitated transactions that helped Russia evade sanctions.

“We will continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle until this senseless war of choice is over,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement on Thursday.

The sanctions freeze all US assets of the targeted entities and individuals, and generally ban American companies from trading with them.

The inclusion of Singapore-based Alexsong, which boasts “29 years of expertise in the wholesale market”, is significant, as it represents a potential “secondary sanction risk” that many Chinese businesses are trying to manage. The US government has also warned that Chinese companies could be sanctioned if they are found to be helping Russian partners to skirt sanctions.

Angela Zhang, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and author of the book Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How The Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation, said that the sanctions act as a warning to companies all over the world, but especially those in China.

“I believe Chinese companies are on high alert at the moment given China’s close ties with Russia,” Zhang said.

China is a major market for Mikron. In 2010, the company expanded its business and began exporting radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips to China – commonly found in access cards for places like offices and hotels – after seeing its export revenues slide.

It sold more than 10 million chips to Chinese electronic card manufacturers and system integrators in 2010, according to a report from the Russian technology news portal TAdviser.

Mikron declined to comment on the sanctions and its business exposure to Chinese companies. Alexsong also declined to comment on its alleged role in violating US sanctions.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/...pgtype=homepage

China to raise defense budget by 7.1% in 2022

Bilvinduet — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 13:34:52 +0800

China’s defense spending this year is set to grow at its fastest pace since 2019, according to the Ministry of Finance plan released Saturday.

Defense spending will rise by 7.1% to 1.45 trillion yuan ($230.16 billion) this year, faster than the 6.8% increase in 2021 and 6.6% climb in 2020, according to official data.

China’s defense spending rose by 7.5% in 2019 to 1.19 trillion yuan.

Total central government expenditures for the general public budget are expected to rise by 14.3% to 13.40 trillion yuan this year, the finance ministry said.

“We will move faster to modernize the military’s logistics and asset management systems, and build a modern weaponry and equipment management system,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in a separate annual government work report released Saturday, according to an official English-language version.

Li’s other statements about military development and foreign policy remained in line with those of 2021. He said that “China will continue to pursue an independent foreign policy of peace.”

Li did not mention other major countries in the government work report.

The total U.S. defense budget for 2022 comes in just under $770 billion, up 2% from last year.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/05/china-defen...e-ministry.html