TMCnet News
Kyodo Top12 News (16:00)(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Search for MH370 narrowed down to "within some kilometers" SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday authorities have narrowed the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, based on signals from the plane's black box recorder, to "within some kilometers" in the southern Indian Ocean. Speaking in Shanghai amid a visit to China to promote trade ties, Abbott said, "We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometers." "We are very confident the signals are from the black box," he said. The prime minister cautioned that finding the position of the black box is one thing, but recovering it from around 4.5 km beneath the sea and determining why the Boeing 777-200 crashed are something else altogether. ---------- Japan, U.S. to cooperate on defending critical cyber infrastructure WASHINGTON - The United States and Japan agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation on protecting critical Internet infrastructure from rampant cyberattacks, according to sources familiar with the discussions. "We've really been able to deepen our conversations on this issue," said a Japanese participant in discussions in Washington, which formed the second round of a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries on cybersecurity. The talks addressed how to protect critical infrastructure such as electric grids from cyberattacks, how to better define issues regarding cyberspace under international law and how to increase developing countries' resistance to hacking. ---------- G-7 mulls financial aid to crisis-hit Ukraine WASHINGTON - Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors discussed on Thursday the need for financial aid to crisis-hit Ukraine and possible additional sanctions against Russia in their meeting in Washington. The discussions "covered the major and recent developments in the global economy and issues which form part of the wider meeting taking place this week," the G-7 financial chiefs said in a statement. "This included a discussion of the situation in Ukraine, its financing needs and the international response," they added. Ukraine faces financial problems following recent political turmoil, including the ouster of its former president and Russia's annexation of Crimea. ---------- G-20 may cite Ukraine crisis as risk to global economy WASHINGTON - Group of 20 finance chiefs may issue a warning of the geopolitical risks stemming from the Ukraine crisis in a communique to be released after their two-day meeting in Washington from Thursday, sources close to the matter said, underscoring concerns it could stifle the global economy down the road. Ahead of the G-20 gathering, the Group of Seven countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- also held an emergency meeting in the U.S. capital and exchanged views on "the situation in Ukraine, its financing needs and the international response," the G-7 said in a statement. Earlier Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov during bilateral talks that Washington is "prepared to impose additional significant sanctions" on Moscow if Russia escalates its involvement in Ukraine. ---------- Japan eyes meeting between Obama and abductees' families TOKYO - The Japanese government is planning to arrange a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s when Obama visits Japan later this month, government sources said Friday. Obama is expected to stay in Japan from April 23 to 25, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has expressed his strong intention to solve the abduction issue, which has prevented Tokyo from normalizing relations with Pyongyang. "We have informed Mr. (Robert) King, U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, of a request (for a meeting) from the families," Keiji Furuya, a state minister in charge of the abduction issue, told a press conference. King told the minister that he will relay the message to those concerned. ---------- U.S. commander says no to leaving Okinawa base without new facility WASHINGTON - The top commander of U.S. military forces stationed in Japan's Okinawa on Thursday ruled out the Marine Corps leaving a controversial air base before a relocation facility is ready. "The answer is no," Lt. Gen. John Wissler told an event in Washington, when asked whether the Marines could suspend use of the Futenma Air Station and move to an existing base elsewhere before a relocation facility is complete in the island prefecture. The Okinawa prefectural government has called for the Marine base in Ginowan to suspend operations within five years, citing its danger as it is located in a densely populated area. "I need a new facility to move the capabilities that are currently resident at Futenma," said Wissler, who also serves as commander of the U.S. Marines in Japan. ---------- Chinese court upholds 4-year sentence for prominent activist Xu BEIJING - A Chinese high court on Friday turned down an appeal by prominent Chinese legal activist Xu Zhiyong, finalizing his four-year jail sentence that has drawn criticism from the international community. "This is a nonsensical ruling," the 41-year-old activist, who was earlier this year convicted of disrupting public order by organizing anti-corruption protests, said after hearing the decision at the Beijing high court, according to his lawyer, Zhang Qingfang. "The cloudiness of the Communist Party's dictatorship should move away and the light of freedom and fairness...will eventually shine on the land of China," Xu, a legal scholar and founder of a loosely organized civic group known as the New Citizens Movement, was quoted by the lawyer as saying. ---------- Japan decides on new energy policy that supports use of nuclear power TOKYO - The Japanese government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided on a national energy policy Friday that supports the use of nuclear power now and in the future, retracting a nuclear phase-out goal introduced by its predecessor after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. The Basic Energy Plan sets the stage for the government to move ahead to restart nuclear reactors, all of which are now offline amid safety concerns, while reaffirming the continuity of the country's spent fuel recycling projects that have not made headway. The move has been expected since the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in December 2012, but the government spent several more months than initially expected before deciding on the plan as draft documents stirred controversy among lawmakers who saw them as too strongly pro-nuclear in tone. ---------- S. Korea warns N. Korea not to conduct 4th nuke test SEOUL - A senior South Korean diplomat on Friday warned North Korea against carrying out another nuclear test, saying the international community would come up with "grave countermeasures" to punish it, according to Yonhap News Agency. "North Korea is very mistaken if it thinks that it can get away with conducting a fourth nuclear test," the diplomat was quoted as saying. "Given that the international community deems the (threatened) fourth nuke test of North Korea to be very grave, they will inevitably come up with equally grave countermeasures" if it happens, he said, adding that those measures "will be far more painful than before." ---------- Japanese dancer wins int'l youth ballet competition NEW YORK - A 17-year-old Japanese ballet dancer won the top prize Thursday in a senior age division at this year's Youth America Grand Prix. Haruo Niyama, who in February won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne international ballet competition for young nonprofessional dancers in Lausanne, Switzerland, captured the gold medal in the division for men aged 15 to 19. "I was very nervous, but am pleased I could enjoy dancing in some degree," Niyama said in a telephone interview with Kyodo News. Jun Masuda, 14, came first in the division for men aged 12 to 14. In the women's sections, Yuki Sugiura came second in the division for 12 to 14. ---------- Nikkei ends at 6-month low, dollar trades in upper 101 yen range TOKYO - The Nikkei stock index tumbled to a six-month low Friday, hit by selling spurred by sharp falls overnight in U.S. shares. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 340.07 points, or 2.38 percent, from Thursday at 13,960.05, its lowest finish since Oct. 8. The broader Topix index finished 15.40 points, or 1.34 percent, lower at 1,134.09, extending its losing streak to a sixth trading day. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 101 yen range. At 4 p.m., the dollar fetched 101.76-78 yen compared with 101.48-58 yen in New York late Thursday afternoon. The euro was quoted at 141.38-42 yen against 140.92-141.02 yen in New York. ---------- Weather forecast for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather forecast for Saturday: Tokyo=fair; Osaka=fair, then cloudy; Nagoya=fair; Sapporo=fair, then occasionally cloudy; Sendai=fair; Niigata=fair, then occasionally cloudy; Hiroshima=fair, then cloudy; Takamatsu=fair, then cloudy; Fukuoka=fair, then occasionally rain; Naha=fair. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |