Australia - Prime Minister Scott MorrisonOSAKA, June 28 -- Morrison arrives in Japan for the first time for the G-20 summit, having come to office last August and then won in the country's general election on May 18. His Liberal Party and coalition partner National Party performed better than media predictions in the election to take the country's conservative government into its third-consecutive term. Morrison had campaigned on a policy of fiscally responsible action on climate change, rejecting proposals to increase renewable energy on the grounds it would damage mining exports and drive up electricity prices. The 51-year-old became Australia's seventh prime minister in 11 years after he replaced former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Well-known for his nickname "ScoMo," Morrison is a graduate of the University of New South Wales. He is a Protestant and first met his wife Jenny when they were attending church as teenagers.
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BANGKOK, June 28 -- Anti-junta activist Sirawith Seritiwat was attacked on Friday morning in Bangkok's Kannayao district – the second time he has been assaulted this month. Sirawith, also known as “Ja New”, was beaten up by four unidentified men with baseball bats. They were wearing helmets and rode on motorbikes with no licence plates. Sirawith suffered severe injuries to his head. His mother said he told her last night that he suspected he was being followed. On June 2, the activist was also assaulted while he was walking on the street in Bangkok. Sirawith is a prominent pro-democracy activist who actively campaigned against the junta rule over the past five years. According to activist Nuttaa Mahuttana, Sirawith was set to join a fundraising concert for the pro-democracy movement on Saturday before flying to India to continue his studies. OSAKA, June 28 -- U.S. President Donald Trump made clear on Friday that trade was his top priority at a summit of leaders of Group of 20 nations, as China's Xi Jinping warned against rising protectionism and India, Japan and Russia defended multilateral trade rules. Trump, who is holding a series of meetings on the sidelines with world leaders, including Japan's Shinzo Abe and India's Narendra Modi, said he saw U.S. trade prospects improving, days after criticising the U.S.-Japan security treaty and demanding that New Delhi withdraw retaliatory tariffs. "I think we’re going to have some very big things to announce. Very big trade deal. We’re doing some very big things with India in terms of trade, in terms of manufacturing," Trump said at the start of talks with the Indian prime minister. Trump, set to hold a high-profile meeting on trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, also made a push to discuss U.S. concerns about Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei at his meetings. Washington has pressed its allies to shun Huawei in their fifth generation, or 5G, networks on security grounds, and has also suggested it could be a factor in a trade deal with Xi. "We actually sell Huawei many of its parts," Trump said at his meeting with Modi. "So we’re going to be discussing that and also how India fits in. And we’ll be discussing Huawei." Asian shares stumbled during the day amid rising doubts that the highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi would ease trade tension. European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker flagged the shadow cast by the U.S.-China trade feud. "The trade relations between China and the United States are difficult, they are contributing to the slowdown of the global economy," he told a news conference. Xi also warned about the protectionist steps he said some developed countries were taking. "All this is destroying the global trade order... This also impacts common interests of our countries, overshadows the peace and stability world wide," Xi told a gathering of leaders of the BRICS grouping of nations on the sidelines of the G20 meet. DEFENDING WORLD TRADE RULES Modi at the same meeting called for a focus on reforming the World Trade Organization and Russian President Vladimir Putin decried what he called efforts to destroy the Geneva-based body. "We consider counter-productive any attempts to destroy WTO or to lower its role," Putin said. The situation of the global economy was worrying as global trade was feeling the effect of "protectionism (and) politically motivated restrictions," he added. Trump, who often castigates trading partners on Twitter and in his raucous political rallies, put a positive spin on trade developments with Japan. "I appreciate the fact that you're sending many automobile companies into Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania and North Carolina," Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Abe, referring to U.S. states critical to his effort to win re-election next year. Trump said the two leaders would also discuss Japanese purchases of U.S. military equipment, although a Japanese official said later the topic did not come up. Tokyo and Washington are engaged in difficult trade talks as Trump's administration seeks to lower the U.S. trade deficit. Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were to meet later in Osaka. Abe welcomed Trump's visit, calling their frequent meetings "proof of the strong U.S.-Japan alliance". He later urged G20 leaders to send a strong message in support of free and fair trade, warning that trade and geopolitical tensions were rising and downside risks to the global economy prevailed. "Today, I want to discuss with leaders measures to further enhance momentum towards reform in WTO," he told them ahead of a working lunch. Trump renewed his criticism of the U.S.-Japan security alliance this week as unbalanced. "We will go in and we will protect them and we will fight with our lives and with our treasure," he said in an interview on Wednesday with Fox television. "We will fight at all costs, right? But if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television, the attack." Under the decades-old U.S.-Japan security treaty, the United States has committed to defending Japan, which renounced the right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases that Washington uses to project power deep into Asia. After the Trump-Abe talks, a Japanese official told reporters the leaders had agreed to accelerate trade talks and had agreed the alliance was stronger than ever. Argentina - President Mauricio MacriOSAKA, June 28 -- Macri is aiming for his second term in the presidential election expected in October but is likely to face an uphill battle amid Argentina's economic woes. Inflation was nearly 50 percent in 2018 and the country's currency, the peso, has been heavily devalued, sapping households of spending power. The 60-year-old leader is a son of a prominent Italian-born industrialist and was brought up in the family business. He studied civil engineering at university and served as senior officials in construction and other companies. In 1991, he was kidnapped by rogue police officers and was held for nearly two weeks until his family paid ransom, an experience that purportedly led him to pursue a career in politics. The ransom is said to have totaled millions of dollars. Macri later became head of the Boca Juniors, one of the country's most popular soccer teams, before being elected mayor of Buenos Aires in 2007. He has been president since 2015 and was the host of last year's G-20 summit in the Argentine capital. A big fan of Freddie Mercury, he has sometimes impersonated the late Queen singer.
SPIELBERG, June 28 -- Full results from first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, round nine of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix - First Practice Results
Note: *Albon and **Sainz to start from back after power unit changes
BERLIN, June 27 -- A car sharing service for 1,500 electric golf vehicles in the German capital was launched by Volkswagen on Thursday. "With WeShare, we have tailored car sharing to meet the needs of users: easy to use with 100 percent electric operation on green power," said Christian Senger, Volkswagen board member for digital car and services. Initially, WeShare will cover an area of around 150 square km in Berlin's city center and beyond the city's train ring line. Later, the car sharing service will be extended in line with the expansion of the vehicle fleet, according to the car maker. The initial electric golf vehicles would be followed by 500 smaller e-up! vehicles at the beginning of 2020 and Volkswagen's new ID.3 after it is introduced in mid-2020. WeShare will be a "free-floating" system without rental stations and will be operated digitally via an app, Volkswagen announced. Customers seeking to use Volkswagen's service will need to have a smart phone and credit card, be at least 21 years old, have held a driving license for at least one year and be registered in Germany. The German car maker said the fleet of electric vehicles would be recharged on Berlin's public charging network, including at several food retailers like Lidl and Kaufland. Whether Volkswagen's sharing service and app would be integrated in the wider public transport network was not yet known, a Volkswagen spokesperson told Xinhua on Thursday. It would be "up to the city of Berlin" to decide whether or not Volkswagen's offer should be linked with other car-sharing services, added the spokesperson. The German car maker is planning to expand its WeShare service next year, initially to Prague together with Skoda and then to Hamburg. MADRID, June 27 -- Europe's record-breaking heatwave is forecast to intensify further on Thursday with authorities on high alert as temperatures threaten to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the continent. The stifling heat prompted traffic restrictions in France, sparked forest fires in Spain, and fanned debate in Germany over public nudity as sweltering residents stripped down. Meteorologists blame a blast of hot air from northern Africa for the heat this week, which has already set new records in Europe for June. According to reports, the high temperatures have already claimed the lives of three people. Exceptional for arriving so early in summer, the heatwave will on Thursday and Friday likely send mercury above 40C in France, Spain and Greece. In Spain, hundreds of firefighters and soldiers, backed by water-dropping aircraft, battled on Wednesday to put out a wind-fuelled forest fire that erupted in Torre del Espanol in the northeastern region of Catalonia. The worst is expected on Friday when 33 of the 50 Spanish provinces face extreme temperatures, which could reach 44C in Girona. "Hell is coming," one Spanish TV weather presenter tweeted. In France, temperatures "unprecedented" for their timing and intensity since detailed surveys started in 1947 were expected to reach at least 39C over two-thirds of the country, said weather service Meteo-France. Health official Jerome Saloman said the effect of the extreme heat was starting to be felt in France, with an increase in weather-related calls to emergency medical services. Some schools were expected to close on Thursday and Friday while several cities - including Paris and Lyon - restricted traffic to limit a build-up of air pollution. French authorities were taking no chances after the August 2003 heatwave was blamed for 15,000 deaths in the country, with television and radio broadcasts issuing warnings. In Greece, where about 100 people died in last year's deadly fires at the Mati coastal resort, hospitals and officials were on red alert with temperatures of 45C. CARACAS, June 27 -- Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has refuted accusations of trying to stage a coup voiced earlier by Minister of Communications and Information Jorge Rodriguez. "Journalists have alreadt lost count of how many times such accusations were put forward. Our call which we have made and will continue to make is directed toward the military as they need to take the side of the constitution," Guaido told AFP. Rodriguez earlier said that the Venezuelan authorities have thwarted a coup attempt. Conspirators planned to stage a coup on June 23-24 and assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez said that Guaido knew about those plans and supported them. On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States. On January 28 the US imposed sancitons on Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA oil company. Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salavador, Syria and Turkey. OSAKA, June 27 -- Leaders from the Group of 20 leading economies started arriving in Osaka on Thursday, a day before Japan hosts a summit designed to tackle pressing global challenges amid an escalating U.S.-China trade war. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who chairs the two-day annual summit, hopes to emphasize G-20 unity rather than divisions as the world grapples with trade friction, rising tension in the Middle East, and global warming. "I'll work to make sure that the G-20 can send out a strong message," Abe told reporters before leaving Tokyo. Abe said he wants the 20 advanced and emerging economies to promote free trade, lead economic growth through innovation, and tackle environmental and other global issues. But the G-20 framework has been shaken since U.S. President Donald Trump, who pursues his "America First" agenda, took office. Recent meetings have exposed disagreements, particularly over trade and climate change. On Thursday, security was tight around the summit venue and hotels to be used by foreign leaders and delegates. Traffic restrictions are in place, and around 32,000 police officers are expected to be mobilized, with all public elementary, junior high and high schools closed in the western Japan city. LAMPEDUSA, June 27 -- The "Sea-Watch 3" has been stopped by the Coast Guard off the coast of Lampedusa. The captain had previously overruled a ban on the Italian government - Interior Minister Salvini rages. The hope for a quick mooring in Lampedusa has not been fulfilled. Within sight of the port of the Italian island, the "Sea-Watch 3" has been stopped by Coast Guard boats. Shortly thereafter, financial police had come on board, reported Carola Rackete, the captain of the rescue ship in a video on Twitter: "They checked our ship's papers and the crew's passports," she said. "Now they are waiting for further instructions from their superiors, and I really hope they will get the rescued from the ship soon." Ship is in front of Lampedusa So far, however, the ship with 42 rescued on board further ahead of Lampedusa at anchor. Captain Rackete had overruled an explicit ban on the government in Rome with her decision to sail into Italian territorial waters. Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini has repeatedly emphasized in recent days that he does not grant permission for the mooring of the ship of the German rescue organization. The European Court of Human Rights dismissed Italy's government on Tuesday and rejected an emergency petition from the Sea-Watch organization to land the rescued in Lampedusa. For the first time, a new law could be applied to those responsible for the "Sea-Watch 3", which the Government of Rome decided at the urging of Salvini in the middle of the month. It provides that those who bring rescuers to Italy without permission, the ship will be confiscated, and they have to pay fines of up to 50,000 euros. "We are not afraid of the consequences" Nevertheless, it was humanitarian duty to take course on Lampedusa, said Sea Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer. "We are not afraid of the consequences that threaten us, because we are convinced that it is the only right thing," he said. "We are the ones who defend human rights at sea against a European policy of foreclosure and drowning, and we are ready to accept the consequences." Many of the people still on board are exhausted, according to Neugebauer, some have threatened to jump overboard. Italy's Interior Minister, on the other hand, reacted indignantly to the arrival of the "Sea-Watch 3". Shortly after the announcement became known, Salvini reported by smartphone video from his ministerial office to speak. LONDON, June 26 -- Bitcoin jumped to its highest in eighteen months on Wednesday on safe-haven investment flows and growing expectations that Facebook’s Libra could turn cryptocurrency investments mainstream. “It obviously does appear to be benefiting from some sort of flows that gold is benefiting too,” said Michael Hewson, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. “You’ve got all this stuff about Libra going on which is renewing interest in bitcoin”. Bitcoin traded last at $12,485 after reaching a high of $12,935 earlier in the Asian session. So far this year, the cryptocurrency has nearly tripled in value after being in the doldrums last year. BANGKOK, June 26 -- Eight of the world’s top 10 most expensive cities are located in Asia as a result of the region’s high costs for consumer goods and a dynamic housing market, with Bangkok (40) jumping 12 places, according to Mercer’s 25th annual 2019 Cost of Living Survey, which was released on Wednesday. Hong Kong tops the list as the world’s costliest city for the second consecutive year with the local housing market increasingly out of reach for many. Other cities appearing in the top 10 are Tokyo (2), Singapore (3), Seoul (4), Zurich (5), Shanghai (6), Ashgabat (7), Beijing (8), New York City (9), and Shenzhen (10). Ashgabat in Turkmenistan saw the biggest rise in rankings, jumping 36 places from 43rd in 2018, the result of the country’s shortage of currency and imported goods driving up prices. Bangkok’s rise in ranking was largely due to the movement of other cities as well as the effects of a buoyant economy, with currency fluctuation and inflation having little impact. Mario Ferraro, Mercer’s Global Mobility Practice Leader for Asia, Middle East and Africa, said Asia continued to be a major engine of global economic growth. “Despite the relatively high cost of living, many organisations still see a strong business rationale for moving talent into and within the region. At the same time, cost considerations are still an issue, and we are seeing an increased focus on having a clear business case for the assignment, as well as measuring the return on investment,” he said. This year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. MACAU, June 26 -- The house always wins - and now it has artificial intelligence on its side. Some of the world's biggest casino operators in Macau, the Chinese territory that is at the epicentre of global gaming, are starting to deploy hidden cameras, facial recognition technology, digitally enabled poker chips and baccarat tables to track which of their millions of customers are likely to lose the most money. The new technology uses algorithms that process the way customers behave at the betting table to determine their appetite for risk. In general, the higher the risk appetite, the more a gambler stands to lose and the more profit a casino tends to make, sometimes up to 10 times more. This embrace of high-tech surveillance comes as casino operators jostle for growth in a slowing industry that is under pressure globally from economic headwinds and regulatory scrutiny. In the world's biggest gaming hub, where expansion is reaching its limits, two casino operators - the Macau units of Las Vegas Sands Corp and MGM Resorts International - have already started to deploy some of these technologies on hundreds of their tables, according to people familiar with the matter. Sands plans to extend them to an additional 1,000 or more tables, said the people. Three others, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Resorts & Entertainment, are in discussions with suppliers about also deploying the technology, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak publicly about the plans. SERIOUS GAMBLERS Macau junket operator Suncity Group Holdings, which is building a casino in Vietnam, said it is planning to deploy a system where RFID technology - which uses radio frequencies to attach tags to objects - is installed on chips and tables, storing data on players. The gambling giants are motivated by the challenge of maximising profits from the growing Chinese middle class, who stream into Macau en masse, as it is the only place in Greater China where gambling is legal. More than three million people visit the territory every month, from wealthy and focused bettors, to families on short trips with grandparents and children in tow. The advanced-surveillance technologies give casinos a way of easily separating who might become serious gamblers from those just having a fun weekend. It is not unusual for casinos to have surveillance cameras for security and to detect cheating, with Las Vegas operators utilising RFID-enabled chips that they can disable if they are stolen out of the casino. But these new technologies go a step further in tracking and rating every customer, building up a treasure trove of data. RENNES, June 26 -- With victorious Dutch rivals passing her on the way out of the stadium, Japan’s captain seemed to find solace in speaking about the penalty long after it cost her team a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup. Tears were still flowing from Saki Kumagai’s eyes more than 30 minutes later. With Tuesday night’s game entering the 90th minute locked at 1-1, Kumagai’s outstretched left arm blocked the shot Vivianne Miedema had aimed into the right side of the net. “It hit my hand for sure,” Kumagai said. “It’s difficult to accept but it’s also sad. I know that is football.” Referee Melissa Borjas pointed to the penalty spot and Lieke Martens netted her second goal of the game in the 90th minute to seal a 2-1 victory that sent the Netherlands into the quarterfinals for the first time. “We have made history,” Martens said. “I’m not usually taking the penalties but I felt really good this game. I asked Sherida Spitse if I could take it and she gave it directly to me and I felt quite relaxed about it.” The reigning European champions will need to maintain that composure as they prepare for a meeting with Italy on Saturday after going one stage further than their Women’s World Cup debut four years ago. “We were standing in the circle after the match and we were so happy, yelling at each other,” Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman said. “We were saying, ‘Let’s continue writing history.'” It is journey’s end for Japan, which won the 2011 tournament and was the runner-up four years later. As befitting a meeting of the Asian and European champions, the game produced some of the slickest action of the World Cup. A backheel flick set up Martens to send the Dutch in front in the 17th minute and Yui Hasegawa equalized in the 43rd to complete a slick passing move. But the post, crossbar and goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal thwarted Japan’s pursuit of a winning goal. “I think we lacked the clinical edge,” Japan coach Asako Takakura said. “We have to accept the result, we’re defeated, we’re very disappointed and for all the players I feel very sorry for them and frustrated.” A frustrated Takakura said she hoped her team, which included 17 players at their first World Cup, would learn from the experience as they shifted their focus to winning Olympic gold on home soil at the 2020 Tokyo Games. “We weren’t strong enough to win. It’s really disappointing. I hope the players will continue to grow as we aim toward the Olympics a year from now,” Takakura said. The 51-year-old manager, who took the reins in 2016, blamed her own “lack of ability” for Japan’s tournament exit. “We certainly weren’t the worse team in every aspect. “VAR exists. Sometimes cruel decisions have been taken in other matches. Today it went against us. We need to look forward and accept the decision.” With the last Asian team eliminated, the Women’s World Cup will have a record seven European teams in the quarterfinals. Norway and England meet in Le Havre on Thursday and France takes on the United States the following night. After the Netherlands plays Italy on Saturday, Germany and Sweden will meet. “It’s really tough to be here,” Netherlands forward Miedema said. “Sometimes it kind of feels like a Euros.” That is a title already won by this team, thanks to Miedema’s goals in the final two years ago on home soil. The fans won’t have far to travel for the World Cup quarterfinal, with Valenciennes around two hours’ drive from the Netherlands. It will be another chance for the orange-clad fans who danced and sang their way in a convoy to the stadium on Tuesday to stamp their mark on this tournament. They were certainly given a game to savor, and an audacious opening goal. Martens flicked in the opener after evading her marker to meet a corner and send the ball through the legs of Yuika Sugasawa into the net. Sugasawa had a quick chance to tie, only to hit the post. But Japan did equalize by completing an intricate move. Hina Sugita squared across the penalty area to Yuika Sugasawa, who passed back to Mana Iwabuchi on the edge of the penalty area. After holding off Jackie Groenen on the turn, Iwabuchi slipped the ball through to Hasegawa, who was free to delicately dink a shot over Van Veenendaal into the corner of the net. It was some way to make the most of a first shot on target for a team that failed to score in two of its three group stage games. But parity nearly didn’t last long. Miedema received the ball from Shanice van de Sanden but with only Ayaka Yamashita to beat struck straight at the Japan goalkeeper. Van Veenendaal came to the rescue of the Dutch in the second half by denying Emi Nakajima as Japan chased the winner, later preventing substitute Yuka Momiki scoring with another excellent stop in the 80th minute. “Japan is a world class team and you saw that today,” Miedema said. “In the second half you can see they have loads of quality on the pitch.” The strength of Japan’s second-half display counted for nothing, despite Wiegman’s praise of her defeated opponents. “We were really struggling in the second half. A lot of that had to with Japan’s qualities,” Wiegman said. “I can start seeing things we did badly, but it was definitely Japan playing well too.” Momiki, part of the new generation who hoped to emulate the 2011 World Cup-winning Japan team, said much work was needed to reach the heights of their predecessors. “The rest of the world is improving quickly, and we’re not keeping up,” the 23-year-old Nippon TV Beleza midfielder said. Her thoughts were echoed by her captain Kumagai, who has been a key part of Nadeshiko’s squad since 2010 and participated in all of its glories since, including a silver-medal finish at the 2012 London Olympics and last year’s Asian Cup. “Our team is not the same as in 2011 or in 2015. Now we have a lot of young players but we need to progress more,” said Kumagai. “The 657-page indictment against Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and 14 others does not contain a single shred of evidence that they were in any way involved in criminal activity, let alone conspiring to overthrow the government. Instead it is absurdly attempting to portray routine civil society activities as crimes. “This trial is nothing more than an egregious attempt to silence some of Turkey’s most prominent civil society figures. Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu must be immediately released and the absurd charges against all 16 of them must be dropped.”
Background Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu have been in pre-trial detention in the Silivri High Security Prison near Istanbul since 1 November 2017 and 17 November 2018 respectively. On 19 February 2019, the prosecution finally submitted an indictment against Osman Kavala, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and 14 others on the allegation of 'attempting to overthrow the government of the Turkish republic or to prevent it from performing its duties’. Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 30 accepted this indictment on 4 March 2019. The first hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on 24 and 25 June 2019 at Silivri prison, where Amnesty International representatives will be present. A much larger group of civil society figures continue to be investigated under the auspices of the same investigation |
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