ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine – Spying runs in the family for Oleh Kolesnikov. The Ukrainian citizen said his father was a Soviet intelligence agent in Cuba during the Cold War, posing as a translator, and his cousin works with the Russian security service. That made him a prime candidate for wartime espionage. Source link
Japan’s industry and land ministries on Tuesday selected two consortiums, one including energy major BP, as operators for two offshore wind blocks in a third major round of public auctions. The results of this round held under a law promoting wind power development, were closely watched by domestic and international energy companies weighing the advantages of renewable exposure, industry analysts said. Japan aims to accelerate offshore wind development as part of its decarbonization strategy, targeting 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farm deals by 2030, and up to 45 GW by 2040. Source link
Japan is pushing through a new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035, even as the plan faces criticism as lacking in ambition. Making the reductions from 2013 levels will put the nation, among the world’s top carbon polluters, on track to hit net zero by 2050, according to officials from a joint panel of the trade and environment ministries, which announced the strategy on Tuesday. The plan will now go through a public comment period before final approval from Japan’s Cabinet. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government follows countries including the U.K. and U.S. in setting out upgraded emissions-cutting commitments ahead of a February deadline for nations to submit new climate targets under the Paris Agreement. Japan previously had vowed to reduce emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels. Source link
It’s a simple but brutal equation: The number of people going hungry or otherwise struggling around the world is rising, while the amount of money the world’s wealthiest nations are contributing toward helping them is dropping. The result: The United Nations says that, at best, it will be able to raise enough money to help about 60% of the 307 million people it predicts will need humanitarian aid next year. That means at least 117 million people won’t get food or other assistance in 2025. The U.N. also will end 2024 having raised about 46% of the $49.6 billion it sought for humanitarian aid across the globe, its own data shows. It’s the second year in a row the world body has raised less than half of what it sought. The shortfall has forced humanitarian agencies to make agonizing decisions, such as slashing rations for the hungry and cutting the number of people eligible for aid. Source link
BEIJING – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Beijing on Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said, when both men are expected to address China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports. Iwaya’s one-day visit to the Chinese capital, on China’s invitation, is his first since assuming his role in October. Beijing imposed the ban last August after Tokyo began releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant despite Chinese opposition. When asked about the ban at a regular news briefing on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged Japan to fulfill its commitments under an agreement reached in September. The deal commits Japan to setting up a long-term international monitoring arrangement and allowing stakeholders such as China to conduct independent sampling and monitoring. “After effectively participating in long-term international monitoring … China will begin to adjust relevant measures on the basis of scientific evidence, and gradually restore imports of Japanese aquatic products that meet standards and regulations,” Mao said, without giving a timeline. China continues to oppose the water discharge, she added. Source link
PHNOM PENH – Until last year, most Cambodians had lived under only one leader. Hun Sen ruled as prime minister for nearly four decades, tightening his iron grip over the country and systematically silencing the opposition, activists and independent media. When Hun Sen appointed his oldest son, Hun Manet, as his successor, there was a sliver of optimism that civil liberties would improve. The new leader had attended universities in the United States and Britain, where he was exposed to a more liberal approach to elections and human rights. But since he took power in August 2023, those hopes, however meager, have been dashed. Source link
Beijing – Toyota is working to build on its own an electric vehicle plant in Shanghai for its Lexus luxury brand, informed sources said Tuesday. The leading automaker is negotiating with local authorities and other parties involved to make the plant a wholly owned operation in the wake of the Chinese government’s foreign investment deregulation, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. EV giant Tesla has already built a wholly owned manufacturing plant in the same city, becoming the first foreign automaker to take advantage of the deregulation. Toyota, which currently ships Lexus models from Japan to China, intends to put the planned plant into operation as early as around 2027 and sell in principle all its products in the world’s biggest auto market, where EVs including plug-in hybrids have quickly been replacing gasoline vehicles. But the Japanese automaker will still need to negotiate terms further with its Chinese counterparts, people involved in the talks said. Source link
Parliament’s extraordinary session wrapped up Tuesday having showcased a major change in the balance of political power — the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling coalition partner Komeito could not, and will not, pass bills as they please. The key bills submitted in this session were one banning political activity funds, passed Tuesday, and a ¥13.9 trillion ($91 billion) supplementary budget for fiscal 2024 that passed last week. Neither would have passed without the ruling parties’ courting of at least 13 votes from the opposition. The coalition has a combined 220 seats, short of the 233 needed for a simple majority in the Lower House, which has superiority over the Upper House. Source link
North Korean hacker group TraderTraitor was most likely behind a cyberattack that caused ¥48.2 billion ($308 million) worth of bitcoin to be leaked from DMM Bitcoin, a Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange, in May, the National Police Agency announced Tuesday. According to the NPA, the hacker group is believed to have planted a computer virus on an employee at Ginco — a company that was entrusted with the deposit and withdrawal of DMM Bitcoin’s virtual currency — through a fake job recruitment message sent via LinkedIn. The malicious Python script that was sent to the employee was able to access Ginco’s system, giving the hacker group access to the company’s unencrypted communications. The group exploited this access to steal DMM Bitcoin customer deposits worth ¥48.2 billion in May, which was ultimately moved to TraderTraitor’s wallet. Source link
Japan is grappling with a sharp rise in seasonal influenza cases, prompting health authorities to urge people to take heightened precautions as the year-end holiday period approaches. Data that the health ministry released Friday highlights a troubling spike in infections. From Dec. 9 to 15, there were 94,259 cases of the flu reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide. This brings the estimated total of cases nationwide to 718,000, more than double the figure recorded the previous week. Source link