Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a lawsuit against the Southern California Gas Company, which is responsible for a huge gas leak near Los Angeles.
The charges allege that the SoCal Gas violated health and safety laws by failing to report and contain leaking methane.
Kamala Harris said the impact had been devastating to families in the area.
The leak in Porter Ranch began on October 23 and has forced more than 13,000 people from their homes.
It has been blamed for a variety of health issues and has been described by environmental campaigner Erin Brockovich as the worst environmental disaster in the US since 2010.
SoCal Gas spokesman Mike Mizrahi has repeatedly insisted that his company complied with all relevant state and federal regulations in the run-up to the leak.
The company has promised that it will be plugged by the end of February and the single well in question, a depleted oil field known as SS-25, will be taken out of use.
The use of old oil and gas wells for storing natural gas is relatively common in the US, according to industry bodies.
However, the state government says that SocCal is entirely to blame for the incident.
“The impact of this unprecedented gas leak is devastating to families in our state, our environment and our efforts to combat global warming,” Kamala Harris said in a statement.
“Southern California Gas Company must be held accountable.”
The lawsuit filed by the attorney general seeks unspecified civil penalties and emulates similar legal moves taken in December by the Los Angeles city attorney.
The leak has been described as the biggest in California’s history, forcing nearly 4,500 families living in the upmarket Porter Ranch area to relocate. About 1,200 more households are in the process of following them.
Repeated efforts to stop the leak by pouring liquid and mud down the stricken well have been unsuccessful. SoCal is now drilling a relief well to seal the damaged well.
Erin Brockovich has described the leak as a “BP oil spill on land”, comparing it to the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico six years ago, in which 11 people died.
The effect of the leak on human health is contested.
SoCal Gas insists there is no evidence that it poses a long-term risk but some scientists say there are not enough data for them to be sure.
Republican and Democrat presidential hopefuls have arrived in New Hampshire ahead of the next vote.
Iowa caucuses on February 2 were won by Senator Ted Cruz for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats.
Ted Cruz prevailed despite trailing in opinion polls while Hillary Clinton beat Senator Bernie Sanders by just 0.2%.
New Hampshire is seen as a quite different challenge for the parties.
The state’s more moderate and less religious electorate may prove a tougher nut for Ted Cruz to crack in the primaries it is due to hold on February 9.
Long-time frontrunner Donald Trump is expected to do much better than in Iowa, which held the nation’s first vote.
On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders is seen as having a home advantage in New Hampshire over Hillary Clinton, being a senator of the neighboring state of Vermont.
The state-by-state voting will culminate in conventions in July, at which the two parties will confirm their choice of candidate to succeed Barack Obama, the Democratic president who is standing down after two terms in office.
Even before Hillary Clinton’s narrow victory was announced officially, Bernie Sanders was up at 05:00 and aboard a flatbed lorry, being greeted by supporters in the New Hampshire town of Bow.
Telling the crowd that his campaign had “astounded the world” in Iowa, Bernie Sanders promised it would “astound the world again” in New Hampshire.
Hillary Clinton is due to address a crowd at a sports stadium in Nashua.
Final results show Hillary Clinton took 49.8% in Iowa to Bernie Sanders’ 49.6%.
Ted Cruz took 26% of the Republican vote to 23% for Donald Trump, but Senator Marco Rubio finished a surprisingly strong third, just slightly behind.
The Texas senator declared his win a “victory for courageous conservatives”.
Many mainstream Republicans favor Marco Rubio, fearful that Ted Cruz and Donald Trump may alienate voters with their combative style.
According to the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), North Korea has announced plans to launch a satellite later this month.
The IMO says it has been notified of Pyongyang’s plans to launch a satellite between February 8 and 25.
It comes after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on January 6, drawing international condemnation.
Critics have called North Korea’s last satellite launch a cover for a test of ballistic missile technology.
Last week, US officials said that North Korea appeared to be preparing for a rocket launch, citing increased activity around the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, also known as Tongchang-ri.
North Korea last conducted a long-range rocket launch in December 2012, successfully putting into orbit an object Pyongyang claimed was a communications satellite with the three-stage Unha-3 carrier.
However, the UN Security Council subsequently said that the launch was “a clear violation” of resolutions banning North Korea from missiles tests, and imposed new sanctions.
North Korea has said its space program is peaceful, but it is believed to be developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the US.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic Iowa caucuses beating Bernie Sanders with only 0.2% of the votes, the final results have shown.
The Democratic Iowa results page has just updated to show 100% of districts now accounted for:
Hillary Clinton 49.8%
Bernie Sanders 49.6%
Martin O’Malley 0.5%
According to SMG Delta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign and supporters spent $9.4 million on Iowa caucus while her fellow Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders’ campaign spent only $7.4 million.
Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Instagram of bowing to US pressure after the social network removed a video he posted showing Russian opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov in a sniper’s gunsights.
Instagram said the video posted by the Chechen leader had “violated the requirement to respect other members” of the social network.
In a new Instagram post, Ramzan Kadyrov said he had been punished for saying “a few words about the USA’s guard dogs”.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s video showed former Russian PM Mikhail Kasyanov as a sniper’s target.
Mikhail Kasyanov is a high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the opposition RPR-Parnas party.
Ramzan Kadyrov has recently called Vladimir Putin’s critics “enemies” and “traitors”.
Photo Instagram
In his latest post on Instagram, Ramazan Kadyrov said: “Here it is, the much-acclaimed freedom of speech, American style!
“You can write anything you want, but do not touch America’s dogs, friends of the Department of State and Congress. You know very well whom I am talking about!”
Mikhail Kasyanov and other Russian opposition politicians described the sniper video as a murder threat.
In March 2015, Ramzan Kadyrov spoke out on Instagram about the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, defending one of the Chechens charged over the shooting.
A day later, President Vladimir Putin gave the Chechen leader a top award.
Boris Nemtsov is among several well-known opponents of Vladimir Putin who have been murdered in the past decade.
Ramzan Kadyrov runs Chechnya with an iron fist – his private militia has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and assassination.
He has close ties to Vladimir Putin, who encouraged him to stamp out a separatist insurgency in Chechnya.
Thousands of civilians died in the North Caucasus republic when Russian troops fought the rebels there in the 1990s.
Ted Cruz has won the first vote of the US 2016 presidential election in the Iowa Republican caucuses.
The Texas senator declared as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media: “Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives.”
Ted Cruz, 45, took 28% of the Republican vote, beating his rivals Donald Trump (24%) and Marco Rubio (23%).
Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and some media outlets have declared it a dead heat.
With 95% of results confirmed, Hillary Clinton clung to the narrowest of leads over Bernie Sanders and told supporters she was “breathing a sigh of relief”.
Hillary Clinton stopped short of declaring victory, and her rival, a 74-year-old senator from Vermont, said it was a “virtual tie”.
No such ambiguity from Republican victor Ted Cruz, whose triumph was reward for the months he spent criss-crossing the state to woo its influential conservative and evangelical leaders.
As country music blared across the loud speaker at his Des Moines rally, Ted Cruz, who has been a thorn in the side of his party, relished his victory.
“Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment,” he said.
“Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation.”
Donald Trump congratulated the Texas senator and said he was “honored” by the second-place finish.
Marco Rubio, who has struggled to gain support in recent months, has performed far better than expected, and finished in third place – just one percentage point behind Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, two candidates are bowing out.
Democrat Martin O’Malley, former Maryland governor, will suspend his campaign – narrowing the field to two competitive candidates.
On the Republican side, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted that he too would suspend his campaign.
Iowa has an unusual election system based on caucuses, which involve people gathering at private homes, schools and other public buildings across the state.
Democratic voters divide themselves into groups based on their preferred candidate, but the Republican caucus process is more like a traditional ballot.
Over the coming months, the other 49 states as well as US territories will vote for the party nominees.
Each states’ delegates will be tallied and a nominee will become apparent towards the middle of the year.
In November, the US will pick who its next president will be.
The new president will assume office in January 2017.
This year’s presidential candidates are to make final pitches to people in Iowa, where the first votes for party nominations will take place later.
Polls suggest that Republican Donald Trump has a narrow lead over Texas Senator Ted Cruz but both are well ahead of the others.
In the Democratic field, the race is slightly tighter, with Hillary Clinton edging ahead of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Each party’s nominee will contest the presidential election in November.
Over the weekend, the candidates barnstormed the sparsely populated Midwestern state of Iowa in an attempt to court undecided voters.
Campaigning is expected to continue until voting starts at 19:00 local time on February 1.
Candidates are hoping to triumph in this first electoral test because victory can spark campaign momentum as voting moves to the other states.
Among the wide Republican field, recent polling suggests that Donald Trump has a comfortable, though not certain, lead over his main rival, Ted Cruz.
The Democrats’ far smaller field – three candidates as opposed to 11 – appears to be more competitive.
Frontrunner Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead nationally but in Iowa she is narrowly ahead of self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
Iowa has an unusual election system called a caucus, which involves people gathering at sites across the state at 19:00 local time on February 1.
Democratic voters divide themselves into groups based on their preferred candidate but the Republican caucus process is more like a traditional ballot.
The last Republican winner in Iowa who won the party’s nomination was George W. Bush 16 years ago.
One issue that could have implications in Iowa is the weather.
The National Weather Service is currently forecasting a winter storm to strike the area on Monday night.
Candidates are worried that the incoming storm could prevent their voters turning out earlier in the evening.
Donald Trump joked with his supporters on January 30, saying: “You’re from Iowa! Are you afraid of snow?”
Iowan law mandates that it be the first “state, territory, or any other group” to select delegates in the presidential nomination
This first vote in Iowa will be followed in the weeks ahead by more ballots in the 49 other states plus US territories.
Each party’s nominee will be chosen by the summer, and the next president will be elected in November.
Former Mafia boss Rocco Zito has been shot dead at his home in Toronto, Canada.
Rocco Zito, 87, had been a senior member of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta, or Calabrian mafia, based in southern Italy, according to Canadian media.
The man was once one of Toronto’s most powerful mafia leaders, the Toronto Sun reported.
Rocco Zito’s son-in-law, Domenico Scopelliti, has been charged with murder after turning himself in to police.
Police said officers arrived at Rocco Zito’s home on January 29 to find a man with gunshot wounds. Attempts were made to resuscitate him but he died of his injuries.
Officials did not immediately release the victim’s name.
Domenico Scopelliti, 51, was named as a suspect and he surrendered to authorities on January 30, a police statement said.
He later appeared in court where he was charged with first-degree murder.
Rocco Zito was born in Fiumara, Calabria, Italy, in 1928 and moved to Canada in the mid-1950s.
He was reported to have had ties with branches of the ‘Ndrangheta in New York, Montreal and Italy.
Italian police say the ‘Ndrangheta operates the biggest cocaine smuggling network in Europe.
The New York Times has announced its endorsements for this year’s presidential race.
The publication endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John Kasich in their bids to become their parties’ presidential candidates.
Hillary Clinton, the liberal daily said in an editorial, is “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified candidates” in modern history.
An outsider in the Republican race, the NYT called John Kasich the “only plausible choice”.
The backing comes days before Iowa voters become first to make their pick.
The NYT backed Hillary Clinton in her losing bid for the presidency against Barack Obama in 2008.
It had praise for Hillary Clinton’s main rival, Bernie Sanders, but the paper said he “does not have the breadth of experience or policy ideas that Mrs. Clinton offers”.
Assessing the Republican field, Saturday’s editorial gave a damning verdict on the two leading contenders.
Frontrunner Donald Trump “has neither experience in nor interest in learning about national security, defense or global trade”, the paper said. Ted Cruz “will say anything to win”.
Instead, the NYT plumped for Ohio Governor John Kasich as “the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race”.
John Kasich tweeted he was “proud” to gain the NYT‘s support, even though the paper has been a frequent focus of criticism for US conservatives.
Turkey is accusing Russia of again violating its airspace and warned it would “face consequences” if such infringements continue.
The Turkish foreign ministry said a Russian jet flew into its airspace on the border with Syria on January 29. Moscow described the claim as “baseless propaganda”.
Tensions between Turkey and Russia have been high since November, when Turkey shot down a Russian jet.
Russia has been carrying out air strikes in Syria since September.
It has been targeting forces fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its ally.
In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry said a Russian SU-34 jet crossed into Turkish airspace at 11:46 local time on January 29, ignoring several warnings made in Russian and English.
It said the ministry had summoned the Russian ambassador in Ankara to “strongly protest at and condemn” the incident.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on January 30 that Russia would “have to face consequences if it keeps up such violations”.
“Such irresponsible steps do not benefit either the Russian Federation, or Russia-NATO relations, or regional and global peace,” he told reporters.
Recep Tyyip Erdogan said he had asked repeatedly for a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, without success.
On January 30, NATO – of which Turkey is a member – urged Russia “to act responsibility and to fully respect NATO airspace” and “take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen again”.
Relations between Russia and Turkey, a vocal opponent of Bashar al-Assad, plummeted after Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian SU-24 on November 24.
Turkey said the plane intruded into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings to leave.
Russia insisted the jet had never crossed over from Syrian territory and did not receive any warnings.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin embarked on a war of words and Russia introduced a raft of sanctions designed to damage Turkey’s economy.
According to the State Department, 22 emails sent through Hillary Clinton’s unsecured home server while she was secretary of state contained government secrets.
The messages were “top secret” and could not be released, the State Department adds.
Spokesman John Kirby said the emails were not marked classified at the time they were sent.
Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email as secretary of state has dogged her bid for the US presidency.
The former first lady, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2016 election, has been under fire for using a private computer server for work emails while in office.
On Hillary Clinton’s request, thousands of those emails have been released by the State Department, but this is the first time her messages have been labeled classified at any level.
Her campaign reacted angrily to the announcement, demanding that the emails be released in full.
“This appears to be over-classification run amok,” it said in statement.
It comes three days before Hillary Clinton competes in the Iowa presidential caucuses – the first time the public will cast their votes in the run-up to November’s election.
Messages were marked “top secret” because they would cause “exceptionally grave” damage to national security if disclosed, the State Department said.
Intelligence officials told the Associated Press that the 37 pages being withheld concerned so-called “special access programs” – clandestine projects such as drone strikes or government eavesdropping.
It was unclear whether Hillary Clinton sent “top secret” messages or only received the information.
Previously, sensitive information has been redacted from the published messages, but John Kirby said the “top secret” emails would not be released, even in part.
Hillary Clinton’s opponents have accused her of putting US security at risk by using an unsecured computer system.
She has admitted that her decision to use a private email server at her New York home was a mistake.
The State Department released another batch of Hilalry Clinton’s emails on January 29.
The department has yet to release about 7,000 pages of emails from Hillary Clinton’s private server.
Officials in the State Department have asked for additional time to vet the messages because of the recent snowstorm that hit Washington.
They have asked to release the final batch messages on February 29, which is after the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
According to a Swiss prosecutor, about $4 billion may have been stolen from the Malaysian state-owned fund 1MDB.
The 1MDB fund was set up in 2009 to pay for major new economic and social developments in the country.
In 2015, Swiss authorities opened an investigation into 1MDB after it amassed more than $11 billion of debt.
Switzerland’s attorney general said on January 29 there were “serious indications that funds have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies”.
Some of the money, the office of Michael Lauber said, had been transferred to Swiss accounts held by Malaysian former public officials and current and former public officials from the United Arab Emirates.
“To date, however, the Malaysian companies concerned have made no comment on the losses they are believed to have incurred,” the attorney general’s statement said.
Michael Lauber called on Malaysian authorities to give full judicial assistance to their Swiss counterparts.
A Swiss investigation into 1MDB was opened last year, citing “suspected corruption of public foreign officials, dishonest management of public interests and money laundering”.
In a statement on January 30, 1MDB said it “remains committed to fully co-operating with any lawful authority and investigation”, but had not yet heard from any foreign legal authorities.
Regulators in the US and Hong Kong are also reported to be investigating 1MDB.
The 1MDB’s advisory board is chaired by Malaysian PM Najib Razak, who launched the fund soon after taking office in 2009.
In July 2015, Malaysia’s then-Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail linked a donation of $681 million made to Najib Razak’s account with companies and bodies which had ties to 1MDB.
Abdul Gani Patail was replaced, and, after an investigation, his successor last week cleared Najib Razak of corruption saying that the money was a personal donation by the Saudi royal family to the prime minister’s private bank account.
“I am satisfied that there is no evidence to show that the donation was a form of gratification given corruptly,” said Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali.
Most of the money was later returned, he said.
Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission said it would seek a review of the attorney-general’s decision.
Princess Cristina of Spain has lost an appeal to have the two charges she faces of tax evasion dropped.
A court in Palma ruled that Princess Cristina must stand trial in a case involving her husband’s business dealings.
If found guilty, the sister of King Felipe could face a maximum of eight years in jail.
Princess Cristina has denied knowledge of the alleged embezzlement scam that also involves her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, and 16 other defendants. They all deny the charges.
The case was launched in 2010 and has become highly symbolic of perceived corruption among Spain’s elites, including the royal family.
In 2015, King Felipe stripped his sister and Inaki Urdangarin of their titles, the Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca.
Princess Cristina now lives in Switzerland, but remains the sixth in line to the Spanish throne and is the first member of the royal family to go on trial.
The princess’s lawyers argued that as public prosecutors had refused to press charges against her, the counts should be dismissed.
The three judges agreed to continue with the prosecution using the evidence filed by the anti-corruption group, Manos Limpias, meaning “Clean Hands”.
The charges relate to the real estate company Aizoon that she owned with her husband, a former Olympic handball medalist.
Princess Cristina is accused of making personal use of Aizoon funds for paying for clothes and dance lessons for the couple’s children as well as work on the couple’s Barcelona mansion, which reduced the company’s taxable profits.
Inaki Urdangarin is alleged to have used the non-profit Noos Institute sports foundation he ran as a vehicle to win falsely inflated contracts from regional government bodies, before channeling the money to personal accounts via tax havens.
Noos is alleged to have received more than €6 million ($6.5 million) of public money, most of it from the Balearic Islands and Valencia regional governments.
If found guilty, Inaki Urdangarin could face 19 years and six months in jail.
Hearings into the case will resume next month in Palma.
Donald Trump’s absence the final Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses was mocked by his rivals, who tried to fill the space vacated by the frontrunner’s boycott by attacking each other on immigration and other issues.
The New York billionaire decided to withdraw after Fox News refused to drop debate host Megyn Kelly, whom he accused of bias.
Donald Trump held a rally nearby – in honor of war veterans – that threatened to overshadow the debate itself.
On February 1, voters in Iowa are due to pick their presidential nominee for each party.
Days ahead of that critical test, Donald Trump’s absence on the stage in Des Moines was keenly felt by his seven rivals in the race to be Republican presidential nominee.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz addressed it with humor in the opening minutes by throwing mock insults at his rivals.
“I’m a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly, and Ben [Carson], you’re a terrible surgeon,” he said.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush also poked fun at Donald Trump – his chief tormenter in previous debates – by saying how much he missed him.
Elsewhere in Des Moines at the same time, Donald Trump led a raucous rally in honor of the country’s war veterans.
“When you’re treated badly, you have to stick up for your rights,” he said, referring to his row with Fox.
Fox News released a statement saying that Donald Trump offered to appear at the debate if the broadcaster contributed $5 million to his charities, but they refused.
Data released by Google after the debate suggested that search interest in Donald Trump still far surpassed the other candidates.
Many observers on social media thought the event was duller without Donald Trump.
Some of the night’s most heated moments were provided during exchanges about immigration.
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were both forced to explain video clips of previous statements that appeared to be at odds with their hard-line campaign pledges.
They then turned on each other, with Marco Rubio saying immigration was “the lie that Ted’s campaign is built upon”.
An Iraq war veteran who came to the US from Mexico as a child appeared via YouTube to tell the candidates that “some of the comments in this campaign make us question our place in this country”.
Jeb Bush applauded Dulce Candy and said “we should be a welcoming nation”.
The Iowa caucuses on February 1 are seen as the first real test of the election campaign, and the beginning of a series of state-by-state contests to choose delegates for both Republicans and Democrats.
Unlike a primary, which is a traditional election featuring secret ballots on polling day, the caucuses in Iowa are meetings of registered party voters and activists where they discuss the candidates and then vote.
The FBI has released footage of the shooting of Oregon militiaman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum.
LaVoy Finicum was killed by police on January 26.
The video shows the militiaman reached for a handgun before he was shot.
LaVoy Finicum was a key player in an armed anti-government protest at a wildlife reserve in the state.
The footage released by the FBI shows Robert Finicum’s vehicle careering into a snowbank in an attempt to avoid a roadblock.
It comes to a stop after narrowly missing a police officer and LaVoy Finicum steps out. After briefly raising his hands, he appears to reach for his pocket, where the gun was reportedly later found, and is shot dead.
The white pickup truck carrying LaVoy Finicum (it is not clear if he was driving) was stopped on Oregon’s Highway 395 on Tuesday afternoon in a joint operation between the FBI and Oregon State Police.
A jeep was also stopped. The two vehicles contained members of an armed militia which earlier this month occupied the Malheur national wildlife refuge in protest over sentences handed to two local ranchers convicted of arson.
Both cars were initially stopped. Ammon Bundy – the leader of the occupation – stepped out of one vehicle along with another protester, Brian Cavalier, and the driver, who has not been named. Ammon Bundy and Brian Cavalier were arrested.
Ryan Payne, another member of the occupation, exited the white pickup but LaVoy Finicum remained inside. About three minutes later, the white pickup sped off, with police in pursuit.
It then crashed into a snow bank in an attempt to clear the roadblock and LaVoy Finicum was shot. Three other occupants of the vehicle exited after police fired a tear gas-like substance inside. They were Ammon Bundy’s brother Ryan, Shawna Cox and another woman who has not been named.
Once they had been held by police, officers gave medical attention to LaVoy Finicum, some 10 minutes after he had been shot. Three more loaded guns were found in the vehicle, the FBI says.
Greg Bretzing, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said the agency had decided to release the full, unedited video “in the interest of transparency”.
Four people remain at the wildlife reserve, near the city of Burns, Greg Bretzing said.
Several people have left since Ammon Bundy, speaking through his lawyer on January 27, urged the remaining protesters to stand down.
Greg Bretzing said: “I want to acknowledge the stress and disruption that the occupation of the refuge has caused has to the people of Harney County. We know this is difficult. We know that you want this concluded as soon as possible. We are doing everything we can to bring this to a resolution safely and quickly.”
Japan’s Economy Minister Akira Amari has announced he is resigning amid corruption allegations.
Akira Amari unexpectedly made the announcement at a press conference in Tokyo on January 28.
He again denied personally receiving bribes from a construction company, as had been alleged by a Japanese magazine.
The development will be seen as a significant blow for PM Shinzo Abe.
Akira Amari, who has been minister of state for economic and fiscal policy since late 2012, has been widely described as one of Shinzo Abe’s most trusted members of parliament.
As Japan’s lead negotiator for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Akira Amari was expected to travel to New Zealand next week to sign the agreement.
Photo Reuters
He was also regarded as the architect of Abenomics – Shinzo Abe’s plan to pull the world’s third largest economy out of deflation.
Akira Amari will be replaced by Nobuteru Ishihara, formerly the country’s environment minister.
A local magazine had reported last week that Akira Amari and his aides were given money and gifts worth some 12 million yen ($101,000) by a construction company in return for some favors linked to land ownership.
Akira Amari said he did receive money which he wanted declared as a political donation, however, he said some of it was mishandled by his staff.
Japan’s economy, which has been struggling with deflation for nearly two decades, avoided a technical recession in Q3 of 2015.
“Japan is finally emerging from deflation,” Akira Amari told the press conference, as reported by Reuters.
“We need to pass legislation through parliament for steps to beat deflation and create a strong economy as soon as possible.
“Anything that hampers this must be eliminated, and I’m no exception,” Reuters reported him as saying.
“I, therefore, would like to resign as minister to take responsibility [for what my aide has done],” he said, according to Reuters.
Akira Amari is the fourth member of Shinzo Abe’s cabinet to resign amid allegations of bribery, among other issues.
Pm Shinzo Abe has apologized for the latest resignation.
Sweden’s Interior Minister Anders Ygeman has said that his country may reject the asylum applications of up to 80,000 refugees and should prepare to deport them.
Anders Ygeman said charter aircraft would be used to deport the refugees but it would take several years.
Some 163,000 refugees applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015, the highest per capita number in Europe.
The numbers have fallen significantly since Sweden imposed tighter border controls in 2016.
Along with Germany, Sweden is a prime destination for refugees and other refugees entering the EU illegally.
Of the approximately 58,800 asylum cases processed in Sweden in 2015, 55% were accepted.
Of those facing expulsion, Anders Ygeman was quoted in Swedish media as saying: “We are talking about 60,000 people but the number could climb to 80,000.”
He later tweeted to say he had not taken a position on how many refugees had grounds for asylum, it being a matter for the authorities and the courts.
Sweden earlier this week became the latest of a number of European nations to see tensions over migrants heightened by violence. A 15-year-old asylum seeker was arrested in Molndal, near Gothenburg, after a 22-year-old asylum centre employee was stabbed to death.
More than one million refugees and migrants travelled to Europe in 2015, most fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The UN says another 46,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year, with more than 170 killed making the dangerous crossing from Turkey.
In the latest such accident, at least 11 migrants drowned – mostly children – after their boat capsized off the island of Samos, the Greek coast guard says. Several are still missing.
On January 27, a draft European Commission report said Greece “seriously neglected” its obligations to control the external frontier of Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone.
Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili accused the Commission of “blame games” and said it had failed to act on a program agreed in 2015 to relocate tens of thousands of migrants and refugees stranded in Greece.
Denmark has also faced criticism this week after approving legislation to seize the valuables of refugees in the hope of limiting the influx of migrants.
Fox News has responded to Donald Trump after his decision to boycott the final Republican debate on January 28.
The network said in a statement that Donald Trump’s decision is “unprecedented” and accused him of “terrorizing” debate host Megyn Kelly.
Donald Trump clashed with Megyn Kelly at a Fox News debate in 2015 and had demanded she be removed from today’s panel.
The billionaire’s decision to pull out has been mocked by his Republican rivals.
The debate is the final one before the first real test of the election campaign, the Iowa caucus on February 1 when voters in the state pick their presidential nominee.
“Capitulating to politicians’ ultimatums about a debate moderator violates all journalistic standards, as do threats,” the Fox News network said in a statement.
“We’re not sure how Iowans are going to feel about him walking away from them at the last minute, but it should be clear to the American public by now that this is rooted in one thing – Megyn Kelly.”
It added: “We can’t give in to terrorizations toward any of our employees.”
Megyn Kelly accused Donald Trump of misogyny in the first debate in August 2015 and he responded the next day by accusing her of having blood “coming out of everywhere”. He denied he was referring to menstruation.
Donald Trump, who leads the Republican field, quit the debate on January 28 after Fox put out a sarcastic statement that questioned his ability to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Fox responded by accusing Donald Trump of “viciously attacking” Megyn Kelly, threatening her and spending four days trying to get her removed.
Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz mocked Donald Trump for his announcement.
Ted Cruz challenged Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate and taunted him on Twitter using the hashtag #DuckingDonald.
France’s Justice Minister Christiane Taubira has resigned shortly before plans to strip people convicted of terrorism of their citizenship go before parliament.
Christiane Taubira was known to disagree with the controversial proposals.
The citizenship plans were put forward after the November 13 Paris attacks in which 130 people were murdered.
“Sometimes staying on is resisting, sometimes resisting means leaving,” Christiane Taubira tweeted.
Christiane Taubira, one of France’s few senior black politicians, has been replaced by Jean-Jacques Urvoas who is seen as a supporter of the constitutional change and an ally of PM Manuel Valls.
Born in French Guiana, Christiane Taubira, 63, has suffered racist taunts from the far-right during her time as justice minister.
Her left-wing leanings have put her increasingly at odds with official policy, especially after the November attacks – when the president announced a much tougher line on terrorism.
A communiqué from the Elysee Palace said that President Francois Hollande had accepted the justice minister’s decision to resign.
“They agreed on the need to bring her role to an end at a time when debate on constitutional revision begins in the National Assembly, today,” the statement read.
Manuel Valls presented the reforms before a committee at the National Assembly on January 27 before they were due to go before parliament next week.
The reforms include the right to declare a state of emergency under the constitution, which would make it easier for the French government to adopt strict powers such as police raids and house arrests.
The government aims to extend the three-month state of emergency imposed after the November attacks when it expires on February 26.
In his communiqué, President Francois Hollande praised Christiane Taubira’s part in pushing through same-gender marriage laws.
Last month the justice minister made plain her distaste of the plan to strip citizens with dual nationality of their French citizenship, arguing it “would not help the fight against terrorism in any way”.
Christiane Taubira said the plan was being dropped only for it be announced the following day by the prime minister with her appearing beside him.
Manuel Valls described the reform as a “strong symbolic act against those who have excluded themselves from the national community”.
The proposals put by Manuel Valls before the National Assembly committee on Wednesday made no mention of dual nationals, apparently in response to criticism that it could lead to two types of nationality and to people being stigmatized.
However, the French government has made clear that no-one should be made stateless as a result of the reform, implying that it could only ever be used against people with dual citizenship.
Ammon Bundy, the leader of an armed militia which has occupied a wildlife refuge in Oregon, has been arrested, police say.
One person has been killed in the shootout.
Ammon Bundy and four others were arrested during a traffic stop. One person was injured. Three others were held in separate incidents.
The militia occupied the refuge on January 2 to support two ranchers jailed for setting fire to federal land.
They say the government has taken land illegally from ranchers for decades.
Other members of the group were reportedly still at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon, where the FBI was setting up a perimeter.
FBI officials said in a statement that Ammon Bundy, 40, was arrested in a traffic stop on Highway 395 along with his brother Ryan Bundy, 43, Bryan Cavalier, 44, Shawna Cox, 59, and Ryan Walen Payne, 32.
Two other activists connected to the group, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, and Peter Santilli, 50, were later arrested, separately, in Burns, Oregon.
According to the FBI, each of the defendants faces a charge of conspiracy to impede police from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats.
According to TheOregonian newspaper, Ammon Bundy was en route to a community meeting in John Day, Oregon, where he was scheduled to be a guest speaker, when authorities stopped his vehicle.
According to the newspaper, Ryan Bundy was injured in the arrest, suffering a minor gunshot wound. Authorities did not release the identity of the person killed.
However, local media named the man as Arizona native Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a regular spokesman for the group.
His daughter, Arianna Finicum Brown, told The Oregonian he was a “good, good man, through and through”.
Some 25 miles of Highway 395 was shut in both directions following the incident, local officials said.
Another occupier of the refuge, Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32, surrendered to police in Arizona on January 26.
In October 2015, a federal judge ruled the sentences on two Oregon ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, for burning federal land were too short and jailed them for about four years each.
Angered by the ruling, Nevada native Ammon Bundy began a social media campaign backing them and travelled to Burns, Oregon, organizing meetings.
Ammon Bundy’s group attracted supporters from across a number of states and he called it Citizens for Constitutional Freedom. On January 2, the armed militiamen took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge – and widened the range of demands.
It is an extension of the Sagebrush Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s that demanded the transfer of federal land in many western states to local control.
Ammon Bundy’s own father – a Nevada rancher – had been involved in a protest over cattle-grazing rights in 2014. One policy is to try to persuade ranchers to tear up their federal grazing contracts.
Although many local residents are sympathetic with its cause, many also oppose the occupation of the refuge. Even the local ranchers who are serving the longer sentences distanced themselves from the militia.
The militia term has a complex history and generally refers to those outside the official military who can be called on in times of need. The US Constitution refers to the president having command of “militia of several states” and that Congress “can call forth militia” to tackle insurrection and invasion.
Those who form such militias cite the constitution and various references in federal and state law as granting them legality.
The United States and China say a new UN resolution against North Korea is needed, following Pyongyang’s claim that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb earlier this month.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Beijing for talks, called North Korea’s nuclear ambitions a “threat to the world” and urged new sanctions.
However, his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi suggested China would not support any sanctions.
China is North Korea’s main ally, but has condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear test.
On January 6, a 5.1 magnitude tremor was detected in North Korea – which said it had successfully conducted an underground hydrogen bomb test.
However, nuclear experts questioned North Korea’s claim, saying the size of the blast was not large enough to have been from an H-bomb.
Speaking on January 27 after talks with Wang Yi, John Kerry said that both sides agreed on the need for a “strong” resolution against North Korea, and said that limiting the trade of goods and services across China’s border with North Korea was one potential measure.
However, Wang Yi said that while China supported the need for a new resolution, it “should not provoke new tension in the situation, still less destabilize the Korean peninsula”.
“Sanctions are not an end in themselves,” he added.
China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner, and major ally – although relations have cooled since Kim Jong-un succeeded his father.
Nonetheless, experts say China is wary of destabilizing North Korea, fearing that millions of North Korean refugees could pour across China’s borders if the regime collapsed.
The two sides also discussed the disputed South China Sea, where China has multiple competing territorial claims with other countries.
China has angered several neighbors by constructing artificial islands on claimed reefs, and building runways and other facilities on them.
John Kerry called on China to stop construction and land reclamation in disputed areas.
However, Beijing said such activity was within its legal rights to protect its territorial sovereignty.
John Kerry, who will also meet China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi and President Xi Jinping, is on an Asia tour that has included Laos and Cambodia.
Donald Trump has announced he will boycott the final Republican presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses.
The Republican presidential hopeful accused Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly, whom he has clashed with in the past, of being a “lightweight”.
The unexpected move prompted his closest rival, Senator Ted Cruz, to challenge him to a one-on-one debate.
Donald Trump’s campaign manager announced the decision on January 26, with just 48 hours to go before the debate.
Corey Lewandowski said immediately after the press conference: “He will not be participating in the Fox News debate Thursday.”
The announcement followed a press conference in which Donald Trump lashed out at Megyn Kelly, claiming she had been “toying” with him.
Donald Trump said he intended to hold a separate Iowa event at the same time as the debate to raise money for wounded veterans. Iowa hosts the nation’s opening presidential primary contest on February 1.
“With me, they’re dealing with somebody that’s a little bit different,” he said.
“They can’t toy with me like they toy with everybody else. Let them have their debate and let’s see how they do with the ratings.”
On Tuesday night’s airing of her Fox News show, The Kelly File, Megyn Kelly said the debate would “go on with or without Mr. Trump”.
A Fox News spokesperson said Donald Trump was still welcome to participate in the debate but would not be allowed to “dictate the moderators or the questions”.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) said the decision was up to Donald Trump.
“Obviously we would love all of the candidates to participate, but each campaign ultimately makes their own decision what’s in their best interest,” said RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer.
Donald Trump had added an element of unpredictability to the Republican contest, and helped generate big ratings in the previous six Republican presidential debates.
His decision leaves seven other candidates in the debate: Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Donald Trump, who is in a tight race with Ted Cruz, has garnered media attention with provocative actions and statements, including a call for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
Bernie Sanders has said his judgement is as important as the experience of his rival Hillary Clinton.
During the last Democratic debate in Iowa a week before the selection process begins, Bernie Sanders also admitted that he would raise taxes if he won, adding some families would still be better off.
Hillary Clinton once had a comfortable opinion poll lead in the state.
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are now running neck-and-neck. Martin O’Malley is a distant third.
Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz have a clear lead over five other candidates seeking the GOP nomination.
During the CNN’s televised debate in Des Moines, Iowa, at which the three candidates appeared separately, Hillary Clinton praised the “poetry” of Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign but said the country was “governed in prose”.
Photo Getty Images
Her critics “throw all this stuff at me – and I’m still standing”, she said.
The Vermont senator, who has energized young voters with his call for a political revolution, repeated his pledge to “take on the greed of corporate America”.
Bernie Sanders contrasted his own commitment to a “Medicare-for-all” program and free public university tuition to Hillary Clinton’s vote to authorize the Iraq war and early support for the controversial Canada to Texas Keystone pipeline.
Hillary Clinton highlighted her “40-year record in going after inequality” and suggested Bernie Sanders was ill-equipped to face the tough challenge of being president.
She also said she was “really touched and gratified” to see comments from President Barack Obama in a Politico interview, in which he called her “wicked smart” and suggested Bernie Sanders benefited from “the luxury of being a complete long shot”.
Barack Obama has not endorsed any candidate and the Sanders campaign has applauded his “even-handedness” throughout the campaign.
Martin O’Malley, meanwhile, was cheered when he cited climate change as the issue young Americans should be most concerned about.
Swedish activist Peter Dahlin, who was detained in China on charges of damaging national security, has been released and deported.
The 35-year-old has been held since early January amid a crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists.
Last week Peter Dahlin appeared on state media apparently confessing to breaking the law through his organization’s support of local Chinese rights lawyers.
The Swedish embassy confirmed Peter Dahlin had left China but gave no further details.
Sweden’s foreign minister welcomed Peter Dahlin’s release, but expressed concern about another Swede in Chinese detention.
More than 280 lawyers, legal assistants and associates were detained in a seemingly orchestrated government campaign last year – most have since been freed, but others now face trial while the whereabouts of others are still unknown.
Such moves contradict China’s implementation of reforms explicitly aimed at strengthening the rule of law, say correspondents.
Peter Dahlin is the founder of Chinese Urgent Action Working Group (China Action), which describes itself as a legal aid organization.
It provides assistance to uncertified “barefoot” lawyers who provide legal aid in rural areas, and provides direct help to disadvantaged groups and individuals who have experienced rights violations.
The group had said Peter Dahlin was detained on 4 January while en route to the airport for a flight to Thailand.
Last week, in a report on state television, Peter Dahlin appeared to confess to helping the Beijing law firm Fengrui – a number of the company’s lawyers have recently been charged with subversion.
Peter Dahlin said he had violated Chinese law, caused harm to the Chinese government and hurt the Chinese public.
China Action called the report “absurd” and said the confession appeared to be forced.
The group’s US-based co-founder Michael Caster tweeted that Peter Dahlin’s Chinese girlfriend, Pan Jinling, was also no longer in detention “but, contrary to some assertions, has not left the country”.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said she remained “greatly concerned” about the status of detained Swedish national Gui Minhai.
Gui Minhai is one of five people linked to a Hong Kong publishing house to disappear in recent months. He vanished while on holiday from Hong Kong in Thailand in October 2015.
He also appeared on Chinese TV earlier this month, saying he had voluntarily handed himself over to the authorities over a drink-driving fatality years ago.
The case has sparked protests in Hong Kong from those who believe they were kidnapped by China and are being held because of allegations in a book they were working on, critical of the mainland.
Margot Wallstrom said Sweden’s “efforts to get a clear picture of his situation and the possibility to visit him continue with undiminished force”.
Malaysian PM Najib Razak has been cleared of corruption in a long-running financial scandal that has gripped the country.
According to the attorney-general’s office, the $681 million that Najib Razak received in his bank account was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family.
Critics had alleged the money came from state-owned investment fund 1MDB.
Najib Razak has consistently denied these accusations, but has faced pressure to resign over them.
Anti-corruption officials have previously said he received money as a gift from a foreign funder.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali said in a press statement on January 26 that the amount was a “personal donation” from the royal family in Saudi Arabia, transferred between the end of March and early April 2013.
He added that anti-corruption officials had met witnesses including the person they identified as the donor to confirm it.
“I am satisfied that there is no evidence to show that the donation was a form of gratification given corruptly,” Mohamed Apandi Ali said, adding that evidence did not show the donation was used as an “inducement or reward” for Najib Razak to do anything in his capacity as prime minister.
Malaysia held its last general election in May 2013, which returned Najib Razak’s party to power but with one of its poorest showings on record.
The attorney general also said no criminal offence was committed by Najib Razak in relation to three other related investigations and that no further action would be taken.
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