TOKYO: Japan’s Okinawa region voted Friday to hold a non-binding referendum on a deeply unpopular plan to relocate a US military base, in the latest twist to a long-running saga.
The decision, by local politicians, comes a month after residents elected a new governor who opposes plans to move the US Marines’ Futenma Air Station from an urban area to a sparsely populated part of the island.
While the referendum has no legal standing, a vote against the move is likely to pile fresh pressure on the central government, which backs the move as the best way to deal with anger in Okinawa about the base.
Okinawa accounts for less than one percent of Japan’s total land area, but hosts more than half of the approximately 47,000 American military personnel stationed in Japan.
Noise, accidents and crimes committed by military personnel and civilian base employees have long irritated local residents, as has the perceived refusal of other parts of the country to share Okinawa’s burden.
The plan backed by the government would move the base from its current densely populated location to a remote area, partly created by land reclamation.
Opponents do not want the base to remain where it is, but have nevertheless campaigned against the move because they believe it would entrench the US presence on the islands.
They say it should be put elsewhere in Japan, or even shuttered completely.
The construction of the new base “means pursuing national security at the expense of residents’ rights to regional autonomy,” assembly member Ichiro Miyagi said Friday.
Construction work at the new site has been suspended since August, after the Okinawa government retracted its approval for land reclamation.
New governor Denny Tamaki, who has vowed to continue fighting the new air base, will set a date for the referendum, with local media saying it would likely be held before next spring.
Okinawa was the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation of the island.
The archipelago’s location means it is of huge strategic importance for US forward positioning in Asia.
Japan’s Okinawa to hold referendum on US base move
Japan’s Okinawa to hold referendum on US base move
- While the referendum has no legal standing, a vote against the move is likely to pile fresh pressure on the central government
- Noise, accidents and crimes committed by military personnel and civilian base employees have long irritated local residents
Habitat loss stokes rabid jackal attacks in Bangladesh
- Urbanisation, logging have led to major human encroachment on habitats where much of Bangladesh's jackal population resides
- According to monitoring group Global Forest Watch, Bangladesh last year lost 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres) of forest cover
DHAKA: Few in the Jahan family's remote Bangladeshi village had seen a jackal up close before the morning one stalked Musqan through the paddy fields, pounced on her, and maimed the four-year-old for life.
Violent and unprovoked attacks by rabid canines are rising around the South Asian nation due to rampant deforestation and habitat loss -- a trend experts say has been worsened by climate change.
Musqan is still recovering from the horrific injuries she sustained in the mauling last month by the rabid jackal. While she is rabies-free thanks to prompt treatment, her face is disfigured by bite wounds and one of her eyes remains swollen shut.
"It happened in broad daylight," her aunt Ishrat Jahan told AFP.
"A jackal pushed her to the ground and blindly bit her. Other villagers later killed it, but they are still traumatised by what happened."
Golden jackals like the one that maimed Musqan are slender, wolf-like creatures found across Bangladesh, about the same size as a greyhound but lighter in weight.
What made the attack on Musqan unusual was its timing -- she was bitten in the daytime, but golden jackals are a nocturnal species.
Animal researcher Zoheb Mahmud of Independent University in Dhaka told AFP that his studies of golden jackals over eight years showed that the "gradual erosion of habitats" had altered their behaviour.
"I found the once-shy creatures had begun staring at us," he said. "They are supposed to come out in the evening or at night, but we saw them during the day."
Urbanisation and logging have led to major human encroachment on the habitats where much of Bangladesh's jackal population resides.
According to monitoring group Global Forest Watch, Bangladesh last year lost 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres) of forest cover -- an area roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
Mahmud warned that jackal attacks on humans "would not stop" if the habitat loss continued.
Bangladesh is one the countries ranked most vulnerable to climate change, and there are signs that more extreme weather is making attacks more likely.
The country saw widespread flooding in September that displaced millions of people in the worst-hit areas for the second year running, with floodwaters coursing through forests and driving out their canine inhabitants.
"Due to the flood, the jackals lost their dwellings and food," jackal bite victim Obaidul Islam told AFP from Nilphamari in the country's north.
"So they came and bit more than a dozen people in our village."
Rakibul Hasan Mukul, executive director of civil society wildlife group Arannayk, told AFP that climate change was driving more extreme and frequent flooding in Bangladesh.
He said changes to the weather were also eroding farmlands, displacing their human inhabitants and prompting them to cut down more forests.
"The loss of land has also resulted in increased conflicts between humans and wildlife," he added.
"People are cutting bushes around wetlands and their homesteads for farming. As a result, small mammals are in crisis, losing their habitats."
While Bangladesh's health ministry does not maintain specific records on jackal bites, reports from hospitals indicate an alarming and possibly unprecedented frequency of attacks this year.
The Munshiganj District Hospital, south of Dhaka, treated 20 people for bites on just a single day in September.
"I have never seen so many people coming in with jackal bites on a single day before," hospital superintendent Dewan Nizam Uddin Ahmed told AFP.
Another hospital administrator in Dinajpur, on the other side of the country, told AFP there had been 12 cases in one day at his facility.
"We are regularly getting bite patients," Dinajpur Hospital superintendent Mohammad Fazlur Rahman said. "The jackals are roaming freely through the farmland."
Golden jackals are by nature shy and usually avoid human contact unless they contract rabies, a disease that quickly turns them bold and aggressive as its symptoms take hold.
Endemic across Bangladesh, rabies spreads quickly among canine species when infected animals bite and draw blood from other creatures.
The disease is almost guaranteed to lead to a prolonged and painful death in humans once symptoms show. Prompt intervention is needed to stop the disease in its tracks.
After Musqan was bitten last month, she received treatment for three days to prevent a rabies infection, followed by a month in hospital for surgeries related to her wounds, and is still deeply traumatised by the attack.
"We can prevent rabies with vaccines," Ariful Bashar, one of the doctors at the hospital treating Musqan, told AFP.
"But most of the time, jackals rip out flesh, deforming their victims. Almost all of them then need reconstructive surgery."
Brazilian police arrest ex-Bolsonaro cabinet member in alleged coup plot investigation
- Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid
- Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto
SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Federal Police on Saturday arrested Gen. Walter Braga Netto, a former member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s Cabinet and his 2022 running mate, in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, according to a source close to the process.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid.
Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto. The arrest made on Saturday stemmed from allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said in a statement.
Local media have reported that Braga Netto sought to discover what a former Bolsonaro aide who was arrested was telling authorities, and whether he had signed a plea bargain.
Authorities also executed two search and seizure warrants.
Braga Netto served as Bolsonaro’s chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 and as defense minister from 2021 to 2022.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously, his legal team said they would wait to review police documents before making any statements.
India marks 100 years of Raj Kapoor, the ‘first showman of Bollywood’
- Retrospective of Kapoor’s films held in 40 Indian cities on Dec. 13-15
- He starred in more than 60 films, directing more than a dozen of them
NEW DELHI: India marked on Saturday the 100th birth anniversary of Raj Kapoor, remembering the legendary actor and director, whose enduring legacy continues to shape and inspire Indian cinema.
Considered one of India’s greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers, Kapoor is fondly known as the “first showman of Bollywood” and the “greatest showman of Indian cinema.”
He was born on Dec. 14, 1924, in Peshawar, now Pakistan, from where his family later moved to Mumbai.
The son of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, he debuted alongside his father at the age of 10 in “Inquilab,” a Hindi film about an earthquake in Bihar. He went on to star in more than 60 films, directing more than a dozen of them.
Nearly four decades after his death in 1988, Kapoor remains one of India’s most-loved icons. His birthday anniversary is celebrated with a retrospective of 10 of his iconic films screened in 40 cities across India this weekend.
Marking Kapoor’s birthday on Saturday morning, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the “visionary filmmaker, actor and the eternal showman” in a series of social media posts, saying he “was not just a filmmaker but a cultural ambassador who took Indian cinema to the global stage.”
One of Kapoor’s most famous films, “Awara” (1951), was the first Indian movie to reach the global stage. Known overseas as “The Vagabond,” it became an overnight sensation in South Asia, and soon found box-office success also in East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“Even today Awara is a film that is etched in my mind,” fellow film star Amitabh Bachchan wrote on X in celebration of Kapoor’s birthday. “You are amazed by his fantastical imagination.”
The film blends social themes with the genres of crime, romantic comedy and musical melodrama, featuring a character based on “the Little Tramp,” a role Kapoor also explored in other films, earning him another nickname: the “Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema.”
For many Indians, the characters in his films were ones they could relate to.
“What strikes you is how poor people are portrayed there. They are shown as someone who is trying to survive in a world dominated by rich people and industrialists and businessmen. The main character is an outsider in the world of rich people and still manages to make inroads in their lives through his character and innocence. This appeals to me,” said Ghanshyam Datt Varma, a teacher in Chittorgarh who runs a Raj Kapoor fan page on Facebook.
“I started my life as a commoner, someone at the margin of society, and through my hard work I became a schoolteacher, despite all the hurdles. I feel the character in Raj Kapoor’s films, like ‘Sangam,’ ‘Mera Naam Joker,’ and so ... He was really a showman, a film personality who portrayed people of India and their struggle so beautifully.”
The film’s theme song, “Awara Hoon,” is still celebrated globally and has been rated among the greatest Bollywood songs of all time many times.
“I grew up watching his films and singing the songs of his films,” said Rahul Prakash, a lawyer from Patna.
Kapoor is for him a “legend-like hero who taught not one but many generations the ultimate meaning of love. A visionary director who gave birth to characters that were imaginary but also realistic,” he said.
“The way he portrayed the character of a common man on the silver screen — in such a simple and natural way — is immortal.”
Kapoor’s films were commercial successes not only in South Asia but also in the Middle East, the Caribbean, Africa and in the Soviet bloc.
“Raj Kapoor was not only a Bollywood personality but an international personality. He promoted India’s soft power through his films. His films were very popular in Russia because of the theme he chose and the pomp and gaiety he showed,” Rana Siddiqui Zaman, film critic, told Arab News.
“He is also one of the first directors to give roles to Pakistani artists. In the film ‘Heena,’ the main female character is from Pakistan. There is no other filmmaker in the industry who drove international filmmakers to call the Mumbai film industry ‘Bollywood.’”
US Marines start partial transfer from Okinawa in Japan to Guam under plan agreed 12 years ago
- Relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force moving to the Pacific island
- Many Okinawans have long complained about the heavy US military presence on the island
TOKYO: The partial transfer of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam began on Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said.
The relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on Okinawa moving to the Pacific island for the initial logistical work, the US Marine Corps and Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a joint statement.
Under the plan agreed between Tokyo and Washington in April 2012, about 9,000 of the 19,000 Marines currently stationed on Okinawa are to be moved out of Okinawa, including about 4,000 of them to be moved to Guam in phases. Details, including the size and timing of the next transfer, were not immediately released.
The Marine Corps is committed to the defense of Japan and meeting operational requirements to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, and it will maintain presence in the region “through a combination of stationing and rotating Marines in Japan, Guam and Hawaii,” the joint statement said.
Japan has paid up to $2.8 billion for the building of infrastructure at the US bases on Guam, and the US government will fund the remaining costs. The two governments will continue to cooperate on the development of Camp Blaz, which will serve as the main installation for Marines stationed in Guam.
The Marines and Japan Self Defense Forces will conduct joint training in Guam, the statement said.
Okinawa, which was under US postwar occupation until 1972, is still home to a majority of the more than 50,000 American troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact, while 70 percent of US military facilities are on Okinawa, which accounts for only 0.6 percent of Japanese land.
Many Okinawans have long complained about the heavy US military presence on the island, and say Okinawa faces noise, pollution, aircraft accidents and crime related to American troops.
The relocation is likely to be welcomed by local residents, but how much improvement they will feel is uncertain because of the rapid Japanese military buildup on Okinawan islands as a deterrence to threats from China.
The start of the Marines relocation comes at a time of growing anti-US military sentiment following a series of sexual assault cases involving American servicemembers.
On Thursday, a senior Air Force servicemember belonging to the Kadena Air Base was convicted of the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teenage girl last year, a case that triggered outrage on the island. The Naha District Court sentenced him to five years in prison.
South Korea’s President Yoon impeached over martial law bid
- Hundreds of thousands of people took to streets of the capital Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon on Saturday
- In a televised address, Yoon said he would ‘step aside’ but did not apologize for his botched bid to impose martial law
Seoul: South Korean lawmakers on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people.”
The vote capped over a week of intense political drama in the democratic South following Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon on Saturday.
In a televised address following the parliamentary vote, the impeached Yoon said he would “step aside” but did not apologize for his botched bid to impose martial law.
Out of 300 lawmakers, 204 voted to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection while 85 voted against.
Three abstained, with eight votes nullified.
With the impeachment, Yoon has been suspended from office while South Korea’s Constitutional Court deliberates on the vote.
The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon’s future.
Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae vowed to hold “a swift and fair trial.”
If the court backs his removal, Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo — now the nation’s interim leader — told reporters he would “devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance.”
Two hundred votes were needed for the impeachment to pass, and opposition lawmakers needed to convince at least eight parliamentarians from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides.
“Today’s impeachment is the great victory of the people,” opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said following the vote.
PPP lawmaker Kim Sang-wook told broadcaster JTBC that Yoon had “completely betrayed the values of conservatism.”
“That is why we, as ruling party lawmakers, have decided to remove him ourselves,” he said.
A Seoul police official told AFP at least 200,000 people had massed outside parliament in support of removing the president.
Choi Jung-ha, 52, danced in the street after the vote.
“Isn’t it amazing that we, the people, have pulled this off together?” she told AFP.
“I am 100 percent certain the Constitutional Court will side with the impeachment.”
On the other side of Seoul near Gwanghwamun square, police estimated 30,000 had rallied in support of Yoon, blasting patriotic songs and waving South Korean and American flags.
“Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law. I approve of every decision he has made as president,” supporter Choi Hee-sun, 62, told AFP before the vote.
The Democratic Party said ahead of the vote that impeachment was the “only way” to “safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy and South Korea’s future.”
“We can no longer endure Yoon’s madness,” spokeswoman Hwang Jung-a said.
At the rally outside parliament supporting impeachment, volunteers gave out free hand warmers on Saturday morning to fight the subzero temperatures, as well as coffee and food.
K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girls’ Generation — whose song “Into the New World” has become a protest anthem — said she had prepaid for food for fans attending the demonstration.
“Stay safe and take care of your health!” she said on a superfan chat platform.
One protester said she had rented a bus so parents at the rally would have a place to change diapers and feed their babies.
Another said they had initially planned to spend their Saturday hiking.
“But I came here instead to support my fellow citizens,” Kim Deuk-yun, 58, told AFP.
Yoon’s future will now be determined by the court, which has previously blocked an impeachment.
In 2004, then-president Roh Moo-hyun was removed by parliament for alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the Constitutional Court later reinstated him.
The court currently only has six judges, meaning their decision must be unanimous.
Following Saturday’s vote, parliament speaker Woo Won-shik said the National Assembly would seek to nominate three more judges to the court as soon as possible.
“The future of South Korea lies within its people,” he said.
Yoon remained unapologetic and defiant as the fallout from his disastrous martial law declaration deepened and an investigation into his inner circle has widened.
His approval rating — never very high — plummeted to 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday.
The same poll showed that 75 percent supported his impeachment.
Following Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the European Union called for a “swift and orderly resolution” to the political crisis in South Korea in line with the country’s constitution.
