Page 2922 – Texas Weekly Online

Japanese prosecutors raid ruling party offices amid slush fund scandal

Prosecutors allege Liberal Democratic Party factions failed to report fundraising proceeds. Prosecutors have raided the offices of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party amid a political funding scandal that has sent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s approval ratings to some of the lowest levels in the country’s post-war history. Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office searched the offices of two LPD factions associated with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former secretary-general Toshihiro Nikai, local media reported on Tuesday. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that party officials failed to declare a combined 600 million yen ($4.18m) in fundraising proceeds, directing money to faction-run slush funds. LDP secretary-general Toshimitsu Motegi said the raids were “extremely regrettable” and the party would take “necessary measures while observing the fate of the investigation”. The scandal has fuelled public discontent with the LPD and Kishida, who last week sacked four cabinet members implicated in the allegations, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, in an effort to stem the fallout. “The party must work to restore the trust of the people with a strong sense of urgency,” Kishida told reporters on Tuesday. “I’ll double down my efforts as the leader of the LDP to restore trust,” Kishida told a news conference last week. Kishida’s cabinet reshuffle, however, has done little to boost his flagging approval. In an opinion poll published by the Mainichi newspaper on Sunday, 79 of respondents said they disapproved of the government – the highest figure since the poll began in 1947. Other polls by the Asahi, Yomiuri and Nikkei newspapers over the weekend put Kishida’s approval rating at about 20 percent, the lowest of any premier since the LDP returned to power in 2012 following a brief interruption in its decades-long ruling streak. Kishida, who has already reshuffled his cabinet twice, does not need to hold an election until October 2025, and Japan’s weak opposition parties have historically struggled to compete with the LDP. Adblock test (Why?)

Iceland volcano erupts, spewing lava, smoke after weeks of earthquakes

A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted, spewing lava and smoke across a wide area weeks after nearly 4,000 residents of a nearby town were evacuated amid intense seismic activity. The eruption started at about 10:17pm (22:17 GMT) on Monday on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defence to be on high alert. It appeared to have taken place about 4km (2.4 miles) from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Livestreamed footage of the eruption showed glowing orange jets of lava spewing from a gash in the ground, surrounded by billowing clouds of red smoke. Iceland has been on high alert for a potential eruption after thousands of small earthquakes rattled the region about 40km (25 miles) south of the capital, Reykjavik, prompting the evacuation in November of the fishing town of Grindavik and the closure of the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and averages an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and grounded flights across Europe for days because of fears that the ash could damage aeroplane engines. Scientists say a new eruption would likely produce lava but not an ash cloud. A coast guard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location – and size – of the eruption, and will also measure gas emissions. Grindavik sits on the Reykjanes peninsula and is close to Keflavik airport, Iceland’s main facility for international flights. Adblock test (Why?)

‘Ek Nischay aur ek Nitish’: Amid multiple PM faces, posters spark speculation ahead of INDIA bloc meet in Patna

Ahead of the meeting of the Opposition alliance, Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi on Tuesday, said crucial aspects such as seat-sharing and other issues are likely to figure in the discussions at the huddle.

US announces 10-nation force to counter Houthi attacks in Red Sea

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says coalition will include Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, UK and other countries. The United States has announced the launch of a multinational force to protect trade in the Red Sea after a series of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels forced several shipping companies to suspend operations. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday that Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Seychelles and the United Kingdom would be among the countries joining the 10-nation “multinational security initiative”. “Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” Austin said in a statement, describing the attacks as an issue that “demands collective action”. The announcement comes after the US and UK navies said over the weekend that their destroyers had shot down a total of 15 drones in the waterway. The Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up drone and missile attacks on vessels in key shipping lanes since the start of the war in Gaza, targeting ships alleged to have links to Israel or Israelis. The rebel group said on Monday it had attacked the Norwegian-owned Swan Atlantic and the MSC Clara using naval drones to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Swan Atlantic’s owner, Norway’s Inventor Chemical Tankers, said in a statement the vessel had no link to Israel and was managed by a Singaporean firm. There were no injuries reported by either vessel. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official and spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Monday that the group would confront any US-led coalition in the Red Sea. More countries to be announced Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat, reporting from the occupied East Jerusalem, said that the coalition might also include Egypt and Jordan as additional Arab nations to Bahrain, as they have a vested interest in ensuring the safe passage of ships. She said: “It is still not clear whether they will join the fold later. Egypt and Jordan, as well as some of the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries, including Saudi Arabia, are part of the Combined Maritime Forces, which the coalition will be under the umbrella of.” “Reading between the lines, it’s a very difficult situation for some of these Middle Eastern countries. You have Saudi Arabia, which is very close, it seems, to signing a deal with the Houthi rebels in Yemen,” she also said. “You have Egypt, which doesn’t want to be seen as going against the Houthis’ message on Gaza – which is for Israel to stop the war on the enclave.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday on the issue, discussing the ways to avoid further conflict. “The Secretary also condemned continued attacks by the Houthis on commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea and urged cooperation among all partners to uphold maritime security,” the State Department said in a statement after the call. US’ Austin, who is visiting Israel, is subsequently scheduled to head to Bahrain and Qatar to hold talks. Companies avoid Red Sea At least 12 shipping companies, including the Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM and Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, have suspended transit through the Red Sea due to safety concerns. UK oil giant BP on Monday became the latest firm to announce it would avoid the waters. “In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” BP said in a statement. “We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region.” Houthi attacks have effectively rerouted a significant portion of global trade by forcing freight companies to sail around Africa, imposing higher costs and delays for deliveries of energy, food and consumer goods. About 12 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, which connects to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, including 30 percent of container traffic. Adblock test (Why?)

Bombs to buzzing beaches: Sri Lanka sees tourism surge after long crisis

Colombo, Sri Lanka – Devmith Kaggodarachchi’s beachfront hotel in the southwestern coastal town of Hikkaduwa, a tourist hotspot 136km (85 miles) from the capital Colombo, is nearing full capacity. The three-star hotel, with air-conditioned rooms and private balconies looking into the Indian Ocean, is busy serving tourists visiting for the Christmas season. That is not how it’s been for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry over the past four years. Tourist arrivals dropped drastically in 2019 after bombings in three luxury hotels and three churches on Easter killed more than 250 people. The COVID-19 pandemic hit before Sri Lanka had a chance to recover. The country’s economic and political turmoil in 2022 – when its then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family had to flee, and essential commodities like fuel became almost impossible for everyday people to secure – further pushed tourists away from Sri Lanka. But a concerted promotional drive to attract foreign visitors, aided by geopolitical tensions unrelated to the country, appears to finally be bearing fruit, offering the nation an engine of revenue that could play a pivotal role in helping Sri Lanka’s economy recover. In 2023, Sri Lanka recorded more than 1.3 million tourist arrivals by the second week of December, official data show. It is the first time arrivals have crossed the 1 million mark in four years. More than 150,000 tourists visited in November, the highest monthly tally since March 2020. “Tourists are trusting us now. After going back to their country, they talk good about us. Business is good at the moment,” Kaggodarachchi told Al Jazeera. “Our hotel can serve about 150 tourists at a time. At the moment, there are 130”. Most tourists who have visited this year are from India, which hosted three roadshows promoting Sri Lanka’s tourism sector in April. But the Russian war in Ukraine has helped Sri Lanka too. Russia is the second-highest source of tourists to the country this year, at a time Russian tourists are not welcome in many other nations. “There were limitations on countries Russians could visit. They could visit Sri Lanka. We had that advantage,” Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando told Al Jazeera. Encouraging numbers, but higher revenue needed Industry stakeholders say that while higher tourist arrivals are a positive sign, there is a need to attract high-spending tourists to generate more revenue for the economy. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has also urged the tourism sector to improve its products and services to cater to high-end tourists. From January to November, tourism contributed $1.8bn in revenue – an increase of 78 percent compared with the same period last year. Tourism is Sri Lanka’s third-largest source of foreign exchange. On average, a tourist spends $181 daily, according to government data. Suranga Silva, a professor in tourism economics at the University of Colombo, suggested that Sri Lanka could use its uninhabited islands to boost high-end tourism by offering exclusivity. “If we can develop our islands as high-end tourist destinations, we can get tourists to spend more than $1000 daily. The service must be worth what they pay,” Silva told Al Jazeera. Research published in 2018 identified at least 87 islands in Sri Lankan territory. Many are neglected and can be used to develop tourist resorts, bird sanctuaries and scenic attractions, the research found. “Only luxury hotels aren’t enough. Tourists should be given a valuable tour package including domestic charter flights to take them to these locations,” Silva said. In 2021, the World Economic Forum ranked Sri Lanka 74th among 117 countries on its Travel and Tourism Development Index, which measures factors and policies that enable the development of the travel and tourism sector. “Right now, there is no advantage for any foreign investor to invest in Sri Lanka,” Fernando, the tourism authority chairperson, conceded. “These are the things we have to look at and come up with policies that will facilitate greater investment.” “I feel it will be 2029 by the time we receive 5 million tourists, of which half at least spend $500 a day”. ‘Don’t kill the goose that lays golden eggs’ But even as Colombo promotes the country’s tourism internationally, many businesses in the sector fear that the government is at the same time weakening their ability to compete for global travellers. From January 2024, the Sri Lankan government will lift an exemption on value-added tax (VAT), which it had extended to tourism operators in 2020. “Our industry generates foreign exchange revenue quickly. So, our request is to exempt us from VAT,” Rohan Abeywickrama, the president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism, told Al Jazeera. Sri Lanka’s parliament recently voted to increase VAT from 15 to 18 percent, adding to the concerns of the sector. That is to meet tax collection targets agreed with the International Monetary Fund which is offering the government a $2.9bn bailout package to tide over the country’s worst economic crisis since independence. Businesses catering to tourists are already paying a Tourism Development Levy, Income Tax and Turnover Tax. “When all these taxes are imposed on us, our production costs go up. So we become an expensive tourist destination,” Abeywickrama, an industry veteran who is also on the government’s tourism advisory committee, said. “Tourism is driven by the private sector and is important to generate revenue. So the government must protect us and encourage us to remain in business. They shouldn’t kill the goose that lays golden eggs”. The tourism sector is also asking the government to provide relief on their mounting debt and the multiple electricity and water tariff hikes imposed since last year. Tour operators and safari four-wheel drive drivers say they have to put up with old vehicles as the government banned vehicle imports in early 2020 to control dollar outflows. “The vehicle fleet is over 15 to 20 years old, which is a challenge with more breakdowns and high cost of repairs,” Nishad Wijetunga, the president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), told Al Jazeera. “Vehicle

Maharashtra govt approves building of a new city called ‘Third Mumbai’; know when and where

The city is proposed to be developed around the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which will be linked to Mumbai.

Iowa Gov. Reynolds, with DeSantis, takes aim at Trump over ‘misleading’ TV ad

EXCLUSIVE – Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that former President Trump is “misleading” voters in her state. “It’s misleading and it’s not fair to Iowans,” the governor said Monday night in an interview with Fox News Digital while referring to an ad the Trump campaign is running in the Hawkeye State that spotlights years-old clips of Reynolds praising the former president. Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the White House last month, and the two teamed up again in Bettendorf, Iowa, with four weeks to go until the state’s caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar. While Reynolds supported Trump during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, their relationship soured this past summer when the former president blasted Reynolds for staying neutral in the Republican nomination race – following a long-standing tradition of Iowa governors. DESANTIS TURNS UP THE VOLUME ON TRUMP “He was upset with me because I was going to stay neutral at the beginning of the campaign for the first-in-the-nation caucus, which I did for seven months,” Reynolds said in her Fox News interview and in comments to the crowd minutes earlier. Trump’s attacks on Reynolds intensified after she endorsed DeSantis. “It’s not going to make any difference, because the only endorsement that matters is the Trump endorsement,” the former president claimed at a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, earlier this month. Reynolds noted that after she backed DeSantis, Trump said her “endorsement didn’t mean anything” and called it “worthless,” adding that she was “the worst governor in the country.” DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL 99 OF IOWA’S COUNTIES — BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? “That’s on one hand, and now we look at another hand – he’s using me in a commercial that dates back to 2016 and again [is] misleading Iowans as if I was endorsing him and going back and forth,” the governor added. “In 2016 and 2020 I supported President Trump. I endorsed him. I helped him in the state of Iowa. It’s a different day. It’s a different time.” Pointing to Hawkeye State voters, Reynolds said “it’s OK for Iowans to say ‘thank you for what you did’ and move on. We need somebody that can win. We need somebody that can follow through on what they said they were going to do.” Asked for a response, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung asked Fox News, “is she saying that she lied to voters all those years?” Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. He made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime with his four indictments, including in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president’s legal difficulties have only boosted his support among Republican primary voters. TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES Trump holds an extremely formidable double-digit lead over DeSantis and the rest of the remaining field of 2024 nomination rivals in the latest polls in Iowa, but Reynolds remains optimistic. Asked about the polls, she told Fox News “it can change.” “The energy, the momentum, is with [DeSantis]. Iowans break late. So we’ve got a lot of time left,” she emphasized. “We’re going work hard to get him across the finish line.” Fox News’ Clare O’Connor contributed to this report Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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