Japan’s parliament reelects struggling leader Ishiba as prime minister

Update Japan’s parliament reelects struggling leader Ishiba as prime minister
Lawmakers in the powerful lower house convened on Monday afternoon for a special four-day session to nominate the prime minister, a necessary step after a general election. Above, Shigeru Ishiba attends the session to elect the new prime minister on Nov. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Japan’s parliament reelects struggling leader Ishiba as prime minister

Japan’s parliament reelects struggling leader Ishiba as prime minister
  • Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito lose majority in the Lower House
  • Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years

TOKYO: Japan’s parliament reelected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday after his governing coalition suffered the worst election loss in more than a decade.
Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost their majority in the 465-seat Lower House, the more powerful of Japan’s two-house parliament, in the Oct. 27 election due to continued voter outrage over financial misconduct by his party and its lukewarm response.
A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leader in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. In the past, these votes did not attract as much attention because an LDP leader was virtually assured to be prime minister. Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years.
Most of his previous Cabinet members will be reappointed, but Ishiba will have to replace three who lost their seats or were affected by the election results.
Since the election loss, Ishiba has refused to step down, saying is willing to cooperate with additional coalition partners to boost stability and help him pursue his party’s policies. Noda, head of the centrist opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has sought to form an opposition coalition — but so far unsuccessfully.
Ishiba will struggle in the coming months as he must gain consent from the opposition on policies including the budget and other legislation.
He is eyeing a rising smaller, conservative opposition, the Democratic Party for the People, whose seats quadrupled to 28 under its popular leader Yuichiro Tamaki.
A Harvard-educated former Finance Ministry bureaucrat, Tamaki has proposed raising the basic tax-free income allowance and increasing take-home wages, ideas that attracted low-income earners and younger voters in the election. He only wants to cooperate with Ishiba’s party on policy — not as part of a coalition — since he wants to use his leverage to increase his party’s standing ahead of the next election.
Tamaki was recently stung by a magazine article exposing an extramarital affair, which he admitted to on Monday, adding to political uncertainty.
Ishiba’s government is preparing for his trip later this month to ASEAN and Group of 20 summits, as well as a possible meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump on his way home.


Thousands flee as fourth typhoon in a month hits Philippines

Thousands flee as fourth typhoon in a month hits Philippines
Updated 10 min 46 sec ago
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Thousands flee as fourth typhoon in a month hits Philippines

Thousands flee as fourth typhoon in a month hits Philippines
  • Typhoon Toraji hit near Dilasag town, about 220 kilometers northeast of the capital, Manila
  • After Toraji, a tropical depression could also potentially strike the region as early as Thursday night

MANILA: Thousands of people sought shelter and ports shut down in the Philippines on Monday, officials said, as the disaster-weary nation was struck by another typhoon — the fourth in less than a month.

Typhoon Toraji hit near Dilasag town, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of the capital, Manila, the national weather agency said.

“We’re getting hit with strong winds and heavy rain. Some trees are being toppled and power has been cut since yesterday,” Merwina Pableo, civil defense chief of Dinalungan town near Dilasag, said.

Rescuers said around 7,000 people were moved from coastal areas as well as flood-prone and landslide-prone areas in Aurora and Isabela, the first two provinces to be struck before Toraji plowed inland to the mountainous interior of the main island of Luzon.

In all, the government ordered 2,500 villages to be evacuated on Sunday, though the national disaster office does not have the total number of evacuees as of Monday.

In the landfall area of Dilasag, school teacher Glenn Balanag, 31, filmed the onslaught of the howling 130 kilometers an hour winds, which violently shook coconut trees around his rural home.

Tropical cyclone bulletin released by the Philippine weather bureau PAGASA on Sunday.

“Big trees are falling and we heard the roofs of some houses were damaged. The rain is continuing and a river nearby is rising,” he said.

The national weather agency warned of severe winds and “intense to torrential” rainfall exceeding 200 millimeters (eight inches) across the north of the country, along with a “moderate to high risk of a storm surge” — giant waves up to three meters (10 feet) high on the north coast.

Schools and government offices were shut in areas expected to be hit hardest by the latest typhoon.

Nearly 700 passengers were stranded at ports on or near the typhoon’s path, according to a coast guard tally on Monday, with the weather service warning that “sea travel is risky for all types or tonnage of vessels.”

“All mariners must remain in port or, if underway, seek shelter or safe harbor as soon as possible until winds and waves subside,” it added.

Aurora and Isabela officials said the main impact appeared to be downed trees and power pylons that blocked major roads.

“I don’t want to send people out yet to investigate. I do not want them to be caught out by powerful gusts,” said Constante Foronda, Isabela’s disaster response chief.

The typhoon was forecast to blow out to the South China Sea late Monday, the weather service said.

Aurora provincial disaster response chief Elson Egargue said he pushed out crews to clear roads after Toraji left the province in early afternoon.

After Toraji, a tropical depression could also potentially strike the region as early as Thursday night, weather forecaster Veronica Torres said.

Tropical Storm Man-yi, currently east of Guam, may also threaten the Philippines next week, she added.

Toraji came on the heels of three cyclones in less than a month that killed 159 people.

On Thursday, Typhoon Yinxing slammed into the country’s north coast, damaging houses and buildings.

A 12-year-old girl was crushed to death in one incident.

Before that, Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Trami.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.


Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’

Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’
Updated 11 November 2024
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Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’

Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’
  • Tom Homan is also a contender for secretary of homeland security
  • Former ICE chief will be in charge of the deportation of illegal immigrants

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will be in charge of the country’s borders in his new administration.
Homan will be “in charge of our nation’s borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Homan, who served in Trump administration for a year and a half during his first term, is also a contender for secretary of homeland security.
Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration the central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations. He frequently praised Homan during the campaign, and Homan often hit the trail to rally supporters.
Trump added in his Truth Social post that Homan will be in charge of the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The president-elect is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his Jan. 20 inauguration as president.
CNN reported on Sunday that Trump had offered Republican Representative Elize Stefanik the job as US ambassador to the United Nations.


Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally

Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally
Updated 11 November 2024
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Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally

Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally
  • The rally in Dhaka by Hasina’s party was to commemorate the death of a party activist on Nov. 10, 1987
  • On Sunday, rival party activists filled up much of the area where the rally was scheduled to take place

DHAKA: Rivals of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday thwarted a plan by her Awami League party to hold a rally in Bangladesh’s capital, seen as a potential first effort to make a comeback on the streets since she fled the country in August amid a mass uprising.
The rally in Dhaka by Hasina’s party was to commemorate the death of a party activist on Nov. 10, 1987, which had sparked a mass protest against former military dictator H.M. Ershad. He was eventually ousted from office, ending his nine-year rule in 1990.
The day is commemorated as “democracy day.” In 1991, Bangladesh switched to a parliamentary democracy from a presidential form of government, and since then Hasina and her rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, became the most powerful political figures in the country.
On Sunday, activists of the party headed by Zia, Hasina’s main rival, and also members of the conservative Jamaat-e-Islami party took to the streets of Dhaka, filling up much of the area where the rally was scheduled to take place.
Others, including hundreds of student protesters, also announced that they wouldn’t allow Hasina’s supporters to stand on the streets and hold the rally. The protesters said that they think Hasina’s party was trying to make a comeback by holding a rally on the streets on Sunday. The protesters from the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, a group that led the mass uprising in July-August, aggressively hunted for supporters of Hasina.
Groups of people surrounded the Awami League party’s headquarters near the Noor Hossain Square in Dhaka where Hasina’s supporters were supposed to gather to hold the rally.
Security was tight in the area, but witnesses and local media said that the protesters attacked several supporters of Hasina when they attempted to reach there and chanted slogans in favor of the fallen leader.
The Awami League party said that many of their activists were detained by police as they came under attacks.
Tensions ran high throughout Sunday with the anti-Hasina protesters saying that they wouldn’t allow the party to hold any public rally under any circumstances. The Awami League party questioned the notion, saying it is against the spirit of democracy and the constitutional right to assembly.
The Awami League party posted a number of videos on Facebook on Sunday showing its supporters being manhandled. Its party headquarters had earlier been vandalized following Hasina’s fall on Aug. 5, and on Sunday it was empty and there were signs of destruction. Outside, control was in the hands of Hasina’s opponents.
The political chaos in the South Asian nation went on as Zia’s party was seeking quick reforms and a new election from an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus. The party believes it will be able to form the new government in the absence of Hasina’s party, while its other allies are also struggling.
As the interim government ends its three months in office, people remain concerned over high commodity prices, law and order, mob justice and the rise of Islamist forces once suppressed by Hasina’s regime. The international community also remains wary about alleged attacks on minority groups, especially Hindus that make up about 8 percent of the country’s 170 million people.
The Yunus-led government said it would seek extradition of Hasina and her close associates as they face charges of crimes against humanity involving deaths of hundreds of protesters during the uprising.
On Sunday, Bangladesh’s Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the interim government would ask Interpol to issue red notices seeking the arrest and repatriation of fugitives allegedly responsible for the deaths of people during the mass uprising.
“We will … prioritize bringing them back from wherever they are hiding,” he told reporters in Dhaka.


Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote
Updated 11 November 2024
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Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

PORT LUIS, Mauritius: Mauritians are set to find out Monday who will govern their Indian Ocean island nation for the next five years after a hotly disputed election race.
Both the incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his main rival Navin Ramgoolam claimed their political blocs had triumphed in Sunday’s legislative poll.
Voters had voiced concern about the continued political and economic durability of one of the richest and most stable democracies in Africa, with the election overshadowed by an explosive phone-tapping scandal.
The poll came on the heels of a historic agreement last month that saw Britain cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running dispute.
But Jugnauth’s hopes he would handily win a new term on the back of the deal were dented when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats and journalists began to be leaked online last month.
Seeking to keep a lid on the scandal, the authorities announced a social media ban until after the election, before making an embarrassing climbdown in the face of opposition and media outrage.
The move added to concerns that Mauritius’s much-vaunted democracy and civil liberties were being gradually eroded.
Jugnauth’s Militant Socialist Movement and its allies are seeking to hold on to their 42-seat majority in the 70-member National Assembly but face a stiff challenge from former prime minister Ramgoolam’s Alliance of Change.
During a lively and sometimes heated campaign, both camps promised voters they would take measures to improve the lot of ordinary Mauritians who face cost of living difficulties despite strong economic growth.
“We are confident of winning because the people appreciate our record,” 62-year-old Jugnauth said after polls closed, accusing the opposition of trying to hinder the smooth running of the vote.
Ramgoolam, 77, issued a similar declaration.
“We are heading toward a big victory tomorrow. The people are waiting for this liberation,” he told reporters.
Both men are members of the dynasties that have dominated politics in Mauritius since it became independent from Britain in 1968.
A new bloc, the Linion Reform alliance, campaigned against the establishment politicians with the slogan “Neither Navin, Nor Pravind,” and criticized corruption and nepotism.
Police had been stationed in polling stations across the country to ensure the security of the vote, while a number of international observers monitored the process.
Ramgoolam had warned early on polling day about the risk of fraud, while later saying that voting went off largely without incident.
Ballot counting begins on Monday morning with results expected later in the day.
Turnout among the one million registered voters was expected to be around 80 percent, media commentators said, based on figures from a number of polling stations.
Sixty-two seats were up for grabs under a first-past-the-post system, with the remaining eight allocated under what is dubbed the “best loser” system.
The majority-Hindu nation has seen remarkable stability and growth since independence, building an economy based on tourism as well as financial services and textile manufacturing.
GDP growth was seven percent in 2023, but analysts say Mauritius needs to diversify its economy, and concerns about governance and corruption are growing.
The island is renowned for its spectacular palm-fringed white beaches and turquoise waters, attracting 1.3 million visitors last year.
The Chagos deal was a major success for the government, though Britain will retain a lease for a joint US military base on the island of Diego Garcia for an “initial” 99 years.
Jugnauth hailed it as the completion of the nation’s “decolonization.”
But some have voiced concerns that president-elect Donald Trump’s approach to the US military presence in the Indian Ocean might have repercussions for the agreement.


COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming

COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming
Updated 11 November 2024
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COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming

COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming
  • Just a handful of leaders from the Group of 20, whose countries account for nearly 80 percent of global emissions, are attending
Baku: The COP29 climate talks open Monday in Azerbaijan, under the long shadow cast by the re-election of Donald Trump, who has pledged to row back on the United States’ carbon-cutting commitments.
Countries come to Baku for the main United Nations forum for climate diplomacy after new warnings that 2024 is on track to break temperature records, adding urgency to a fractious debate over climate funding.
But Trump’s return will loom over the discussions, with fears that an imminent US departure from the landmark Paris agreement to limit global warming could mean less ambition around the negotiating table.
“We cannot afford to let the momentum for global action on climate change be derailed,” said Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and environment.
“This is a shared problem that will not solve itself without international cooperation, and we will continue to make that case to the incoming president of one of the world’s largest polluters.”
Outgoing President Joe Biden is staying away, as are many leaders who have traditionally appeared early in COP talks to lend weight to the proceedings.
Just a handful of leaders from the Group of 20, whose countries account for nearly 80 percent of global emissions, are attending.
Afghanistan will however be sending a delegation for the first time since the Taliban took power. They are expected to have observer status.
Diplomats have insisted that the absences, and Trump’s win, will not detract from the serious work at hand, particularly agreeing a new figure for climate funding to developing countries.
Negotiators must increase a $100 billion-a-year target to help developing nations prepare for worsening climate impacts and wean their economies off fossil fuels.
How much will be on offer, who will pay, and who can access the funds are some of the major points of contention.
“It’s hard. It involves money. When it comes to money, everybody shows their true colors,” Adonia Ayebare, the Ugandan chair of a bloc that groups over 100 mostly developing countries and China, told AFP on Sunday.
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” has vowed to pull the United States out of the Paris agreement.
But Ayebare brushed aside the potential consequences of a US withdrawal, noting Trump already took Washington out of the Paris agreement during his first term.
“This has happened before, we will find a way of realigning.”
Developing countries are pushing for trillions of dollars, and insist money should be mostly grants rather than loans.
They warn that without the money they will struggle to offer ambitious updates to their climate goals, which countries are required to submit by early next year.
“Bring some money to the table so that you show your leadership,” said Evans Njewa, chair of the LDC Climate Group, whose members are home to 1.1 billion people.
But the small group of developed countries that currently contributes wants to see the donor pool expanded to include other rich nations and top emitters, including China and the Gulf states.
One Chinese official warned Sunday during a closed-door session that the talks should not aim to “renegotiate” existing agreements.
Liang Pei, an official at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, urged negotiators to instead address “the climate crisis collectively, constructively.”
The talks come with fresh warnings that the world is far off track to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.
The climate deal commits to keep warming below 2C compared to pre-industrial levels, preferably below 1.5C.
But the world is on track to top that level in 2024, according to the European Union climate monitor.
That would not be an immediate breach of the Paris deal, which measures temperatures over decades, but it suggests much greater climate action is needed.
Earlier this year, the UN warned the world is on track for a catastrophic 3.1C of warming this century based on current actions.
“Everyone knows that these negotiations will not be easy,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“But they are worth it: each tenth of a degree of warming avoided means fewer crises, less suffering, less displacement.”
More than 51,000 people are expected at the talks, which run November 11-22.
For the second year running the talks will be hosted by a country heavily reliant on fossil fuels, after the United Arab Emirates last year.
Azerbaijan has also been accused of stifling dissent by persecuting political opponents, detaining activists and suffocating independent media.