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money laundering—and investing in sustainable development.” He adds, citing the spate of killings that have characterized Duterte’s war: “The fight against drugs has to be balanced so that it does not infringe on the rights and well-being of citizens.” It’s an unwinnable war, Gaviria says, as he expresses hope that Duterte does not fall into the same trap. But almost on impulse, and likely before he even read the oped piece, Mr. Duterte descended into his usual folly of talking foul against anybody who dared criticize him, no matter how well-meaning and constructive the criticism is. The President also said he is taking full responsibility for the actions of law enforcers
N SEPTEMBER last year, Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa went to Colombia to “exchange notes” with that country’s leaders in the fight against illegal drugs. Colombia has been dealing with powerful drug cartels that have earned for it the reputation of being the world’s primary supplier of cocaine. There is less confidence in Colombians these days. President Rodrigo Duterte now says its former president, Cesar Gaviria, is an idiot. In an op-ed piece published in the New York Times last week, Gaviria, who was president from 1990 to 1994, urged Mr. Duterte to reconsider his approach to tackling illegal drugs. “Trust me, I learned the hard way,” Gaviria said, under whose term the notorious trafficker Pablo Escobar was taken down. The war against illegal drugs, the former Colombian president wrote, cannot be won by armed forces and law enforcement agencies alone. His ruthless campaign
notwithstanding, the government failed to eradicate drug production, trafficking and consumption and pushed drugs and crime into neighboring countries. Gaviria now supports a new approach—“one that strips out the profits that accompany drug sales while ensuring the basic human rights and public health of all citizens.” Gaviria tells Duterte that military hardware, repressive policing and bigger prisons are the answer. “Real reductions in drug supply and demand will come through improving public health and safety, strengthening anti-corruption measures— especially those that combat
FILLING A BOOKSHELF SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA—A friend who saw some photos of the apartment I recently moved into in this area sent me a message about my bookshelf. It’s a six-shelf Billy from Ikea, about the plainest design you can imagine to maximize space, and crammed top to bottom with books acquired within the four months I’ve lived here. She asked, “How do you choose what books to buy?” Every reader has their own criteria, but for those who’d like to try putting their reading in an organized path, going by categories would help them make sure they have what they need at hand. For myself, these are the categories I take into consideration: 1. Hobbies and crafts: These are the activities that fill some of your leisure time. What are the ones you’d like to learn or develop? Woodworking, interior design, cooking? Ask yourself what you’re eager to learn, and go on from there. I learn better when I self-study because I can move at my own pace, and I’m pretty good at following directions, so at various times, I’ve bought books and magazines to teach myself patchwork and quilting, crossstitch, sketching, watercolor painting, surface embroidery, and crochet. It turns out I don’t have an aptitude for the latter so I’m still on the lookout for books that will be useful to me in that regard. 2. Fiction: You might like young adult, or romance, or fantasy, and buy a lot of books in those genres. But do you sometimes feel like you’re stuck in a rut and want to move on? Or have you come across references to certain personages, things, words, or events in popular culture that you’d like to get a handle on—say, “Chtulhu,” or “little grey cells,” or “Jeeves?” (The first is a character in the works of horror writer HP Lovecraft, the second from the Hercule Poirot detective stories of Agatha Christie, and the third from the Bertie Wooster novels of PG Wodehouse.) If you’d like to gain a deeper understanding into such works and why they are often referred to, up to now, then pick up several books by the writers you are interested in and immerse yourself in them. The aim is to pick up the pattern of how they write, or narrative arcs that they are partial to. This is also how to recognize the style of a certain writer and the shape that their stories frequently take. Another suggestion for getting off the beaten path: pick a popular book from a genre you don’t usually read. Ask a friend who’s into that for a recommendation. It might spark some interesting conversations. 3. Non-fiction: If you’re in school, there might be topics you need to gain mastery in. For instance, Philippine history, or cultural anthropology, or philosophy. Acquire the books you need along those lines. My shelves have books on cultural studies and semiotics because I’ve decided I would like to focus my work around those disciplines. This works the same too if
whom he has tasked to combat the drug menace. “I will answer for everything that I ordered,” he said. Duterte also split hairs and said the Philippines’ situation is different from Colombia’s. They deal with cocaine and marijuana, he said, while we are dealing with the virulent effects of shabu. Again we are at a loss on whether to take the President’s word at face value or apply creative imagination to decipher a profound message from a confounding man. Mr. Duterte may just be acting in character—the maverick leader who will not be lectured by anybody—but it’s a character that is fast becoming trite and exasperating, especially since the results we have been seeing are far from ideal. Nobody has the monopoly of good sense and wise solutions. But anybody can get drunk silly with arrogance and power.
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XXX THOUGHTS LONG STORY SHORT ADELLE CHUA
THIS newspaper turned 30 yesterday. The theme of the celebration, as we know from the anniversary supplement that came out Friday, was Triple X: How we write 30 in Roman numerals, but also a celebration of experience, excellence
and excitement. X is for experience. This newspaper began in 1987, just as a new chapter in Philippine history was beginning. At that time, there were high hopes and fresh ideas. The decades that
followed showed us that history is made up of remarkable days and an aggregate of unremarkable ones. This newspaper saw many changes, and highs and lows. There are good days and bad. We are still here.
The second X is for excellence. One cannot be brilliant all the time, of course. It suffices that every day, its people strive to deliver the kind of journalism that should be, instead of that which just is. There are many Turn to B2
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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.thestandard. com.ph; e-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph
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TRUMP’S CHANCE TO WALK BACK HIS ASIA BLUSTER By Noah Feldman US PRESIDENT D on ald Trump’s phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the weekend visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are important reminders of a basic reality: While Americans obsess over the constitutionality of the president’s executive order on immigration, the rest of the world keeps on going. Measured by number of people it affects, foreign policy outranks domestic affairs. If Trump manages to create diplomatic chaos in Asia, history won’t pay much attention to the rest of his presidency. The call with Xi, in which Trump agreed to continue the US’ “One China” policy, was a sign of foreign policy rationality—and a recognition that the US is weaker relative to China than Trump seems to have imagined before he took office. As if to prove it, Xi used Trump-style tactics before the call, insisting that he wouldn’t get on the phone unless Trump agreed in advance to embrace One China. That’s more or less what Trump did to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, insisting that Nieto shouldn’t come to Washington unless he agreed in advance to pay for a wall along the US-Mexico border. The difference, of course, is that Nieto didn’t knuckle under, preferring to give up the visit, and Trump did. It can’t have been pleasant for Trump to admit that, as the White House put it, he “agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our One China policy.” But Trump had little choice. He couldn’t forgo all communication with the leader of the second-mostinfluential country in the world. In practice, One China means only that if a country wants to have diplomatic relations with China, it can’t also have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. US presidents since Richard Nixon have been prepared to live with this.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump shake hands after a press conference in the East Room of the White House Feb. 10, 2017 in Washington. AFP
But Trump called the policy into question in December through his much-publicized phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Then, Trump told Fox News, “I don’t know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” Trump now has an answer to his question: The reason the US has to be bound by the policy is that it would lose too much by abandoning it. The price that China could extract would be much too high for any benefit that might be gained by creating diplomatic ties with Taiwan. And that benefit would certainly be minimal. The US has very close de facto ties to Taiwan, including a purposefully vague quasi-commitment to defending it from Chinese attack. The only reason to end the One China policy would have been to use it as a bargaining chip with China. Trump clearly thought that he might be able to gain concessions from doing so. Xi’s point in making the policy a condition of the phone call was to show Trump that he can’t change the terms of the bargain between the two countries unilaterally. This round went to Xi. Abe’s visit affords Trump another opportunity to walk back hostile comments and conduct Asia policy rationally. On the campaign trail, Trump sharply criticized the traditional USJapan relationship, characterized by US security guarantees and strong trade ties. Among other things, Trump said the US should be “prepared to walk” in negotiations with Japan, leaving it to “defend itself against North Korea.” It might be good strategy in a real estate deal to be able to walk away from the table at any time. But that’s preposterous coming from a superpower, particularly one that has sought for almost 75 years to maintain its
LOVE AND CHEMISTRY By Pecier Decierdo THAT loving feeling, like the feeling of wanting to vomit, or the feeling of getting drunk, or that feeling of dread one feels under mortal peril, is a product of a chemical cascade in the brain. That fact does not rob falling in love of its glory, not by one bit. Hence, we shouldn’t say, “Love is merely a set of chemical reactions.” Rather we should say, “Love is a set of chemical reactions. Let ‘em react!” At the heart of the matter is a group of chemicals called hormones. Hormones are molecules produced by certain glands in the body that target a variety of organs that affect not only how we feel, but also how we behave. Remember that moment when your crush walks up to you, especially that specific moment when he or she stopped right in front of you and smiled? Now on a totally unrelated note, did you remember that feeling you had when you were about to defend your thesis, or when you were walking alone down a dark alley and you see a silhouette emerge from the corner a few steps ahead of you? Chances are, in those instances you felt butterflies in your stomach. At the same time, your heart was probably racing and your breathing was frantic. That’s adrenaline, a hormone produced by small glands above each of your kidneys. Adrenaline plays a crucial role in the flight-or-fight response, which is our body’s response to situations that seem threatening. Isn’t it funny that love brings about the same reaction as wanting to flee from or fight against a perceived eminent danger? Make what you will of that fact. When adrenaline is produced, the faster
pumping of the heart increases blood pressure and directs more blood into the muscles to prepare for the fleeing or the fighting. This results in less blood in the guts, which is what gives you that butterfly in your stomach feeling. Next is oxytocin, often called the “cuddle hormone,” so-called because it gets released from the pituitary gland during intimate bonding moments. It might even be produced when pet owners play with their dog! Oxytocin, along with the related hormone vasopressin, is thought to be central in the bonding and attachment aspects of love. In women, it helps in facilitating childbirth, lactation, and increases the tendency of mothers to perform bonding activities with their newborn child. It was also found to increase the tendency of fathers to bond with their children. One study showed that heterosexual men in relationships who were given a shot of oxytocin tended to distance themselves from an attractive female more compared to men who were not given the oxytocin shot. The same study did not find any effect of oxytocin on single men. This suggests that the hormone might play an important role in enhancing fidelity in long-term relationships. Oxytocin is released in both men and women during orgasm. Thus, it may also contribute to the feeling of attachment partners feel after sex. But there might be a dark side to oxytocin. After all, love is the most discriminatory of all emotions, so it should be a very big surprise when the results of several studies suggest that oxytocin might make people less tolerant and more suspicious of outsiders. Scientists think that oxytocin increases our positive feelings for
people we like, and intensify negative feelings for other people. But love is not just about attachment or butterflies in the stomach. Love can be also about that intense feeling of attraction for another and the feeling of arousal derived from such an attraction. In other words, one aspect of love is lust. Two hormones that play a crucial part in this aspect of love are testosterone and estrogen, which are both released in men and women. Then there’s the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is thought to be responsible for that feeling of bliss during the honeymoon phase of a romantic relationship. It tends to get released along with a suite of other chemicals like norepinephrine and serotonin, which tend to mess up a person’s appetite and sleep cycle. That’s why lovers who are suffering through the height of the honeymoon phase of love—the people we call lovesick—lose appetite and sleep. This honeymoon phase, however, does not last forever because dopamine levels eventually go down 1 to 3 years into a relationship. After the honeymoon phase, it’s time for the oxytocin and vasopressin to keep the passion burning. The word ‘love’ means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In each of its meanings, it refers to one of the most complex emotions humans can ever feel. Understanding the chemical basis of those feelings, however, should only enhance our appreciation for the colorful, painful, wonderful parade that is the human condition. Decierdo is resident astronomer and physicist for The Mind Museum.
They talk about social inequity and glamorized and idealized. In real life, however, employees of news organizations other ills while dealing with their own are just like everybody else. They use public realities, balancing practical concerns with constraints and many gray areas, and every transportation and get bogged down their principles and pushing themselves to do more despite their exhaustion. day is an opportunity to learn, but in the These are the people who have been end, everybody is aware of what he or she around for years and who will gladly stay is here for. I am honored and for more despite the difficulties. Finally, excitement. We look forward to As in any workplace, there are occasional humbled to be among the years ahead. Oh, we are not certain irritants and a bit of friction here and what will happen. No matter how much my colleagues. there. But there is none of the brutal we plan, or anticipate the things that may politics or vicious backstabbing that come, nobody can tell what will be next. characterize other places. Instead there We thrive in this uncertainty; in a way, this is appreciation of the contribution and is what makes the job so exhilarating. What commitment of others. There is inherent we are sure of, however, is our commitment love for what we do. The propensity to when these break down. to keep doing what we do, and improve make mistakes, yes, but also to correct They talk to and report about prominent just a little every day. people, top corporations, but they are them and learn something new every day. *** But let me pay tribute to the men and themselves simple folk—just another face There is humor—okay, sometimes awfully corny jokes. women that make this newspaper what in the crowd. And yes, there is food. They deal with text about and photos of it is. I feel honored and humbled to be disaster-stricken communities while they Manila Standard is the bylines and the among my colleagues. I’ve been here themselves are vulnerable to disasters. names on the staff box that its readers see. nearly 11 years, but most of them have Despite this, they brave typhoons and fl ood But it is also those who are not named but been around even longer. The newer ones and haul their bodies to the offi ce anyway to no less deserve recognition. seem bent on staying put, too. It’s not the These are the people who show up for meet their deadlines. No excuses. easiest place to be in, but it’s a happy place They work on stories about health, work with smiles on their faces, even on where we thrive even as we feel we barely working still even as they themselves weekdays and holidays. They who do not survive, sometimes. feel just a little sick, or do not have the have qualms staying up late or pulling all wherewithal to pay their own family nighters just to get the job done. adellechua@gmail.com I n movies, media work is of ten member’s hospital bill.
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hegemony in the Pacific. It’s worth remembering that Japan didn’t choose to be under US security guarantees. The US made that arrangement after defeating Japan in World War II and forcing it to relinquish its capacity for offensive war on a permanent, constitutional basis. To walk away from the table with Japan would mean inviting Japan to arm itself and assert a dominant position in Asia. It would also signal US weakness vis-à-vis China. Now Trump will have to use the visit to reassure Japan about US security guarantees—in other words, to walk back his previous policies. As for trade, Trump will have to explore some way to work out a bilateral deal, because his first week in office he trashed the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would have included Japan. Abe had expended significant political capital getting legislative agreement to join the TPP. Trump will be hoping to take advantage of the efforts Abe made on behalf of closer ties to the US. That would be a lot easier if Trump hadn’t cut off Abe at the knees with his TPP announcement. The upshot is that Trump now has the chance to start pursuing a more tenable Asia policy. That would be good. And if it works, maybe he can start rethinking some of his domestic policies, too. I can think of at least one executive order that would benefit from being scrapped and redrafted from scratch. Bloomberg
FILLING... From A1 you would like to know more about a particular subject, say, airplanes or unsolved mysteries or World War II. 4. Special projects: Let’s say you want to write your grandfather’s biography or help your aunt with her memoirs. To guide your efforts, read as many memoirs and biographies as you can. This will make it easier for you to select a particular format that will serve as a framework for putting in order the information you gather. From there, you can be creative and innovate, because you have a good idea of what’s out there, what’s been done, what works, and doesn’t work. I’m going into food writing, so I’ve stocked up on classics by MFK Fisher, Edouard de Pomiane, Elizabeth David, Ruth Reichl, Doreen Fernandez, and others, hoping to
learn by osmosis. There’s nothing like getting guidance from the best! 5. Reference materials: Do have dictionaries in English, Filipino, and other languages as you require; and a thesaurus. My references rack also includes books about my academic discipline, so that would be volumes on communication theory, qualitative research, and social sciences. 6. Special interest books: I decided I want to go beyond the elementary Spanish I learned in college, so I bought a ‘Spanish for beginners’ and books in Spanish that I plan to read when I have a larger vocabulary and have a better grasp of grammar—Como Agua Para Chocolate (Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate) and La Sombra del Viento (Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind). I can go on the internet and listen to lessons for free, but I’m a visual learner and learn easier and faster when I read. This might be a
good approach for some of you. 7. Sentimental journeys and anything goes: Sometimes I just buy a book for no other reason than I liked something about it. I’ve bought books for their beautiful covers, or they’re a special edition of something I already own, or just having them in my bookshelf brings me comfort knowing they’re there (for me it’s the complete Sherlock Holmes canon). Also under this category go childhood books and favorite classics. Ultimately, though, there is only one tried and true formula for collecting books—your personal interest and taste. Follow your heart, fill your bookshelf, and have a lovely read. Dr. Ortuoste is a Californiabased writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @ jensdecember
World IS EXECUTES 5 EGYPTIANS ACCUSED OF AIDING ARMY CAIRO—The Islamic State group in Egypt claims to have executed five men it accused of working for the army, which is battling the jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula. In a series of photos published Friday on the secure messaging app Telegram, five men presented as army “elements” are seen lying face down on the ground before a militant shoots them in the back of their heads with an assault rifle, the SITE intelligence group said. Jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 unleashed a bloody crackdown on his supporters. The crackdown decimated the Islamist movement and killed hundreds of his followers, and set off a jihadist insurgency that has killed hundreds of security personnel. Most of the attacks have taken place in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, but attacks have also been carried out in other areas including Cairo. The Egyptian army announced on Friday that it had killed “500 terrorists” since it launched a wide-ranging security operation in the Sinai in September 2015. AFP
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17 DEAD IN STAMPEDE AT FOOTBALL STADIUM L
uanda, Angola—At least 17 football fans died in a stampede at a stadium in northern Angola, police said, adding that scores of other spectators were injured, many of them seriously. Panic spread through the crowd at the match in the town of Uige between Santa Rita de Cassia and Recreativo de Libolo in Angola’s domestic league season. “There was a blockage at the entrance to the January 4 stadium... this obstruction caused multiple fatalities – 17 deaths, and there are 56 injured in the hospital,” police spokesman Orlando Bernardo told AFP. He added that there were an
unknown number of children among the dead, and that hospitals were treating those injured. Police said hundreds of fans had tried to enter the already packed stadium to see the match, causing a crush that pushed some people to the ground. Many of the dead were trampled to death or suffocated. “While the players were on the field, outside fans were trying to get into the stadium and a gate
probably gave way to the pressure of the crowd causing several people to fall who were literally trampled on by the crowd,” said the Recreativo de Libolo club in a statement on its website. “There are already 17 confirmed dead and at least 59 wounded... (this was) a tragedy without precedent in the history of Angolan football.” Some witnesses said many fans did not have tickets to the match, while other reports said that spectators inside the stadium were not aware of the stampede until it was over. The Portuguese news agency Lusa reported that the president of the host team, Uige-based Santa Rita de Cassia, said the security forces were to blame
for not properly controlling the crowd. “There was serious police error in letting the people so close to the field,” it quoted Pedro Nzolonzi as saying. “Many of them did not want to pay and those who had tickets could not get in. Then the confusion began,” he said, according to the news agency. “It is all the fault of the police. Ït was easy to avoid. They just need to extend the safety cordon.” The government had demanded an investigation into the cause of the disaster, the state-run Angop news agency reported. Angola, ranked 148 in the FIFA world rankings, is a minor power in African football. AFP
CZECH ANTI-FAKE NEWS UNIT TARGETS RUSSIA PRAGUE—A Czech unit fighting fake news ahead of elections has scored an early success – debunking online footage that purported to show Muslim migrants attempting to rape a young girl. The video, in fact, was of young Czechs involved in a drug turf war in Prague. The false claim of whoever posted it on a Canadian Facebook page has added to suspicion of foreign interference. Established in January by the Czech interior ministry, the Centre Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats is a direct attempt to combat fake news, with Russia facing particular scrutiny. The centre’s launch followed a report by the BIS Czech intelligence agency that identified efforts to “weaken” the EU and NATO member state “through indirect infiltration of media and the internet.” It cited “a massive distribution of propaganda and misinformation by the Russian state.” Twenty experts at the Prague-based center have been tasked with evaluating the threat disinformation poses to national security and to propose ways of stopping its spread before October’s general election and a presidential election next January. AFP
POLISH PM INJURED IN CAR ACCIDENT WARSAW—Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was hospitalized with minor injuries on Friday after a car struck her government vehicle in the southern city of Oswiecim, a government spokesman said. “Prime Minister Beata Szydlo is in good condition. She will undergo additional routine tests in Warsaw,” government spokesman Rafal Bochenek said in a tweet on his official Twitter feed. The 53-year-old prime minister was riding in a motorcade when the Fiat vehicle struck, forcing her car off the road where it crashed into a tree. Two security agents were also injured. Bochenek told the TVN24 commercial news channel that Szydlo’s injuries were “mainly bumps and bruises caused by her seat belt.” He declined to say how many days Szydlo is expected to spend in hospital. Szydlo was being transferred by helicopter to a Warsaw hospital late Friday where she is expected to remain under observation. State prosecutors have opened an investigation into the crash. “We’re with you Beato and we’re sure that after a brief stay in hospital, you’ll be back with us again leading the government,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful head of Szydlo’s rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party, told supporters at a memorial meeting in Warsaw. AFP
FOOD IS LOVE. Sixteen-year-old Alaskan sea otter ‘Yutan’ is presented a heart-shaped block of ice at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise amusement park in Yokohama, a suburb of Tokyo, on February 11, 2017. The event takes place once a day for park visitors until February 14 in celebration of Valentine’s Day. AFP
NO SAD ENDINGS FOR JAPAN’S VIRTUAL ROMANCE FANS TOKYO—Japanese book editor Miho worried about getting caught – her Takeshita is having an affair. But the boyfriend only exists on a smartrecently married 30-year-old is not phone.
WORSHIP. This picture taken on February 10 shows villagers carrying a dragon dance formation during the “beat the Buddha” celebration in Yuxi village. Villagers in China’s eastern Fujian province have a unique way of worshipping Buddha: they beat a rock statue of the diety to wish for a good new year and an abundant harvest. AFP
Takeshita is a fan of romance simulation games, a booming market in Japan that is winning the hearts of women looking for some unconventional loving. “It’s very addictive,” Takeshita said. “Even though the game characters aren’t real, you start to develop feelings towards them.” That is the whole point, said Natsuko Asaki, a game producer at Cybird, which created the popular series Ikemen – a Japanese term for handsome guys. “The story is most important, as well as the characters, and the twists and turns,” Asaki said. The Ikemen app has been downloaded some 15 million times since its launch about five years ago, and the firm has also released an English version. Mirroring the smartphone boom, female-targeted virtual romance games have ballooned into a market worth about 15 billion yen ($135 million) annually in Japan, according to the Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute. Some 80 percent of fans, including a growing number of married women, play just before bed, a Cybird survey found.
The games do not rely on complicated algorithms, but instead offer multiple choice scenarios that let players escape into a world where they create their own love story with digital hunks. Takeshita does not see anything strange about flirting with her smartphone sweeties. In fact, she can engage with them whenever she likes – something reallife spouses do not always provide. “The games also have sexual overtones but they’re expressed less crudely than in simulations made for boys,” Cybird’s Asaki said. “It’s an ideal love story – there are no female rivals and no sad endings.” Romance games are one of the culprits behind a trend that has seen some young Japanese lose interest in finding a real partner, according to a study last year by the Meiji Yasuda Life Foundation of Health and Welfare. “The relationship that does not happen in real life happens perfectly in the game – that can lead some people to give up looking for love, at least for a time,” said marriage specialist Aizawa. While humans can easily love a virtual partner, it is still uncertain whether that feeling could ever be reciprocated, said Hiroshi Ishiguro, a robotics
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ABE ENJOYS WARM TRUMP EMBRACE W
ASHINGTON— President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a brotherly hug and warm words of admiration Friday, as he ditched previously hard-charging rhetoric toward Tokyo during a White House summit.
FIRE IN THE SKY. The Mount Sinabung volcano spews smoke and ash as seen from Karo district in North Sumatra province on February 11, 2017. Activity levels have increased in the past week, with Sinabung shooting hot ash clouds into the sky dozens of times, according to the local volcano monitoring agency. AFP
Trump praised his guest’s “strong hands,” the pair’s “very, very good chemistry” and rolled out a White House military honor guard in a remarkable public display of diplomatic affection. “When I greeted him today at the car,” Trump said after an Oval Office meeting, “I shook hands, but I grabbed him and hugged him, because that’s the way we feel.” The odd political couple had lunch at the White House before heading to Trump’s Mara-Lago estate in Florida for further talks and a round of golf on Saturday. At Palm Beach airport, the pair were welcomed by a swarm of black SUVs, and a group of onlookers wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats. The sporting gambit recalled the diplomatic exploits of Abe’s grandfather, prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, who once donned a polo shirt to play with avid golfer president Dwight Eisenhower. Abe is in the United States on a similar charm offensive. Then, the topic was post-war reconciliation. This time, the Japanese leader is trying to build a personal rapport with the mercurial new US president and head off simmering disputes. Ties have been strained by Trump’s willingness to question US defense commitments and his rejection of a trans-Pacific trade deal. Plans under consideration in the White House propose a substantial hike of import tariffs that could have a serious impact on Japanese manufacturers. Abe dodged questions about the trade deal, instead dispatching a slew of compliments. “Donald, Mr President, you are an excellent businessman,” he said, praising Trump on everything from his meteoric political rise to his golf game. “My scores in golf are not up to the level of Donald at all,” Abe said self-effacingly. Abe’s efforts appeared to have paid off. After some tough anti-Japanese rhetoric on the campaign trail, Trump embraced long-standing defense agreements and “free, fair and reciprocal” trade. “We’re committed to the security of Japan,” Trump said. “The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep. This administration is committed to bringing those ties even closer.” Trump also offered reassurances the US would come to Japan’s defense if China were to seize the disputed Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyu in China. In a joint statement, the pair said they “oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands” – comments that are sure to rile Beijing. AFP
FRESH WHALE STRANDING ON NEW ZEALAND BEACH FAREWELL SPIT, New Zealand – Rescuers defied a shark threat to form a human chain in a New Zealand bay on Saturday in a bid to keep another 200 whales from becoming stranded a day after hundreds died in a mass beaching. About 150 people waded out up to their necks at Farewell Spit in the northwest of the South Island to form the human wall as they also guided some 100 survivors from Friday’s beaching away from the shore. Environmental group Project Jonah, which is assisting with the rescue mission, described the new arrivals as “a super pod” which “swam into the bay and within 20 meters of the human chain.”
“This pod joined up with the refloated whales of which almost 100 joined the larger pod,” the organization said in a statement. Andrew Lamason, regional operations manager for the Department of Conservation old AFP the focus was on preventing the whales from reaching a beach already littered with more than 300 dead whales. The pod was trying to access the area where 416 pilot whales were stranded overnight Thursday, with about 70 per cent already dead when they were found on Friday morning. Lamason said they needed to have the survivors far away from the shore before the evening low tide. AFP
BEACHED. Volunteers pour water on pilot whales during a mass stranding at Farewell Spit on February 11, 2017. AFP
KIRIN TO BUY MANDALAY BREWERY
TOKYO—Japanese brewer Kirin will buy Mandalay Brewery of Myanmar for an estimated several hundred million yen (several million dollars) in its latest effort to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Oceania region, a newspaper said Saturday. Kirin will create a local subsidiary to take over the country’s oldest brewery, based in the northern city of Mandalay, from the military-backed Myanmar Economic Holdings, the Nikkei business daily said. The Myanmar Investment Commission is expected to approve the deal soon, it said. With the planned purchase, Kirin, which bought local market leader Myanmar Brewery in 2015, will control 90 percent of the country’s beer market. The Japanese company seeks an edge against foreign rivals such as the Netherlands’ Heineken and Denmark’s Carlsberg, in Myanmar, one of the few growing beer markets amid lackluster momentum in global consumption, the Nikkei said. AFP
TOURIST INJURED IN HK TRAIN ATTACK A TAIWAN tourist was among three people in critical condition Saturday after a rush hour arson attack on a Hong Kong subway train the previous night, officials said, with one man with a history of mental illness arrested for the crime. A total of 18 people were injured in the incident, while police said they had seized suspected liquid accelerants from the scene. Police have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack and said the man acted alone, with investigators looking into his mental state. “We visited a female tourist from Taiwan, her condition is still considered critical and is in intensive care,” the city’s number two official Matthew Cheung told reporters. AFP
WAR SIMMERS IN UKRAINE 2 YEARS AFTER PEACE PACT KIEV, UKRAINE—Two years have passed since the signing of a deal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine but the bloody conflict has rumbled on – at the cost of another 5,000 lives. The Minsk II accord saw Kremlin-backed rebels agree with Kiev and Moscow on a halt to the fighting and outlined a complex roadmap for securing peace. It was hammered out by the presidents of Ukraine and Russia with the help of their French and German counterparts and signed on February 11 two years ago. The deal was inked during a period of intense combat and rising fears of an open war between the two neighbours. Kiev was accusing the Kremlin of covertly sending in thousands of troops – putting huge pressure on Moscow’s ties with the West. AFP