KOREA SUMMIT - The Trump Giveaway

Trump gives Kim recognition and no more joint military exercises with South Korea, and Kim promises nothing (no verifiable, complete nuclear disarmament) in return.  This was a Trump ego trip.

"Trump and Kim begin historic summit with cordial greeting" PBS NewsHour 6/11/2018

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SUMMARY:  Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un met for the first time at a resort off Singapore's coast, the first time a U.S. President has been face-to-face with a leader of North Korea.  Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff from on the ground in Singapore.

"What’s up for negotiation at the North Korea summit?" PBS NewsHour 6/11/2018

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SUMMARY:  In Singapore, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered optimism that a Tuesday summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would set conditions "for future, productive talks."  Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff from on the ground in Singapore to offer a preview of the meeting and what’s at stake.

"Why previous North Korea negotiations have failed" PBS NewsHour 6/11/2018

HINT:  Dictators are even bigger liars than Trump.

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SUMMARY:  The road to Tuesday's summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore has been long and dangerous, littered with fraught diplomacy, broken agreements, and threats of war.  Nick Schifrin looks back at how we got here.

"Why Kim leaves Singapore with real achievements" PBS NewsHour 6/12/2018

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SUMMARY:  President Trump and Kim Jong Un held a whirlwind summit in Singapore and set lofty goals, but provided few details on how to achieve them.  From Singapore, Nick Schifrin joins Judy Woodruff to outline the agreement and discuss whether each side got what they wanted.

"Sen. Risch: North Korea diplomacy going in the right direction" PBS NewsHour 6/11/2018

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SUMMARY:  President Trump deserves credit for turning relations with North Korea around, says Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) but more work needs to be done and more nuance is needed on the issue of the future of military exercises with South Korea.  Risch joins Judy Woodruff to discuss first steps in North Korea diplomacy, the issue of human rights, plus Trump pulling the U.S. out of the G-7 joint communique.

"Sen. Cardin: U.S. can’t make concessions without North Korea action" PBS NewsHour 6/12/2018

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SUMMARY:  Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md) says that he's pleased that President Trump used diplomacy to meet face-to-face with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but now it's necessary to see North Korea implement changes to show it's serious about eliminating its nuclear weapons program.  Cardin joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the issue of human rights and Trump’s controversial treatment of allies at the G-7.

TRUMP AGENDA - China/Japan Diplomacy

"What's the future of relations with China, Japan under Trump?" PBS NewsHour 2/10/2017

COMMENT:  Note Trump's insensitivity on the nuclear weapon issue.  During my 22yr U.S. Navy carrier, I was stationed in Japan and I am very aware of their sensitivity in regards to nuclear weapons.  After Nagasaki and Hiroshima you cannot blame them, they KNOW the horrors of the use nuclear weapons.

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SUMMARY:  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with President Trump Friday amid growing concerns in Asia over trade, North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and China flexing its military muscle.  Judy Woodruff speaks with Evan Medeiros, former Senior Director for Asian Affairs during the Obama administration, about what U.S. relations with Asia look like going forward.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  As we mentioned earlier, the prime minister of Japan was at the White House today, the beginning of several days of talks with the president.

The visit comes amid growing concerns in Asia over trade, over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, and over China flexing its military muscle.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  The two leaders presented a united front, despite differences that have emerged in the early days of the Trump presidency.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had pushed hard for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, but President Trump has officially abandoned it.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  On the economy, we will seek a trading relationship that is free, fair, and reciprocal, benefiting both of our countries.

SHINZO ABE, Japanese Prime Minister (through interpreter):  I am quite optimistic that good results will be seen from the dialogue.  Now the free and fair common set of rules will be created for free trade in the region.  That was the purpose of TPP.  That importance has not changed.  I, myself, believe that.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Abe also talked up Japanese industry's contributions to the U.S. economy, after Mr. Trump blasted Toyota last month for planning a new plant in Mexico.

Defense is another potential flash point.  During the campaign, candidate Trump suggested Japan and South Korea could pay more for their own defense, up to and including nuclear weapons.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  North Korea has nukes.  Japan has a problem with that.  I mean, they have a big problem with that.  Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea.

QUESTION:  With nukes?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Today, however, the president appeared to step back.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:  It is important that both Japan and the United States continue to invest very heavily in the alliance to build up our defense.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Some 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, the largest American outpost in Asia.  Last week, Secretary of Defense James Mattis made Asia his first overseas visit.  In Japan, he reassured Abe that the U.S. will maintain its presence there.

The U.S. military also serves as the main counterweight to China's increasing aggressiveness in the South China Sea.  Today, Abe said that must continue.

SHINZO ABE (through interpreter):  We need to maintain the freedom of navigation and rule of law.  Such international order there must be maintained.

PHILIPPINES - Words of a Cancer Survivor

"This cancer survivor wants to stop kids in the Philippines from lighting up" PBS NewsHour 10/14/2016

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SUMMARY:  As smoking rates have fallen in the U.S. and Europe, tobacco companies have focused their advertising elsewhere, especially Asia.  In the Philippines, 25 percent of the population smokes, and cigarettes are a leading cause of death.  But one former smoker is cultivating a grassroots campaign to influence legislation and publicize the dangers -- especially to children.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

ACTIVISTS:  We want the pictures now!  Pictures save lives!

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  On the streets in Manila, demonstrators march against tobacco.

ACTIVIST:  We want to make our voices heard.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Their cause is supported by the medical profession here.

DR. TONY LEACHON, Philippine College of Physicians:  Smoking's the number one killer in the Philippines.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Dr. Tony Leachon is the president of the Philippine College of Physicians.

DR. TONY LEACHON:  For the young Filipinos, smoking is considered a macho image for men.

SMOKER:  I know it's bad — it's bad for our health, but this is to relax myself out from work.

RACHEL ROSARIO, Philippine Cancer Society:  Culturally, smoking seems to be an accepted mode of socialization, an accepted mode of relaxation.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Rachel Rosario is with the Philippine Cancer Society.

RACHEL ROSARIO:  There is that vision of holding a cigarette and smoking with makeup — it seems to be something that we have to fight against.

SMOKER:  It's really hard to kick the habit.  I try to lessen it down, cut it, but then you always have that urge.

TRADE WARS - Asia Trade Deal

IMHO:  I agree with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, if a trade deal is good for America, the details should be public BEFORE it is made fast-track.  The secrecy is bad, what are 'they' trying to hide?

"Democrats freeze fast-track authority for Asia trade deal" PBS NewsHour 5/12/2015

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SUMMARY:  Senate Democrats blocked debate on renewing fast-track negotiating authority for President Obama, deemed vital for winning passing a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.  Opponents of the bill, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, say details of the negotiated plan have been kept secret by the White House. Gwen Ifill reports.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  One of the president’s remaining top legislative goals is to get a major new trade accord with Asia.  But he suffered a stinging defeat today in the opening battle to gain the authority to speed a deal through Congress.  The magic number to start a full Senate debate was 60 votes.  But, in falling short, it showed just how polarizing the disagreement over international trade really is.

MAN:  On this vote, the yeas are 52; the nays are 45.

GWEN IFILL:  In the end, trade politics put the President at odds with many in his own party and in line with most Republicans.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH, (R) Utah:  We’re talking about President Obama’s top priority, his top legislative priority, and one of the most important bills in this President’s service as President of the United States of America.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) New York:   We know the global economy is a rough sea.  And Republicans are asking us to pass a trade package that forces the American worker to navigate those waters in a leaky boat.  We want to plug up those leaks.

GWEN IFILL:  The result, at least for now, is that the Senate has blocked renewal of the fast track negotiating authority that Mr. Obama wanted.  That would allow Congress to approve, but not amend, future trade deals.

It’s deemed vital to winning passage of a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. TPP, as it’s known, would include 11 mostly Asian nations that, together with the U.S., account for some 40 percent of the global economy.  Supporters say it would bring greater prosperity by removing tariffs and other barriers and opening trade.

The President visited the sportswear manufacturer Nike last week, which announced the deal would create allow them to create 10,000 American jobs.

"Why labor unions oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership" PBS NewsHour 5/12/2015

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SUMMARY:  Supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership say the deal would bring greater prosperity by opening trade, but opponents say it fails to include labor protections and could cost jobs.  In the first in a series of conversations about what’s at stake, Gwen Ifill talks to Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO about why he opposes the trade deal.

"Trade bill is one of the most important in U.S. history, says Sen. Hatch" PBS NewsHour 5/13/2015

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SUMMARY:  Supporters of a proposed trade pact with Asia ran into a roadblock Tuesday when a test vote on giving President Obama fast-track authority failed in the Senate.  Judy Woodruff talks to Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a co-sponsor of the fast-track legislation, about a new compromise reached by lawmakers and why he supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

"Sen. Warren: If Obama is confident about trade deal, he should make details public" PBS NewsHour 5/13/2015

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SUMMARY:  Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is one of the more vocal opponents in the debate over granting President Obama fast-track authority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.  Judy Woodruff talks to Warren about her concerns about transparency and how American workers may be hurt.

"Will the proposed Asia trade pact give U.S. companies more customers?" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2015

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SUMMARY:  Days after Senate Democrats blocked debate over the president’s fast-track authority, the Senate put the trade deal with Asia back on track.  To get a business perspective on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Hari Sreenivasan talks to John Murphy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents 3 million businesses and employers and has been pushing hard for the deal.

ASIA - AirAsia Flight 8501

"What we know (and don’t) about the missing AirAsia jetliner" PBS NewsHour 12/28/2014

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ZACHARY GREEN (NewsHour):  At Singapore’s Changi airport, friends and relatives gathered to await news about AirAsia flight 8501, which disappeared early this morning.  Among those waiting, the fiancée of a young man who had been traveling with relatives.

FIANCEE:  It was supposed to be their last vacation, before we got married.  It was to be his last vacation with his family.

ZACHARY GREEN:  The flight took off at 5:35 am local time from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city.  The scheduled flight time to Singapore was 1 hour 55 minutes.

But at 6:13 am, 38 minutes after takeoff, the pilot radioed air traffic control, asking to change course and increase altitude to avoid storm clouds.  There were reports of lightning in the area.

The flight was last seen on radar three minutes later at 6:16 am, near Belitung island in the Java Sea.

A minute later, it was gone.  According to an Indonesian transportation official, no distress signal had been sent out.

Search and rescue teams from Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia spent several hours Sunday searching for any sign of the plane, an Airbus A320.  But as night fell, officials halted the search until morning.  The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, and India have all volunteered search and rescue teams.

TATANG KURNIADI:  I heard many rumors from people and I said the rumors are not true that the plane has been found and wreckage has been found — this is not true.

Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia, a budget carrier based in Malaysia, also cautioned against speculation.

TONY FERNANDES:  We do not know what’s happened yet, so we’ll wait for the accident investigation to really find out what’s happened.  Our concern right now is for the relatives and for the next of kin.  There is nothing more important to us for our crew’s family, and for our passengers’ families that we look after them.

ZACHARY GREEN:  AirAsia has had a clean safety record since the company began operating in Malaysia 13 years ago.  The plane that went missing had undergone maintenance just the month before.

Last march, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared with 239 people aboard, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.  It’s never been found.

In July, Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

"Search widens for missing AirAsia flight – Part 1" PBS NewsHour 12/29/2014

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SUMMARY:  An AirAsia jetliner disappeared Sunday morning off Indonesia without a trace.  So far the international search effort has been fruitless and officials have said that the plane is likely at the "bottom of the sea."  Alex Thomson of Independent Television News reports.

"Was weather to blame for AirAsia disappearance? – Part 2" PBS NewsHour 12/29/2014

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SUMMARY:  Gwen Ifill interviews The Wall Street Journal’s Guarav Raghuvanshi from Singapore about the missing AirAsia jetliner, how monsoon season may factor into the disappearance and if there are similarities to Malaysia Airlines 370.

INDONESIA - Better After 2004 Disaster

"Devastating 2004 tsunami cleared the way for better infrastructure in Indonesia" PBS NewsHour 11/6/2014

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KIRA KAY (NewsHour):  On a Sunday morning, the villagers of Lampuuk gather for a feast, celebrating the start of the harvest season.  But Lampuuk is also celebrating the life that has returned to it, a decade after a wall of water swept the village away.

Misran Yusuf is the village’s imam.  He recalls a scene eerily like this one on December 26, 2004.

MISRAN YUSUF (through interpreter):  There was a wedding that day.  We were preparing food, and, all of a sudden, an earthquake hit.  It was so strong, people fell.  We had no idea that the seawater would rise.  We had never heard of a tsunami.

KIRA KAY:  The quake that hit offshore was a 9.1 on the magnitude scale.  Within 20 minutes, waves 60 feet high hit the region at hundreds of miles per hour.

MISRAN YUSUF (through translator):  It sounded like thunder.  I held my breath and the water came over the rooftops.  When I surfaced, I saw people clinging to a tree trunk.  They pulled me on board and we floated until we reached the next village.

KIRA KAY:  One hundred and thirty thousand people died, and whole communities vanished. Lampuuk’s lone standing mosque became an iconic image of the disaster.  Ten years later, it is hard to picture that destruction on the streets of the capital city, Banda Aceh.

The once shattered downtown is now firmly back in business.  The riverside, choked with debris, is a thriving waterfront again.  People overall seem happy.  The tsunami had carved a new shoreline, disappearing whole blocks of the community of Ulee Lee.  But now it is a favorite beach destination for families.  Only small hints remain of what happened here.

Mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin says the region has built back better.

MAYOR ILLIZA SA’ADUDDIN DJAMAL, Banda Aceh, Indonesia (through interpreter):  The economy has improved.  Our poverty level has decreased to a rate that is below the national average.  Our infrastructure is better than even before the tsunami.  Roads are now reaching remote villages.  There are a lot of lessons that Aceh can share about how we got back on our feet and how we were able to cooperate with many institutions.

ASIA - China vs Vietnam, South China Sea, Oil

China thinks it own everything in the South China Sea and ignores international conventions.

"Territorial dispute with China boils over in Vietnam" (Part-1) PBS NewsHour 5/14/2014

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JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Tensions between China and Vietnam reached a fever pitch today, as thousands of protesters in Vietnam went on a rampage over Chinese actions in the South China Sea.

Clouds of smoke rose skyward over foreign-owned factories near Ho Chi Minh City today, casualties in an escalating territorial struggle with China.  Rioters targeted industrial sites they believed were Chinese-run, but a provincial official said some were actually Taiwanese or South Korean-owned.

The mobs torched at least 15 plants.  Scores more were looted or vandalized.  In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded action to calm the situation.

HUA CHUNYING, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, China (through interpreter):  China is seriously concerned with these incidents.  The Foreign Ministry has called in the Vietnamese ambassador to China and lodged a solemn demand for Vietnam to take immediate and effective measures to stop and punish the illegal activities.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  The protests, rarely allowed in Vietnam, began peacefully enough several days ago, but officials claimed today they’d been hijacked by extremists.  They said 440 people were detained.

Vietnamese anger flared after the Chinese began operating an oil rig in disputed waters near the Paracel Islands.  They’re controlled by China, but claimed by Hanoi.

Both sides have accused the other of intentionally ramming their vessels.  Chinese ships also fired water cannon at Vietnamese crews.  Today, the Vietnamese coast guard claimed Chinese ships had once again blocked attempts to reach the rig.

COL. PHAN DUY CUONG, Vietnamese Coast Guard Tactical Assistance (through interpreter):  Today, we got as close as 12 kilometers to the oil rig, and Chinese forces reacted with many ships and followed us closely.  At one point, five Chinese ships surrounded one of ours to stop us from getting close to the oil rig that is operating illegally in our territories.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  China has rejected Vietnam’s complaints and defended its own actions.  Again, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman:

HUA CHUNYING (through interpreter):  I think it’s quite obvious who is the provoker, who is the victim, who is trying to calm the situation, and who is escalating tension.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  In Washington, the White House has criticized China’s actions in the territorial dispute.  But spokesman Jay Carney appealed today for calm on both sides.

JAY CARNEY, White House Press Secretary:  These are disputes that need to be resolved through dialogue, not through intimidation.  And we are not a party to the specific disputes, but we, again, urge dialogue and their resolution.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  China is also involved in territorial disputes with the Philippines and Japan.

"What are China’s ambitions in escalating dispute with Vietnam?" (Part-2) PBS NewsHour 5/14/2014

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SUMMARY:  Judy Woodruff talks to Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution and Gordon Chang, a Forbes.com columnist, about the historical rupture and motives underlying a dispute over a Chinese oil rig placed in waters claimed by Vietnam.

MALAYSIA - Flight MH370, 10th Day

"Pilot’s political views raise fresh questions in search for missing Malaysian airliner" (Part-1) PBS NewsHour 3/17/2014

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The latest now on the investigation into Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.  There were more questions raised today about the pilot himself after reports confirmed he attended the trial of a leading jailed political opposition figure just hours before the flight.

New video also showed the pilot and co-pilot passing through security detectors before they took off.

Lucy Watson of Independent Television News begins our coverage.

LUCY WATSON, Independent Television News:  Little did they know that such routine movements would be so scrutinized.  This is Zaharie Shah, the pilot, and Fariq Abdul Hamid, the co-pilot of MH370.

Mohd Othman has known Captain Zaharie for 40 years, but now his friend’s anti-government views are being cited as a reason why he may have taken control of the flight.

MOHD NASIR OTHMAN, Friend of Pilot:  He’s just a normal, typical Malaysian who has his own political beliefs.  But to say he’s obsessed, I don’t think so.  He’s a professional.  He wouldn’t endanger the passengers.

LUCY WATSON:  But 10 days on, speculation is great, with the focus on the crew.  The airline doesn’t want us to talk to their families.  And the families aren’t being given a say.

We have just been escorted out of this hotel by Malaysia Airlines, because this is where the families of the 12 crew members are being held.  And they have been here for just over a week and they’re not allowed to talk to the media.  Malaysia says the plane was deliberately diverted.

A vast area is now being searched by teams from 26 countries with particular focus on two possible flight paths.  The last voice message from the aircraft was from the co-pilot, who said, “All right, good night,” at 1:19 a.m. local time, 12 minutes after tracking systems sent their last transmission before they were disabled.

Since then, these men continue to confront criticism.

Is it not time for the Malaysian government to admit that they have made some mistakes and at least apologize to the families?

DATUK SERI HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN, Transport Minister, Malaysia:  That’s purely erroneous, because I have also got a lot of feedback that in the circumstances that they are facing, we have been very responsible in our actions.

LUCY WATSON:  But actions yet to show results and many questions, with few real answers.

"26 countries searching for missing airliner face lack of big breaks, vast terrain" (Part-2) PBS NewsHour 3/17/2014

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SUMMARY:  Confusion reigns and theories abound on the 10th day of the burgeoning search for the missing Malaysian jet.  Officials offered contradictory information about the timing of the disabling of the jet’s communications, while investigators and the press chase information on the pilot’s political activity.  Judy Woodruff gets an update from Andy Pasztor of The Wall Street Journal.

MALAYSIA - Flight MH370 an Act of Piracy?

"Window may be closing on possibility that Malaysian jetliner disappearance was aviation accident" PBS NewsHour 3/14/2014

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HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  After nearly a week, the search and speculation continue to grow.  Ships and planes from a growing number of nations have expanded the hunt to the west and the east.  Various news accounts today quoted unnamed officials, both Malaysian and U.S., that it’s increasingly likely the Boeing 777 changed course, possibly in an act of piracy.

What’s now known is the plane left Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, reached an altitude of 35,000 feet, and then stopped communicating with air traffic controllers around 1:30 in the morning last Saturday, somewhere over the South China Sea.  One possibility, it made a hard left turn.  The search areas now encompass thousands of miles, stretching further into the South China Sea and also pushing Westward into the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean.

That’s in keeping with reports the plane traveled several hours after disappearing, although Malaysia won’t confirm or deny it.

"New details on missing plane emerge shifting investigation’s direction" PBS NewsHour 3/16/2014

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SUMMARY:  With new information released Sunday about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, authorities have taken both the search and investigation in a new direction.  Where are investigators focusing their efforts?  Hari Sreenivasan speaks with Michael Schmidt, who has been covering the story for the New York Times, about the current focus on the pilot and other recent developments.

JAPAN - Is Nuclear Power Suitable?

"Japan considers energy future after Fukushima" PBS NewsHour 3/13/2014

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JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  It’s been three years since a tsunami destroyed the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan, and forced the government to shut down the plants that remained.  Today, regulators announced they would speed up safety checks on a pair of idle reactors in southwest Japan, a key step in the prime minister’s push to restart them and others.

NewsHour science correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at the debate raging in the country about that idea.

MILES O’BRIEN (NewsHour):  In Japan, a meticulous and massive cleanup is under way near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

They are scraping off two inches of soil contaminated with cesium and other radionuclides expelled from the plant after a series of explosions triggered by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.  The contaminated soil is bagged, placed on a watertight pad, and then covered with a tarp.  It will be stored like this until a permanent site can be found.

The radioactive cesium will remain in the soil for 300 years.  At Yutaka and Keiko Hakozaki home in Naraha, the cleanup apparently worked.  We took some Geiger counter readings in their yard.  Cesium levels were 0.204 microsieverts per hour, just under the government limit of 0.23.

Still, the Hakozakis are unsure about returning to their home, but their feelings about nuclear power are now etched in stone.

“We experienced this accident firsthand, which is all the more reason we think that nuclear power plants are not suitable for this country,” he said.

Right now in Japan, not a single nuclear power plant is online generating electricity, 48 nuclear reactors, able to generate 30 percent of Japan’s electrical demand, idle while this country decides if the Hakozakis are right or if turning the nukes back on is prudent, perhaps even mandatory, to maintain Japan’s highly electrified lifestyle.

Japan is making up for the idle nuclear facilities by running their fossil fuel plants at full-tilt, importing $266 billion worth of oil, gas and coal last year.  In the country where the Kyoto protocols were drafted, CO2 emissions are up 13 percent.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing an energy policy that would turn the nuclear plants back on as soon as they meet more stringent safety standards adopted after the Fukushima meltdowns.  While he has the votes in parliament to make that happen, he doesn’t have much support on the street.  In fact, polls show as much as 80 percent of voters here now oppose nuclear power.

And large, noisy protests like this outside Abe’s office are a regular occurrence.

MALAYSIA - Security Failure on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

"Security failures of missing Malaysian flight spark concern" PBS NewsHour 3/9/2014

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HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  For more about whether the crash of that Malaysian jetliner was an act of terrorism, we are joined now from Washington by Rafi Ron.  He is an aviation security expert and former director of security at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport.

So, Mr. Ron, of what we do know we have a few things confirmed:  We had good weather.  We had experienced pilots.  We had solid safety records for both the airline and the aircraft.  We had no distress signal.  And then we have the incidence of these stolen passports.  Does it all point toward a security failure and terrorism.

RAFI RON:  There’s no question that there is a security failure by the fact that two people were allowed to board the flight with identities that do not belong to them.  But whether this security failure is connected in any way to the destruction of the aircraft – or the disappearance of the aircraft – it is still yet to be determined.  At this time there is no direct evidence to tie up the two events.

"How does a modern jetliner vanish without a trace?" PBS NewsHour 3/10/2014

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SUMMARY:  There are still many more questions than answers in the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.  Judy Woodruff asks former NTSB investigator Alan Diehl and former NTSB board member John Goglia to speculate on different known factors and possible theories.

ASIA - East China Sea's Disputed Territory

"How China's push into disputed territory is increasing tension in East Asia" PBS Newshour 11/26/2013

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SUMMARY:  The U.S. flew two B-52 bombers over disputed territory in the East China Sea, rejecting an air defense restriction from China for islands that are also claimed by Japan.  Judy Woodruff talks to Julian Barnes of The Wall Street Journal about increased volatility in the region.

CHINA - Changes to Government Policies Announced

"China plans to ease one-child policy, end forced labor camps" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 11/15/2013

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JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  After decades of global condemnation over the practices, China today announced the easing of one controversial government policy and the abolishment of another.

Jeffrey Brown explains.

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  The announcement heralded the biggest change in China's one-child policy in three decades.  Millions more couples will be allowed to have two children, provided at least one parent was an only child.

The existing policy, enforced by mandatory abortions and sterilization, was deeply unpopular.  And so was the system of forced labor camps that Communist Party leaders announced they're abolishing.  That system, established in 1957, allows police to imprison people for up to four years without formal arrest or trial.

The reforms came out of a four-day meeting of top communist officials, led by President Xi Jinping, who took office earlier this year.  Xi consolidated his power at the gathering with the formation of a national security committee to oversee the party, government and military.  The party meeting also agreed to let the private market play a more important role in the world's second-largest economy.

"Chinese reforms come in response to public discontent, economic necessity" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 11/15/2013

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SUMMARY:  China's changes to its one-child policy and labor camp enforcement show some responsiveness to domestic and international pressure, as well as to growing economic pressure.  Jeffrey Brown talks to Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch and Susan Shirk of University of California to examine how far these reforms go.

CHINA - 5 to 10 Year Economic Plan

"Chinese party leaders consider major economic reforms" PBS Newshour 11/10/2013

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HARI SREENIVASAN (Newshour):  China is now the world's second largest economy.  What happens there naturally has great ill reply indications for the rest of the world.  We want to spend some time talking about a very important meeting in Beijing.  It involves the top leaders of the ruling party and is expected to produce major economic reforms.  Elizabeth Economy is the director of Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

So how in this day and age they are having a closed door meeting about their economic policy reforms, why is it so consequential?

ELIZABETH ECONOMY, Council on Foreign Relations:  This is a gathering of the top leadership of the Communist Party about the top not quite 400 members of the Central Committee and the alternate members.  And they're gathering to lay out the trajectory of economic reform for the next five to ten years.  So it is highly consequential.  And they're really talking about nothing less than reforming the fundamental underpinnings of the Chinese economy.  So whether they're able to accomplish that, at this meeting over the next few years is really going to be incredibly important for China for five to ten years out.

KOREAS - Provocations, Escalation and Tolerance

"Threat of Escalation by North Korea Looms Over Summit With Park Geun-hye" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 5/7/2013

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  And we return to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as the threat of further escalation loomed over a White House summit today.

The day began with a new warning on North Korean state television aimed at joint U.S./South Korean naval drills in the yellow sea.

WOMAN:  First, Korean people's army units in the southwestern sector of the front will take immediate counteractions in case even a single shell drops over the territorial waters on our side.  Second, in case the enemies recklessly counter our counterstrikes, all striking forces will turn the five islands in the West Sea of Korea into a sea of flames.

JEFFREY BROWN:  The new threat of from the North and its young leader, Kim Jong-un, follows several months of tough talk and actions, while the U.S. and South Korea conducted joint military exercises that were seen in turn as provocations by the North.

In December, North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it carried out another underground nuclear test, its third to date.  And when the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions as a result, the North renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War, and then insisted it would fire off more mid-range Musudan missiles.

Despite North Korea's threat, there were no launches and U.S. officials now report the North has removed the weapons from a launch site.  Against that backdrop, President Obama held a White House summit today with South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, followed by a joint news conference

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:  The days when North Korea could create a crisis and illicit concessions, those days are over.  Our two nations are prepared to engage with North Korea diplomatically and over time build trust.  But, as always, and as President Park has made clear, the burden is on Pyongyang to take meaningful steps.

PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE, South Korea:  We will be no means tolerate North Korea's threats and provocations, which have recently been escalating further, and that such actions would only deepen North Korea's isolation.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Park took office in February, becoming South Korea's first female president.  She's the daughter of Park Chung-hee, who took power in a military coup and ruled South Korea in the 1960s and '70s before being assassinated.

The new president came to power seeking to improve relations with the North, but her tone has changed with events.  In an interview with CBS News yesterday, Park warned that her country will meet any aggression in kind.

PRESIDENT PARK:  Yes, we will make them pay.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Still, President Park has also said that if the North relents on its nuclear program, she's prepared to resume aid shipments and economic initiatives.

"South Korea May Be Growing Less Tolerant of Pyongyang's Provocations" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 5/7/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  While North Korea makes fresh warnings, other signs suggest that nation has backed off some of its hot rhetoric.  Former State Department official Kurt Campbell and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg join Jeffrey Brown to discuss South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and building trust with North Korea's leader.

ASIA - Anger Over Garment Factory Disaster Spillover

"Anger Over Garment Factory Disaster Fuels Annual Labor Rallies in Southeast Asia" PBS Newshour 5/1/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  After 400 people died in the collapse of a Bangladeshi garment factory, workers in Southeast Asia marched to call for better working conditions and pay.  Ray Suarez talks with Pietra Rivoli, professor at Georgetown University, and Time magazine's David Von Drehle about safety regulations in developing nations.

ASIA - Bangladeshi Garment Factory Collapse

The greed-driven garment industry, profits before workers......

"Global Standards for Garment Industry Under Scrutiny After Bangladesh Disaster" PBS Newshour 4/26/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The Bangladeshi garment factory collapse is the worst disaster ever for the country's booming clothing industry.  Ray Suarez discusses the role of Western retailers in keeping foreign workers safe with Avedis Seferian of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production and Scott Nova of Worker Rights Consortium.

RAY SUAREZ (Newshour):  Wailing relatives tried to console one another as the death toll from Wednesday's collapse of an eight-story building kept climbing.  This father was left weeping with his son's coffin at his feet.  Others held up photos of loved ones still missing.

WOMAN:  For the last three days, I have been looking for my sister, but no trace.  I want get my sister back, alive or dead.

RAY SUAREZ:  So far, rescue crews have pulled more than 80 survivors from the rubble.  One government official said 41 of those were found alive in a single room overnight.  At a nearby hospital, an 18-year-old worker described her ordeal.

WOMAN:  First, a machine fell over my hand and I was crushed under the debris.  Then the roof collapsed over me.  I was rescued last night, but my hand had to be amputated.

RAY SUAREZ:  And with high humidity and daytime temperatures reaching 95 degrees, there are fears that time is running out for those still trapped.

Meanwhile, a local television station released video showing police inspecting the site on Tuesday, a day before the deadly collapse.  Large cracks were visible, but garment factories at the site continued running anyway.

Some of them make clothing for several major retailers in North America.  Today, thousands of garment workers protested poor conditions and called for the building's owners to be punished.  Some demonstrators clashed with police, but the rallies were mostly peaceful.  This new disaster came just five months after a garment factory fire in Bangladesh killed 112 workers.

For more on all of this, we get two views.  Avedis Seferian is the president and CEO of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, or WRAP, an organization created by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, along with buyers and brands around the world.  And Scott Nova is executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization.

ASIA - Bangladesh Factory Collapse Toll and Western Firms

Ah yes, greed first, worker safety last.

"Western Firms Feel Pressure as Toll Rises in Bangladesh" by JULFIKAR ALI MANIK, STEVEN GREENHOUSE, and JIM YARDLEY; New York Times 4/25/2013

Excerpt

As rescuers struggled on Thursday to reach survivors in one of the worst manufacturing disasters in history, pointed questions were being raised about why a Bangladesh factory building was not padlocked after terrified workers notified the police, government officials and a powerful garment industry group about cracks in the walls.

As the death toll neared 300, the owner of the collapsed building, the eight-story Rana Plaza, was in hiding, and the police and industry leaders were blaming him for offering false assurances to factory bosses that the structure was sound, leading to the decision to allow 3,000 workers return to work.

Pressure continued to build on Western companies that had promised after a deadly fire in November to take steps to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi factories that make the goods the companies sell.  Activists combing through the rubble here have already discovered labels and documents linking the factories to major European and American brands, like the Children’s Place, Benetton, Cato Fashions, Mango and others.

PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and Tchibo, a German retailer, have endorsed a plan in which Western retailers would finance fire safety efforts and structural upgrades in Bangladeshi factories — although they first want other companies to sign on.

Walmart has refused to join that effort.  But, in January, it announced that it would demand that factories quickly correct any safety violations and would dismiss any contractor that uses unapproved or unsafe factories.  Two weeks ago, Walmart pledged $1.8 million to establish a health and safety institute in Bangladesh to train 2,000 factory managers about fire safety.

On Thursday, the Bangladeshi authorities opened an investigation into the collapse, while the police brought negligence charges against the building’s owner, Sohel Rana, his father and the owners of four factories in the building.  Bangladesh’s High Court also issued a summons for Mr. Rana, who is involved in local politics for the country’s ruling party, the Awami League.  He has been ordered to appear in court next Tuesday.

The immediate question was why the garment factories on the upper floors of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, outside Dhaka, the capital, were operating when the structure collapsed Wednesday morning.  Industry leaders continued to point to Mr. Rana and what they said were his false assertions that the structure was safe.  “Based on that, they ran the factories yesterday,” said Mohammad Atiqul Islam, the president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, in a telephone interview.  He said his staff had told factory owners on Tuesday to stay closed until the building was inspected.  “We had very clearly told the owners not to open.”

But analysts said that, based on past experience, there was likely to be plenty of blame to go around, with harried factory owners scrambling to fill orders under tight deadlines imposed by their Western customers.

“Even in a situation of grave threat, when they saw cracks in the walls, factory managers thought it was too risky not to work because of the pressure on them from U.S. and European retailers to deliver their goods on time,” said Dara O’Rourke, an expert on workplace monitoring at the University of California, Berkeley.  He added that the prices Western companies pay “are so low that they are at the root of why these factories are cutting corners on fire safety and building safety.”

ASIA - French Hostage Murdered

"French hostage 'executed' in Mali" Al Jazerra 3/20/2013

A French hostage has been executed in Mali, a man claiming to be a spokesman for al-Qaeda in North Africa has told Mauritania's ANI news agency.

A French foreign office spokesman said on Tuesday that Paris was trying to verify the report of the killing of Philippe Verdon, who was kidnapped in November 2011, adding that "we don't know at the moment" whether it was reliable.

The private Mauritanian news agency reported that someone calling himself Al-Qairawani and claiming to be a spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group told them that the "spy" Verdon had been executed "on March 10 in response to France's intervention in Northern Mali".

"The French President (Francois) Hollande is responsible for the lives of the other French hostages," he warned.

In all 15 French nationals, including Verdon, are being held captive in Africa, with AQIM claiming responsibility for six of the kidnappings.

Refusal to pay ransom

Verdon was seized on the night of November 24, 2011 along with Serge Lazarevic.  According to their families the two men had been on a business trip and were kidnapped from their hotel in Hombori, northeast Mali.

The families denied that the two men were mercenaries or secret service agents.

AQIM swiftly claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and in August last year a video showing Verdon describing the "difficult living conditions" was released on a Mauritanian website.

The hostages' families have in recent weeks expressed growing fears for their loved ones in the light of France's military actions in Mali.

Earlier Tuesday, Verdon's father Jean-Pierre Verdon complained that the families were hearing nothing from the French authorities.

"We are in a total fog and it is impossible to live this way," he told RTL radio.  "We have no information."

Asked about France's refusal to pay ransoms to kidnappers, Verdon senior replied that the families had no say in such "decisions of state".

Paris deployed forces in Mali on January 11 to help stop al-Qaeda linked fighters who had controlled the north of the country since April 2012 from moving southward and threatening the capital Bamako.

Pockets of resistance

France now has more than 4,000 troops on the ground in Mali, of whom about 1,200 are currently deployed in the northeast, carrying out operations after driving out most of the rebels from the area.

There are still pockets of resistance in areas such as Gao, which have witnessed stray attacks and suicide bombings since the rebels fled.

The French troops in the region are backed up by African forces.  Soldiers from Chad, whose experience and training has made them key in the French-led offensive, have also suffered casualties with at least 26 deaths.

On Tuesday the French army announced that 15 rebel fighters had been killed in recent days in the northern Mali region of Gao, with the seizure of a large cache of arms and ammunition.

The AQIM source cited by the Mauritanian news agency refused to confirm reports that top rebels, Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Abdelhamid Abou Zeid had been killed in Mali earlier this month.

France has been carrying out DNA tests to determine whether the rebel leaders are among those killed in recent fighting in Mali.

ASIA - Bangladesh President Dies

"Bangladesh president dies in Singapore" Al Jazerra 3/20/2013

Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman has died in a Singapore hospital at the age of 84 after a long illness.

Rahman had been flown to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital on March 10 for treatment of respiratory problems.

The veteran ruling party politician's death does not affect the government because Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, with the prime minister holding the executive powers.

The president's office said parliamentary speaker Abdul Hamid would act as the head of state until the legislature elected a new one.

"The acting president announced the three-day state mourning for the death of President Zillur Rahman," a presidential spokesman was quoted by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the state news agency, as saying.

Rahman was a former deputy chief of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League party before parliament elected him president in 2009.

In offering her condolences, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina described Rahman as a patriotic leader.

Rahman leaves a son who is a politician and two daughters.

Ivy, Rahman's politician wife, died in August 2004 after she was critically injured in a grenade attack on an Awami League party rally that killed 20 other people.