Sweden says Turkey asking too much over Nato application
SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023
Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the Nato military alliance but cannot fulfil all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden’s prime minister said on Sunday.
“Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden.
Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara‘s objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
They applied in May to join Nato in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey objected and accused the countries of harbouring militants, including from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
One sticking point has been the extraditions of people Turkey regards as terrorists. Ankara expressed disappointment with a decision late last year from Sweden’s top court to stop a request to extradite a journalist with alleged links to Islamic scholar Fetullah Gulen, blamed by Turkey for an attempted coup.
Also addressing the conference, Nato Secretary-General said continued support for Ukraine was the answer to Russian military build-up.
“They (Ukraine) are in constant need of more ammunition, fuel and spare parts so our answer to Russia’s build-up is more support for Ukraine.”
“You’ll never leave the lid up again:” $10,000 toilet makes a splash at CES 2023
SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023
A ten-thousand-dollar smart toilet with built-in Amazon Alexa, mood lighting and automatic seat-lifting and lowering has been making a splash at CES in Las Vegas.
The Numi 2.0 smart toilet from US manufacturer Kohler can also play music, news and weather reports, and features a bidet, a seat-warmer, personalized dryer functions and a self-cleaning feature that uses UV light to kill bacteria and germs.
“You’ll never leave the lid up again. It’s a completely touchless experience that closes and flushes automatically as you leave the bathroom,” explained Andrew Van Gorden, A Kohler Product Marketing Manager, at the company’s CES booth in Las Vegas.
All of the Numi 2.0’s functions can be easily controlled through the inbuilt Amazon Alexa or a wall-mounted remote control.
“The Amazon Alexa is built into the product so it’s embedded within Numi 2.0. It allows you to access a couple of unique features like flush your toilet or start your bidet cleansing experience,” said Van Gorden.
“It also allows you to play music, streaming your music through your smart home device. It can play your favourite podcasts and check the news. Maybe while you’re getting ready in the morning, check your weather before you get out the door,” he added.
For those who like to go standing up, the Numi 2.0 also includes a foot sensor that automatically raises the toilet lid to avoid any splashing.
At CES, the hi-tech toil made an impact on tech enthusiasts.
“I mean, you know, some people can go into the toilet and sit there for a while to take a mental break. And I see the value of that for those people, one of which is my husband. But for me, I’m in and out,” said Lilly Wright, a tech enthusiast from California.
“It is definitely interesting. But I think the purpose of the bidet and toilet is, you know, you need to go to the bathroom. You’ve got to do your work and finish the work and come out. So, I think what do you why do you want all of those features, right?” said Sean Yeom, who travelled to Las Vegas for CES from New Jersey.
Other’s thought the price of $10,000 was too expensive.
“The price is too high. I love the features, but it’s too expensive. If the price comes down, I would buy it. Especially the self-cleaning,” said Beverly Shields, a tech enthusiast from Maryland.
The government is considering inviting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to the Group of Seven summit meeting in Hiroshima after observing Seoul’s response to an issue related to former wartime requisitioned workers, according to government sources.
The leaders of Australia and India are also likely to be invited to the G7 summit meeting to be held from May 19-21.
Japan plans to forge unity with like-minded countries that share values with G7 nations toward the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the sources said.
There have been growing calls to tackle such issues as China’s increasingly hegemonic activities, North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under such circumstances, cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and among Japan, South Korea and the United States has become increasingly important as the nations share values such as democracy and the rule of law.
It is believed that South Korea hopes to participate in the summit.
If South Korea does participate, the meeting would be a good opportunity to demonstrate both domestically and internationally the strengthening of cooperation.
Diplomatic talks are ongoing to resolve the biggest outstanding issue between Japan and South Korea – lawsuits against former requisitioned workers.
The Japanese government has maintained its stance that a South Korean Supreme Court ruling that finalized an order for Japanese companies to pay compensation is unacceptable, and has urged Seoul to resolve the issue.
Japan is poised to make a final decision on the invitation after observing how South Korea deals with the issue.
The Yoon administration inaugurated in May last year has changed course from that of the previous administration under Moon Jae-in, which paid excessive consideration to China and North Korea. The Yoon administration has been promoting improved relations with Japan and security cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Regarding the possibility of invitations for Canberra and New Delhi, which are part of the Quad framework with Tokyo and Washington, Australia is a country with which Japan is deepening security cooperation and India is this year’s chair of the Group of 20 major economies.
G7 host nations call the shots
When chairing a Group of Seven summit meeting, the host country gets to decide on agenda items and which countries to invite.
When Japan held the G7 presidency in the past, its choices strongly reflected the then-prevailing international situation.
The Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000 and the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in 2008 were held as Group of Eight summits, which included Russia. Russia joined the group in 1997 but was excluded in 2014 following its unilateral annexation of Crimea in southern Ukraine.
For the Toyako summit – organized by the administration of then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda – Japan invited China, South Korea and other countries with which it had cordial ties at the time. India and other emerging countries, such as those from Africa, also participated, and the summit registered a record-high 22 attending heads of state. The Toyako meeting primarily focused on measures to combat global warming, with the G8 nations agreeing to set a common long-term global goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
At the Ise-Shima Summit in 2016 – chaired by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – the member countries agreed to implement economic measures, including fiscal stimulus steps, against a backdrop of slowdowns in emerging economies and other elements. While visiting Japan for the summit, Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, which was devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945, marking a historic milestone that symbolized the reconciliation between the United States and Japan.
Zelenskiy says Russia did not keep ceasefire, shelled Bakhmut
SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023
Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday its forces in Ukraine would maintain a ceasefire it unilaterally declared in honour of Orthodox Christmas until midnight, despite Ukraine rejecting the truce offer.
In its daily briefing, the defence ministry said its troops had only returned artillery fire when fired upon by Ukrainian forces, whom it accused of shelling civilian areas – something Kyiv often accuses Russian forces of.
Ukraine rejected Moscow’s ceasefire offer as a cynical trick designed to give Russian forces the chance to rest and re-arm and said it would continue to try to recapture territory seized by Moscow.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russia’s call for a ceasefire had been ‘deceptive,’ adding shells had hit Bakhmut.
Reuters confirmed shellfire echoed around the near-deserted streets of Bakhmut but was not able to ascertain the origin of the shells.
On Friday, Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire for Christmas celebrations.
Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, but the Russian Orthodox Church‘s backing for Moscow’s war in Ukraine has angered many Ukrainian Orthodox believers and splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church.
The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Epifaniy I. lead Ukraine’s main Orthodox Christmas service on Saturday in a historic Kyiv cathedral in the Pechersk Lavra complex.
Believers gathered in the crowded Uspenskiy Cathedral which until the end of 2022 was leased by an Orthodox branch with ties to Moscow.
Epifaniy I. called upon the believers to condemn war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine and asked God to help Ukraine win the war.
“Help us to defeat the enemy, who brought grief into our home. Help us to finally drive out the foreign invasion of Ukrainian land. Thanks to the victory of truth, (God) may establish a just and continued peace.”
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), formerly known as the Moscow Patriarchate, were evicted by the government from the Uspenskiy cathedral as their lease of the shrine ended on December 31.
Ukrainian Culture ministerOleksandr Tkachenko announced the handover of the cathedral to the Kyiv-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine on Thursday (January 5).
McCarthy faces a myriad of challenges as incoming US House Speaker
SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023
The political fight on display this week among Republicans over Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker of the US House of Representatives could signal trouble ahead when lawmakers need to agree on bigger issues, like addressing the nation’s debt ceiling.
Republicans captured a thin House majority in November’s midterm elections, breaking the hold of President Joe Biden‘s Democrats on both chambers of Congress, but instead of moving quickly on their own priorities, a group of about 20 hardliners delayed the House from getting started by forcing 15 leadership votes before Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House early on Saturday.
McCarthy won the House gavel in the end by making concessions to his hardline opponents, but his allies warn that those deals would make his job all the more difficult if he wins the speakership and has to corral his narrow 222-212 majority.
Andra Gillespie, a political scientist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta, told Reuters the concessions McCarthy made to secure the speakership could weaken his authority and possibly
“put Republicans in a position to do damage to their brand.” She noted that polling data received in the coming weeks could show the impact of the Republican’s public battle for House leadership.
Gillespie added McCarthy’s relationship with former President Donald Trump is “fraught” but “still strong” and could prove to be a “risky proposition” for McCarthy long-term.
The biggest challenge facing the House in the coming months will be addressing the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury is expected to reach later this year.
Congress has come to the brink of default over the past years in standoffs over raising the debt ceiling, which is needed to cover costs that lawmakers have previously agreed to take on.
McCarthy fails for third day to win US House speaker vote
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives rejected Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid for an 11th time on Thursday, while his supporters worked behind closed doors in hopes of cementing a deal that could bring success.
The voting propelled the House to a level of dysfunction not seen since the turbulent era just before the Civil War, even after McCarthy offered to curb his own clout, raising questions about the party’s ability to wield power.
After the 11th ballot, the House adjourned for the third time this week without electing a speaker.
Lawmakers will reconvene at noon (1700 GMT) on Friday.
McCarthy’s opponents say they do not trust him to fight for the deep spending cuts and other restrictions they want to impose on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But some Republicans held out hope of an agreement between the California Republican and at least some of the 20 hardline conservatives who have opposed his candidacy ballot after ballot.
Because of its inability to choose a leader, the 435-seat House has been rendered impotent – unable even to formally swear in newly elected members let alone hold hearings, consider legislation or scrutinize Biden and his administration.
McCarthy, who was backed by former President Donald Trump for the post, offered the holdouts a range of concessions that would weaken the speaker’s role, which political allies warned would make the job even harder if he got it.
At least 200 Republicans have backed McCarthy in each of the votes this week.
Fewer than 10% of Republican lawmakers have voted against him but they are enough to deny him the 218 votes needed to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker.
The inability to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether Republicans will force a government shutdown or risk default later this year in a bid to extract steep spending cuts.
Some of the holdouts say they expect McCarthy or any other Republican leader to take that approach.
If McCarthy ultimately fails to unite Republicans, they would have to search for an alternative.
Possibilities include No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan, who have both backed McCarthy.
Jordan received 20 votes when nominated by the holdouts on Tuesday.
“We’ve gone full colour”: BMW wows CES with new chameleon car in 32 shades
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
BMW is making waves at CES once again, with a new colour-changing car that morphs like a chameleon into different colours to suit the driver’s mood.
The German luxury automaker first unveiled its colour-changingE Ink technology at CES last year, but the colour range was limited to black, white and grey. For this year’s show, the engineers at BMW have gone “full colour,” showing off their i Vision Dee prototype car that can morph into 32 colours and form striking patterns.
“We’ve gone full colour. So, from black and white, now we have again a world first, but this time full colour changing car. And it is E ink. So, it still has the advantages of being true colour and thus it looks great in sunlight,” explained Stella Clarke, an engineer and BMW’s E Ink project leader.
The i Vision Dee car has 240 separate colour cells that can change individually. In one moment, the prototype can go from a light green shade, then dark purple, then red with white racing stripes.
To do this, BMW is using E ink technology, which is normally found in e-readers. When stimulated by electrical signals, the material brings different pigments to the surface, causing the car to take on a different colour or design, such as racing stripes.
And BMW’s latest colour-changing has been a hit with visitors at CES.
“I’ve seen it on TV and I didn’t believe it’s true until you kind of see it in person. It’s something that I don’t even know. It’s kind of impressive that the… You know, last year it was just two colours, and now you can see it in a variety of colours. And it’s something I’d drive, for sure,” said Arlington Brewbaker, a tech enthusiast from New Mexico.
“Yeah. Super exciting. Looks fantastic. Love it. I was here last year and saw the original colour-changing car, it was just black and white. This one looks a lot better and I’d definitely get one,” added James Wagoner, a CES visitor from Seattle.
No energy is needed to maintain the colour the driver selects, according to BMW.
It’s a bountiful bunny world in Year of the Rabbit
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Now that 2023, the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, has kicked off, goods featuring bunny characters and places related to the lucky animal are drawing even more attention. Many rabbit lovers are eagerly working to make the new year a time of leaps and bounds.
“For rabbit lovers, this is a special year that comes only once every 12 years,” said Asana Takahashi excitedly about her expectations for the New Year.
Takahashi, 43, lives with her two pet rabbits and runs a store specializing in rabbit-themed goods in Osaka Prefecture. In November, she had already begun stocking up on merchandise related to the Year of the Rabbit, such as mini-envelopes in which New Year’s gift money is placed.
According to Takahashi, rabbit lovers use the term “usanzai” to describe splurging on items related to the animal, an expression that plays on the Japanese words for “rabbit” and “splurge.”
“To me, 2023 is the year of usanzai. I’m so ready for it,” she said.
Takahashi organizes “My Sweet Rabbit,” an event that runs through Jan. 10 at the Hankyu Department StoreUmeda Main Store in Osaka. Cookies and handmade goods are sold at the event and lectures are given by a photographer specializing in rabbits.
“Many rabbit lovers are likely to flock to the event, which will mark the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit,” Takahashi said.
Admission to the event is limited during certain hours.
According to a person in the department store industry, many companies sell goods depicting the 12 Chinese zodiac signs according to the year, but items for the Year of the Rabbit sell particularly well. The popular bunny character Miffy is also a big feature this year.
Mataro Doll Ltd., a Tokyo-based maker founded in 1919, sells a Miffy doll crafted using a traditional technique for ¥15,400 ( 3,922 baht ). A skilled artisan created the Edo kimekomi doll by covering with cloth a Miffy-shaped doll made out of clay.
US apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger has put out a denim jacket with a Miffy emblem on it for ¥22,000 ( 5,600 baht ).
A variety of rabbit-shaped cookies are displayed at 3:biscuit confectionery in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, which are also participating in the “My Sweet Rabbit” event in Osaka. The Yomiuri Shimbun
According to Mizuki Murakami, an expert on the history of ancient Oriental thought, house divination and feng shui, the origin of goods featuring the 12 Chinese zodiac signs dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867) when unglazed clay dolls were popular with townspeople. Featuring dogs and daruma dolls among other shapes, they were sold at New Year’s as good luck charms.
In the modern era, more ornaments and knickknacks began to be made, which contributed to the widespread belief that items featuring the 12 zodiac motifs bring good luck, according to Murakami.
“It may only be a superstition, but what matters is that it makes you feel more enriched spiritually,” Murakami said. “You might tidy up the entrance to your home because you believe in visits by the deity of the incoming year drawn to the decorations of the 12 signs. The act of cleaning can serve as a stimulus for becoming invigorated.”
But it’s not just knickknacks that are believed to beckon the deity of the incoming year. Places summon deities, too.
Tottori City is home to a beach and a shrine named after a white rabbit, Hakuto Beach and Hakuto Shrine because the area is said to be the setting of a mythological Japanese tale featuring the animal. The Tottori city government is eager to attract tourists by promoting its connection with the animal and good fortune.
The Tottori city government offers special round-trip bus tickets for ¥1,220 ( 310 baht ) between Tottori Station and the shrine. Sold in a limited number, the ticket comes with a ¥500 ( 127 baht ) coupon that can be used in a local Michi no Eki roadside rest area. The ticket can be purchased in the city, with the coupon valid through Feb. 28.
“Hakuto Shrine is a perfect place to visit in the Year of the Rabbit,” said a city official. “It’s a bit far from the train station, so the special bus ticket is useful.”
‘Is this a leadership problem?’ asks investor as Amazon says it will lay off 18,000 workers
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Amazon.com Inc’s layoffs will now include more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note on Wednesday. The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting Jan. 18, will largely impact the company’s e-commerce and human resources organizations.
The massive job cuts by Amazon, one of the biggest private employers in the United States, show the wave of layoffs sweeping through the tech sector could stretch into 2023 as companies rush to cut costs, analysts said on Thursday.
As a demand boom during the pandemic rapidly turns into a bust, tech companies shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi, a number that is growing as growth in the world’s biggest economies starts to slow.
The layoffs brought back memories of the dot-com bubble at the start of the century and the 2008 financial crisis when tech companies cut jobs in thousands to reduce spending.
During the global pandemic, companies ramped up hiring only to reverse course in 2022, with the tech sector leading the job cuts, which according to executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc, surged 649% from 2021.
The drop in demand amid a steep rise in borrowing costs has led several executives from the sector to admit they hired in excess during the Covid-19 crisis.
Meta Platforms axed 11,000 jobs last year, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying he had wrongly expected that the pandemic boom would keep on going.
Tech giants Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet have already hinted at cost cuts, including layoffs.
Salesforce top boss Marc Benioff said on Wednesday the enterprise software company had hired “too many people” as he announced plans to cut 10% of the jobs.
“Is this a leadership problem,’ said Jeff Tomasulo, CEO and founder of Vespula Capital and Tactical Income, who has positions in Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce. “We are seeing some of these leaders do a really poor job at anticipating the downturn that we’re going into.”
For Amazon, growth in its cloud unit that brings most of its profit has slowed as businesses cut back spending, while its online retail unit is reeling from strained consumer budgets due to rising prices.
A variety of rabbit-shaped cookies are displayed at 3:biscuit confectionery in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, which are also participating in the “My Sweet Rabbit” event in Osaka. The Yomiuri Shimbun
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