tybs
those are the best and most funny in the right context
Mnuchin Says U.S. and China ‘Pretty Much’ Agreed on Enforcement
Treasury secretary indicates progress made on key sticking point
The U.S. and China have agreed to open “enforcement offices” as a way to make sure each side lives up to the terms of a trade deal still under negotiation, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Wednesday.
“We’ve pretty much agreed on an enforcement mechanism,” Mnuchin said on CNBC. “We’ve agreed that both sides will establish enforcement offices that will deal with the ongoing matters. So this is something that both sides are taking very seriously.”
President Donald Trump has said the two sides are nearing a trade deal after recent high-level meetings in Beijing and Washington. Officials are discussing text of an agreement that would cover technology transfers, intellectual property protections, non-tariff measures, services, agriculture, trade balance and enforcement, according to China’s state-run Xinhua.
Drafts of the broader trade agreement now under discussion would give Beijing until 2025 to meet commitments such as allowing American companies to wholly own enterprises in China, people familiar with the talks said earlier. Those would be binding pledges that could trigger U.S. retaliation if unfulfilled, the people said.
The nine-month trade war between the world’s largest economies has disrupted supply chains, whipsawed markets and weighed on the world economy. The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth to the lowest since the financial crisis, while including a breakdown in U.S-China talks among possible risks.
Negotiators are still working out details and discussing when Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could sit down to sign off on the agreement. Despite touting the idea of a “signing summit” at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida a month ago, Trump said last week there are no guarantees the two will meet.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-10/u-s-and-china-agree-to-enforcement-offices-in-trade-talks
Tokyo court orders Aum Shinrikyo cult successor Aleph to pay ¥1 billion to victims of sarin attack
(if you don't know about this read up on it-one strange dude)
A Tokyo court on Wednesday ordered Aleph, the main successor group of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, to pay more than ¥1 billion in damages to the victims of the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack that shook the country in March 1995.
A series of terrorist attacks and other crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo cultists, which left a total of 29 people dead and more than 6,000 injured, resulted in the indictment of 192 people.
Last July, Japan executed 13 former members of the cult who were held responsible for the 1995 sarin attack — an act of terror that killed 13 people and injured thousands more. The cultists’ group renamed itself to Aleph in 2000.
In July of that year the group apologized to the victims and agreed to pay some ¥900 million to them by 2005 through an administrator, as the group had declared bankruptcy.
Since then Aleph paid a certain amount to the victims’ supporters but withheld the payment of the demanded amount, claiming it had no assets to repay the debt.
Throughout negotiations in a Tokyo summary court, Aleph admitted to its outstanding debt but continued to delay the payments.
The negotiations continued for nearly six years but ended without progress.
The lawyers supporting the victims’ group then took the case to the Tokyo District Court demanding some ¥1.05 billion in compensation from Aleph.
In Wednesday’s ruling, presiding Judge Kazuhiko Tanaka ordered Aleph to pay the victims around ¥1.02 billion plus interest, taking into account the amount returned over the 19 years.
At a news conference held after the Tokyo court’s ruling Wednesday afternoon, attorneys representing the victims in the lawsuit said they were content with the court’s decision, saying the judges apparently recognized the plaintiffs’ claim.
The compensation money will be paid to 517 victims and surviving family members.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/10/national/crime-legal/tokyo-court-orders-aum-shinrikyo-cult-successor-aleph-pay-%c2%a51-billion-victims-sarin-attack/
Tokyo subway sarin attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack