Archives February 2022

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

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After almost two months of radio silence over the telephone and fax lines that serve as a hotline between North Korea and South Korea, communication was restored between the two countries on Monday.

In a speech made at a Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the North-South communication lines to be reopened, wishing for an “early recovery of the present inter-Korean relations and settlement of durable peace on the Korean peninsula.”

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a statement where Kim Jong Un’s wishes were expressed, and closed the short article with a cautionary statement directed at the South Korean government. This statement warned authorities in South Korea they “should keep in mind the meaning of reopening of the communication lines and make active efforts to solve pending important issues for saving the inter-Korean relations and opening its bright prospect.”

The communication lines had been severed on the North’s order in August as a method of protest exercised during US-South Korea joint military drills. The KCNA had previously stated communication would be re-established 9 AM on Monday KST (UTC midnight). In an article by CTV News, it is said officials exchanged greetings over telephone lines and discussed fishing activities in their disputed western maritime border.

This thawing of Korean relations comes at a heated time, with the North having conducted multiple missile tests last week. One of the said launches was confirmed by Japanese and South Korean defense ministries to be an early-stage hypersonic missile, launched only minutes before the representative of North Korea spoke before the UN General Assembly, heavily criticizing the US.

Monday, January 26, 2009

On Thursday, the municipal intermediate people’s court in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China pronounced sentences for 21 defendants implicated in the 2008 Chinese milk scandal which killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000 others.

In the local court’s decision, 17 accused were indicted for the crimes of “producing, adding melamine-laced ‘protein powder’ to infant milk or selling tainted, fake and substandard milk to Sanlu Group or 21 other dairy companies, including six who were charged with the crime of endangering public security by dangerous means.” Four other courts in Wuji County, in Hebei, China had also tried cases on the milk scandal.

Zhang Yujun, age 40, of Quzhou County (Hebei), who produced and sold melamine-laced “protein powder” in the milk scandal, was convicted of endangering public security and sentenced to death by the Shijiazhuang intermediate people’s court.

The court also imposed the penalty of death upon Geng Jinping, who added 434 kg of melamine-laced powder to about 900 tons of fresh milk to artificially increase the protein content. He sold the tainted milk to Sanlu and some other dairy companies. His brother Geng Jinzhu was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for assisting in adding the melamine.

A suspended capital punishment sentence, pending a review, with two years probation, was handed down to Gao Junjie. Under the law, a suspended death sentence is equivalent to life imprisonment with good behavior. The court ruled that Gao designed more than 70 tons of melamine-tainted “protein powder” in a Zhengding County underground factory near Shijiazhuang. His wife Xiao Yu who assisted him, was also sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Sanlu Group General Manager Tian Wenhua, 66, a native of Nangang Village in Zhengding County, who was charged under Articles 144 and 150 of the criminal code, was sentenced to life imprisonment for producing and selling fake or substandard products. She was also fined 20 million yuan (US$2.92 million) while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt, was fined 49.37 million yuan ($7.3 million).

Tian Wenhua plans to appeal the guilty verdict on grounds of lack of evidence, said her lawyer Liang Zikai on Saturday. Tian testified last month during her trial that she decided not to stop production of the tainted milk products because a Fonterra designated board member handed her a document which states that a maximum of 20 mg of melamine was allowed in every kg of milk in the European Union. Liang opined that Tian should instead be charged with “liability in a major accident,” which is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment, instead of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products.

According to Zhang Deli, chief procurator of the Hebei Provincial People’s Procuratorate, Chinese police have arrested another 39 people in connection with the scandal. Authorities last year also arrested 12 milk dealers and suppliers who allegedly sold contaminated milk to Sanlu, and six people were charged with selling melamine.

In late December, 17 people involved in producing, selling, buying and adding melamine to raw milk went on trial. Tian Wenhua and three other Sanlu executives appeared in court in Shijiazhuang, charged with producing and selling fake or substandard milk contaminated with melamine. Tian pleaded guilty, and told the court during her 14-hour December 31 trial that she learned about the tainted milk complaints and problems with her company’s BeiBei milk powder from consumer complaints in mid-May.

She then apparently led a working team to handle the case, but her company did not stop producing and selling formula until about September 11. She also did not report to the Shijiazhuang city government until August 2.

The court also sentenced Zhang Yanzhang, 20, to the lesser penalty of life imprisonment. Yanzhang worked with Zhang Yujun, buying and reselling the protein powder. The convicts were deprived of their political rights for life.

Xue Jianzhong, owner of an industrial chemical shop, and Zhang Yanjun were punished with life imprisonment and 15 years jail sentence respectively. The court found them responsible for employment of workers to produce about 200 tons of the tainted infant milk formula, and selling supplies to Sanlu, earning more than one million yuan.

“From October 2007 to August 2008, Zhang Yujun produced 775.6 tons of ‘protein powder’ that contained the toxic chemical of melamine, and sold more than 600 tons of it with a total value of 6.83 million yuan [$998,000]. He sold 230 tons of the “protein powder” to Zhang Yanzhang, who will stay behind bars for the rest of his life under the same charge. Both Zhangs were ‘fully aware of the harm of melamine’ while they produced and sold the chemical, and should be charged for endangering the public security,” the Court ruled.

The local court also imposed jail sentences of between five years and 15 years upon three top Sanlu executives. Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi, both former deputy general managers, and Wu Jusheng, a former raw milk department manager, were respectively sentenced to 15 years, eight years and five years imprisonment. In addition, the court directed Wang to pay multi-million dollar fines. In December, Wang Yuliang had appeared at the Shijiazhuang local court in a wheelchair, after what the Chinese state-controlled media said was a failed suicide attempt.

The judgment also states “the infant milk powder was then resold to private milk collectors in Shijiazhuang, Tangsan, Xingtai and Zhangjiakou in Hebei.” Some collectors added it to raw milk to elevate apparent protein levels, and the milk was then resold to Sanlu Group.

“The Chinese government authorities have been paying great attention to food safety and product quality,” Yu Jiang Yu, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. “After the case broke out, the Chinese government strengthened rules and regulations and took a lot of other measures to strengthen regulations and monitor food safety,” she added.

In the People’s Republic of China, the intermediate people’s court is the second lowest local people’s court. Under the Organic Law of the People’s Courts of the People’s Republic of China, it has jurisdiction over important local cases in the first instance and hear appeal cases from the basic people’s court.

The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in China involving milk and infant formula, and other food materials and components, which had been adulterated with melamine. In November 2008, the Chinese government reported an estimated 300,000 victims have suffered; six infants have died from kidney stones and other acute renal infections, while 860 babies were hospitalized.

Melamine is normally used to make plastics, fertilizer, coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. It was added by the accused to infant milk powder, making it appear to have a higher protein content. In 2004, a watered-down milk resulted in 13 Chinese infant deaths from malnutrition.

The tainted milk scandal hit the headlines on 16 July, after sixteen babies in Gansu Province who had been fed on milk powder produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were diagnosed with kidney stones. Sanlu is 43% owned by New Zealand’s Fonterra. After the initial probe on Sanlu, government authorities confirmed the health problem existed to a lesser degree in products from 21 other companies, including Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili.

From August 2 to September 12 last year Sanlu produced 904 tonnes of melamine-tainted infant milk powder. It sold 813 tonnes of the fake or substandard products, making 47.5 million yuan ($13.25 million). In December, Xinhua reported that the Ministry of Health confirmed 290,000 victims, including 51,900 hospitalized. It further acknowledged reports of “11 suspected deaths from melamine contaminated milk powder from provinces, but officially confirmed 3 deaths.”

Sanlu Group which filed a bankruptcy petition, that was accepted by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People’s Court last month, and the other 21 dairy companies, have proposed a 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million) compensation plan for court settlement. The court appointed receiver was granted six months to conclude the sale of Sanlu’s assets for distribution to creditors. The 22 dairy companies offered “families whose children died would receive 200,000 yuan ($29,000), while others would receive 30,000 yuan ($4,380) for serious cases of kidney stones and 2,000 yuan ($290) for less severe cases.”

Sanlu stopped production on September 12 amid huge debts estimated at 1.1 billion yuan. On December 19, the company borrowed 902 million yuan for medical and compensation payment to victims of the scandal. On January 16, Sanlu paid compensation of 200,000 yuan (29,247 U.S. dollars) to Yi Yongsheng and Jiao Hongfang, Gangu County villagers, the parents of the first baby who died.

“Children under three years old, who had drunk tainted milk and had disease symptoms could still come to local hospitals for check-ups, and would receive free treatment if diagnosed with stones in the urinary system,” said Mao Qun’an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health on Thursday, adding that “the nationwide screening for sickened children has basically come to an end.”

“As of Thursday, about 90% of families of 262,662 children who were sickened after drinking the melamine-contaminated milk products had signed compensation agreements with involved enterprises and accepted compensation,” the China Dairy Industry Association said Friday, without revealing, however, the amount of damages paid. The Association (CDIA) also created a fund for payment of the medical bills for the sickened babies until they reach the age of 18.

Chinese data shows that those parents who signed the state-backed compensation deal include the families of six children officially confirmed dead, and all but two of 891 made seriously ill, the report said. Families of 23,651 children made ill by melamine tainted milk, however, have not received the compensation offer, because of “wrong or untrue” registration details, said Xinhua.

Several Chinese parents, however, demanded higher levels of damages from the government. Zhao Lianhai announced Friday that he and three other parents were filing a petition to the Ministry of Health. The letter calls for “free medical care and follow-up services for all victims, reimbursement for treatment already paid for, and further research into the long-term health effects of melamine among other demands,” the petition duly signed by some 550 aggrieved parents and Zhao states.

“Children are the future of every family, and moreover, they are the future of this country. As consumers, we have been greatly damaged,” the petition alleged. Chinese investigators also confirmed the presence of melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies, quality control official Li Changjiang admitted.

In addition, a group of Chinese lawyers, led by administrator Lin Zheng, filed Tuesday a $5.2 million lawsuit with the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (under Chief Grand Justice Wang Shengjunin), in Beijing, on behalf of the families of 213 children’s families. The class-action product liability case against 22 dairy companies, include the largest case seeking $73,000 compensation for a dead child.

According to a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Market Friday, China’s Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company, which has a domestic market share of milk powder at 8 percent, reported a net loss in 2008 because of the milk scandal. A Morgan Stanley report states the expected company’s 2008 loss at 2.3 billion yuan. The scandal also affected Yili’s domestic rivals China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited and the Bright Group. Mengniu suffered an expected net loss of 900 million yuan despite earnings in the first half of 2008, while the Bright Group posted a third quarter loss at 271 million yuan last year.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, said Saturday it accepted the Chinese court’s guilty verdicts but alleged it had no knowledge of the criminal actions taken by those involved. “We accept the court’s findings but Fonterra supports the New Zealand Government’s position on the death penalty. We have been shocked and disturbed by the information that has come to hand as a result of the judicial process,” said Fonterra Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier.

“Fonterra deeply regrets the harm and pain this tragedy has caused so many Chinese families,” he added. “We certainly would never have approved of these actions. I am appalled that the four individuals deliberately released product containing melamine. These actions were never reported to the Sanlu Board and fundamentally go against the ethics and values of Fonterra,” Ferrier noted.

Fonterra, which controls more than 95 percent of New Zealand’s milk supply, is the nation’ biggest multinational business, its second-biggest foreign currency earner and accounts for more than 24 percent of the nation’s exports. Fonterra was legally responsible for informing Chinese health authorities of the tainted milk scandal in August, and by December it had written off its $200 million investment in Sanlu Group.

Amnesty International also strongly voiced its opposition to the imposition of capital punishment by the Chinese local court and raised concerns about New Zealand’s implication in the milk scandal. “The death penalty will not put right the immense suffering caused by these men. The death penalty is the ultimate, cruel and inhumane punishment and New Zealand must take a stand to prevent further abuses of human rights.” AI New Zealand chief executive Patrick Holmes said on Saturday.

“The New Zealand government does not condone the death sentence but we respect their right to take a very serious attitude to what was extremely serious offending,” said John Phillip Key, the 38th and current Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the National Party. He criticized Fonterra’s response Monday, saying, “Fonterra did not have control of the vertical production chain, in other words they were making the milk powder not the supply of the milk, so it was a difficult position and they did not know until quite late in the piece. Nevertheless they probably could front more for this sort of thing.”

Keith Locke, current New Zealand MP, and the opposition Green Party foreign affairs spokesman, who was first elected to parliament in 1999 called on the government and Fonterra to respond strongly against the Chinese verdict. “They show the harshness of the regime towards anyone who embarrasses it, whether they are real criminals, whistleblowers or dissenters,” he said. “Many Chinese knew the milk was being contaminated but said nothing for fear of repercussions from those in authority. Fonterra could not get any action from local officials when it first discovered the contamination. There was only movement, some time later, when the matter became public,” he noted.

Green Party explained “it is time Fonterra drops its overly cautious act.” The party, however, stressed the death penalty is not a answer to the problems which created the Chinese milk scandal. “The Green Party is totally opposed to the death penalty. We would like to see the government and, indeed, Fonterra, speaking out and urging the Chinese government to stop the death penalty,” said Green Party MP Sue Kedgley.

Monday, September 30, 2019

On Friday in Pakistan, Mohammed Waseem, brother of social media personality and feminist Qandeel Baloch, was sentenced for her murder to life in prison by a court in Multan. Waseem confessed to killing his sister by strangling her in 2016 in what has widely been called an honor killing. She was 26.

Baloch and Waseem’s mother, Anwar, wept upon hearing her son had been convicted and said she believed he was innocent. In August, the parents tried to have Waseem released by saying they forgave him for the killing. Until recently, Pakistani law allowed the perpetrators of honor killings to go unpunished if forgiven by the victim’s family.

Even though Waseem confessed to acting alone, several alleged accomplices, including Muslim cleric Mufti Abdul Qawi, were tried by the same court. All, including Qawi, were acquitted. Baloch was murdered a few weeks after publicly posting pictures of herself with Qawi on the Internet, and Qawi drew criticism for associating with her. Qawi was later accused of inciting the murder in some way, which he denied. Some of Qawi’s supporters threw flower petals as he was leaving the courthouse.

Waseem appeared in a news conference after his 2016 arrest in which he expressed no regret for his sister’s death and specifically mentioned family honor. He has since said his initial confession was forced.

“As women we must stand up for ourselves. As women we must stand up for each other[,]” Baloch wrote on social media shortly before her death. “I believe I am a modern day feminist.”

Qandeel Baloch made videos and social media posts depicting her dancing, singing, lying in bed or, on one occasion, offering to disrobe if Pakistan defeated India in a then-upcoming cricket match, all of which are considered controversial for women in Pakistan.

When Baloch was born, about 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Lahore, she was Fouzia Azeem, daughter to a poor farming family. At the time of her murder, Qandeel Baloch, nicknamed the “Kim Kardashian of Pakistan,” had about 750,000 followers on Facebook, and wrote about feminism. In an interview with Dawn, she said as a teenager she was forced into an abusive marriage by her family. She also said that her much-older husband attempted to disfigure her with acid. Baloch ran away from the marriage to a shelter with her son but later returned the boy to her husband when she could not support him.

Since Baloch’s death, Pakistan’s laws about honor killings have changed. Though the accused can still avoid the death penalty if forgiven by the victim’s family, the minimum prison sentence for the crime even if forgiven is now 25 years. Waseem is eligible to appeal.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon has warned of an increase in police and military activity in Melbourne, Australia, in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. Officials say a major security sweep of Melbourne is underway at the athletes’ village.

A 24-hour temporary police station inside the 20-hectare Parkville site will be staffed by 109 officers. The station will house a monitoring centre for the village’s closed-circuit TV network. Melbourne’s newest police station, keeping tabs on nearly 6000 athletes and officials from 71 countries will operate for seven weeks.

Ms Nixon said people should not be alarmed. “They will be seeing, over the next month or two, an increase in some air activity and perhaps military on the streets coming into place for the support they’ll give to the Games.” Commissioner Nixon says the defence forces have an important role to play.

“You won’t certainly see an armed soldier walking down the streets of Melbourne, that’s not the security level that we have and the presence that we need,” she said. “Military will be there, they’ll be checking trucks and cars going into venues, they’ll be doing all of that.”

More than 150 Defence Force personnel and police moved on to the village site on Tuesday. Games Minister Justin Madden said the sweep would continue until athletes arrived at the village on March 5. Sweeps of all venues will take place before the Games begin.

More than 1200 defence staff have been seconded to the Games security team. F/A-18 Hornets and Black Hawk helicopters will enforce a 75km no-fly zone around the MCG.

Every vehicle that enters the village – and every other venue – will have to first pass through a bomb search bay that includes X-ray machines. Army security sweeps are continuing across all venues. These, combined with comprehensive bag and personal checks at Games time, are seen as the best way to guard against a terrorist strike.

“If people ring up and say, ‘Oh look, there’s a bomb in it’, we’ll be pretty much able to say ‘no, there’s not’,” Commissioner Nixon said.

While security is being stepped up at the village, Ms Nixon said there is no direct threat to the Games overall. “We have a medium-level of security at these Games,” she said. “The risk assessment is we have no direct threat to the Games, no evidence at all.”

The Victorian Government has declared Birrarung Marr, Alexandra Gardens, Albert Park and the Yarra River to be official Games venues, giving police the power to enforce tough anti-protest laws. A similar ruling on Yarra Park – home to the MCG – will also come into effect.

Games laws provide for fines of $2000 for offences such as blocking access, erecting signs, kicking stones or throwing missiles in “venues”.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

International leaders have issued Christmas time messages:

Thursday, April 5, 2007

All four quarterfinal matches occurred Thursday in the UEFA Cup, with all three Spanish sides remaining in the competition winning their games. Only one match ended in a draw, that being the game between AZ Alkmaar and Werder Bremen.