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February
Without naming BBC, India cites evidence of media firm's unpaid tax
Written by Nur Yasmin
India's tax authority said on Friday it found evidence of unpaid taxes and undisclosed income in the records of an "international media company", a day after inspectors concluded a three-day search of BBC offices in Mumbai and New Delhi.
The tax probe came after India reacted angrily to a documentary by the British broadcaster about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat during riots in 2002.
At least 1,000 people were killed in the violence, most of them Muslims. Activists put the toll at more than twice that number.
The government has dismissed the documentary as propaganda and blocked its streaming and sharing on social media. The tax inspection has drawn strong criticism from media bodies in India and abroad.
Without naming the BBC, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in its first official statement since completing the office inspections that its "survey revealed that despite substantial consumption of content in various Indian languages (apart from English), the income/profits shown by various group entities is not commensurate with the scale of operations in India.
"...During the course of the survey, the department gathered several evidences pertaining to the operation of the organisation which indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group," it said.
A government source said the CBDT was referring to the BBC but did not name it as the investigation was ongoing.
There was no response from the BBC to a request for comment on the CBDT statement.
The broadcaster has stood by its reporting for the documentary, "India: The Modi Question". It has said it is "fully co-operating" with the tax authorities during the inspection and also supporting its employees.
It called the situation stressful and disruptive for its staff and added that its journalists in India would continue to report without fear or favour.
The tax officers left the BBC's offices in New Delhi and Mumbai late on Thursday.
The investigation, the CBDT statement said, also threw up "several discrepancies and inconsistencies with regard to Transfer Pricing documentation".
It said it found that "services of seconded employees have been utilised for which reimbursement has been made by the Indian entity to the foreign entity concerned. Such remittance was also liable to be subject to withholding tax which has not been done".
"Even though the department exercised due care to record statements of only key personnel, it was observed that dilatory tactics were employed including in the context of producing documents/agreements sought," the statement said.
"Despite such stance of the group, the survey operation was conducted in a manner so as to facilitate continued regular media/channel activity," it added.
A government official has denied accusations that the tax survey was "vindictive" and said the BBC was served tax notices in the past but had not provided a "convincing response". (Reuters)
February
North Korea Threatens Unprecedented Action Over Allied Military Drills
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea threatened on Friday to take "unprecedentedly constant, strong responses" if South Korea and the United States press ahead with planned military drills, accusing the allies of raising tensions in the region.
In a statement carried by state media KCNA, the North's foreign ministry also said it would consider additional military action if the U.N. Security Council, under the influence of the United States, continues to pressure Pyongyang.
The statement came as South Korea and the United States gear up for annual military exercises as part of efforts to better counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.
The allies will stage tabletop exercises in Washington next week aimed at improving operations of American nuclear assets and hold regular springtime Freedom Shield drills next month in South Korea, Seoul's defence ministry said on Friday. (Reuters)
February
China's balloons give Japan and Taiwan a reason to share intelligence, says lawmaker
Written by Nur Yasmin
The flight of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons has shown that Japan and Taiwan need to share "critical" intelligence about possible aerial threats, a senior defence policymaker for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said.
Although Japan does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it worries that China could imperil Japanese security if it gained control over the self-governing island.
"We don't have those bilateral relations with Taiwan, so we don't cooperate on that, but Japan's government will have to consider what it does next," Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister and an influential lawmaker in the ruling party, said in an interview.
One way that Japan could share information with Taiwan could be through its close ally the United States, Onodera said, adding that he had visited Taiwan in January and was briefed about threats posed to the island by China.
Japan said on Tuesday it suspected Chinese spy balloons had flown over Japan at least three times, most recently in 2021.
Japan did not intercept any of them, but on Thursday defence ministry officials briefed Onodera and other Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers about a planned change in military engagement rules to allow Japan's air force to shoot down unmanned aircraft, including balloons that could endanger other air traffic or people on the ground.
"The rules now cover manned aircraft or military aircraft. The change will add unmanned aircraft to those," Minoru Kihara, one of the lawmakers, told reporters after the briefing.
Japan's Self Defence Force will begin training pilots to engage those targets, he said.
Japan on Wednesday said it had warned China that violations of its airspace by surveillance balloons were unacceptable.
The issue of spy balloons has drawn new attention in recent days after U.S. fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, and subsequently three other objects.
China said the balloon was a civilian weather-monitoring aircraft and it accused the United States of sending its balloons into Chinese airspace. (Reuters)
February
Kazakhstan challenges large asset transfer by ex-president's foundation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Kazakh prosecutors have filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the transfer of a local bank's ownership from ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev's non-profit foundation to a foreign company, they said on Thursday.
The foundation established by Nazarbayev, who ran the oil-rich Central Asian nation for three decades until resigning in 2019, used to own Jusan Bank (TSBN.KZ), the sixth-largest lender in the former Soviet republic.
But according to a statement by the prosecutor general's office, the company through which the foundation owned the bank transferred its shares to a foreign company in 2020, "endangering public interest".
Nazarbayev, 82, fell out with his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev last year and lost key positions which had given him sweeping powers even after resignation, such as the chairmanship of the security council.
The Nazarbayev foundation, run by his daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, acquired Jusan in 2019 after it was bailed out by the state.
According to prosecutors, the foundation asked them this month to look into the case, describing the ownership transfer as a result of illegal actions by several entities.
Neither the foundation, which runs a university and a network of prestigious schools, nor Nazarbayev's spokesman could be immediately reached for comment. (Reuters)
February
South Korea defence paper calls North 'enemy', estimates plutonium stockpile at 70 kg
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea released its latest defence white paper on Thursday, describing North Korea as its "enemy" for the first time in six years and reporting an increase in Pyongyang's stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium.
The biennial white paper offers a glimpse into the reclusive North's growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as its conventional military capabilities.
The 2022 paper revived the description of the North Korean regime and military as "our enemy," last used in its 2016 edition, citing Pyongyang's ongoing weapons development, cyber and military provocations and its recent portrayal of the South as an "enemy."
"As North Korea continues to pose military threats without giving up nuclear weapons, its regime and military, which are the main agents of the execution, are our enemies," the document said.
To beef up its nuclear stockpile, North Korea has continued reprocessing spent fuel from its reactor and possesses about 70kg (154lb) of weapons-grade plutonium, up from 50kg estimated in the previous report, it said.
The North has also secured "substantial" amounts of highly enriched uranium" and "significant level of capability" to miniaturise atomic bombs though six nuclear tests, a description that remains unchanged since 2018.
"Our military is strengthening surveillance as the possibility of an additional nuclear test is rising," the paper said, citing the restoration last year of previously destroyed tunnels at the North's testing site.
The paper said the North violated a 2018 inter-Korean military pact banning hostilities 15 times last year alone, including its drone intrusion in December, artillery fire inside a military buffer zone and missiles launched across the de facto maritime border into the South in November.
Its 2020 edition said the North was "generally" complying with the agreement, which was sealed on the margins of a 2018 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The latest document noted Pyongyang's 2022 launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, including the new Hwasong-17 tested, but said further analysis was needed to verify whether it has acquired improved missile re-entry technology.
On Japan, the paper called it a "close neighbour that shares values" for the first time since 2016, amid efforts to mend ties strained by history and trade spats. (Reuters)
February
China, Iran call for Iran sanctions to be lifted; Xi to visit
Written by Nur Yasmin
China's President Xi Jinping and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, called on Thursday for the lifting of sanctions on Iran as an integral part of a stalled international agreement on its nuclear programme.
Xi also accepted an invitation from Raisi to visit Iran and would do so at his convenience, the two leaders said in a joint statement on the last day of a three-day state visit to China by Raisi. Xi last visited Iran in 2016 as part of a tour of the Middle East.
The leaders in their statement called for the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Iran agreed with several countries, including the United States, to curb its nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief.
In 2018, then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
President Joe Biden said in 2021 that the United States would return to the deal if Iran moved back into compliance but talks have stalled.
"All relevant sanctions should be fully lifted in a verifiable manner to promote the full and effective implementation," Xi and Raisi said.
China and Iran emphasised that lifting sanctions and ensuring Iran economic benefits were important components of the agreement, they said.
On Tuesday, Xi told Raisi that China would "participate constructively" in talks to resume negotiations on implementing the agreement, while expressing his support for Iran in safeguarding its rights and interests.
"China firmly opposes interference by external forces in Iran's internal affairs and undermining Iran's security and stability," the leaders said in the statement.
The two leaders also drew up several initiatives, including promoting e-commerce and agriculture.
The show of cooperation was a contrast with Iranian anger in December last year over a statement that China and Gulf states issued during a visit by Xi to Saudi Arabia.
The China-Gulf Cooperation Council called on Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and for a peaceful resolution to the issue of three islands ruled by Iran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates.
The Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to Iran in response and expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" over the statement. (Reuters)
February
North Korea's Kim launches housing and greenhouse projects amid economic woes
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has broken ground on a large greenhouse project and the development of 10,000 apartments, state media reported on Thursday, highlighting the construction projects amid foreign suspicion of food shortages.
Neighbouring South Korea said on Wednesday that a food crisis appeared to be worsening in the North, and the South's DongA Ibo newspaper reported that North Korea had cut rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than two decades.
North Korea has not confirmed any food shortages but its ruling party has scheduled a meeting for late February for what state media said was the "very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture".
The North's state-run KCNA news agency in its report on the ground-breaking ceremonies in the capital, Pyongyang, cited an official who said the greenhouse construction would be a model for overcoming "present difficulties".
Kim's presence at that event, according to KCNA, demonstrated his "ceaseless journey of devoted service for the people to build a highly civilized thriving country, a socialist paradise on this land full of the people's laugh and happiness".
The housing development, meanwhile, would be "another luxurious street of socialism full of the people's happiness", KCNA said in a separate report.
The isolated country is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes and in recent years its limited border trade was virtually choked off by self-imposed lockdowns aimed at preventing COVID-19.
In recent months North Korea has reopened freight rail services with China and Russia, and on Thursday, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that trucks had also begun crossing between the Chinese city of Hunchun and North Korea's Rason.
Asked about the reported resumption of transport of goods via truck at the Hunchun-Rason border crossing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he had nothing to add to China's position on trade resumption.
"Both sides will resolve via consultation matters related to border port cooperation, in accordance with bilateral port agreements and other pacts pertaining to the border," he told a regular briefing. (reuters)
February
Destiny unites us, Paraguay leader says as Taiwan ties hang in balance
Written by Nur Yasmin
Paraguay and Taiwan are united by destiny, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo said on Thursday during a visit to the island ahead of an election in April that could see the Latin American country ditch Taipei for Beijing.
Paraguay is one of only 14 countries to have formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, and Beijing has been stepping up efforts to get those remaining allies to abandon Taipei.
Paraguay would cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and open relations with China if the opposition wins the election, its presidential candidate Efrain Alegre has said, hoping to boost economically important soy and beef exports.
Speaking at a welcome ceremony in Taipei attended by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, Abdo said the Taiwanese people deserve the highest admiration, respect, and affection from his country.
"Madam President, a saying you all know very well notes that destiny unites people far apart, and I believe this has been the case for our countries," he added. "Nowadays our countries are much more than friends, they are partners and strategic allies, that share values and the same vision to create a peaceful, democratic, and sustainable world."
Abdo is not standing again for the presidency. Santiago Pena, the ruling Colorado Party candidate, has said Paraguay's relations with Taiwan would remain intact if he wins on April 30.
Tsai, recalling her two trips to Paraguay as president, said the two sides continued to deepen their friendship.
"We look forward to taking this visit and exchange to continue to strengthen cooperation between the two countries," she said.
Paraguay's Taiwan ties have been under pressure in recent years, especially from the country's beef producers and farmers, who see the relationship as an obstacle to gaining access to the world's largest market for their products.
China views Taiwan as one of its provinces, with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei hotly disputes.
China's targeting of Taiwan's allies has taken on broader geopolitical significance amid U.S. concerns about Beijing expanding its influence in Latin America and the Caribbean where many of Taipei's remaining friends are located. (Reuters)
February
S.Korean victims of Japan forced labour accuse Seoul of rushing compensation
Written by Nur Yasmin
A group of South Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labour accused Seoul of rushing a compensation plan with Tokyo for diplomatic and political gains, amid a prolonged legal battle over the neighbours' chequered history.
The two countries have been odds over a 2018 ruling by South Korea's Supreme Court that ordered Japanese firms to compensate some of the forced labourers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, though no payments have been made yet.
The South Korean government unveiled a plan last month to compensate the victims through its own public foundation - instead of using funds from Japanese companies, sparking an outcry from some victims and their families.
Officials haven't specified the total amount but plan to raise more than 4 billion won ($3.11 million).
Japan has said Seoul should present a solution to resolve the dispute over the court ruling, but declined to comment on the compensation plan and the row with the victims, calling it a domestic matter within South Korea.
Lim Jae-sung, a lawyer for several victims, said the office of President Yoon Suk-yeol and the foreign ministry are forcing the proposal despite the backlash, in order to expedite its efforts to improve ties and have a summit with Japan.
"For public reasons they're saying the victims are old and the issue has not been resolved for too long, but I think they're pushing to normalise relations with Japan by ending the dispute and make it a political legacy," Lim told a news conference in Seoul.
If the government presses ahead to pay compensation on behalf of the companies, the lawyers would fight to prove its invalidity, he said.
Yoon's office did not immediately provide comment. The foreign ministry said it would like to continue discussions and visit victims individually to find a reasonable resolution, asking for cooperation from the attorneys.
"In any case, it would bring another lengthy legal battle ... and they wouldn't be able to get the outcome according to the schedule they might have set," Lim said.
Yang Geum-deok, who said she was coaxed by a Japanese educator to go to Japan at age 14 and forced to work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), said she will never take any money without an apology.
Lim said any acceptable resolution should include an apology similar to one that was made in 2009 to some Chinese victims by Nishimatsu Construction Co Ltd , which acknowledged their forced labour and its "historical responsibility" and apologised to the victims and their families.
"I worked my butt off there but came home without receiving a penny or any apology," she said. "I want an apology before I die."
The unresolved legacy of Japan's colonisation in 1910-45 of the Korean peninsula has long been a source of contention between Seoul and Tokyo.
Yoon, who took office in May, has vowed to boost ties with Japan and held the two countries' first summit since 2019 in September. (Reuters)
February
U.S. says all countries should warn China against Taiwan conflict
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States hopes China will not use any visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan as an excuse for military action, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, adding that all countries should warn Beijing against conflict over the island.
U.S.-China relations were rocked last August by a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Since then a wave of U.S. lawmakers has visited Taiwan, and speculation has swirled that Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy, who took over as House speaker in January, could soon visit the island, possibly in the spring or summer.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told an event at the Brookings Institution think tank that the United States was committed to support Taiwan and its ability to defend itself under its one-China policy.
"And we hope that the PRC (People's Republic of China) does not use a visit by a member of Congress to Taiwan as a pretext for military action," Sherman said.
China stepped up military drills around Taiwan as a result of Pelosi's visit. Strained relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorated further this month after the U.S. military shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon that flew across U.S. territory.
Sherman, the State Department's second-ranked diplomat, drew on Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a lesson for China against any moves in the Taiwan Strait, saying the war had increased energy and food insecurity for the whole world, as well as inflationary pressures.
"The same would be true of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait," Sherman said. "And so, I urge all countries to tell the PRC this affects me. This affects my people, my country. This is not a good idea."
Sherman said Washington had "growing concern" about China's "no limits" partnership with Russia and its support for Moscow's Ukraine invasion, even as it was attempting to increase its global standing by saying it would help mediate an end to the conflict. She said China couldn't have it both ways.
"But what I would say to all of those who are supporting Russia, you're going to end up with an albatross around your neck," Sherman said, adding that the Ukrainians would deliver a strategic failure for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"That's going to create a lot of problems for those who are supporting this unholy invasion going forward," she said. (reuters)