Japan January trade deficit on track to reach record: MOF

Japan January trade deficit on track to reach record: MOF
http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140207&t=2&i=836125695&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBREA160I3V00

TOKYO Fri Feb 7, 2014 1:31am EST

A worker stands in a container area at a port in Tokyo January 27, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is on track to post a record trade deficit in January, preliminary data showed on Friday, in a warning sign that consistently weak export demand could weigh on economic growth.

The data also provide further evidence that a weak yen is doing more to push up import costs than it is to boost exports as many Japanese manufacturers have shifted factories overseas.

A record trade deficit would also suggest that overseas demand may not be strong enough to offset the negative impact of a scheduled sales tax increase in April.

“It may be difficult to expect consumption to continue to lead growth as wages will not rise as fast as prices,” said Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities Research & Consulting Co.

“If external demand doesn’t pick up, the overall trend for growth would weaken.”

For the first 20 days of January, Japan’s trade deficit was 2 trillion yen ($ 19.6 billion), data from the finance ministry showed on Friday.

That would put it on track to surpass the current record high deficit, which was 1.6 trillion yen in January 2013. The finance ministry will release trade data for all of January on February 20.

Exports rose 11.3 percent in the first 20 days of January, compared with the same period a year ago. Imports, however, jumped an annual 30.2 percent.

The yen has fallen around 23 percent versus the dollar since late 2012 as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government embarked on a bold plan to end 15 years of deflation with expanded quantitative easing from the Bank of Japan.

The yen’s decline has helped consumer prices rise as it pushes up import costs, which is contributing toward reaching the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target.

Many in the government also expected the yen’s fall to boost exports, but this has largely failed to materialize as Japanese companies are producing more goods outside of the country.

Growing signs of weakness in emerging market countries has also raised concerns that demand for Japanese exports could deteriorate further.

The economy is likely to boom until March as consumers rush to beat the sales tax hike, and many analysts agree with the BOJ’s view that the pain from the higher tax will be temporary.

However, weak exports could mean that the rebound is slower than some economists anticipate. ($ 1 = 101.8600 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

• Link this


• Share this


• Digg this


• Email


• Print


• Reprints

Reuters: Economic News

Read more about Japan January trade deficit on track to reach record: MOF and other interesting subjects concerning Economy at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Nuclear talks with Iran reach point of no return

Sergey Strokan is a journalist, essayist and a poet.

Published time: November 12, 2013 12:19

The Geneva talks on a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, between Tehran and the six world powers, are in the final stage, with most parties signaling that agreement is no longer a phantom but a reality realizable within months, if not weeks.

As the day of the crucial negotiating round slated for Nov 20 nears, both diplomats and media are overwhelmed with a feeling of history being made in the walls of the Geneva Intercontinental hotel.

Is the process really irreversible, as some believe it to be? And if the deal is reached, what will it mean for Tehran and the whole world – an end of a decades-long Iranian crisis, or a new disaster, a “bad deal”, to quote Israeli Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? 

To spell out Israeli concerns, can it be a deal which would only trigger a nuclear arms race in the vast Middle East region and finally force the Jewish state into a desperate move – to act unilaterally against Iran?

A cup of coffee in the Intercontinental hotel costs $ 9, but what the real price and the outcome of the enigmatic nuclear deal presumably made on its premises will be is as yet unknown. What is clear is that the moment for such a deal today is the most appropriate since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, with all sides playing high stakes for diplomacy, not war.

To start with, what gives the diplomacy a unique chance is the phenomena of the two leaders in Washington and Tehran.  As for Barack Obama, it is an open secret that he has developed the reputation of “the most anti-Israeli president in US history” (this is how he is seen in Tel-Aviv). While the Israeli leadership was very unhappy with President Obama’s Middle East initiatives from the very start, Obama turned a blind eye on most of Israel’s concerns. Obama made it clear that despite strong bonds of strategic alliance, the US and Israel see different ‘red lines’ in the Iranian crisis. Obama signaled that he can put up with some limited Iranian nuclear program, the scale of which is currently being negotiated in Geneva. However, Netanyahu denies the very idea of Iran enriching uranium and keeping its centrifuges working. According to Netanyahu, the deal with Iran would backlash and America would also find itself vulnerable to future Iranian nuclear strike.

During the 2012 US presidential race it was not Barack Obama, but Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, who Netanyahu put his hopes on – and Obama is probably paying him back today. Moreover, the 2009 Noble Peace Prize granted to Mr. Obama as an advance for something not yet achieved is probably forcing him to prove that the decision of the Noble committee was something not to be mocked or ridiculed, as is happening today, but a prophetic move. 

However, it is not only “the most anti-Israeli American president” in Washington, but also “the most pro-Western president” sitting in Tehran who are giving diplomacy a golden opportunity and making all sides reinforce their efforts to reach compromise. The landslide victory of the Islamic reformist cleric, Hassan Rowhani, in June’s presidential election in Iran has revitalized nuclear talks between Tehran and the big six world powers, which had degenerated into a pointless, torturous process and lost its steam under the former Iranian president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad. 

Mr. Rowhani has to produce something tangible for Islamist hardliners at home who are warning him of betraying national interests. His trump card could be an end to the nuclear standoff and the era of isolation and suffocating sanctions.  The same way Mr.Obama has to outwit US neocons and the army of his critics abroad by telling them that his stick-and-carrot policy did work, while the war scenario with Iran proved irrelevant.

All in all, as both Presidents Obama and Rowhani have invested heavily in the present day’s big nuclear gamble; they find themselves in the same boat and should stick together. Their domestic political considerations and their international standing mean they can’t allow themselves a last-minute failure of the much-anticipated deal.  

And finally, what we also see today in Geneva is an unprecedented unanimity within the ranks of the big six world powers, with US and Russian diplomats not trading jabs or making grim statements, as it used to be, but praising each other’s roles regarding Iran. This week, Russia’s Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, went as far as acknowledging the leading role of the American delegation during the latest round of talks in Geneva, headed by State Secretary Kerry.  I can hardly recall a similar moment of harmony in US-Russian relations and it was only this September when President Putin called Mr.Kerry “a liar”.  

As for France, which is somehow standing aside and playing bad cop in Geneva, it alone can surely not go as far as putting the brakes on a nuclear deal with Iran. It may sound like gossip, but one of the political Cassandras here this week whispered into my ear that in Geneva the “French are working for Saudi money”, hinting at lucrative contacts and other business interests.

So, it looks like the negotiating process with Iran has already crossed the point of no return and the question of the historic nuclear deal is a matter of not “if”, but “when”. There is no doubt that in the days and weeks to come we will witness desperate attempts by Israel to step on the brakes and press all the alarm buttons, but it looks like it is too late now.  

A nuclear Iran is a fast-growing reality, so the task of the day for the world community is not to deny, but to harness the Iranian atom – to put it under well-calculated international scrutiny, free of any prejudice and paranoia.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

RT – Op-Edge

Nuclear talks with Iran reach point of no return

Beware Android Malware! Threats Reach One Million Mark

According to recent Trend Micro studies, there are more than a million Android malware and high-risk app threats.
Security Watch

Beware Android Malware! Threats Reach One Million Mark

US-Russia reach agreement on Syria weapons

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo/Keystone,Martial Trezzini)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo/Keystone,Martial Trezzini)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pauses while making statements to the media following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo / Larry Downing)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, attends a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo/Keystone,Martial Trezzini)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, deliver statements in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo/Keystone,Martial Trezzini)

Buy AP Photo Reprints

GENEVA (AP) — After days of intense negotiations, the United States and Russia reached agreement Saturday on a framework to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014 and impose U.N. penalties if the Assad government fails to comply.

The deal, announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, includes what Kerry called “a shared assessment” of the weapons stockpile, and a timetable and measures for Syrian President Bashar Assad to follow so that the full inventory can be identified and seized.

The U.S. and Russia agreed to immediately press for a U.N. Security Council resolution that enshrines the chemical weapons agreement under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can authorize both the use of force and nonmilitary measures.

President Barack Obama made clear that “if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act.”

Russia, which already has rejected three resolutions on Syria, would be sure to veto a U.N. move toward military action, and U.S. officials said they did not contemplate seeking such an authorization.

“The world will now expect the Assad regime to live up to its public commitments,” Kerry told a packed news conference at the hotel where negotiations were conducted since Thursday night. “There can be no games, no room for avoidance or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime.”

It was not immediately clear whether Syria had signed onto the agreement, which requires Damascus to submit a full inventory of its stocks within the next week. Russia does have a close relationship with Syria and holds influence over its Mideast ally.

Kerry and Lavrov emphasized that the deal sends a strong message not just to Syria but to the world, too, that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.

Lavrov added, cautiously, “We understand that the decisions we have reached today are only the beginning of the road.”

The deal is considered critical to breaking the international stalemate blocking a resumption of peace talks to end the Syrian civil war, now in its third year.

Under the framework agreement, international inspectors are to be on the ground in Syria by November. During that month, they are to complete their initial assessment and all mixing and filling equipment for chemical weapons is to be destroyed.

The deal calls for all components of the chemical weapons program to be removed from the country or destroyed by mid-2014.

“Ensuring that a dictator’s wanton use of chemical weapons never again comes to pass, we believe is worth pursuing and achieving,” Kerry said.

Noncompliance by the Assad government or any other party would be referred to the 15-nation Security Council by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. That group oversees the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria this week agreed to join.

The group’s director-general, Ahmet Uzumcu, spoke of adopting “necessary measures” to put in place “an accelerated program to verify the complete destruction” of Syria’s chemical weapons, production facilities and “other relevant capabilities.”

The U.S. and Russia are two of the five permanent Security Council members with a veto. The others are Britain, China, and France.

“There is an agreement between Russia and the United States that non-compliance is going to be held accountable within the Security Council under Chapter 7,” Kerry said. “What remedy is chosen is subject to the debate within the council, which is always true. But there’s a commitment to impose measures.”

Lavrov indicated there would be limits to using such a resolution.

“Any violations of procedures … would be looked at by the Security Council and if they are approved, the Security Council would take the required measures, concrete measures,” Lavrov said. “Nothing is said about the use of force or about any automatic sanctions.”

Kerry spoke of a commitment, in the event of Syrian noncompliance, to “impose measures commensurate with whatever is needed in terms of the accountability.”

The agreement offers no specific penalties. Given that a thorough investigation of any allegation of noncompliance is required before any possible action, Moscow could drag out the process or veto measures it deems too harsh.

Kerry stressed that the U.S. believes the threat of force is necessary to back the diplomacy, and U.S. officials have Obama retains the right to launch military strikes without U.N. approval to protect American national security interests.

“I have no doubt that the combination of the threat of force and the willingness to pursue diplomacy helped to bring us to this moment,” Kerry said.

But a leading U.S. senator expressed concerns that without the threat of force, it’s not clear “how Syrian compliance will be possible under the terms of any agreement.”

Republican lawmaker Bob Corker of Tennessee said Syria’s “willingness to follow through is very much an open question” and he did not want the negotiations to signal a “retreat from our broader national interests,” including support for “moderate” opposition forces in Syria.

Under the deal, the U.S. and Russia are giving Syria just one week, until Sept. 21, to submit “a comprehensive listing, including names, types and quantities of its chemical weapons agents, types of munitions, and location and form of storage, production, and research and development facilities.”

International inspectors, the U.S. and Russia agreed, should be on the ground in Syria by November and complete their initial work by the end of the month. They must be given “immediate and unfettered” access to inspect all sites.

Kerry said the two sides had come to agreement on the exact size of Syria’s weapons stockpile, a sticking point.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the negotiations, said the U.S. and Russia agreed that Syria had roughly 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agents and precursors, including blister agents, such as sulfur and mustard gas and nerve agents like sarin.

These officials said the two sides did not agree on the number of chemical weapons sites in Syria.

U.S. intelligence believes Syria has about 45 sites associated with chemicals weapons, half of which have “exploitable quantities” of material that could be used in munitions. The Russian estimate is considerably lower; the officials would not say by how much.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe all the stocks remain in government control, the officials said.

U.N. inspectors are preparing to submit their own report this weekend. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that he expected “an overwhelming report” that chemical weapons were indeed used on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21.

A U.N. statement said Ban hoped the agreement will prevent further use of such weapons and “help pave the path for a political solution to stop the appalling suffering inflicted on the Syrian people.”

Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, said Saturday’s development was “a significant step forward.” Germany said that “if deeds now follow the words, the chances of a political solution will rise significantly,” Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

Obama called for a limited military strike against Assad’s forces in response, then deferred seeking congressional approval to consider the Russian proposal.

The commander of the Free Syrian Army rebel group, Gen. Salim Idris, told a news conference in Turkey that the Russian initiative would “buy time” and that rebels will continue “fighting the regime and work for bringing it down.”

He said that if international inspectors come to Syria in order to inspect chemical weapons, “we will facilitate their passages but there will be no cease-fire.” The FSA will not block the work of U.N. inspectors, he said, and the “inspectors will not be subjected to rebel fire when they are in regime-controlled areas.”

Idris said Kerry told him by telephone that “the alternative of military strikes is still on the table.”

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Politics Headlines

US-Russia reach agreement on Syria weapons

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said on Saturday it had agreed a deal with Beijing to resolve a dispute over alleged Chinese dumping of solar panels in Europe, agreeing a minimum price for China’s imports.

The deal to resolve the biggest trade dispute between China and the European Union will avoid punitive tariffs from August on Chinese solar imports into Europe that were worth 21 billion euros ($ 27 billion) last year.

“We found an amicable solution,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement.

“I am satisfied with the offer of a price undertaking submitted by China’s solar panel exporters,” he said, referring to an agreement for a minimum price for China’s imports.

Chinese solar panel production quadrupled between 2009 and 2011 to more than the entire global demand, and the Commission accused China of dumping its solar panels at below the cost of production in Europe.

The Commission, the EU executive, imposed low tariffs in June, which were due to jump to punitive levels on August 6, but six weeks of talks appear to have resolved the row.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Martin Santa and Mike Collett-White)

NYT > Global Home

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said on Saturday it had agreed a deal with Beijing to resolve a dispute over alleged Chinese dumping of solar panels in Europe, agreeing a minimum price for China’s imports.

The deal to resolve the biggest trade dispute between China and the European Union will avoid punitive tariffs from August on Chinese solar imports into Europe that were worth 21 billion euros ($ 27 billion) last year.

“We found an amicable solution,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement.

“I am satisfied with the offer of a price undertaking submitted by China’s solar panel exporters,” he said, referring to an agreement for a minimum price for China’s imports.

Chinese solar panel production quadrupled between 2009 and 2011 to more than the entire global demand, and the Commission accused China of dumping its solar panels at below the cost of production in Europe.

The Commission, the EU executive, imposed low tariffs in June, which were due to jump to punitive levels on August 6, but six weeks of talks appear to have resolved the row.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Martin Santa and Mike Collett-White)

NYT > Global Home

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

EU and China reach solar panel deal

27 July 2013 Last updated at 05:06 ET

The EU had threatened to impose anti-dumping levies on Chinese solar panels

The European Commission says it has reached “an amicable solution” with Beijing in a row over imports of Chinese solar panels.

Both sides have agreed a minimum price for the panels, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.

The dispute erupted after the Commission – the EU’s executive arm – imposed temporary anti-dumping levies on the imports.

It argued that Chinese firms were undercutting rivals.

China is the world’s largest producer of solar panels. Its exports to Europe totalled 21bn euros ($ 27bn; £18bn) in 2011.

“After weeks of intensive talks, I can announce that I am satisfied with the offer of a price undertaking submitted by China’s solar panel exporters,” Mr De Gucht said on Saturday.

“This is the amicable solution that both the EU and China were looking for.”

He added that the agreement would “lead to a new market equilibrium at sustainable prices”.

The anti-dumping case was the biggest ever undertaken by the Commission.

In June, the EU accused China of “dumping” solar panels in Europe – selling them at below cost to steal market share – and then said it would impose import tariffs of up to 47.6% on them.

China said EU farm subsidies had resulted in European countries “dumping” wine on China, and warned it may respond in kind.

BBC News – Asia

EU and China reach solar panel deal

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said on Saturday it had agreed a deal with Beijing to resolve a dispute over alleged Chinese dumping of solar panels in Europe, agreeing a minimum price for China’s imports.

The deal to resolve the biggest trade dispute between China and the European Union will avoid punitive tariffs from August on Chinese solar imports into Europe that were worth 21 billion euros ($ 27 billion) last year.

“We found an amicable solution,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement.

“I am satisfied with the offer of a price undertaking submitted by China’s solar panel exporters,” he said, referring to an agreement for a minimum price for China’s imports.

Chinese solar panel production quadrupled between 2009 and 2011 to more than the entire global demand, and the Commission accused China of dumping its solar panels at below the cost of production in Europe.

The Commission, the EU executive, imposed low tariffs in June, which were due to jump to punitive levels on August 6, but six weeks of talks appear to have resolved the row.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Martin Santa and Mike Collett-White)

NYT > Global Home

E.U. and China Reach Deal to Resolve Solar Dispute

Gay marriage still out of reach

Jean-Marc Giboux / for NBC News

Laura Hartman, left, and her partner, Anne Dickey, walk along the Mississippi River with their three-year-old son, Theodore, in Davenport, Iowa, on July 13. They live across the river in Rock Island, Ill., where same-sex marriage is not legal.

By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The right to get married for some lesbian and gay couples is mere miles away, or just a hop across the river.

Take same-sex couples in western Illinois, who upon crossing the Mississippi River enter Iowa, where gay marriage was legalized in 2009. Gay and lesbian couples living in states like Nebraska, Oregon, West Virginia, Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania experience similar frustration: an easily traversed body of water separating them from a slew of rights and recognition. For them, marriage is close but out of reach — a reality that didn’t change despite recent Supreme Court decisions advancing gay rights.

“You feel the freedom,” said Dennis Henry, 65, of traveling to his home state of Iowa from Monmouth, Ill., where he lives with his partner, Larry Shaw. “You cross this divide, the Mississippi River, and you get over there and you’re a full-fledged American citizen with the same rights everybody else in the country has.”

“And then you have to turn around, come back, and you leave them. You leave those rights,” added Shaw, 67. The couple has been together nearly 35 years. 

The high court in June struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, effectively ordering federal recognition of same-sex marriage in the 13 states where it is legal, and opening access for those couples to more than 1,100 federal benefits they’d been previously denied. The court also declined to weigh in on a case challenging Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples in California. Gay and lesbian couples resumed marriage ceremonies there on June 28.

But like Shaw and Henry, a majority of the nation’s 650,000 same-sex couples live in one of the 35 states where same-sex marriage is banned, mostly by voter-approved constitutional amendments. Four states allow civil unions, including three that — like Illinois — don’t permit gays and lesbians to tie the knot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another three states that ban same-sex marriage allow domestic partnerships.

“(The) constitutional amendments have made America a house divided, in which families on one side of a border are denied crucial protections and personal dignity that they can see on the other side of the border, and this is intolerable,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, which campaigns for LGBT rights. “Americans should not have their families vulnerable and their marriages sputter in and out like cell phone service depending on what side of a border they find themselves.”

Rock Island residents Anne Dickey and Laura Hartman, who entered a civil union in Illinois in 2011, said they believe the court’s DOMA decision has highlighted the differences between states where gay couples can and can’t get married. 

“That sort of raises a feeling of injustice,” said Hartman, 35. “Now the differences between a couple in Iowa and a couple in Virginia (where same-sex marriage is illegal and where the couple used to live) are bigger than they were before, and that is upsetting. … That’s not OK.”

This patchwork of state recognition of gay marriage — legal, not legal — together with alternatives to it like civil unions or domestic partnerships, has left same-sex couples with a “fractured identity,” legally-speaking, depending on where they live, Hartman said. 

“I think that’s part of what it’s like for people when they cross state lines,” she said. “‘We’re married … we’re not married. … Who are we? What is our relationship?’”

An impossible choice
Dickey, 39, and Hartman debated whether they should settle down in Iowa as they completed their move from Virginia in 2009 for Hartman’s job as an  assistant professor of religion at Augustana College in Rock Island.

Iowa’s supreme court ruled that year that gay couples had the right to wed. That forced Dickey and Hartman to make a tough decision: move to a state where their relationship would be legally recognized, or to Illinois, which at the time had seemingly stronger protections for same-sex couples with children (Dickey was then pregnant with their now 3-year-old son, Theodore).

They chose Illinois. Hartman said their decision showed the “tragic dimension” of a situation that other same-sex couples have had to face, too. 

“We had to choose between my relationship with him and my relationship with her — which one was going to be protected? We couldn’t have both, at the time,” she said. (Before the Iowa Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage, second-parent adoptions by gay couples were costly, invasive and for a brief period, on a judge-by-judge basis. A court decision in 2012 mandated that both same-sex parents be automatically placed on their child’s birth certificate at the time of birth, making adoption unnecessary, according to LGBT advocacy group, One Iowa).

Dickey and Hartman, who are part of a civil rights lawsuit seeking same-sex marriage in Illinois, feel it’s just a matter of time before they can legally wed and say they are committed to seeing the process through in the state where they live.

“We are neighbors and citizens here, and so we want this community and this government to be the ones that recognize us,” Hartman said.

National Conference of State Legislatures

This map of the United States shows states that do and don’t allow same-sex marriage, plus those that provide civil unions.

But Shaw and Henry have many regrets about their decision to move to Monmouth, Ill., a town about 30 miles from the border with Iowa. They returned to the Midwest in the early 1980s from California to care for their ailing parents and settled in Illinois rather than the Hawkeye state.

The couple has talked over and over about moving to Iowa. Henry mused that in his hometown of Keota, which he just had to “get out of” as a young man, the couple could be married.

“I wish we were back there,” he said, later adding, “It’s just funny that now that little town that I hated looks pretty darn good … you just kind of come full circle in your old age.”

But for the time being, they can’t imagine leaving behind their successful real estate business.

“The sacrifices that we have to make to leave here and go to Iowa – I’m not sure,” said Shaw, who has had open heart surgery and had a toe on his right foot amputated due to his diabetes. “We’ve got to think about keeping a roof over our heads and money coming in, and at our age, do we want to start over again?”

The fight goes on
Frank Schubert, political director of the National Organization for Marriage, which has led the fight to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, said gay couples always had geographic limits on where they could marry — and that hasn’t changed since the high court weighed in.

“There is no right to same-sex marriage, period. Marriage is determined by the states; that’s what the majority in Windsor (DOMA) had to say, that the states get to determine it and if that’s true, then they have to accept and respect the right of states to determine marriage in the traditional way just like they demand that we accept states like New York and Massachusetts that have redefined marriage,” he said.

“I think that it’s certainly not an ideal environment, but it’s one the Supreme Court has created through their judicial activism,” he added. “It’s one of the reasons why many people are looking at a Federal Marriage Amendment to restore marriage nationwide.”

Campaign groups supportive of same-sex marriage said they would use the momentum of the court victories to push for initiatives or legislative votes in states like Oregon and New Jersey, while also seeking repeals of bans in states such as Ohio and Michigan. 

Gay couples in states where same-sex marriage isn’t allowed are waiting to hear from the federal government about which benefits denied under DOMA they could now receive. Shaw and Henry talk about how they’d like to share social security and veterans’ benefits with each other (Henry served in the Air Force in Vietnam). They’re also concerned about ensuring inheritance rights for one another.

“How can DOMA have failed and now all the states that have marriage are going to get all of these federal benefits. What about the rest of us?” Shaw said. “That puts the federal government in a position they’re going to have to discriminate, and that’s not right.”

They believe marriage will come to Illinois, but even five years could prove an “eternity” at their age, Henry said. If they can wed, the ceremony will be simple.

“Unfortunately, so many of our friends have passed on,” Shaw said. “It wouldn’t be a big one.”

He later added, “I just think after all these years, it’s between him and I.”

Related stories:

• Ten states to tackle gay marriage next


• Gay couples to receive thousands of benefits in wake of DOMA decision


• Prop 8 challengers wed in California after stay is lifted


• Historic day for gay marriage as Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act

Gay marriage still out of reach

Iran reach 2014 World Cup; South Korea, Australia also qualify

Iran’s players celebrate after beating South Korea 1-0 to reach the 2014 World Cup.

• Iran reach the 2014 World Cup with 1-0 win over South Korea


• South Korea also qualify for Brazil as runners-up in Group A but coach Choi steps down


• Australia qualifies for a third consecutive World Cup


• Jordan will play Uzbekistan in a playoff

(CNN) — Iran, South Korea and Australia all booked a place in next year’s FIFA World Cup following a dramatic final round of matches in the Asian qualifying competition.

A second-half goal from Reza Ghoochannejhad was enough for Iran to beat South Korea 1-0 in Ulsan, meaning Carlos Queiroz’s team finished top of Group A.

Victory saw Iran reach football’s premier competition for the fourth time in its history, having previously played in the first round of the 1978, 1998 and 2006 tournaments.

Read: Tahiti’s historic defeat to Nigeria

CNN correspondent Shirzad Bozorgmehr said Iranians took to the streets across their country to celebrate.

Why so few South Asian footballers?

World Sport Presents: Racism in Football

Will Brazil be ready for the World Cup?

Why Brazilians are staging protests

He said that cars in the capital Tehran were draped in the Iranian flag and blowing their horns as their passengers shouted “Iran, Iran.”

“This is the second national celebration in Iran in the last five days,” said Bozorgmehr.

“Following the landslide victory of Dr. Hassan Rohani last Friday in the presidential elections, huge crowds poured into the streets of Tehran and other cities to publicly celebrate Dr Rohani’s election victory.”

In his first press conference on Monday, Rohani told reporters he planned to overhaul sports in a country where soccer is the most popular game.

Despite defeat, South Korea still clinched the second automatic qualification spot as Uzbekistan fell agonizingly short against Qatar, winning 5-1 but finishing third in Group A on goal difference alone.

After the match, South Korea coach Choi Kang-Hee revealed that he would be stepping down from his post – a surprise move at first glance, although Choi did say he would only take charge for the qualifiers when appointed in December 2011.

Choi had been involved in an acrimonious war of words with Iran coach Carlos Quieroz ahead of the game and home fans hurled plastic water bottles and other items onto the pitch after taking offense at a gesture directed towards Choi by the Portuguese after the match.

South Korea’s loss meant Uzbekistan would qualify for the finals for the first time if it beat Qatar by six goals.

But Uzbekistan fell behind in Tashkent when Abdulqadir Ilyas gave the 2022 World Cup hosts a shock first-half lead.

World Sport Presents: Racism in Football

The home side bounced back in the second half, firing in five goals without reply, but the 5-1 final score was not enough to see Uzbekistan leapfrog South Korea.

Uzbekistan will now play the third-place team in Group B – Jordan – over two legs.

In Wednesday’s final Asian qualifier, Jordan took the third place in Group B when beating Oman 1-0 in Amman – with Ahmad Ibrahim scoring a vital goal just before the hour.

The result enabled the hosts to leapfrog their opponents in the group, with Jordan – seeking a maiden World Cup qualification – having trailed the Omanis by two points ahead of kickoff.

The winner of the Uzbekistan-Jordan playoff will advance to a tie with the fifth-place team from the South American competition, with the winner qualifying for next year’s finals in Brazil.

A late header from substitute Joshua Kennedy gave Australia a 1-0 win over Iraq and sent the Socceroos to Brazil.

Australia knew a win would be enough to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, but anything less than three points would give Oman the chance to clinch an automatic qualification spot.

With the score 0-0 at a rain-soaked ANZ Stadium, coach Holger Osiek drew the ire of the crowd by replacing star player Tim Cahill with Kennedy after 78 minutes.

But Kennedy justified Osiek’s bold decision by rising to meet Marc Bresciano’s right-wing cross, beating Iraq goalkeeper Noor Sabri with a well-placed finish.

Australia finished the Asian qualifying campaign second in Group B behind Japan.

CNN.com Recently Published/Updated

Iran reach 2014 World Cup; South Korea, Australia also qualify

Sharapova Rallies to Reach French Open Semifinals

Miguel Medina/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Maria Sharapova survived her match with Jelena Jankovic on Friday.

PARIS — Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic have been battling each other since they were girls, after they were plucked from their homes and settled at the Bollitieri Academy in Florida to be turned into great champions. Their relationship may be diplomatically described as frosty, and Jankovic has long existed in the considerable shadow of the more successful Sharapova.

But on Wednesday, Jankovic pushed Sharapova as far as she could before Sharapova prevailed, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the French Open semifinals.

Sharapova is known as one of the best fighters in the game, but this was the first time in her career that she had failed to win a game in the first set, but came back to win the match. On Thursday, Sharapova, the defending champion, will face third-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who had an easier time dismissing Maria Kirilenko, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to advance to her first semifinal at Roland Garros.

Viewers on Thursday should bring earplugs. The semifinal figures to be a highly competitive, and likely earsplitting match, given the players’ notable reputations not just as powerful ball-strikers but as the game’s most high-pitched shriekers. Azarenka wore a T-shirt to her post-match news conference that read “Accept No Limits.” Perhaps that was a warning about decibel levels too.

Jankovic came the closest to silencing one of the tournament favorites. This has been a notably upset-free tournament. Serena Williams, the No. 1 seed and heavy favorite, will play fifth-seeded Sara Errani in the other semifinal Thursday.

But Jankovic, a six-time Grand Slam semifinalist whose only final was at the 2008 United States Open, looked as if she would ease her way to an upset after less than a half-hour on the court. Jankovic is seeded 18th here, but from the beginning of the match she read Sharapova’s serve well and was able to apply pressure to her.

Sharapova began the match with a confounding demonstration of the full catalog of unforced errors. Her shots were millimeters wide, inches too long or straight into the net. She committed 20 unforced errors in all as she struggled to find her range, many of them followed by a glare. Jankovic closed out the set, fittingly, when a Sharapova forehand went just wide.

But the first point of the second set was an indication of what was to come. Sharapova hit a topspin lob that floated over Jankovic’s head and landed cleanly in, so perfectly placed that even Jankovic applauded it. That was probably the last time Jankovic felt so generous.

When Jankovic double-faulted to lose the first game of the second set, Sharapova was clearly back in the match, and Jankovic began her routine of screaming to family members in the stands whenever a shot went awry.

“That was really important,” Sharapova said of the beginning of the second set. “You know, at least give her something to think about. She was a bit in cruise control for a long period of time. Well, actually not that long, but for six games straight.”

Even Jankovic marveled at some of the ground strokes Sharapova began rifling in the second and third sets, including a crosscourt backhand that Jankovic described as a cross between a drop shot and an angle.

“I don’t know how she does that, but it was an amazing shot,” Jankovic said.

Azarenka and Kirilenko have played doubles together and have a much warmer relationship than the day’s other pairing. Azarenka said the familiarity with each other’s games was why the first set was so tight. But as soon as Azarenka seized the tiebreaker, she was in complete command of the match.

As thrilled as Azarenka was to reach her first semifinal in Paris, the first 10 days of the tournament have felt largely like a competition for who gets to be cannon fodder for Williams in Saturday’s final. She has highly favorable records against the remaining women, and even her quarterfinal victim, Svetlana Kuznetsova, said it would be a big surprise if Williams loses here.

Williams will again be the heavy favorite over the 5-foot-4 Errani, who was overpowered by Sharapova in the final here last year and who will be at a significant size and strength disadvantage. Errani has never beaten Williams in five career meetings.

Sharapova and Azarenka have played well enough during the tournament to be considered legitimate threats to Williams. They have a long history, having played 12 times with Azarenka winning seven.

The last time they played on clay was last year in Stuttgart, where Sharapova won in straight sets. Around that time, when she was asked about how she felt about playing on clay – her weakest surface – Azarenka said she was not yet married to the clay.

On Wednesday, her semifinal secured, Azarenka joked that her relationship with clay was at least heading in the right direction, requiring constant care and tending, and most of all, continued love.

“I still don’t have any ring on my finger,” she said with a smile. “But I feel like, you know, we made a step forward. We are moving in together. Kind of that type of a relationship is, you know, moving forward and see what happens after.”

NYT > Global Home

Sharapova Rallies to Reach French Open Semifinals

Report: Missiles Unlikely to Reach Syria for Months

May 31, 2013

by VOA News

Russian media is reporting that an arms industry source says Russia has not yet delivered anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and may not do so for several months.

The source told the Russian news agency Interfax any delivery of the advanced S-300 air defense system missiles would be made no earlier than September.

On Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hinted he had received new weapons from Russia and threatened retaliation against Israel if it carries out future airstrikes on his country.

Russia had vowed to proceed with the transfer of anti-aircraft missiles, saying it will help deter foreign involvement in Syria’s civil war.

In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Manar television, Assad was vague on whether the new weapons include the S-300 air defense system.

“All we have agreed on with Russia will be implemented and some of it has been implemented recently. And we and the Russians continue to implement these contracts,” he said.

Israel has threatened to use force to stop the the transfer. That country’s main civilian airport would be within range of the S-300. Earlier this month, Israel attacked a suspected weapons supply in Damascus it says was headed for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops and their Hezbollah allies have come closer to capturing the town of Qusair, which controls supply routes vital to the army and rebels, and provides access between Damascus and the Mediterranean.

Local media reported troops have cut off the supply routes of rebel forces in the Arjun district in northern Qusair. Pro-Assad forces have been surrounding Qusair in recent days.

Also, a U.S. citizen was killed in Syria while fighting for opposition forces. Syrian state media reported the woman, Nicole Mansfield, died in fighting in the town of Idlib.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the death to Mansfield’s family.

NEWSLETTER

Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list

GlobalSecurity.org

Report: Missiles Unlikely to Reach Syria for Months