2018年4月4日星期三

Yahoo! News: Brazil

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Brazil


Trump: 'I want to get out' of Syria

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Trump: 'I want to get out' of SyriaPresident Trump said he will make a decision soon on U.S. force levels in Syria, saying he wants to "bring our troops back home" as soon as possible.


Designer Of Waterslide That Decapitated 10-Year-Old Boy Seized On Murder Charge

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:05 AM PDT

Designer Of Waterslide That Decapitated 10-Year-Old Boy Seized On Murder ChargeThe lead designer of a waterslide that killed a 10-year-old boy in Kansas


YouTube shooting: Female suspect dead at scene

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:46 AM PDT

YouTube shooting: Female suspect dead at sceneA woman opened fire at YouTube's California headquarters Tuesday afternoon before dying of a gunshot wound, multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News. Multiple injuries were reported.


Democrats Score Big Win In Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:04 PM PDT

Democrats Score Big Win In Wisconsin Supreme Court RaceMilwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet won a seat on the Wisconsin


Parkland Students Protest Clear Backpacks With Tampons And $1.05 Price Tags

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:33 PM PDT

Parkland Students Protest Clear Backpacks With Tampons And $1.05 Price TagsWhen survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting returned to classes


APNewsBreak: Woman says she reported abuse in 2013

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:57 PM PDT

APNewsBreak: Woman says she reported abuse in 2013SEATTLE (AP) — A woman said Tuesday that she told Oregon child welfare officials in 2013 that Jennifer and Sarah Hart — who plunged off a California cliff with their children last month in an SUV — had been depriving the kids of food as punishment.


Trump Tells Baltic Presidents Not To Call On U.S. Reporters: 'Real News, Not Fake News'

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:18 PM PDT

Trump Tells Baltic Presidents Not To Call On U.S. Reporters: 'Real News, Not Fake News'WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued his attacks on the


Trump administration seeks to close immigration 'loopholes'

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 09:37 AM PDT

Trump administration seeks to close immigration 'loopholes'Trump administration officials said they're crafting a new legislative package aimed at closing immigration "loopholes" after the president called on Republican lawmakers to immediately pass a border bill using the "Nuclear Option if necessary" to muscle it through.


As YouTube Shooting Unfolded, Fake News Spread Like Wildfire On Twitter

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 06:31 PM PDT

As YouTube Shooting Unfolded, Fake News Spread Like Wildfire On TwitterDuring crisis situations, Twitter can be a useful resource for people seeking


Russia requests Security Council meeting on spy poisoning

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:37 AM PDT

Russia requests Security Council meeting on spy poisoningRussia has asked for a UN Security Council meeting over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain, the country's ambassador to the UN announced Wednesday. Vassily Nebenzia said Russia was requesting a meeting Thursday at 1900 GMT over the British government's implication of Moscow in the nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement in the March 4 attack, which Britain says was carried out with a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union.


Crash Tests Show Some Small-SUV Passengers Less Safe than Drivers

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 09:01 PM PDT

Crash Tests Show Some Small-SUV Passengers Less Safe than DriversNew crash test results show that some popular vehicles still don't offer adequate protection for passengers even if they can keep drivers safe in certain types of crashes. On Wednesday, the Insur...


Confessions Of A Former Sinclair News Director

Posted: 02 Apr 2018 05:53 PM PDT

Confessions Of A Former Sinclair News DirectorI was a Sinclair news director. For a few months, at least.


Prosecutors: Man forced girl to watch killing of boyfriend

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 05:44 PM PDT

Prosecutors: Man forced girl to watch killing of boyfriendSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man forced a teenage girl to kneel and watch her boyfriend being beaten and stabbed before she was killed and thrown down an abandoned mine shaft, prosecutors said Tuesday.


Saudi crown prince says Israelis have right to their own land

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:58 AM PDT

Saudi crown prince says Israelis have right to their own landSaudi Arabia's crown prince said in a published interview that Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land, another public sign of an apparent thawing in ties between the two countries. Asked if he believes the Jewish people have a right to a nation state in at least part of their ancestral homeland, Mohammed bin Salman was quoted by U.S. magazine The Atlantic as saying: "I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. It has maintained for years that normalizing relations hinges on an Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war - territory Palestinians seek for a future state.


What to Know About Suspected YouTube Shooter Nasim Aghdam

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 03:29 PM PDT

What to Know About Suspected YouTube Shooter Nasim AghdamThe suspected shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot


7 Great Muscle Cars Of The '70s

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 03:50 PM PDT

7 Great Muscle Cars Of The '70s


17 States Sue Trump Administration Over Census Citizenship Question

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 09:04 AM PDT

17 States Sue Trump Administration Over Census Citizenship QuestionNew York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) filed a federal lawsuit on


Watch the Jaws moment for police as great white shark stalks their dinghy 

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 01:29 AM PDT

Watch the Jaws moment for police as great white shark stalks their dinghy Police in South Australia had a "Jaws" experience when their operation was interrupted by a great white shark. The shark serenely followed them as they rode on a small police dinghy, which was in turn pursuing a recreational fishing boat selected for a random breath test. Their inflatable dinghy was only 4.5m long, shorter than the shark following them. The animal, after a few minutes, left the police alone and went to circle the fishing boat. The force saw the funny side and named the shark Noah.  The South Australia Police Force wrote on social media: "Police launch Investigator 2 had a close encounter with a Great White shark today while patrolling at Tapley Shoal, about 9 nautical miles east of Edithburgh. The shark in pursuit of the boat Credit: REUTERS "Police were concentrating on recreational boats and checking registration, licences and safety equipment along with alcohol and drug testing operators when they were paid a visit by one of the locals. "30 boats were checked and pleasingly, no operators tested positive to drugs or alcohol and only a few minor breaches for safety equipment were found. Noah wasn't keen on being breath tested and our Water Operations Unit officers were happy to oblige!" Mark Oates, one of the men on the fishing boat, told ABC that he was drift fishing when his friend swore and said: "Look at the size of this thing that's come up behind us!" The great white dwarfed the dinghy  Credit: REUTERS He explained: "I told [the police] to back off a bit because the shark was right next to us. "For probably the next 10 or 15 minutes we just sat around. The police brought the big boat in, which is where the footage from above the shark has come from. "There was very little fish caught that day, I can tell you." The fishermen were not breathalysed in the end, and said they thought it was because the police were not too keen on coming very close to them and their travelling companion. 


Florida car crash kills four British family members

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 11:18 AM PDT

Florida car crash kills four British family membersFour members of a British family have been killed in a car crash while on holiday in Florida, police have said. The family had just left Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre when their rented Mitsubishi saloon was hit by a Ford pick-up truck at about 18:00 local time [23:00 GMT] on Monday. Driver Adam Stephenson, 30, his wife Maryanne Stephenson, 29, and his parents Brian Stephenson, 66, and Sheralyn Stephenson, 56, died in the collision in Titusville.


Israel arrests 10 Gazans accused of planning naval attack

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 02:58 AM PDT

Israel arrests 10 Gazans accused of planning naval attackIsraeli authorities said Wednesday they have arrested 10 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip accused of planning a missile attack and hostage taking against a navy ship. The announcement of the March 12 arrests comes ahead of expected new mass protests along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel on Friday. Authorities did not immediately respond to a question on why the announcement was delayed for more than three weeks, though Israel often keeps such arrests under a gag order while it investigates.


The Latest: Fallin wants teachers to get back to classrooms

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 03:37 PM PDT

The Latest: Fallin wants teachers to get back to classroomsOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Latest on teachers rallying for higher pay and education funding in several Republican-led states across the U.S. (all times local):


Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Calls Out Trump Over 'Thoughts And Prayers' Tweet Following Shooting

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 10:38 PM PDT

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Calls Out Trump Over 'Thoughts And Prayers' Tweet Following ShootingPresident Donald Trump tweeted his "thoughts and prayers" following Tuesday's


British Labour leader Corbyn criticized for spending Passover with anti-Israel group

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 05:14 AM PDT

British Labour leader Corbyn criticized for spending Passover with anti-Israel groupBy Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn risked further souring his relationship with the Jewish community by attending a Passover event with a left-wing Jewish group that has called for the destruction of Israel. Corbyn spent Monday evening at a ritual feast hosted by Jewdas, a group which described Israel in December as a "steaming pile of sewage which needs to be properly disposed of". The group also called recent protests against Corbyn for failing to tackle anti-Semitism "faux-outrage greased with hypocrisy and opportunism".


Former U.S. Army Sniper, 2 Other Soldiers Accused of Becoming International Hitmen

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 07:48 AM PDT

Former U.S. Army Sniper, 2 Other Soldiers Accused of Becoming International HitmenA prosecutor said the ex-soldiers became contract killers for a crime boss


Mother allegedly used stun gun to wake son for Easter service

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 02:50 AM PDT

Mother allegedly used stun gun to wake son for Easter servicePolice in Phoenix arrested a mother for child abuse after they say she used a stun gun to wake him up for church.


NASA's X-Plane is designed to fly at supersonic speeds without the sonic boom

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:19 PM PDT

NASA's X-Plane is designed to fly at supersonic speeds without the sonic boomNASA wants to prove that it can fly a plane faster than the speed of sound without blasting American neighborhoods below with sonic booms.  Previously, commercial supersonic travel had been limited to the Atlantic Ocean, where people wouldn't be jarred awake by planes traveling overhead at more than 760 miles per hour. But with an innovative plane design that might subtly morph in the air to tame sound waves, NASA hopes to build a quieter supersonic plane that would revolutionize travel.  Our cross-country flight times would be cut in half. NASA calls it the X-Plane, and the agency just awarded the aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin the $247.5 million contract to build the first one. SEE ALSO: Finding alien life won't cause chaos and panic, according to scientists At a news conference Tuesday morning, NASA said that this first X-Plane is a data-collecting experiment expected to take flight in 2021.  The plane will be 94-feet-long, smaller than today's medium-sized commercial aircraft, like the popular Boeing 737. It will typically cruise around speeds of 1.4 Mach, which is approximately 940 mph when traveling at 55,000 feet, according to a NASA spokesperson. A conceptual graphic of what the NASA X-Plane prototype might look like.Image: NASAToday's commercial airliners typically travel between 550 and 590 miles per hour, far short of the 767 mph speed of sound. NASA aeronautics engineers underscored that this plane isn't a prototype for a defense mission or a private jet — but an experimental plane intended to fly over American communities and see if it is quiet enough to be a real, usable technology. NASA's goal is to not produce a sonic boom at all, but something that sounds more like a soft thud. "I'm trying not to use the word sonic boom," said Peter Coen, project manager for NASA's Commercial Supersonics Technology Project. "I'm trying to ban that from everyone's vocabulary."  Getting a plane to produce a thud, as opposed to a thunderous blast, broadly means controlling the strength and position of the shock waves produced by the supersonic-speeding plane as it zooms through the air.  NASA's slick X-Plane graphic.Image: NASAThis is something Lockheed Martin and NASA flight engineers will spend the next couple years developing, so by the time a sound wave hits the ground — possibly in a neighborhood near you — it's weakened to a thump, "not a boom," said Coen. Lockheed Martin has already designed much of the sleek plane.  If all goes as planned, the experimental plane will make its first flight in 2021. Then, after NASA ensures the plane is safe and passes "acoustic validation tests," the aircraft will begin flying over a variety of U.S. communities in 2023. These flight tests will run through 2025. "We'll be flying over medium-sized cities, urban towns, and rural populations," said Ed Waggoner, program director for NASA's Integrated Aviation Systems Program. "It will be representative of populations that will be exposed to these sounds." NASA uses cameras with special filters (hydrogen alpha) to capture images of how supersonic planes move through the air and create booms.Image: NASAThe X-Plane tests will fly over large 50-square-mile areas, giving NASA a diversity of Americans to survey about the low-booms they're hearing — and if they notice them at all. Today, civilian supersonic flights over land are banned. But once NASA gets feedback from the public, this information can be used to not just advise plane manufacturers in the U.S. of how to build low-boom planes, but engineers all over the world. "One thing we hope this data will give the international community is that noise level," said Coen. "If your airplane produces less than X [sound decibels], it's okay to fly over land." WATCH: NASA needs you to send them pictures of clouds


Fiji PM warns of 'frightening new era' as he blames deadly cyclone on climate change

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:26 AM PDT

Fiji PM warns of 'frightening new era' as he blames deadly cyclone on climate changeFiji's prime minister has blamed climate change for a cyclone which killed five people and caused severe flooding,  saying the Pacific nation is now under constant threat and has entered a "frightening new era". As authorities tried to restore power and water supplies across various islands, Frank Bainimarama said Fiji was facing a "fight for our very survival" and urged other countries to support efforts to tackle the causes of climate change.  "We are now at an almost constant level of threat from these extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and more severe because of climate change," he said. "As a nation we are starting to build our resilience in response to the frightening new era that is upon us." Cyclone Josie brought torrential rains and led to heavy flooding on the weekend. It came just six weeks after Cyclone Gita in February, which caused some property damage in Fiji but devastated Tonga, and two years after Cyclone Winston, which killed 44 people. Cyclone Josie crashed into Fiji on Easter Weekend, killing at least five people Credit:  REUTERS Fiji and other small Pacific nations have led a desperate push for global action to combat climate change, saying that rising sea levels and intense weather events have already begun to make parts of their territory uninhabitable. Mr Bainimarama assumed a leading role in international climate talks last November when he served as president of the UN's COP23 negotiation in Bonn. Torrential rains and heavy flooding is becoming a recurring theme on the tiny Pacific islands Credit: REUTERS "We need to get the message out loud and clear to the entire world about the absolute need to confront this crisis head on," he said. Most scientists believe climate change will reduce the frequency of cyclones as temperature differences between the earth's surface and the atmosphere decrease. But it will lead to more intense cyclones – including higher wind speeds and greater rainfall  - as warmer water temperatures add to overall precipitation and to the amount of energy at the water surface.  Scientists believe cyclones are likely to become more intense in the region Credit: REUTERS Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said it was difficult to detect trends about cyclone intensity in the region because of a lack of consistent data. But it noted: "We may have fewer cyclones but the ones we do have will be stronger." Five places | threatened by climate change Professor James Renwick, an expert in atmospheric sciences at Victoria University of Wellington, told Radio New Zealand in February he expected cyclone intensity to increase because there will be "more energy in the climate system".  "Warmer seas, warmer air - so when you have a tropical cyclone it's likely to be more intense," he said. Since the latest cyclone in Fiji, authorities have been clearing  debris, restoring roads and assisting people who have taken shelter in dozens of evacuation centres. Bainimarama has long spoken out about climate change Credit:  AFP/PHILIPPE LOPEZ Ranjana Devi, a mother of two, said her family was trapped in their house as the floodwaters smashed through their village  and started rising in their home. She and her husband were in separate rooms – each with a son - and survived when their  boys kicked through a window and opened a door to allow them to escape. "At one point it was me and my younger son Veron trapped in one room," she told the Fiji Sun. Families and business owners were left with a major clean-up job after the latest storms Credit:  REUTERS "My husband and elder son Devan were trapped in the other room. It all happened so quickly. As the water rose, we knew we could have all died and what made it worse was the fact that we were separated and locked in different rooms." She added: "From here, we will rebuild and start all over. We have lost everything in this flood."


Kaley Cuoco Explains Why Her Ex-Husband 'Ruined' Marriage For Her

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 08:15 AM PDT

Kaley Cuoco Explains Why Her Ex-Husband 'Ruined' Marriage For HerKaley Cuoco is calling out her ex-husband, former professional tennis player


N. Korea rights record likely off table at Korean summit: Seoul

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 10:24 PM PDT

N. Korea rights record likely off table at Korean summit: SeoulSeoul's top diplomat said Wednesday that North Korea's human rights record is unlikely to be discussed at this month's summit, after Pyongyang denounced the South for supporting a fresh UN resolution against the North. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's president Moon Jae-in are due to meet for a rare inter-Korean summit on April 27.


UK defense lab: No ID yet for source of nerve agent

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:28 PM PDT

UK defense lab: No ID yet for source of nerve agentLONDON (AP) — Britain's defense laboratory acknowledged Tuesday it hasn't tracked down the source of the nerve agent that poisoned a Russian ex-spy, a statement the Kremlin said proved that British accusations of Moscow's involvement were baseless.


Graphic Street Art Of Trump Shooting Schoolchildren Sparks Outcry

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 02:54 AM PDT

Graphic Street Art Of Trump Shooting Schoolchildren Sparks OutcryMystery surrounds who is behind an Alabama mural that depicts President Donald


Syrian Kurdish leader signals possible joint action with Iraq

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 07:40 AM PDT

Syrian Kurdish leader signals possible joint action with IraqBy Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - A top Syrian Kurdish politician suggested on Wednesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Iraqi government could mount joint operations against Islamic State in the area on the border of the two countries. Aldar Xelil warned of a jihadist revival in eastern Syria, where operations by the U.S.-backed SDF have tapered off since they diverted fighters to the northwest to fight a Turkish offensive. "Iraq is a neighboring state and is also suffering from Daesh terrorism," he said in a telephone interview with Reuters, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.


YouTube shooting: Female suspect dead, four wounded - what we know so far

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 02:17 PM PDT

YouTube shooting: Female suspect dead, four wounded - what we know so farPolice Chief Ed Barberini said during a news conference that the female victim found was "believed to be the shooter" but that police and other law enforcement agencies are continuing to investigate the "active" situation. One staff member at the San Bruno campus - located 11 miles from San Francisco - said he barricaded himself in a room after hearing shots. Another reported seeing "blood drips" on the floor and stairs as he fled the building as armed police swarmed the site.


Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit & Le Coucou Celebrate the Arrival of Liebherr's Monolith

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:35 PM PDT

Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit & Le Coucou Celebrate the Arrival of Liebherr's Monolith


1 Elephant Died and 4 Others Were Hurt After a Circus Truck Crash

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:23 AM PDT

1 Elephant Died and 4 Others Were Hurt After a Circus Truck CrashThe crash provoked an outcry among animal rights defenders


How Did a Miles-Long Crevice Appear in the Earth Overnight?

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:35 AM PDT

How Did a Miles-Long Crevice Appear in the Earth Overnight?Scientists are torn about why the crack in the earth suddenly appeared outside Nairobi, Kenya.


Civil jury says man responsible for woman's death at mansion

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 01:25 PM PDT

Civil jury says man responsible for woman's death at mansionSAN DIEGO (AP) — A woman found hanging at a San Diego mansion in what was deemed a suicide died at the hands of her boyfriend's brother, a civil jury in California ruled Wednesday.


Betsy DeVos Mulls The Fate Of Guidance Designed To Reduce Racial Bias In Schools

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 10:33 AM PDT

Betsy DeVos Mulls The Fate Of Guidance Designed To Reduce Racial Bias In SchoolsEducation Secretary Betsy DeVos met with a group of civil rights leaders,


Dashboard video shows Sacramento sheriff's car hit protester

Posted: 02 Apr 2018 07:24 PM PDT

Dashboard video shows Sacramento sheriff's car hit protesterSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Video shown Monday that was taken by a dashboard camera inside a sheriff's vehicle shows it hitting a protester and driving away — the latest flashpoint following the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Sacramento.


A Trade War Could Cost The GOP At The Ballot Box

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 11:32 AM PDT

A Trade War Could Cost The GOP At The Ballot BoxWASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump opening a trade war with China may hurt


Russian rocket tests force partial closing of Baltic Sea, airspace

Posted: 04 Apr 2018 01:42 PM PDT

Russian rocket tests force partial closing of Baltic Sea, airspaceBy Gederts Gelzis RIGA (Reuters) - Russia began testing missiles with live munitions in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, alarming Latvia, a member of NATO, which says the drills have forced it partly to shut down Baltic commercial airspace. The Russian defense ministry said on Monday that its Baltic Fleet, based in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, was preparing for routine training in the Baltic Sea, including live fire drills to practice hitting air and sea targets. "It is a demonstration of force," Latvia's Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told Reuters.


Harley-Davidson Recalls 250,000 Bikes for Faulty Brakes

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 10:53 AM PDT

Harley-Davidson Recalls 250,000 Bikes for Faulty BrakesHarley-Davidson Recalls 250,000 Bikes for Faulty Brakes 2008 to 2011 Harley-Davidson VRSC, Touring, and CVO Touring models being recalled due to finicky ABS So far 2018 isn't off to a great start for Harley-Davidson. On top of a steadily declining customer


Gun safety advocates seek to override Rauner's veto of gun dealer license measure

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 09:58 AM PDT

Gun safety advocates seek to override Rauner's veto of gun dealer license measureGun safety advocates gave passionate and emotional testimony on Tuesday in Chicago as part of a push for lawmakers to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a bill to license gun dealers.


Japanese couple apologise for ignoring work pregnancy timetable by conceiving ‘before their turn’

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 01:59 PM PDT

Japanese couple apologise for ignoring work pregnancy timetable by conceiving 'before their turn'A Japanese worker has been reprimanded by her boss for "selfishly breaking the rules" after she became pregnant before it was her "turn", according to media reports. The woman was working at a private childcare centre in Aichi prefecture, north Japan, when she found out she was pregnant. However, the timing reportedly clashed with "shifts" drawn by the childcare centre director, which listed when female staff were allowed to marry and have children. The plight of the woman, who has not been identified, highlights the unsettling practice of some Japanese companies dictating when female staff are allowed to marry and have children, depending on their level of seniority. Her experiences came to light after her husband, aged 28, wrote a letter outlining their plight to Mainich Shimbun, one of Japan's leading newspapers. Yuka Ogata was banned from feeding her baby in the Kumamoto City council chamber earlier this year in another blow to maternity rights Credit: KYODO/ REUTERS Describing how his wife felt "glum and anxious" after finding out she was pregnant, the husband wrote: "The director at the child care center where she works had determined the order in which workers could get married or pregnant, and apparently there was an unspoken rule that one must not take their 'turn' before a senior staff member..." The couple formally met with the director to apologise about the pregnancy in person, but the husband claimed that his wife has since been "chided" for "selfishly" breaking the rules of the child care center. He added: "Childcare providers sacrifice their own children to care for the children of others. It is a noble profession that nurtures children who will forge the future of this country. "I respect my wife for her commitment to her profession, and continue to encourage her. The conditions of those working to nurture and care for children are evidence of a backward country." Why has a generation given up on having children? The case has prompted a flood of support in Japan, a nation famed for both its shrinking birth rate and a chronic shortage of public childcare establishments. Many commentators were critical of the nursery, claiming such rules are a violation of human rights - although some were sympathetic to the challenges faced by childcare centres due to widespread staffing shortages. Japanese women have long had a tough time in the workplace, due to widespread gender discrimination, with the nation slipping to 114th place out of 144 countries in last year's World Economic Forum global gender equality rankings. Maternity harassment – known as "matahara" in Japan – is also a major issue, with a 2015 government survey revealing that half of the nation's working women suffered some kind of harassment after becoming pregnant, with one in five dismissed from their job. Japan is placed 114 of 144 in the World Economic Forum's global gender equality rankings Credit:  ISSEI KATO/ REUTERS The practice of telling female employees exactly when they are allowed to have children – and when they cannot - is reportedly not confined to the childcare industry in Japan. Another woman, aged 26, from Tokyo also reportedly spoke out about how a female supervisor at a cosmetics-related company told her she would not be allowed to have a child until she was around 35. She reportedly received a document detailing childbirth and childrearing schedules which was circulated among 22 female colleagues via email, with the warning: "Selfish behaviour will be subject to punishment." The married woman, who has fertility issues, told Mainichi Shimbun: "I already have trouble getting pregnant. How are they going to take responsibility if I put off getting pregnant and lose my chances to have children altogether?" The outdated postwar concept of "gendered division of labour" still lingers in many Japanese companies, according to Dr Brigitte Steger, an expert on modern Japanese studies at Cambridge University. Generations apart | How pregnancy advice has changed "The term matahara is used frequently," she told the Telegraph. "Women are being harassed for being selfish for taking time out to have children or look after them and for being inconsiderate towards their fellow employees - while women are also criticised for being selfish and not having children." Referring to the prime minister Shinzo Abe's so-called policies of "womenomics", she added: "The main aim of this politics is to allow more women to combine career with having children, encouraging fathers' involvement in childcare, allowing maternity and paternity leave, providing more childcare facilities, etc. "But there are no real structural changes and industries have not all changed their attitudes and demands towards their workforce."


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