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WORLD NEWS Saturday 29 June 2019
Putin uses G-20 to strengthen alliances, soothe tensions

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV outgoing British Prime Minis-
Associated Press ter Theresa May for the first
OSAKA, Japan (AP) — Rus- time since 2016.
sia’s President Vladimir The long break reflected
Putin used a series of talks a bitter strain in ties, which
with global leaders at the plummeted over the March
Group of 20 summit on Fri- 4, 2018, nerve agent attack
day to strengthen old al- on double agent Sergei
liances and try to soothe Skripal and his daughter
tensions with rivals. Yulia in the city of Salisbury.
Putin used his meetings They spent weeks in critical
with the leaders of China condition, but recovered.
and India to find common Britain has accused Russia
ground on issues such as of poisoning them with the
opposing protectionism, nerve agent Novichok, ac-
while his long-delayed talks cusations Moscow has de-
with the American and Brit- nied.
ish leaders likelier touched In a tough note before the
on thornier issues. meeting, May said that
Putin’s meeting with U.S. Britain will push for the two
President Donald Trump, Russian military intelligence
their first full-fledged talks officers accused of involve-
since their 2018 summit ment in the attack to be
in Helsinki, Finland, was Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for family photo brought to justice.
watched closely for the im- session at G-20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, Friday, June 28, 2019. In the Financial Times inter-
pact it may have on trou- Associated Press view, Putin again insisted
bled U.S.-Russia ties. the U.S. political infighting, personal criticism of Trump it and say: ‘He’s a great that Russia had nothing to
The Russian leader laughed making any quick progress in an apparent hope of guy; he’s at least trying to do with the poisoning and
when a reporter shouted unlikely. negotiating a rapproche- propose a solution,’” Putin argued that bilateral ties
about warning Putin “not New rounds of anti-Russia ment. said. are far more important
to meddle” in the 2020 U.S. sanctions followed the Hel- He extensively praised Details of the Putin-Trump than “the fuss about spies
election and Trump wag- sinki meeting, and Trump Trump in an interview with talks weren’t immediately not worth five copecks.”
gishly said: “Don’t meddle later announced the with- the Financial Times pub- known. The two leaders remained
in the election.” drawal from a key arms lished just before the sum- The White House said the silent as they shook hands
Putin has denied meddling control pact signed in 1987 mit, saying that the U.S. leaders discussed bilater- at the start of their meeting
in the 2016 U.S. vote despite with the then Soviet Union. president’s policies, such as al relations, arms control, Friday.
the abundant evidence to Putin followed suit. The In- building a wall on the bor- as well as the situations in According to Downing
the contrary uncovered by termediate-Range Nuclear der with Mexico, reflected Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and Street, May told Putin “there
U.S. special counsel Robert Forces Treaty is set to ter- his keen understanding of Ukraine. The Kremlin has cannot be a normalisation
Mueller. minate this summer, raising the issues that are impor- kept mum about the meet- of our bilateral relationship
The Russian president has fears of a new arms race. tant to voters. ing. until Russia stops the irre-
charged that Russia-U.S. re- Putin has denounced the “Ordinary U.S. citizens who In another closely-watched sponsible and destabilising
lations are now hostage to U.S. policies, but avoided feel concerned look at encounter, Putin met with activity.”q

Japan court orders compensation for kin of leprosy patients

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and society severed. after she told him about
Associated Press In the ruling, Judge Kotaro her father. “I’ve never had
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese Endo said Japan’s parlia- a happy moment in my
court ordered the govern- ment, through legislative life,” she told NHK public
ment on Friday to pay 370 negligence, destroyed the television, holding a black
million yen ($3.4 million) in families and caused tre- and white photo of her fa-
damages to the relatives mendous damage to their ther that she brought to the
of former leprosy patients lives. Nobuko Harada, 75, ruling. “But my heart has
over a segregation policy is among the relatives. cleared today.”
that severed family ties and She said one day 68 years A 2001 court decision found
caused long-lasting preju- ago, a group of health offi- the segregation policy un-
dice. Kumamoto District cials suddenly came to her constitutional and prompt-
Court ruled that the segre- house, took away her fa- ed government repara-
gation violated the human ther and spread antiseptic tions, but only to former pa-
rights of the patients and powder everywhere. tients. Harada’s father died
their relatives. She said bullying started im- at age 90 without hearing
The 561 plaintiffs demand- Lawyer Yasuyuki Tokuda, second left, speaks following a court’s mediately. Her classmates the ruling.
ed 5.5 million yen ($52,000) order in Kumamoto, southern Japan Friday, June 28, 2019. at elementary school told Harada thought it was un-
each for financial and psy- Associated Press her she was contagious fair that there was no pity
chological suffering be- the segregation until 1996, at 14 isolated sanatoriums and threw dirty rags at her. for the patients’ families,
cause of bullying and dis- decades after leprosy, also across the country, and Her mother lost her job, and who also suffered because
crimination in education, known as Hansen’s disease, many were also forcibly they lived on meager prof- of the segregation. She
jobs and marriage. became curable in the late sterilized. About 1,500 re- its from peddling seafood. decided to file a lawsuit in
The court ruled that the 1940s. More than 12,000 main at the facilities today After she married at 17, her 2016, joined by hundreds of
government failed to stop leprosy patients were kept with their ties to families husband became abusive others.q