Medical Evacuations Begin From Syria's Eastern Ghouta - ICRC

Medical Evacuations Begin From Syria's Eastern Ghouta - ICRC- Medical evacuations have begun from the Syrian rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta to Damascus, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria said early on Wednesday.

Almost 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta are besieged by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and the United Nations has pleaded for his government to allow evacuation of around 500 patients, including children with cancer.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said four patients were taken to hospitals in Damascus, the first of 29 critical cases approved for medical evacuation, and the remainder would be evacuated over the coming days.

SAMS advocacy manager Mohamad Katoub said in a tweet that five had been approved for the first group of evacuations, part of a deal on an exchange of detainees between Assad's government and rebel group Jaish al-Islam. It was not clear why only four of the five had left.

On Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was working with Russia, Assad's ally, on the evacuations.

Last week Jan Egeland, the United Nations humanitarian adviser for Syria, said 494 people were on the priority list for medical evacuations.

"That number is going down, not because we are evacuating people but because they are dying," he said. "We have tried now every single week for many months to get medical evacuations out, and food and other supplies in."

The United Nations has been waiting for months for the Syrian authorities to provide "facilitation letters" to allow the aid operation to get under way.

Forces loyal to Assad have carried out air raids on Eastern Ghouta, while besieged rebels have fired mortars into neighbouring Damascus.

"That has nothing to do with the right of evacuating, and obligation to evacuate civilians (and) wounded," Egeland said.

Read More

Japan Government To Promote Fugu Exports To Asia

Japan Government To Promote Fugu Exports To Asia - The government plans to promote exports of fugu, a traditional luxury food item in Japan, targeting wealthy people in China and other Asian nations, according to sources.

Fugu, or puffer fish, are rarely seen in overseas marketplaces because of the poison they contain, but the government is aiming to make the product a big seller among the country’s agricultural and marine exports.

The government has set a goal to raise the value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products exported overseas to ¥1tril (RM36bil) by the end of 2019. It hopes to attain the goal by promoting fugu as a new “Japanese brand” foodstuff.

Fugu has poison in various parts of the body, such as its skin and testis, depending on the species.

According to the Fisheries Agency, many countries prohibit imports and domestic sales of fugu. Currently, the United States, Russia, Malaysia and Singapore import fugu from Japan.

Some countries limit the kind of fugu species that are eligible for import to torafugu tiger puffer. Others have regulations allowing imports of fugu “meat” only after the skin, internal organs and other poisonous parts have been removed.

Annual combined domestic production of natural and artificial fugu was 8,470 tons in 2016, but within that figure, exports were “very small,” according to a senior official of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

A government source said that tasty Japanese food is very popular among wealthy people in foreign countries and great demand for fugu is expected. Based on this judgment, the government is considering promoting sales of fugu as a foodstuff along with cooking methods for the fish, such as removing the poison.

With Japanese food becoming popular recently in China, local Japanese restaurants have started serving fugu dishes.

China officially approved the domestic distribution of fugu last year, but has yet to approve imports of the fish.

To export fugu to China from Japan, the government needs to negotiate with China’s food sanitation authorities to have them recognize the safety of the fish and other elements.

The government plans to accelerate efforts to negotiate with China for that purpose.

Read More