Tokyo, Japan (AHN) – A political tremor may hit Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the opposition plan to file a no-confidence motion.

The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are ready to submit their joint motion as early as Wednesday. The vote appears to be a test of the legislator’s trust in Kan, particularly the way he handled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.

Even within the Democratic Party of Japan, which Kan heads, there is dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s performance.

Former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa went one step ahead of the no-confidence vote and challenged Kan to resign from his position. Nakagawa cited as basis for his quit call to Kan a recent survey which found that 80 percent of respondents did not trust the government’s announcements on the damaged nuclear plant.

Kan said he would not resign. He said he has the duty to resolve the nuclear crisis at all cost. Kan could even beat the no-confidence motion by dissolving the Lower House of the Japanese Diet and calling an election.

Kan is not only struggling with the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, but also with other economic problems caused by the magnitude 9 temblor that shook Japan on March 11.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released on Tuesday showed that the country’s unemployment rate went up to 4.7 percent in April. However, the figure excludes the impact of the earthquake on the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, which saw widespread infrastructure damage and job losses.

The Labor Department also reported that average salaries in the third-richest economy shrank in April for the second consecutive month by 1.4 percent, although industrial production for the same month grew by 1 percent.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis made ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgrade to junk status, the credit rating of the operator of the ill-fated facility, Tokyo Electric Power Company. The utility firm’s rating drastically went down by five notices because of uncertainty of government bailout for Tokyo Electric.

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Rafah Terminal, Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territory Omar Ghraieb and David Ro – The Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border is a subdued place these days.

When Egypt made good on its promise and eased controls governing entry and exit from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the events received worldwide attention. Hatem Awideh, of the Gaza border, called it “a cornerstone for a new era” while The New York Times headlined it: “Egypt Lifts Blockade, Along With the Gazans’ Hopes.” Israel’s opposition Kadima Party declared the opening a “national failure.” The Turkish organizers of a flotilla due to leave for Gaza with aid supplies next month felt compelled to defend their decision to go ahead with the mission.

But on the first day Rafah was open, only 450 of the 1.6 million Gazans packed into the enclave’s 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) opted to cross. The next day it was just over 590 coming. On Monday, the number declined slightly to about 580. No goods or merchandise, except as much as can be stuffed into a large suitcase, can pass through Rafah at all.

Billed as a major event with multiple political ramifications for Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians, the Egyptian move, in fact, marks just a small step in a gradual easing of a four-year-old blockade of Gaza. Imposed by Israel after the Islamic Hamas movement seized control in 2007 and backed by Egypt, the lockhold on Gaza is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Hamas and encouraging Gazans to rebel against the movement’s rule.

But a year ago, the two countries removed its most onerous terms following a bungled Israeli commando raid on a Turkish attempt to break the blockade. Egypt eased controls further

By one estimate, more than 130,000 Gazans passed through the crossing in 2010 and another 30,000 passed through it since the start of upheaval in Egypt last January. The difference since last Saturday is that Rafah now operates six days a week instead of five and working hours have been extended by two hours daily. Visa requirements have been lifted for women, children under 18 and men over 40.

“It’s revolutionary compared to what was happening in the past year. It was not revolutionary over what has happened over the past (few) years,” Mkhaimar Abusada, who teaches political science at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, told The Media Line. “Basically, it’s an upgrading of the facility and mechanism for travel.”

Sami Khader, 48, should have been among the first to line up at the exit ramp from Gaza after it opened. His family came to the enclave in early 2010 for a short vacation to see their relatives and then head back to Saudi Arabia, where they have lived for years. But the family ended up trapped in Gaza and they have lost their permits to reside in the kingdom.

With the Israeli blockade eased and more goods arriving, Gaza’s economy has grown strongly over the past year even though it remains poor and reliant on international aid. The International Monetary Fund estimates Gaza’s gross domestic product grew in the double-digits last year and Palestinians investors are building the coastal strip’s second shopping mall.

On Monday, Palestinian officials pledged $200 million for rebuilding Gaza and hope to raise an additional $800 million from private Arab investors.

“I’m happily living in Gaza now with my family and I don’t need to go back to Saudi Arabia,” Khader told The Media Line. “Who could have known that in one year many things could change? Why can’t you quit one life to lead another one in Gaza, your own home?” Khader said.

The Hamas government in Gaza staged a campaign to ensure a big turnout at Rafah on Saturday, hiring buses to transport people to the terminal and sending activists to encourage people to cross. But, in fact, many people who might want to leave can’t because officials for now are limiting exit permits to people who had previously registered to leave under the older, more restrictive terms.

Sarah Ahmed said she never gave up hope. Her cousin Ahmed Ahmed, she said, gave up hope of finishing his studies abroad, threw away his British visa and enrolled in the Islamic university in Gaza. But even though she has been trapped in Gaza for close to a year after coming back for a family visit, she declined to enroll in any local university.

“I’m still waiting for my turn to leave Gaza and renew my British visa and continue my studies at Glasgow University,” Sarah Ahmed, a student studying in Britain, told The Media Line. “I love it there, and I can’t wait to go back”.

Abusada of Al-Azhar said the registration system is a holdover from a 2005 agreement governing border controls at Rafah. They date from just after Israel evacuated Gaza and before Hamas took over Gaza. Egypt required a list of people seeking to cross to prevent people regarded as security risks from entering the country.

But now with the border open to everyone except men between 18 and 40, it is mainly in Hamas interest to keep the pre-registration policy in force, he said.

“If there was no pre-registration the border would be flooded with tens of thousand who want to leave, so they are regulating the movement,” Abusada said. “Once the border is open for three months or six months, and Palestinians have become accustomed to it, they will cancel registration.”

He predicted a crush at Rafah come summer. Gazan school children are taking year-end exams now, which means many families would prefer to wait till the vacation begins. The limited hours at the terminal, which during the 1990s was open 24 hours a day, will exacerbate the problem.

No goods are permitted through Rafah, but the terminal was never designed as a transit point for merchandise and none of the sides involved would want to see that change, analysts said.

Israel allows more goods than ever in the past four years through its border with Gaza – on Monday around 240 truckloads of goods entered, including 60 containing construction materials – and collects customs duties on import wares that is then passed over to the Palestinians Authority. Meanwhile, Hamas collects it own taxes on good smuggled through the many tunnels dug under the border with Egypt.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States put up a brave face on Friday in Washington as Russian delegation rejected U.N. intervention in Syria but Moscow agreed that time for Libyan leader Colonel Moammer Gaddafi was up.

Addressing journalists in Washington, Mark Toner, the U.S. State Department spokesman said, “In terms of the Security Council, I mean, obviously, we’ve been in discussions with our partners there about the most appropriate approach to condemning the ongoing violence in Syria.”

“We support pursuing a Security Council resolution. But beyond that, I don’t have any comment,” added Toner during the daily briefing at the State Department.

Pressed further about the Russian position of no-action on Syria, Toner, said, “We feel that the international community is increasingly concerned by the ongoing violence in Syria. We’re working through a variety of forums to apply pressure on the Asad regime and we’re going to continue to do that.”

Earlier, Russians had minced no words as Sergei Ryabkov, Russian deputy foreign minister told journalists, “We will not even read the text,” adding, “There are no grounds to consider this issue (of Syria) in the U.N. security council.”

On Libya, however, there was unanimous agreement that the Libyan leader had lost all legitimacy and had to go as the G8 communique, said, “Gaddafi and the Libyan government have failed to fulfil their responsibility to protect the Libyan population and have lost all legitimacy. He has no future in a free, democratic Libya. He must go.”

The ongoing democratic winds of change with Arab Spring got applauded not only with words but also with financial support as the world’s industrialized nations promised $20 billion over the next two years in the form of loans and financial aid to Tunisia, the flag bearers of change and Egypt with the mandatory condition for the duo to continue on the road to develop democratic institutions and implementing democracy.

Europeans lead the way with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announcing the expansion of its mandate to cover North Africa and the Middle East. The EBRD is set to invest billions in coming years to help the democratic process and help the economies to improve the conditions of populations in those countries.

The G8 communique also commented on the global economy saying, “The world economy is recovering,” but reiterated need for more action to reduce global imbalances and deficits.

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Whether you are in New Jersey or anywhere around NYC or even the rest of USA, printing jobs are invariably required to be done for efficient management and marketing of your business. A simple example of envelope printing in westwood or any other office stationery is a must for any business activity and companies generally pay a lot of heed to the creation and design of envelopes, pads, visiting or business cards etc. The most popular stationery products are general printing, business cards, copies, banners, brochures, envelopes, flyers, letterheads, forms, postcard, sell sheets, memo pads, invites and greetings or announcement cards and so forth. One can find these business aids anywhere in the market however these days the online stationery store is quite popular – even for institutional buying and large office bulk uses. The online stores also provide many freebie tools that could be useful in the online trade such as bundled readers, Software, document creators etc.

The type of paper used commonly in the business circles changes with time and need. Attractive creations with hand made paper and other types of papers make up the majority of the brochure or flyer trade of immense popularity with the marketing companies and product promoters. Take the example of a flyer printing in Fair Lawn paper that renders the message transmitted in a very subtle and attractive form! There is no end to creative flyers using a variety of printing papers. In fact, promotion dictates several types of papers that go to make your special flyer a great campaign! Printing for business purposes is now truly an art that is combined with the sophisticated science of paper manufacture, printing inks, high speed machinery, and related processes that yield the enticing pamphlets or flyers and brochures, envelopes, stationery etc. The customers in the form of individuals or companies formulate their needs of stationery along with the printing professionals and creative groups so that the best possible promotion or marketing can be affected in the long run.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – April saw a modest boost in personal spending of 0.4 percent and disposable personal income rose by 0.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The increases translated to $46.1 billion in additional spending and an extra $35.1 billion in disposable personal income. In addition, personal consumption expenditures rose by o.4 percent or $41.5 billion.

However, the disposable personal income figure is a bit misleading because real disposable personal income, which is adjusted to remove price changes, actually decreased in April. However, the decrease in real disposable personal income was less than 0.1 percent.

Although any increase in spending is considered good for the economy, most of this increase came from higher gasoline and food prices. That left consumers with less money to spend on other items.

Personal savings dropped slightly in terms of dollar amount but remained the same percentage of disposable personal savings, which is disposable personal income less personal outlays. The percentage was 4.9 percent, while the dollar amount was $570.6 billion in April, versus $576.7 billion in March.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The U.S. economy grew at a meager 1.8 percent during the first quarter of the year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Thursday.

That was down from the 3.1 percent growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) registered in the fourth quarter of 2010.

It was the Commerce Department’s second estimate of real GDP for the first quarter of 2011. The 1.8 percent annual growth rate in real GDP was unchanged from the advance report released last month. In addition, it was below the private-sector expectations for an upward revision, the Commerce Department said in a release.

The private sector had expected a 2 percent growth in GDP.

“Today’s report shows little change from the GDP estimates released last month,” said U.S. Commerce Department Chief Economist Mark Doms. “What today’s data does tell us is that corporate profits continue to grow and businesses continue to hire more workers. In the first four months of this year, the economy added 854,000 jobs, and that will help boost our economy further in the quarters ahead.”

Indeed, although unemployment remains high and hiring remains low, the initial estimate for corporate profits is that they grew by $21.9 billion in the first quarter of 2011 to reach $1,700.2 billion.

Real GDP is the output of goods and services produced by labor and property that is located in the U.S. It is expressed as an annualized figure based on what growth would be for the year if it continued at that pace.

A drop in consumer spending contributed to the slowdown in economic growth.

Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of GDP. Growth in consumer spending during the first three months of the year was revised downward from 2.7 percent to 2.2 percent.

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London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Credit ratings agency Moody’s placed major British banks on review because of a new British government policy that no bailout would be provided to financial institutions with problems.

Moody’s hinted that 14 banks and building societies may face possible credit rating downgrades over its senior debt and deposit ratings.

The 14 banks and building societies for review include Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander UK.

Elisabeth Rudman, senior credit officer and bank analyst at Moody’s, said the review is not because of the financial institution’s deterioration in the banking system’s financial strength or the government, but in response to the coalition government’s guidance on the no bailout policy.

Moody’s review, expected to last for three months, could cause an increase in the banks’ borrowing costs. The review includes an assessment of the level of government support available and other factors that could lead to a rating downgrade.

The 11 other banks and building societies that would undergo the Moody’s review are:

• Bank of Ireland Cooperative
• Bank Coventry Building Society
• Nationwide Building Society
• Newcastle Building Society
• Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
• Nottingham Building Society
• Principality Building Society
• Skipton Building Societ
• y West Bromwich Building Society, and
• Yorkshire Building Society.

Barclays and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation are excluded from the review, but Moody’s have downgrade Barclays to a negative rating from stable and affirmed HSBC’s negative rating.

It is not only the British banks which have been downgraded or are at the risk of a downgrade by ratings agencies. Even the British government’s local and foreign currency sovereign credit rating suffered.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Company, a Chinese rating agency, downgraded U.K.’s rating on Tuesday to A+ from AA- with a negative outlook for solvency. Dagong explained the downgrade to the worsening debt repayment capability of Britain and difficulty in improving its sovereign credit level in a moderately long term basis.

The Chinese rating agency, which had blamed Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s for the global financial crisis for failing to properly disclose risk of western banks, said it expects Britain’s economy to register minimal or no improvement in the next 24 months.

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Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – With their proposal to turn Medicaid into block grants all but dead, Republicans now are pushing legislation to let states tighten eligibility rules for the health program for the poor and disabled.

The move, which would affect Medicaid as well as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, would help cash-strapped states save money but could also cause hundreds of thousands of people to lose health coverage.

While Democrats strenuously oppose the proposed Medicaid change, some advocates and physician groups worry that the issue could wind up as a bargaining chip in the partisan wrangling over the debt limit.

The Obama administration says the limit has to be raised by early August, and coming months will be marked by intense negotiations – and horse-trading – between the two parties to reduce the deficit and secure a debt-limit agreement. Republicans have signaled they’ll likely press hard for the Medicaid change during those talks.

“I would be concerned about that for sure,” said Joan Alker, co-executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “Medicaid is clearly a big part of the negotiations.”

GOP lawmakers are targeting a health-law provision barring states from scaling back Medicaid coverage between now and 2014, when the program expands sharply under the health law.

President Obama and congressional Democrats say eliminating the “maintenance-of-effort” provision would increase the challenge of expanding Medicaid in 2014; an additional 16 million people will qualify, with the federal government picking up most of the cost. If people lose coverage in the meantime, Democrats say, they may come into the program in worse health, driving up costs.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee voted along party lines earlier this month to repeal the Medicaid “maintenance of effort” requirement. The legislation is expected to pass both the full Energy and Commerce panel and the GOP-controlled House. A vote on similar standalone legislation in the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely but the measure could end up in a debt-limit package.

“We are worried about bunch of things being attached to the debt ceiling bill,” said Nevena Minor, a lobbyist for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The GOP legislation is backed by many state officials. The National Conference of State Legislatures said, “During these tough economic times, states cannot afford to have their hands tied by the federal government.”

To be sure, many Democrats say the odds are against President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats capitulating on an issue of such importance to the liberal base.

“It would be hard to imagine that happening,” said Larry McNeely, health care advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer group. “It would be a major defeat for the advocacy community.”

But liberals have at times been disappointed by Obama’s concessions, including last year’s deal to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. They worry that the president will ultimately feel compelled to trade away the “maintenance-of-effort” requirements. The White House declined to comment.

Governors Object To Health Law Provision

Medicaid covers about 56 million Americans, with states sharing the costs with the federal government. States have been barred from cutting eligibility for the program since 2009 when economic stimulus legislation gave states billions to prop up their Medicaid program on the condition they didn’t tighten eligibility standards. The 2010 health law extended this requirement until 2014.

According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, the House Republican proposal to repeal the requirement would save $2.1 billion from 2012 through 2021. If it became law, approximately 400,000 people – about two-thirds of whom are children – would lose their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage in 2013. About 100,000 of those people would enroll in employment-based insurance, according to CBO.

Many governors, who say they are under extreme budgetary pressure due to the sluggish economy, argue that they need more flexibility to manage their budgets and rising Medicaid costs.

The maintenance-of-effort rules “curtail state authority to control their own budgets and fiscal systems and over time discourage investment in state-federal programs,” the National Governors Association wrote to Congress in January.

The maintenance-of-effort requirements have blocked states from imposing or increasing costs on Medicaid recipients. They also have stopped states from making it easier for people to get home- and community-based services, rather than resorting to nursing homes, said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. The group has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a process to allow states to apply for waivers of the maintenance-of-effort rule.

Democrats counter that lifting the requirements would cause people to lose health coverage just as the health law is aiming to expand it.

“To me, it’s absolutely essential with the framework of universal coverage for the states to maintain” current Medicaid coverage requirements, said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. “I think you can make a very strong case that this is in your state’s best interest.”

– Provided by Kaiser Health News.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce as soon as next week whether it will hear an appeal involving California’s controversial law that grants illegal immigrants in-state tuition at public universities.

The immigrants say they could not afford college if they paid the higher out-of-state tuition rates.

Opponents of the law say taxpayers should not have to subsidize lawbreakers like illegal immigrants.

The controversy extends beyond California to 10 other states that grant reduced tuition to illegal immigrants. Out-of-state tuition can be triple in-state rates.

Courts took up the case of Martinez vs. Regents of the University of California in 2005 when students who paid out-of-state tuition sued the Board of Regents.

They accused the university of violating a 1996 federal law that prohibits public institutions from giving benefits to illegal immigrants.

The University of California’s attorneys argued the state law, AB540, was narrowly written to avoid conflicts with the federal law.

Illegal immigrants can get in-state tuition only if they attend a California high school for three years and graduate.

The same benefit is granted to any graduates of the state’s high schools, thereby eliminating legal U.S. residency as the issue in getting in-state college tuition, attorneys for the University of California argued.

The trial court agreed with the university and dismissed the lawsuit.

However, the California Court of Appeal for the Third District reversed the trial court, saying the state law is preempted by federal law. In other words, illegal immigrants cannot receive in-state tuition.

On appeal in November, the California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal.

Now, it’s the U.S. Supreme Court’s turn to decide the dispute, this time with a likelihood of influencing debate in Congress over how to reform immigration laws.

The Supreme Court justices this week discussed whether to grant the case a hearing or let the California Supreme Court decision stand.

Just before the California Supreme Court accepted the case, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff wrote a letter to the state’s highest court saying the dispute reaches “into the heart of the national debate about illegal immigration.”

Utah, along with New York and Texas, is among the states that allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition.

Other states, such as Arizona, are strongly opposed to granting any benefits to illegal immigrants.

They have been joined by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law group, which filed an amicus brief that supports cutting off in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

If the state law granting in-state tuition is upheld, “overburdened state taxpayers, who are suffering under California’s devastated economy, will be forced to continue subsidizing the college education of adult illegal immigrants,” the Pacific Legal Foundation said in a statement.

The foundation says in-state tuition gives the equivalent of a taxpayer-subsidized scholarship worth between $43,884 to $80,872 at a four year college.

However, LatinoJustice, a civil rights organization that filed an amicus brief in the case, said in a statement that the lawsuit against AB540 “threatens to erect an insurmountable barrier for high-achieving high school graduates from pursuing higher education in hopes of bettering themselves and benefiting their communities as a whole.”

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