Updated 4:26 AM EST, January 29, 2024
TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, launched a civil lawsuit against the country’s police on Monday, accusing the authorities of racial profiling and discrimination and demanding an end to the alleged practice.
The case, to be heard in Tokyo District Court, comes as Japan in recent years has seen an influx of workers from abroad. The number of non-Japanese living in Japan reached a record high last year, at nearly 3 million people.
One of the three plaintiffs, Syed Zain, a 26-year-old Japanese citizen of Pakistani descent, says he has been repeatedly stopped by police, including getting searched in front of his home. He has lived in Japan for two decades, attended Japanese schools and is fluent in the language, he said.
“They don’t recognize us as a Japanese,” he said of the police. “From the first moment, they think I’m a criminal.”
US government pulls some of Venezuela’s sanctions relief after court blocks opposition candidate
BY REGINA GARCIA CANO
Updated 7:17 PM EST, January 29, 2024
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. government on Monday pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country’s highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader.
The Department of the Treasury gave companies transacting with Venezuela’s state-owned mining company until Feb. 13 to wind down operations. The department had allowed transactions with the mining company in October after President Nicolás Maduro’s government agreed to level the playing field ahead of this year’s presidential election.
On Friday, however, the prospect of a free presidential election was dealt a heavy blow when the country’s highest court upheld a ban on the candidacy of María Corina Machado, a longtime government foe and winner of the primary held by the U.S.-backed opposition faction.
