Japanese PM Shinzo Abe set to resign over health concerns: Reports
Tokyo: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his intention to step down due to his declining health, according to reports on Friday by NHK and other Japanese media.
The Prime Minister's Office said the report could not be immediately confirmed, but that Abe was believed to be meeting top ruling officials at the party headquarters. The Liberal Democratic Party spokesman did not answer the phone.
Concerns about Abe's chronic health issues, simmering since earlier this summer, intensified this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups.
Abe, whose term ends in September 2021, is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and formally approved by the parliament.
He had abruptly resigned from his first stint in office in 2007 due to his health, which was fueling concerns about his recent condition.
Abe on Monday became Japan's longest serving prime minister by consecutive days in office, eclipsing the record of Eisaku Sato, his great-uncle, who served 2,798 days from 1964 to 1972.
But his second hospital visit on Monday eclipsed festivity for his record and has accelerated speculation and political maneuvering toward a post-Abe regime.
Abe has acknowledged having ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with treatment. He has not made clear if it is related to his recent health issues or hospital visits.
After his recent hospital visits were reported, top officials from Abe's Cabinet and the ruling party said Abe was overworked and badly needed rest.
His health concerns added to speculation that Abe's days in office are numbered, when his support ratings are already at their lowest levels due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its severe impact on the economy, on top of a slew of political scandals.
Shigeru Ishiba, a 63-year-old hawkish former defence minister and Abe's archrival, is a favorite next leader in media surveys, though he is less popular within the ruling party.
A low-key former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Defence Minister Taro Kono, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, and economic revitalisation minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of coronavirus measures, are widely speculated in Japanese media as his potential successors.
The end of his scandal-laden first stint as prime minister was the beginning of six years of annual leadership change, remembered as an era of revolving door politics that lacked stability and long-term policies.
When he returned to office in 2012, Abe vowed to revitalise the nation and get its economy out of its deflationary doldrums with his Abenomics formula, which combines fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
