Security Council Tightens Economic Vise on North Korea, Blocking Fuel, Ships and Workers
December 23, 2017 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
Comments Off
“President Trump has used just about every lever you can use, short of starving the people of North Korea to death, to change their behavior,” Mr. Bossert said. “And so we don’t have a lot of room left here to apply pressure to change their behavior.”
In fact, the public C.I.A. assessment is that no amount of economic sanctions will force the North to give up its nuclear program.
The United States, which has led the sanctions effort at the Security Council, drafted the latest round of sanctions in consultation with other members, most notably China, which historically has been reticent to impose them. The deadline for the return of North Korean workers was changed to 24 months from 12 months, partly in response to Chinese and Russian concerns.
It was a striking display of unity, only a day after most members of the United Nations General Assembly condemned the new United States stance on Jerusalem.
Nikki R. Haley, the American ambassador, thanked the other council members — especially China — for coming together on the resolution and said further North Korean defiance would “invite further punishment and isolation.”
Ms. Haley called North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile test last month “another attempt by the Kim regime to masquerade as a great power while their people starve and their soldiers defect.”
Credit
Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador, said the ability of all council members to come together on the North Korea issue showed they are “seeing the bigger interests we all have.”
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
Mr. Rycroft said the new measures “tighten the grip and make it even harder for the regime to fund the illegal programs, and at the same time insure we don’t make life harder for the poor people of North Korea.”
The assent of China and Russia to the tightened measures appeared to reflect the growing impatience with North Korea by the world’s most powerful nations, regardless of their politics.
Newsletter Sign Up
Continue reading the main story
Thank you for subscribing.
An error has occurred. Please try again later.
You are already subscribed to this email.
Experts on North Korea said the new measures had the potential to dissuade Mr. Kim from further escalating the tensions with more tests, but were cautious about predicting his behavior.
“If the international community, including countries like China and Russia, implements these measures fully, faithfully and quickly, it will apply an unprecedented and irresistible level of pressure on the North Korean regime,” said Evans J.R. Revere, a former senior State Department diplomat for East Asia.
If that happens, he said, it would force North Korea “to make a choice between continued defiance of the international community on the one hand and a return to the negotiating table on the other.”
Under North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, grandson of its founding father Kim Il-sung, the impoverished country of 25 million has exalted nuclear weapons and threatened to use them against the United States, its No. 1 perceived enemy since an armistice halted the Korean War more than six decades ago.
President Trump has responded to these threats by vowing to “totally destroy” North Korea if attacked and pressing China, North Korea’s most important trading partner, to cut off oil exports to the country.
There have been mixed signs, at best, that diplomatic efforts to avert a military confrontation are working.
Last week Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson told the Security Council that “a sustained cessation of North Korea’s threatening behavior must occur before talks can begin,” a sharp contrast from conciliatory comments he had made just a few days earlier.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
The North Koreans have conducted six nuclear tests and have demonstrated major progress with their missiles even though the United Nations has prohibited them.
The tightened measures approved on Friday included a restriction that would cut the supply of North Korea’s imports of refined petroleum by roughly 90 percent. The would also place limits on crude oil deliveries and give other countries enhanced powers to stop North Korea-bound ships suspected of carrying contraband.
A further punitive action requires North Korea to recall thousands of North Korean laborers, many of them working in Russia and China, who send remittances home, an important source of government income. That action tightens an earlier sanction that banned North Korea from sending more workers abroad.
Continue reading the main story
Share and Enjoy
Papa John’s CEO, pizza titan John Schnatter, steps down
December 22, 2017 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
Comments Off
CLOSE
John Schnatter is leaving as CEO of Papa John’s Pizza. No reason was given for Schnatter’s decision, but he recently faced criticism for blaming protesting NFL players for slumping pizza sales.
USA TODAY
Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter, who overcame the odds to build his home-delivery pizza chain into a national powerhouse against entrenched rivals, is stepping down.
Schnatter, who founded the pizza chain in 1984, will remain as chairman of the board. No immediate reason was given for his decision, which takes effect Jan. 1. He is being replaced CEO is company President Steve Ritchie.
As the founder, Schnatter has been one of the biggest names in fast food. But he recently ran into controversy when he blamed NFL players’ mass move to drop to one knee during the playing of the national anthem as affecting his company’s sales.
Schnatter has been one of the last CEOs who also act as their brand’s advertising pitchman, a list that once included Col. Harland Sanders for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dave Thomas of Wendy’s. By stressing that Papa John’s had better ingredients and a better tasting product, he was able to turn the burgeoning chain into a national force against giants like Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut.
Papa John’s, which lays claim to being the nation’s third-largest pizza chain, could not be reached immediately for comment.
The company, which has more than 5,000 locations worldwide, said in a statement that Schnatter will continue to “pursue his personal passion for entrepreneurship, leadership development and education.”
But his impending title change caught restaurant industry watchers by surprise.
“At the very least, it was distracting and I’m wondering whether this was board-driven or if it was John’s choice,” said restaurant consultant John Gordon of the Pacific Management Consulting Group.
CFRA equity analyst Efraim Levy said he had anticipated a shift was coming soon in the company.
“I see mostly strategic continuity, but I expect Steve Ritchie to also put his own imprint” on Papa John’s,” he said.
More: Papa John’s tweets apology for being ‘divisive’ when ripping NFL
More: Papa John’s condemns endorsement from white supremacist publication
More: Halal pizza lawsuits against Little Caesars dropped after racist threats
Louisville-based Papa John’s is the official pizza sponsor of the National Football League, which Schnatter slammed in November for not dealing with players who’ve been kneeling during the Star Spangled Banner to protest racial injustice. The movement began with then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
“The NFL has been a long and valued partner over the years. But we’re certainly disappointed that the NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation to the satisfaction of all parties long ago,” Schnatter said during a Nov. 1 analyst call. “This should’ve been nipped in the bud a year-and-a-half ago.”
On Nov. 14, the company sent out an I’m-sorry tweet: ”The statements made on our earnings call were describing the factors that impact our business and we sincerely apologize to anyone that thought they were divisive.”
Schnatter isn’t the first founder to step away recently from CEO duties at the company he built from scratch. Last month, Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Steve Ells would become executive chairman and Panera Bread’s Ron Shaich announced that he would step down, but retain his position as board chairman.
CLOSE
Pizza and beer is a pretty iconic combination, and one pizza chain is now testing out delivering both to your door. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland).
Buzz60
And Schnatter himself has said goodbye to the CEO gig before. He stepped down in 2005, but returned in 2008. In 2010, he took on a co-CEO, Jude Thompson, but that arrangement ended the following year.
Now Papa John’s may decide to find a new pitchman besides Schnatter.
“He’s in every ad,” Gordon said. “That’s very CEO-centric marketing, which is pretty unusual these days. We’ll see if he steps back from that.”
He added, “He and/or the board see the need to get him out of the line on fire and to continue his involvement in a less visible way.”
Papa John’s stock closed at $59.23, down 2 cents or 0.03% on Thursday.The CEO announcement was made after the market has closed.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer