Latest News Clips 2016.03.28

                   Bengo’s Latest News Clips                   2016.03.28

1.      Brussels explosions: Why has Belgium's capital been attacked?

BBC   23 March 2016

A CCTV image of three men said to be suspected of being behind the airport attacks has emerged

These are the darkest days Belgium has known since World War Two, according to one Belgian politician.

The attacks, claimed by jihadist group Islamic State (IS), murdered people at Brussels international airport and on a metro train in the heart of the Belgian capital.

And the targets were among the most sensitive in Europe. Brussels is home to the EU, Nato, international agencies and companies, as well as Belgium's own government.

Why has Brussels been attacked?

Not only is Brussels a high-profile target for Islamists, Belgium has struggled with Islamist groups for years and some 500 of its citizens have been lured into fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq.

Several cities have housed Islamist cells, but the most active have been in Brussels and in the south-western suburb of Molenbeek in particular - an area with a high ethnic Moroccan population and a high rate of unemployment.

Several of the bombers and gunmen who targeted Paris last November, killing 130 people, had been living in Molenbeek. The main suspect not to die in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, returned to Belgium the day afterwards and managed to evade police until 18 March. He and an accomplice were captured alive, again in Molenbeek.

Many Belgians were expecting a response from jihadists. "I had certainly expected something else would take place, but not that it would happen on this scale," says Belgian jihadism expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen.

Why have so many Belgian Muslims been attracted to jihadist violence?

More Belgian Islamists have gone to fight for IS than from any other European country per capita. Almost half have come from Brussels.

But it is not just Brussels, and Molenbeek in particular, that has had a problem with jihadism.

Islamists have also emerged from other Belgian cities, including Verviers and Vilvoorde and most significantly Antwerp, where the now disbanded group, Sharia4Belgium, recruited the first Belgian fighters for Syria.

Many trace Belgium's problem with Islamism to its decision in the 1970s to allow Saudi Arabia to construct the city's Great Mosque.

The Saudis also sent over a large number of imams to preach a hardline, Salafist form of Islam to a recently arrived Muslim population.

Critics believe the Salafist influence, combined with a lax approach by authorities over a 20-year period, helped jihadism to spread.

And then there was anger when the government changed tack, banning women from wearing a full Islamic veil in public.

Pre-planned attacks or revenge?

So were Tuesday's bombings retaliation for last Friday's success in capturing two Islamists alive? The arrests were clearly a blow to IS and Belgian jihadists.

Abdeslam has been described as the logistics expert in the Paris attacks. He rented flats, drove militants across Europe and bought bomb-making equipment. Days before his arrest, an accomplice who had been hiding with him, Mohamed Belkaid, was shot dead by police. He had been wrapped in an IS flag.

"What seems likely is that attacks were already being planned and due to specific arrests they were accelerated because the terrorists knew they were being hunted," says Prof Dave Sinardet of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University Brussels).

In fact Brussels had already tried to guard against multiple attacks following an apparent threat 10 days after the Paris attacks. For several days the city went into lockdown, much as it did on Tuesday, with public transport at a standstill and people told to avoid travelling around.

2.      The New Generation Gap

The Project Syndicate   MAR 16, 2016

NEW YORK – Something interesting has emerged in voting patterns on both sides of the Atlantic: Young people are voting in ways that are markedly different from their elders. A great divide appears to have opened up, based not so much on income, education, or gender as on the voters’ generation.

    

There are good reasons for this divide. The lives of both old and young, as they are now lived, are different. Their pasts are different, and so are their prospects.

The Cold War, for example, was over even before some were born and while others were still children. Words like socialism do not convey the meaning they once did. If socialism means creating a society where shared concerns are not given short shrift – where people care about other people and the environment in which they live – so be it. Yes, there may have been failed experiments under that rubric a quarter- or half-century ago; but today’s experiments bear no resemblance to those of the past. So the failure of those past experiments says nothing about the new ones.

Older upper-middle-class Americans and Europeans have had a good life. When they entered the labor force, well-compensated jobs were waiting for them. The question they asked was what they wanted to do, not how long they would have to live with their parents before they got a job that enabled them to move out.

That generation expected to have job security, to marry young, to buy a house – perhaps a summer house, too – and finally retire with reasonable security. Overall, they expected to be better off than their parents.

While today’s older generation encountered bumps along the way, for the most part, their expectations were met. They may have made more on capital gains on their homes than from working. They almost surely found that strange, but they willingly accepted the gift of our speculative markets, and often gave themselves credit for buying in the right place at the right time.

Today, the expectations of young people, wherever they are in the income distribution, are the opposite. They face job insecurity throughout their lives. On average, many college graduates will search for months before they find a job – often only after having taken one or two unpaid internships. And they count themselves lucky, because they know that their poorer counterparts, some of whom did better in school, cannot afford to spend a year or two without income, and do not have the connections to get an internship in the first place.

Today’s young university graduates are burdened with debt – the poorer they are, the more they owe. So they do not ask what job they would like; they simply ask what job will enable them to pay their college loans, which often will burden them for 20 years or more. Likewise, buying a home is a distant dream.

These struggles mean that young people are not thinking much about retirement. If they did, they would only be frightened by how much they will need to accumulate to live a decent life (beyond bare social security), given the likely persistence of rock-bottom interest rates.

3.      Wong financed OBI stocks for daughter

The China Post    March 25, 2016

 

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- President of Academia Sinica (中央研究院) Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) admitted in a public statement on Thursday that he and his wife financed their daughter Wong Yu-shioh's (翁郁琇) stock holdings in OBI Pharma (台灣浩鼎) in accordance with United States law.

In his statement, Wong wrote that Wong Yu-shioh had decided to invest in OBI Pharma after her aunt (the Academia Sinica president's sister in law) succumbed to breast cancer, in order to "support the development of cancer treatments."

On Wednesday, Kuomintang (KMT) legislators demanded that Wong provide an explanation regarding his daughter's stock holdings and step down from his position, after Next Magazine alleged that Wong Yu-shioh had bought 3 million shares of the company's stock at NT$31 per share, and is currently one of its ten largest shareholders. The company revealed that she still held close to 2 million shares in 2014. The pharmaceutical firm's closing price on Thursday was NT$413.5 per share.

While apologizing for the controversy, Wong also stated that his earlier comments regarding OBI Pharma were made "purely from a professional standpoint based on enthusiasm for the sciences and the nation's development in the field of biotechnology." Wong himself does not hold any of the company's stock.

Wong, a world renowned chemist who has been a key figure in the development of the nation's biotechnology industry, has been recently criticized for speaking in favor of the company despite having eventually declared its breast cancer treatment a bust. Those revelations caused a major selloff of the stock earlier in the month, leading to allegations of insider trading.

Meanwhile, four members of the nation's highest watchdog agency, the Control Yuan, have made moves to begin an investigation into whether Wong's actions constituted a conflict of interest.

Members of the KMT continued to apply pressure on Wong, not only reiterating their demands he step down, but also that he submit to a full investigation.

KMT Legislator Wang Yu-min (王育敏) found it suspicious that OBI Pharma's stock prices almost tripled to NT$90 per share one week following her 3 million share purchase.

"How did Wong's daughter get the money to purchase the stocks in the first place? Did it have anything to do with Wong?" asked Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑). Wong had remarked in September 2012 that his daughter was "a poor artist."

4.      Ban Ki-moon warns extreme weather becoming new normal

UN secretary-general warns nations to transform the global economy for low-emissions growth - or else.

Aljazeera   23 Mar 2016

The Arctic continues to rapidly melt, raising concerns about the effects on the planet [James Balog/AP]

Time is running for humanity to tackle rapid climate change that is threatening to make extreme weather the new normal, the UN's general-secretary said.

In a message to mark World Meteorological Day on Wednesday, Ban Ki-moon warned the window of opportunity for meeting the temperature goal agreed upon by nations in Paris last December "is narrow and rapidly shrinking".

"Climate change is accelerating at an alarming rate," said Ban. "The effects of a warming planet will be felt by all. Sea levels are rising and extreme weather is becoming the new normal."

Earlier this week, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that temperatures in 2015 were about 1C above the pre-industrial era for the first time on record.

The record temperatures over both land and the ocean surface in 2015 - due to an exceptionally strong El Nino weather phenomenon and global warming caused by greenhouse gases - were accompanied by many extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and severe drought, the agency said.

"The world must act now to transform the global economy for low-emissions growth and to strengthen resilience to the inevitable changes to come, especially in less well-developed countries," Ban said.

February 2016 was the warmest month ever recorded, but it was also the warmest by an extremely large margin.

February was 1.35C above the long-term average. October 2015 was the first month since records began in 1880 that had been more than 1.0C above that average.

The +1.35 margin was 0.2C above the previous record set in January - meaning two huge, successive record-breaking months out of a record of more than 1,600 months of data.

Scientists released a report earlier this week saying the rate of carbon emissions being pumped into the atmosphere is higher than at any time in fossil records stretching back 66 million years - to the age of the dinosaurs.

UN studies project that temperatures could rise by up to 4.8C this century, causing massive floods, deadly droughts, and more powerful storms if emissions rise unchecked.

Latest News Clips 2016.03.03.07

                 

1.      Mitt Romney Aims at Donald Trump, Hits G.O.P.

The New York Times   MARCH 3, 2016

Holy Mitt, what a meltdown.

Add this one to Donald Trump’s lengthening list of firsts: He’s forced a Republican Party reckoning overdue for years, all in a few days. It took the Trump-dominated Super Tuesday contests to awaken Republican leaders to the fact that the darkest elements of the party’s base, which many of them have embraced or exploited, are now threatening their party.

Last week, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, elected to the Senate partly on their appeal to extremists, seemed to realize that they weren’t attractive enough to win Mr. Trump’s crowd. Just in time for Super Tuesday, they could see that ignoring or cozying up to Mr. Trump wasn’t working, and began attacks that have so far done nothing to slow his march. They were then joined by the G.O.P. campaign money machinery, which this weekbegan frantically tossing more millions at — what? An anti-Trump ad campaign? A third-party effort?

Then came an open letter from 95 Republican national security experts, who declared themselves “united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency.” Of Mr. Trump they wrote: “He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.” Yet some among them have swung wildly in those same directions. Some were Bush administration officials who supported some of the worst foreign policy disasters this country has ever experienced, including the Iraq war. It is rich that they should now criticize Mr. Trump for policies that could make America less safe.

Then, on Thursday morning came Mitt Romney’s rambling indictment of Mr. Trump. After months of silence, Mr. Romney spent 20 minutes calling Mr. Trump a fraud and a phony with a record of business failures, whose economic ideas would put the United States into recession and whose foreign policy approach would endanger Americans.

Mr. Romney did not endorse any specific alternative to Mr. Trump. Instead, he seemed to advocate a course of action that would force a nomination brokered by party leaders, saying that Republicans should vote for the Republican candidate who has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in each state. Of course, in terms of domestic and foreign policy positions, Mr. Cruz is probably more extreme than Mr. Trump, and Mr. Rubio is hardly different.

It was a surprising moment, since Mr. Romney relished Mr. Trump’s endorsement in 2012. And Mr. Romney, who was rejected by the Republican electorate in 2008 and the rest of the country in 2012, is exactly the kind of politician that the aggrieved crowds backing Mr. Trump are voting against. Indeed, Mr. Romney’s denunciation might well help Mr. Trump with his supporters.

At one point, Mr. Romney said: “Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants” — with absolutely no sense of self-awareness. Mr. Romney himself played to the worst kind of xenophobia when he proposed getting rid of 11 million undocumented immigrants by forcing them to “self-deport.” He also listed Mr. Trump’s offenses — “the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics.” Did Mr. Romney have any sense of irony when he said those words? For far too long, they could have been used to describe many in his party: legislators, congressional leadership, its policy makers.

It is an excellent thing that the Republican leaders have noticed the problem they’ve fostered, now embodied in the Trump candidacy. But until they see the need to alter the views and policies they have promoted for years, removing Mr. Trump will not end the party’s crisis.

2.      China's National People's Congress: What You Need to Know

 The Bloomberg   March 3, 2016

     

Each year, some 3,000 of China’s most powerful officials descend on Beijing for about 10 days of parliamentary pageantry known as the National People’s Congress.

While the country’s top legislature is constitutionally charged with vast powers, the mechanics of one-party rule ensure most important decisions are hashed out in closed-door Communist Party meetings long before reaching the floor. That said, the public proceedings at the Great Hall of the People represent the one time each year that many of the people who run the world’s second-largest economy face the press, providing rare insight into their thinking and policy plans.

Who are they?

This year’s NPC consists of 2,943 party chiefs, government officials, company executives and military commanders hailing from 35 constituencies, including provinces, regions, municipalities and the semi-autonomous former colonies of Hong Kong and Macau. Members include everyone from so-called model workers to President Xi Jinping.

Delegates have even been assigned to represent Taiwan, which China still considers a province even though it’s been ruled independently for almost seven decades. The party officially holds 72 percent of the seats, with the remainder occupied by eight authorized "non-Communist" parties and people with no affiliation. In reality, only one party picks the delegates.

Are they a rubber stamp?

Yes, mostly. With its membership controlled entirely by the ruling party, the legislature largely serves to ratify decisions handed down from other organs of state power. The government drafts most new legislation, and the full session of the NPC has never turned down a bill put to it for a final vote by government agencies, according to a Caixin magazine report citing research by the late China University of Political Science and Law Professor Cai Dingjian. 

The party pledged in 2014 to "perfect the NPC’s constitutional rights to supervise and monitor" the government. But there’s a catch: the body must also "unswervingly adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."

Why should you care?

The NPC’s impact pales next to the plenums that the party’s Central Committee usually holds in October or November, but those gatherings are largely discreet affairs, with decisions announced by communique after the fact. The NPC, along with a concurrent meeting of the country’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, fill the void, drawing thousands of journalists from around the world seeking any clue to the government’s thinking. 

This year’s meeting will focus on crafting China’s development plan for the next five years. And the proceedings may provide crucial details on how the government plans to control a slow down in growth while avoiding the dreaded "middle-income trap."

The highlight will be Premier Li Keqiang’s closing press conference. The remarks made at the event can echo through the vacuum for months such as last year, when Licompared China’s economic reform plans to "taking a knife to one’s own flesh."

Who’s missing?

The NPC has not been spared as Xi’s anti-corruption crackdown reverberates around the government, with the campaign now into its fourth year. Of the 48 delegates from last year who are not attending this year’s session, at least 25 were suspected of violating state law or party disciplinary rules, according to Caixin. 

The highest-ranking is former Hebei party secretary Zhou Benshun. Zhou, an ex-secretary to disgraced security chief Zhou Yongkang, was kicked out of the party in October and faces trial on bribery charges. Nine of the 48 died since last year’s NPC.

3.      North Korean leader urges nuclear readiness

BBC  2016.03.04

Image copyrightReutersImage captionKim Jong-un made his announcement at a military drill, KCNA reported

Kim Jong-un has said North Korea's nuclear weapons should be ready for use "at any time", state media report.

He told military leaders North Korea would revise its military posture to be ready to launch pre-emptive strikes, the Korean Central News Agency said.

On Wednesday the UN imposed some of its toughest ever sanctions on North Korea, following its recent nuclear test and missile launch.

In response, the North fired six short-range projectiles into the sea.

KCNA said Mr Kim was speaking at a military exercise on Thursday, which is thought to be when the projectiles were fired.

He said North Korea "must always be ready to fire our nuclear warheads at any time" because enemies were threatening the North's survival.

"At an extreme time when the Americans... are urging war and disaster on other countries and people, the only way to defend our sovereignty and right to live is to bolster our nuclear capability," he was quoted as saying.

Such rhetoric is not unusual from North Korea, but despite its recent nuclear and ballistic tests, analysts still doubt it has the ability to make a nuclear bomb small enough to put on a feasible missile.

Kim Jong-un's announcement brought a swift response from the US.

"We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments," Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban said.

The US and South Korea began talks on Friday on the possible deployment of a US missile defence shield in the South.

Initial talks will focus on the costs, effectiveness and environmental impact of installing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, among other issues, the Yonhap news agency reported.

What exactly is banned?

• The export of coal, iron and iron ore used for North Korea's nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.
• All gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, rare earth minerals and aviation fuel exports.
• Any item (except food and medicine) that could develop North Korea's armed forces.
• Small arms and light weapons are now included in an arms embargo.
• Upmarket watches, watercraft, snowmobiles and other recreational sports equipment added to a ban on luxury goods.
• No vessels or planes can be leased or registered to North Korea.

What are the other measures?

• Member states must inspect all cargo to and from North Korea, not just those suspected of containing prohibited items.
• An asset freeze on North Korean funds linked to nuclear and missile programmes.
• Foreign financial institutions cannot open new offices in North Korea without approval, and North Korean banks cannot open offices abroad.