DT e-Paper 15 March 2017

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DT 8 World WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 SOUTH ASIA Dozens of Myanmar soldiers killed in rebel clashes Dozens of Myanmar soldiers have been killed in several clashes between ethnic rebels and the army along the border with China, state media reported on Tuesday, threatening leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s chief goal of ending decades of ethnic strife. “There were at least 48 armed clashes with the Burmese Army, resulting in the deaths of dozens of soldiers,” Myanmar’s state-run daily, the Global New Light of Myanmar, said. REUTERS INDIA India’s defence minister quits to lead Goa state India’s defence minister resigned Monday to lead the coastal state of Goa after BJP secured enough support from minor parties to retain power in the popular tourist region. Manohar Parrikar will be sworn in as Goa’s chief minister on Tuesday more than two years after vacating the job to join Modi’s team in New Delhi. AFP CHINA 17 killed in China coal mine accident 17 Chinese coal miners were killed when a lift used to move workers fell down a shaft, state media reported, the latest deadly mishap in the country’s accident-prone coal-mining industry. The accident occurred Thursday when a cable supporting a mining cage caught fire, causing the rig to tumble down into a state-operated coal mine in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. AFP ASIA PACIFIC Thailand seizes rhino horns worth $5m Thai customs have confiscated 21 rhino horns with an estimated value of nearly $5m in the biggest such seizure in Thailand for years, officials said on Tuesday. Thailand has become a major transit point for the trade in endangered species to other Asian countries. REUTERS MIDDLE EAST Russian-led Syria talks derailed as rebels boycott Russian-led peace talks on Syria were derailed on Tuesday as rebels backed by Turkey boycotted a third round of meetings in Kazakhstan and the Kremlin indicated there were international divisions over the process. Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally, said the rebels’ reasons for staying away were unconvincing and their decision came as a surprise. REUTERS May keeps suspense over Brexit trigger • AFP, London British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday she would be given the power to start Brexit talks within days but declined to name a date for a process already disrupted by Scotland’s independence bid. After speculation in Brussels and at home that she would start the withdrawal process this week, May told the House of Commons that she would fulfil her promise to do it by the end of March. Parliament late Monday approved a bill empowering the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, starting a two-year countdown to Britain’s departure. May said the bill would receive formal assent from Queen Elizabeth II “in the coming days”, leaving the prime minister free to start Brexit at any time. This would put UK on course to become the first country to leave the 28-member bloc by March 2019. Splits in Britain ‘deepening’ May appeared to be caught off guard Monday when Scotland’s nationalist States jointly sue to block Trump’s revised travel ban • Reuters, A group of states renewed their effort on Monday to block President Donald Trump’s revised temporary ban on refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts. Court papers filed by the state of Washington and joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon asked a judge to stop the March 6 order from taking effect on Thursday. An amended complaint said the order was similar to the original January 27 directive because Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May Protesters rally against US President Donald Trump’s new executive order on travel ban in Sydney, March 9 REUTERS it “will cause severe and immediate harms to the States, including our residents, our colleges and universities, our healthcare providers, and our businesses.” A Department of Justice spokeswoman said it was reviewing the complaint and would respond to the court. A more sweeping ban implemented hastily in January caused chaos and protests at airports. The March order by contrast gave 10 days’ notice to travelers and immigration officials. Last month, US District Judge James Robart in Seattle halted the first travel ban after Washington state sued, claiming the order was discriminatory and violated the US Constitution. • government said it would next week seek authorisation for a second referendum on leaving the UK. The prospect had been mooted since the June referendum vote for Brexit, in which a majority of Scots had wanted to stay in the bloc, but the announcement had not been expected so soon. May immediately condemned the plan, less than three years after Scots voted by 55% to reject independence, saying it would be “divisive”. “This is not a moment to play politics or create uncertainty,” she repeated on Tuesday, saying it was time to “bring our country together”. Facing nationalist movements across the continent, the EU is determined that no other countries follow Britain out the door, and big battles await over budget contributions, immigration and trade ties. Manfred Weber, a German lawmaker who leads the European People’s Party, the biggest grouping in the European Parliament, said Scotland’s breakaway bid signalled “a deepening of the splits in British society”. • Study: US media give 4.5 times more coverage to terror attacks by Muslims • Tribune Desk REUTERS Muslims commit far fewer terrorist attacks than non-Muslims, the research found, but when attacks by Muslims do happen they are written about 4.5 times more than other attacks, reports the Independent. Researchers at Georgia State University first looked at all attacks in the United States between 2011 and 2015, as listed in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD defines terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.” “Since the 11 September 2001, attacks, when most people in the United States hear the word ‘terrorism,’ they think of Muslims,” the researchers wrote in the Washington Post. “But terrorism comes in many forms.” The GTD included the attack by Frazier Glenn Miller, a white supremacist and former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, on a synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas; Robert Dear’s attack on Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs; and Wade Michael Page’s attack on a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, along with many other lesser-known attacks. In total, the team, academics Erin M Kearns, Allison Betus, and Anthony Lemieux, documented 89 attacks committed by different perpetrators in the United States during the five-year period examined. Between 2011 and 2015 in the United States, Muslims perpetrated 12.4% of those attacks. The researchers then searched for media coverage of each attack from US-based print sources in the LexisNexis Academic database of newspaper articles. Since many Americans get their news online, they also looked at coverage from CNN.com. Each article they counted focused primarily on the act of terrorism, its perpetrators, or the victims. It had to appear in a US-based media source between the attack date and the end of 2016. They found 2,413 news articles that met their criteria. Of the 89 attacks, 24 did not receive any media coverage from the sources they examined. The small proportion of attacks that were by Muslims, only 12%, received 44% of the news coverage. In only 5% of all the terrorist attacks, the perpetrator was both Muslim and foreign-born, but those four attacks got 32% of all the media coverage. In real numbers, the average attack with a Muslim perpetrator is covered in 90.8 articles. Attacks with a Muslim, foreign-born perpetrator are covered in 192.8 articles on average. Other attacks received an average of 18.1 articles. •
World EU headscarf ban ruling sparks faith group backlash • Reuters, Brussels Companies may bar staff from wearing Islamic headscarves and other visible religious symbols under certain conditions, the EU’s top court ruled on Tuesday, setting off a storm of complaint from rights groups and religious leaders. In its first ruling on a hot political issue across Europe, the Court of Justice (ECJ) found a Belgian firm which had a rule barring employees who dealt with customers from wearing visible religious and political symbols may not have discriminated against a receptionist dismissed for wearing a headscarf. The judgement on that and a French case came on the eve of a Dutch election in which Muslim immigration is a key issue and weeks before France votes for a president in a similarly charged campaign. French conservative candidate Francois Fillon hailed the ruling as “an immense relief” that would Hijab A scarf covering the head, ears and neck. The face remains visible Widely used in the Muslim world contribute to “social peace”. The judges in Luxembourg did find that the dismissals of the two women may, depending on the view of national courts, have breached EU laws against religious discrimination. They found in particular that the case of the French software engineer, fired after a Tchador A long cloak covering the body, traditionally worn by Iranian women (especially practising Muslims) While the head is covered, the face remains visible Niqab A full veil with a small slit for the eyes Its use has spread due to the influence of Wahabi Islam from Saudi Arabia Mainly used in urban areas customer complaint, may well have been discriminatory. Reactions, however, focussed on the conclusion that services firm G4S in Belgium was entitled to dismiss receptionist Samira Achbita in 2006 if, in pursuit of legitimate business interests, it fairly applied a broad dress code for Burqa Full veil traditionally worn by Pashtuns in Afghanistan Completely covers the head and body, with a mesh screen over the eyes Obligatory under Taliban rule all customer-facing staff to project an image of political and religious neutrality. In the Belgian case, the ECJ said: “An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination.” • Nigeria water shortages hit Boko Haram displaced Dutch brace for election as Turkey row intensifies nationalism • AFP, Amsterdam Dutch politicians hit the airwaves and the campaign trail Tuesday, battling to win over undecided voters in the final countdown to an election overshadowed by an acrimonious row with Turkey. Many of the 12.9m eligible voters appear not to have made up their minds on which of the record 28 parties in the running to choose. A snap poll showed a boost of three seats for Rutte’s VVD and two for Wilders’s PVV in the 150-seat parliament at the expense of smaller parties to the left. • • AFP, Maiduguri, Nigeria Tens of thousands of people who fled Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria are facing a severe lack of water, compounding widespread food shortages and security fears, aid workers said Monday. For the past week supplies have been low at the Muna camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the city of Maiduguri after one of its five solar-powered water pumps broke down. Muna camp, on the edge of the city, is currently home to some 41,000 people. The water drawn up from boreholes is used for cooking and, crucially, washing to prevent the spread of disease through the densely populated compound of makeshift tents. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima confirmed on Sunday that there was a “breakdown of water supply” at the camp but engineers were trying to fix the problem. Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people and forced more than 2.6m others from their homes since it began in northeast Nigeria in 2009. But as the military opens up areas formerly in rebel hands, the true scale of the devastation has emerged, revealing people cut off from food supplies and unable to plant crops. The UN has said 7.1m people are “severely food insecure” in northeast Nigeria and parts of neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger that have also been hit by the conflict. • Bulbs, sim cards are ‘helping’ security agencies kill militants in Kashmir • Tribune Desk Woman collecting water at the dirty main water source, carrying a baby on her back, in Borno, Nigeria COLLECTED An increase in militant deaths across Kashmir, especially its southern region, has given rise to rumours that intelligence agencies have “enrolled” common technological devices such as electric bulbs and sim cards in their crusade against rebel elements, the Hindustan Times reports. According to sources, it began with unverified reports that residents of South Kashmir were smashing subsidised LED bulbs being distributed by the government under the Ujala scheme. There was a widespread belief that they were fitted with “micro chips that could track down militants the moment they enter a person’s house”. Some even claimed that the bulbs, distributed at Rs20 against the actual market price of Rs250, were fitted with surveillance cameras. According to another rumour that began doing the rounds after two alleged militants and a civilian were killed on March 10, a senior separatist leader has asked Kashmiri residents to boycott a mobile company that’s distributing “free sim cards”, equipped with inbuilt technology capable of tracking militants, across the state. However, the leader has denied issuing such a statement. As many as 11 militants were killed in seven encounters across the Valley last month. However, rumours like these are nothing new in Kashmir. Last year, its residents were left shuddering over rumours that hundreds of children had died after being administered polio drops by government agencies. “Once, in the 1990s, rumours arose that security agencies had dumped poison in the main reservoir that supplies water to Srinagar. Masjid authorities made announcements that residents should not drink its water,” said Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a retired government servant. • 9 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 USA ‘Trump will donate his salary by year’s end’ Donald Trump will donate his annual presidential salary of $400,000 to charity by year’s end, spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday – and he even wants the media he often criticizes to help him choose a worthwhile cause. Several times during his presidential campaign, the billionaire businessman said he did not plan to take a salary, save one dollar, the legal minimum. AFP DT THE AMERICAS Colombia to set up special war crimes courts Colombia’s senate late Monday approved a constitutional reform to set up special war crimes courts, a key component of the historic peace agreement with Farc guerrillas. The court system will be made up of three sections: a truth commission, a unit to search for missing people, and a temporary, autonomous body to try crimes committed during the armed conflict before December 1, 2016. AFP UK Sturgeon: Theresa May not elected by anyone Nicola Sturgeon has issued a direct challenge to Theresa May, pointing out that she was voted in on a clear manifesto commitment to Scottish independence but that the Prime Minister “is not yet elected by anyone”. In a taunting reminder that May’s premiership is yet to be endorsed by the public at a general election, or even by members of her own party, the Scottish First Minister said she had the mandate to call a second referendum on independence. INDEPENDENT EUROPE Germany proposes heavy fines on Facebook for hate speech Germany’s justice minister proposed a law Tuesday that could see social networks such as Facebook slapped with heavy fines if they fail to wipe illegal hate speech from their sites. The minister, Heiko Maas said the new measures could carry penalties against the offending company of up to $53m. AFP AFRICA Death toll from Ethiopia landslide reaches 72 The death toll from a landslide at Ethiopia’s largest rubbish dump reached 72 on Tuesday as the country’s parliament declared three days of national mourning, a government minister said. The Koshe landfill, the country’s largest, has for more than 40 years been the main garbage dump for Addis Ababa. REUTERS
Page 1 and 2: SECOND EDITION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15,
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Page 7: 8 militants held across country •
Page 11 and 12: ‘Focus on human capital developme
Page 13 and 14: Opinion 13 Minorities in the neighb
Page 15 and 16: The death of truth In a world of fa
Page 17 and 18: What’s on 17 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15,
Page 19 and 20: Sports 19 DT WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2
Page 21 and 22: Man City's De Bruyne aiming for Cha
Page 23 and 24: Francophonie festival commences in

DT e-Paper 15 March 2017

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