29 January - 4 February 2018 - 16-min

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4 29 January - 4 February, 2018 I T World As US raises tariffs, India’s Modi defends free trade Modi was meant to be the event’s highlight until Trump decided to come as well. Modi’s speech follows on from Chinese President ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that the recent wave of trade protectionism, in which governments raise barriers to free trade between nations, is “worrisome.” Modi delivered the warning in a speech at Davos just hours after the U.S. government of President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported solar-energy components and large washing machines in a bid to help U.S. manufacturers. “Forces of protectionism are raising their heads against globalization,” he told a crowd of business and government leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Without directly mentioning Trump or the U.S., he said “the solution to this worrisome situation against globalization is not isolation.” Modi quoted Mohandas Gandhi to drive home his point: “I don’t want the windows of my house to be closed from all directions. I want the winds of cultures of all countries to enter my house with aplomb and go out also.” Japan central bank keeps lax monetary policy unchanged he Bank of Japan has opted to keep intact its unprecedented monetary stimulus despite an uptick in growth, sticking with its massive asset purchases and a negative interest rate policy aimed at spurring inflation. The U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, among other central banks, have begun tightening stimulus unleashed to counter the fallout from the global financial Xi Jinping’s address to the Davos elite at last year’s event. Xi portrayed his country as a champion of free trade on the same week Trump was inaugurated president. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later addressed the Davos crowd, which is I gathering in unusually heavy snowfall. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said new barriers to trade could pose a danger on a par with climate change and extremist attacks, his Canadian peer, Justin Trudeau, revealed that his country and the 10 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have revised their trade deal in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Iraqi parliament sets May 12 as date for national elections raq’s parliament has set May 12 as the date for holding national elections despite calls from the country’s Sunni community to delay the vote until the return of nearly 3 million people displaced by the fight against the Islamic State group. Shiite lawmaker Abbas al-Bayati said lawmakers at a session in the Shiitedominated house “unanimously” approved the date proposed by the government. The deeply-divided parliament failed many times to set the date, prompting the country’s ballots. Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri said the government is committed to returning the displaced and to creating a peaceful atmosphere for the elections. All weapons must be in the hands of the government during election campaigns and the voting day, al-Jabouri added. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed to lead a “cross-sectarian” list, building on last year’s victory against IS. Three separate list — led by Shiite paramilitary NEW DELHI TIMES EU imposes sanctions on 7 senior Venezuelan T officials he European Union imposed economic and travel sanctions on seven senior Venezuelan officials accused of human rights abuses or breaching the rule of law in the crisis-ridden country. The move comes after U.S. authorities levied sanctions against dozens of Venezuela’s leaders, including President Nicolas Maduro, and was adopted “as the political, social and economic situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate,” EU headquarters said in a statement. The targeted officials rejected the sanctions announced the same day that students at a university in the capital of Caracas clashed with police. The most prominent official on the European list is Diosdado Cabello, the head of Venezuela’s ruling socialist party who is considered to be the nation’s second most powerful leader. Cabello has not been targeted by U.S. sanctions. Other officials on the list include: Tarek William Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general; interior minister Nestor Luis Reverol; Supreme Court president Maikel Jose Moreno; National Guard Cmdr. Antonio Jose Benavides; elections chief Tibisay Lucena Ramirez; and head of the national intelligence agency Gustavo Enrique Gonzalez. The EU officials said those sanctioned “are involved in the non-respect of democratic principles or the rule of law as well as in the violation of human rights.” They will have their assets frozen and be banned from traveling in Europe. In a broadcast on state television, communications minister Jorge Rodriguez rejected the sanctions by the “elite” in Europe against Venezuelans he called honorable and decent “patriots.” “Venezuelan democracy is solid,” he said. “There’s no country that exercises it as fully as Venezuela.” Venezuela was once one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries, sitting atop the world’s largest oil reserves. Mismanagement and a recent drop in global oil prices have left it in a deepening economic and political crisis, marked by shortages of food and medicine. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned 51 Venezuelan officials, including four current and former military officers, in an attempt to weaken Maduro’s grip on power. crisis. The BOJ appears to have recently reduced its purchases of government bonds. However Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has said he would maintain Japan’s barrage of deflationfighting stimulus until a 2 percent inflation target is met. The aim is to convince companies and consumers to spend more, helping to sustain faster growth. The economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual pace in July-September, suggesting the policies may be gaining traction. Many are watching to see if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will reappoint Kuroda as governor of the central bank when his fiveyear term ends in April. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo Supreme Court to issue a ruling against any delay to the elections, the fourth since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The over three-year fight against IS has left most of the Sunni areas in northern and western Iraq in ruins, and poor public services have exacerbated the situation. The Sunnis argue that the current situation will make it hard for Sunni voters to update their information ahead of elections or cast their troop leaders that fought IS, ex-premier Nouri al-Maliki who currently serves as one of three vice presidents, and followers of firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — are expected to be his main rivals. Despite the declared victory over IS, Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned it will likely to continue with insurgent-style attacks. Last week, two IS suicide attacks killed at least 46 and wounded more than 100. Credit : Associated Press (AP) Photo Credit : AP Photo Dozens of students at Central University of Venezuela threw stones and gasoline bombs at police in riot gear, who returned the aggression firing rubber bullets and tear gas. A student who covered his face said they were protesting the death of Oscar Perez, a rebel police officer who called for an uprising against Maduro’s government. Perez, 36, was killed a week earlier with six others in a clash with government security forces. “The politicians abandoned us,” the masked student said. “They literally left us here and we have to fight for what we truly believe — for the conviction of our country’s freedom.” Credit : Associated Press (AP) www.NewDelhiTimes.com India’s only International Newspaper
29 January - 4 February, 2018 5 World Pence says US embassy will move to Jerusalem by end of 2019 S. Vice President Mike Pence told Pence told the AP the administration was state solution but only if both sides support U. G Israeli lawmakers on 22nd January that the U.S. would put plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem on a fast track, drawing angry denunciations from Arabs who were forcibly removed from the hall during his speech before Israel’s parliament. The Trump administration’s plan to accelerate the move of the embassy, announced in the first address of a sitting American vice president to the Knesset, marked the highlight of Pence’s visit celebrating President Donald Trump’s decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “Jerusalem is Israel’s capital — and, as such, President Trump has directed the State Department to begin initial preparations to move our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Pence told the lawmakers, vowing that the “United States Embassy will open before the end of next year.” Pence’s speech drew protests from the Palestinians, with chief negotiator Saeb Erekat saying it “has proven that the U.S. administration is part of the problem rather than the solution.” Shortly after Pence began speaking, several Arab lawmakers voiced their displeasure by raising signs that said, “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine,” and heckling the vice president. They were forcibly removed from the plenum. Despite the pandemonium, Pence expressed hope in an interview with The Associated Press after the speech that the Palestinians would re-enter negotiations. “Our message to President (Mahmoud) Abbas and the Palestinian Authority is: The door’s open. The door’s open. President Trump is absolutely committed to doing everything the United States can to achieve a peace agreement that brings an end to decades of conflict.” The embassy is to be opened in an existing U.S. facility that will be “retrofitted” to meet safety and security requirements, Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein told reporters in Washington. He said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had yet to sign off on the safety plan for the new facility but would do so in coming weeks. The most likely location is in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, in a modern building that currently handles U.S. consular affairs like issuing passports, birth certificates and travel visas, said a U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The U.S. consulgeneral works out of another Jerusalem facility that handles political affairs and diplomatic functions. The retrofitted building had been originally envisioned as an interim plan that would allow Trump to quickly fulfill his vow to move the embassy. Yet it was unclear after Pence’s speech whether Trump still intended to break ground later on a new embassy elsewhere in Jerusalem or to use the retrofitted one permanently. “We expect that to be the embassy,” Goldstein said of the facility that will open next year. “We do not have a plan at current to build a new embassy.” India’s only International Newspaper “exploring a range of options” on where to locate the embassy. The vice president was preceded on the Knesset dais by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lavished his guest with praise and gratitude. It was part of an exceptionally warm welcome for Pence in Israel, which has been overjoyed by Trump’s pivot on Jerusalem. But the move has infuriated the Palestinians and upset America’s Arab allies as well. The main Arab party in the Israeli parliament had warned that it would boycott Pence. Its leader, Ayman Odeh, vowed they would not provide a “silent backdrop” to a man he called a “dangerous racist.” Pence responded to the ruckus by saying he was humbled to speak before such a “vibrant democracy,” then delved into his prepared remarks about the countries’ unbreakable bond. Photo Credit : AP Photo “I am here to convey one simple message: America stands with Israel. We stand with Israel because your cause is our cause, your values are our values and your fight is our fight,” he said. “We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, good over evil and liberty over tyranny.” Pence said the U.S. would back a two- it. Netanyahu’s hard-line government is dominated by opponents to Palestinian statehood, making such a scenario unlikely. The Palestinians say the U.S. is no longer an acceptable mediator. They have preemptively rejected any peace proposal floated by the Trump administration, fearing it will fall far short of their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war. The Palestinians have refused to meet with Pence. In an expression of that snub, Abbas overlapped with Pence in Jordan, when the Palestinian leader flew to Brussels for a meeting with European Union foreign ministers, where he urged EU member states to recognize a state of Palestine and step up involvement in mediation. Pence’s visit coincided with a dispute between the Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Israeli government after Israeli demands to strip-search a Finnish journalist covering the start of Pence’s visit. The journalist said she was taken behind a curtain at Netanyahu’s office, where she said she was questioned, patted down and then asked to remove her bra for an inspection. She said she refused and was barred from covering the event. The woman, who was born and raised in Finland, said she was singled out because her father is Palestinian. The FPA, which represents some 400 journalists working for international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, accused Israel of ethnic profiling and called the Israeli practice of strip-searching journalists a “mark of shame” aimed at intimidating reporters. Credit : Associated Press (AP) NEW DELHI TIMES Germany, France pass resolution for new friendship treaty erman and French lawmakers approved a joint resolution stressing the need for closer cooperation as the two nations mark the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Elysee friendship treaty. At a special German parliamentary session in Berlin, French National Assembly President Francois de Rugy told lawmakers that multilateralism “is the secret of success of Europe.” “Strengthening of the cooperation between our two countries is a precondition for strengthening Europe,” he said. The 1963 Elysee treaty marked the post- World War II reconciliation between France and Germany. In approving the joint Franco-German resolution acknowledging the treaty’s importance, German lawmakers called for a new accord to “deepen” the partnership. Later in the day, German lawmakers led by Bundestag speaker Wolfgang Schaeuble participated in a French parliament session in Paris. Schaeuble said in a speech to French lawmakers at the National Assembly that “the Franco-German cooperation is a success story.” “Neither Germany nor France have a future without Europe,” Schaeuble insisted in a speech delivered entirely in French. German and French lawmakers decided to pass the resolution asking their governments to “adapt the founding principles of the Elysee Treaty” to meet the new challenges of globalization, he said. Schaeuble listed world migration, “the dangers of international terrorism,” armed conflicts at Europe’s external borders, pressure from authoritarian regimes and separatist aspirations and the evolution of international financial markets as among those challenges. French lawmakers then voted 133-12, with two abstentions, to approve the resolution passed by their German counterparts earlier. Credit : Associated Press (AP) www.NewDelhiTimes.com
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29 January - 4 February 2018 - 16-min

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