Biodun.BBC: November 2016

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Trump calls calls Pakistan's PM Sharif a 'terrific guy'

Thur Dec 1, 2016 | 07H:35 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Sunita Kureishi and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Islamabad

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump offered to help solve Pakistan's problems and praised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a "terrific guy" in the first call between the two men, the Pakistani leader's office said.

Historical allies in the region, Islamabad and Washington have seen relations sour in recent years over U.S. accusations that Pakistan shelters Islamist militants, a charge denied by the South Asian nation.

Sharif's office said late on Wednesday the Pakistani premier called Trump to congratulate him on his victory and issued a read out of the call. Trump's team confirmed the two men talked and issued a brief statement.

"President Trump said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif you have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way," said the statement issued by Sharif's office.

"I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems. It will be an honor and I will personally do it."

The prime minister's office did not elaborate on the kind of problems Trump offered to solve. The statement also did not clarify why exactly Trump was impressed with Sharif.

Pakistan's sputtering economy has rebounded since Sharif was elected in 2013 and security has vastly improved amid greater efforts by the army to tackle militants such as the Pakistani Taliban.

But security remains a problem as Islamist groups continue to stage mass attacks and Islamic State radicals have sought to gain a foothold inside Pakistan, claiming responsibility for several high-profile attacks. The economy is also facing acute challenges, including energy shortages.

Trump's office said the two leaders had a "productive conversation about how the United States and Pakistan will have a strong working relationship in the future".

"President-elect Trump also noted that he is looking forward to a lasting and strong personal relationship with Prime Minister Sharif," the statement added.

STRAINED TIES

Detailing the conversation, Sharif's office added that Trump told the Pakistani premier to feel free to call him any time before he assumes office on January 20.

"As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long," the statement added, paraphrasing Trump's comments.

Sharif's office often releases read outs of his conversations with foreign heads of state but they are seldom so full of praise for the Pakistani premier, especially during calls with Western leaders.

Sharif invited Trump to visit Pakistan, according to the statement, and the incoming U.S. leader agreed.

"Mr Trump said that he would love to come to a fantastic country, fantastic place of fantastic people. Please convey to the Pakistani people that they are amazing and all Pakistanis I have known are exceptional people," said the statement.

Few details are known about Trump's planned policy for South Asia but the warm words between the leaders suggests ties could be reset under Trump's presidency and will ease concerns in Islamabad that Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric in the run up to the poll will not lead to unfriendly policies towards Pakistan.

At one point Trump proposed banning Muslims from the entering the United States, remarks that alarmed the predominantly Muslim nation of 190 million people.

Islamabad has also been concerned about warmer ties between the United States and India, fearful that Washington is pivoting towards New Delhi at a time of heightened tensions between the nuclear armed neighbors who have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.

Trump also has business ties in India, which has stoked concerns in Pakistan that under his presidency the United States may accelerate its shift towards New Delhi.

Pakistan continues to receive aid as well as military funding and training from the United States, but the U.S. Congress has recently held back some help due to frustrations about Pakistan's unwillingness to act against elements of the Afghan Taliban.

Relations hit new lows in May when a U.S. drone killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the leader of the Afghan Taliban movement, on Pakistani territory.

Ohio State assault: Somali community fears backlash

Wed Nov 30, 2016 | 13H:22 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Abdi Kadel and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Columbus (Ohio)

Immigrants in Columbus, Ohio's Somali community fear a backlash after a young immigrant injured 11 people in an attack at Ohio State University, the second attack by an African immigrant in the area this year.

With the second-largest Somali population in the United States, the area's 38,000 immigrants fear the college town and state capital may be less welcoming of foreigners.

The attack also comes at a time when President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to suspend immigration from countries where Islamist militants are active and new arrivals cannot be safely vetted.

"We are at the mercy of the community that allows us to be here," said Abdilahi Hassan, a 28-year-old restaurant owner who has lived in Columbus since he was 14.

Hassan said the assailant was not representative of immigrants from war-torn Somalia. "There are always some bad apples," he said.

The assailant, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 20, was shot dead by a police officer on Monday moments after he plowed his car into a crowd of pedestrians and then leapt out and began stabbing people with a butcher knife.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, and U.S. officials said that Artan may have followed the same path to self-radicalization as militants in a number of "lone wolf" attacks.

In February an immigrant from Guinea wounded several people when he attacked with a machete inside a Columbus restaurant.

Last year, a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen was arrested after authorities said he trained with the Syria-based Nusra Front and then returned to the United States to kill Americans.

If Monday's attacker, Artan, was radicalized, then it was by outside sources and could not have come from the Columbus community, said Burhan Ahmed, head of the Center for Somali American Engagement in Columbus.

"America saved Somalis. America is where every religion is respected," he said.

He added that the Somali and Muslim communities were trying to educate young people to counter propaganda on the internet from sources like the Islamic State. Most Somalis are Muslim but there are also Christians in the country.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther met on Tuesday with a group of Somali immigrants, including religious and business leaders, to reassure them they were part of the city's fabric, city officials said.

The city government has a New American Initiative designed to help Somali refugees and other recent immigrants get settled. The program explains city services to immigrants and helps them navigate bureaucracy.

Tensions between immigrants and city residents are not unique and Columbus is prepared to deal with them, said Zach Klein, the president of the city council. He visited the Masjid Ibn Taymia Mosque on Tuesday in a show of support.

"We are the 15th largest city in the United States and we are going to have the same problems that other large cities have. We are not immune to them," he said.

Source says Merkel does not see EU expanding membership talks with Turkey

Wed Nov 30, 2016 | 13H:02 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Isabelle Roussel and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers in her conservative bloc that she does not expect the European Union to open negotiations on new policy areas with Turkey in its talks to join the bloc, a source told us at Reuters.

Turkish accession talks began in 2005 but have made slow progress. Merkel has repeatedly said the EU, which needs Ankara to help tackle the migrant crisis, must continue to engage with Turkey.

Bild newspaper ran a story under a headline that said Merkel opposed further EU talks with the fellow NATO member and reported that this meant discussions were effectively over.

However, one conservative parliamentary source said the chancellor had rather re-stated her position in response to a question at a meeting of lawmakers.

"She said that at the moment no further negotiating chapters would be opened in any case and in addition, from her point of view, there was no need for action," said the source.

"It was a statement rather than an initiative. She was responding to a question from a lawmaker about what they should say about Turkey in constituencies," said the source.

Neither Ankara nor the EU expect Turkey to be in a position to join the EU for many years to come. Only one of 35 "chapters", or policy areas where Turkey must adopt EU rules, have so far been concluded. Fifteen chapters are open.

The European Parliament passed a non-binding motion last week urging the Commission and national governments to call a temporary halt to membership talks with Turkey due to Ankara's "disproportionate" reaction to July's failed coup.

However, EU governments are unlikely to take heed. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said his country has not yet "closed the book" on the EU but said Ankara had other options with other partners.

EU leaders are due to discuss Turkey again when they meet in Brussels at a summit on Dec. 15-16. Germany and other EU states have expressed concern about Erdogan's crackdown since a failed coup in July and critics say it is an attempt to crush dissent.

Authorities have detained or dismissed more than 125,000 people - including soldiers, academics, judges, journalists and Kurdish leaders - over alleged backing for the coup attempt.

Turkey still hopes to win visa-free travel for its citizens to the EU as part of an EU deal, in return for help in keeping migrants away from Europe, although the chances of it winning that right by the end of this year seem distant. As part of the EU migrant pact, Brussels agreed to reinvigorate accession talks. Erdogan has suggested he might scrap that deal.

Washington DC subway: infrastructure woes

Wed Nov 30, 2016 | 12H:45 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Rachel Rubin and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Washington DC

Hailed as "America's Subway" when it began operating 40 years ago, Washington's Metro transit system now could serve as Exhibit A for the U.S infrastructure woes President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to fix.

Crucial to helping the federal government run smoothly, the second-busiest U.S. subway is facing falling ridership, accidents, a $290 million budget gap, job cuts and soaring costs to fix its crumbling rail lines.

Its problems became clear in March when the system shut down for a day of safety inspections following a fire. That caused commuter chaos in the nation's capital, leaving workers scrambling to find transportation via buses, carpools and bikes.

Passenger traffic has fallen nearly 20 percent from a 2009 peak, with former riders finding other ways to get to work or telecommuting to avoid the trains. This has set off a vicious cycle of lower revenues leading to service cuts and higher fares that drive more riders away.

The head of the system's largest union says the Metro is in a "death spiral," and analysts suggest its only way out could be bankruptcy or a federal takeover.

Trump's vow for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending across the country offered a rare glimmer of hope to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which oversees the subway.

"Since he is a Republican and we have a Republican Congress, there is now no excuse for not getting this done," said authority Chairman Jack Evans, who has backed a federal takeover of the 118-mile (190 km) system.

The system is of particular concern to federal officials since many of the 700,000 people who ride it each day work for the U.S. government. When it struggles to stay open during snowstorms, it often snarls government operations.

Metro is far from alone in falling behind, with subways in nearby New York and Boston also facing billions of dollars in delayed maintenance. Nationwide, the U.S. public transit system faces an $86 billion repair backlog, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Washington's subway has long been plagued by safety systems that the National Transportation Safety Board this year called "fundamentally flawed."

Eighteen passengers and workers have died since 2005, according to the Federal Transit Administration. The agency took over safety supervision last year, the first time a subway system has come under U.S. government oversight for such lapses.

REPAIR COSTS SOAR

Metro General Manager General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said he would have moved a lot faster to fix some of the issues had he known the extent of the problems when he took the job a year ago.

"We are working very hard to do the best that we can for the agency and for this region," Wiedefeld told a news conference this month. He has said the repair program will cost $60 million, but a federal report this month said the final price tag could be double that.

Much of the trouble at Metro, which also carries many of the 21 million tourists who visit Washington each year, results from a two-track design that means trains cannot be diverted for repairs or traffic.

The system sprawls from Washington into neighboring Maryland and Virginia. It relies on those states, as well as federal and local governments, to cover close to half its costs.

Washington's Democratic mayor has proposed a 1-cent sales tax to fund the system, an idea the Virginia and Maryland governors rejected.

In a proposed $1.8 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning in July that Wiedefeld called "a reality check," Metro warned it would need to run trains less frequently and raise fares to offset declining revenue.

Metro workers flooded a board meeting this month to condemn the proposed cuts, which include hundreds of layoffs.

"Metro's budget should not be balanced on the backs of riders and workers," said Steve Williams, vice president of Teamsters Local 922.

But cost cuts are not keeping up with the decline in revenue, and Metro will have to ask for another $130 million from the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland to close a projected $290 million shortfall in its next budget.

Trump tweet: Activists burn some flags in New York

Wed Nov 30, 2016 | 09H:15 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, New York

A small group of hard-left activists burned foot-long U.S. flags outside the Trump International Hotel in New York on Tuesday, in an angry response to a tweet by President-elect Donald Trump that flag-burners should face legal consequences.

Social media was itself ablaze on Tuesday in response to Trump's tweet, which suggested that burning the U.S. flag should be punishable by a year in jail or a revocation of citizenship.

Trump's provocative tweets on flag-burning and other topics, including efforts to recount the Nov. 8 presidential vote, came as the Republican worked to fill his Cabinet in advance of his inauguration in January.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that flag-burning was not a crime but rather a form of protest protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The high court has also ruled more than once that citizenship cannot be revoked.

U.S. media outlets, including the New York Times, published articles detailing the court rulings, and some Republicans as well as Democrats took to social media to say Trump was in effect threatening to punish dissent despite constitutional protections.

Trump supporters also took to social media, pointing out that many politicians, including Trump's Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, had proposed making flag-burning illegal.

Clinton, while a U.S. senator, co-sponsored a 2005 bill that would have made it a crime to incite violence by burning a flag, threaten another person with a burning flag or destroy or damage a flag belonging to someone else. The measure failed.

Tuesday's protest in New York involved seven members of the Revolutionary Communist Party, a group that is not affiliated with the Communist Party of the United States, and whose members participated in flag-burning at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

Royal Bank of Scotland fails stress test: Bank of England (BoE)

30 November 2016 - 09H25 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Selina O'Grady and Biodun Iginla, France24, Financial News Analysts, London

LONDON -

The Royal Bank of Scotland is the worst prepared among Britain's lenders for another financial crisis, the Bank of England said Wednesday, forcing the state-rescued lender into a new capital-raising plan.

The BoE, revealing its latest stress tests on Britain's top seven banks, added that two -- Barclays and Standard Chartered -- also missed key hurdles but had taken steps to strengthen their capital positions.

The stress tests, designed to see if the sector can weather a global recession and crashing house prices, found that four out of the seven top banks did not have capital inadequacies based on their balance sheets at the end of 2015.

The four comprised HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society and Santander UK.

"The bank?s 2016 stress test comprised a severe, synchronised UK and global recession with associated shocks to financial market prices. It also incorporated a misconduct cost stress," the BoE's Financial Policy Committee said in a report.

The FPC added that, in light of the tests and action agreed by RBS, "the UK banking system is in aggregate capitalised to support the real economy in this scenario".

Royal Bank of Scotland is still 73-percent government owned after receiving an enormous bailout at the height of the global financial crisis.

"RBS has agreed a revised capital plan ... to improve its stress resilience in light of the various challenges and uncertainties facing both the bank and the wider economy highlighted by the concurrent stress testing process," the group said Wednesday.

The latest BoE assessments were designed before Britain's shock referendum decision on June 23 to exit the European Union.

The BoE warned Wednesday that Brexit would continue to cast a shadow over the economy.

"The outlook for UK financial stability remains challenging," it added.

"The UK economy has entered a period of adjustment following the EU referendum. The likelihood that some UK-specific risks to financial stability could materialise remains elevated."

The outlook for Britain's financial stability was dependent on an orderly exit from the EU, it cautioned.

"It will take time to clarify the United Kingdom?s new relationships with the European Union and the rest of the world as well as for the UK economy to adjust to these changes.

"The nature of, and path to, these new relationships will be the subject of forthcoming negotiations between the UK Government and the European Union.

"The orderliness of the adjustment will influence the risk to financial stability."

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Donald Trump’s tech troubles

by Tamara Kachelmeier and Biodun Iginla, Technology News Analysts, The Economist Intelligence Unit, San Francisco/New York

AMERICA’S technology sector celebrated when Barack Obama was first elected president in 2008. Mr Obama, who made savvy use of the internet during his campaign, brought a detailed technology agenda to the White House. He earned the support of industry heavyweights like Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, and Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder, and promised to appoint the country’s first chief technology officer.

Silicon Valley’s relationship with president-elect Donald Trump is a good deal less cosy. Mr Trump, who is said not to use a personal computer, has railed against giants like Amazon and Apple, and has promised to cut the country’s H-1B visa programme, a source of skilled workers for the sector. He has criticised the “terrible” National Institutes of Health, America’s largest science-funding agency, and is expected to cut research funding for NASA. More than 100 tech founders and investors signed an open letter in July denouncing the future president as a “disaster for innovation”.

Mr Trump’s testy relationship with the tech industry reflects a growing divide between the Republican Party and America’s most advanced industries. In counties that favoured Democratic presidential candidates between 2000 and 2016, employment in high-tech industries grew by over 35%. In Republican-leaning counties, such employment actually fell by 37%. Today, there are more than three times as many high-tech industry workers in places that voted for Hillary Clinton as there are in those that favoured Mr Trump.

The uneven distribution of tech talent can be explained in part by job growth in historically liberal places like San Francisco and Seattle. However, changing voting patterns in formerly conservative places like Houston, Dallas, and Fairfax County, Virginia account for most of the shift. In 2000, 36 of the 100 counties with the highest number of tech industry workers voted for the Republican Party. By 2016, this figure had fallen to just 19. If Mr Trump’s proposals are implemented that number is likely to fall even further.

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Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

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