Early Headlines: Kurds Say they Seek Truce, Democracy in Europe, Slave Labor in SE Asia Fisheries, TPP Talks Fail, How Germany Prevailed and More

Early Bird Headlines 02 August 2015

Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Global

• Japan’s Amari: TPP member nations clash over intellectual property issue (Reuters) The TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) talks failed to conclude as planned. Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Friday that each of the 14 nations’ interests clashed over an intellectual property issue. He indicated in an individual news conference (separate from from the official one) after the talks ended that the ministers agreed to continue to make efforts to reach an early agreement. See also next article – intellectual property rights is not the only issue. See also second next article.
  
• Talks for Pacific Trade Deal Stumble (The New York Times) Trade negotiators from the United States and 11 other Pacific nations failed to reach final agreement on Friday, with difficult talks on the largest regional trade agreement ever deadlocking over protections for drug companies and access to agriculture markets on both sides of the Pacific. There seem to be more specific issues unresolved than just “intellectual property rights” (although that might involve drug companies) which were specified in the preceding article.
• UPDATE 10-Pacific Rim free trade talks fall short of deal (Reuters) This article mentions that auto trade disagreements between Japan and North America were another cause of breakdown for the TPP talks (in addition to those mentioned in the two preceding articles).
  
• Hunt is on for 33 slave ships off coast of Papua New Guinea (The Guardian) Immigration officials seek trawler fleet crewed by 1,000 trafficked Burmese men that is thought likely to be supplying the UK with seafood. This use of slave labor is done by a massive Thai-run criminal syndicate operating throughout the East Indies. Other extensive fishing operations with slaves are reported to also be underway currently.
• Sad About Cecil? These African Animals are Slaughterd by the Thousands (The Daily Beast) Trophy hunters are far from the biggest problem for the decimation of African wildlife.
  

U.S.

• Officer in Sandra Bland arrest warned of ‘unprofessional conduct’ in 2014 (The Guardian) Texas officials say that Trooper Brian Encinia violated internal policies during the routine traffic stop of Sandra Bland, who died (an apparent suicide) three days later while still in police custody. It has also been revealed that Encinia was given written counseling regarding “unprofessional conduct” while a probationary trooper in 2014.
• ‘A tinderbox’: Firefighter dies as thousands battle California wildfires (CNN) Hat tip to Alun Hill. A firefighter battling one of the large wildfires burning in California died in the line of duty this week. David Ruhl of Rapid City, South Dakota, lost his life fighting the Frog Fire in far northern California’s Modoc National Forest, near Adin. Rescuers found his body Friday morning after searching for him through the night, the Forest Service said. He is survived by a wife and two children.

EU

• A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of democracy (John Weeks, Open Democracy) JW has contributed to GEI. He says that since Greek voters rejected Troika rule by a landslide, the Hellenic citizenry presents a threat far greater than the government it elected. It must be punished.
  

UK

• Bin Laden plane crash: jet went down in near perfect conditions (The Guardian) Questions raised over why state-of-the-art jet carrying three relatives of Osama Bin Laden came down at end of long runway at Blackbushe airport which the aircraft had used without incident frequently. The victims are reportedly Osama’s mother, his half-sister and her husband, in addition to the pilot.

Germany

• How Germany Prevailed in the Greek Bailout (The New York Times) At the height of crucial negotiations over the latest bailout of Greece this month, Germany circulated a proposal originated by Slovenia that undercut decades of promises about the march toward deeper European unity: Greece, it said, could be offered a temporary exit from the euro. That galvanized the political ideologues controlling the Eurozone:

From Lisbon to Latvia, from creditor countries to debtors, among some left-wing leaders as well as conservative governments, the response to Greece reflected a deep aversion to government spending as a tool to fight economic slumps and faith in deregulated labor markets. It is a vision of austere, market-based policies that are a break with Europe’s past.

Palestine

• Hamas puts on new face with English website launch (Al Monitor) The Palestinian organization is trying to get its message heard in the West. Now if it could only amend its pesky charter that calls for the destruction of Israel.

Iraq

• Iraq’s Kurds Want A Ceasefire Between Turkey And The PKK (The Huffington Post) Iraq’s embattled Kurds feel trapped by the resurgent conflict between Turkey and the militant Kurdish PKK movement and would like to see both sides return to the negotiating table, Iraqi Kurdistan’s foreign minister told reporters in Washington Friday. Econintersect: The latest flare-up seems to have been initiated by PKK members who attacked Turkish military. How can the Kurds negotiate if they cannot control the PKK?

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