Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 12 February 2017
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
Women Worldwide Will Strike Against Trump on March 8 (truth dig) On March 8, women worldwide will reaffirm the power of the women’s marches of Jan. 21 by striking to mobilize populations against President Trump, his antisocial policies and the “ongoing neoliberal attack on social provision and labor rights“. On Monday, The Guardian published a call for women everywhere to participate in a strike led by “feminist groups from around 30 countries“. The authors of the call are academics and activists Linda Mart’n Alcoff, Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, Nancy Fraser, Barbara Ransby, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Rasmea Yousef Odeh and Angela Davis.
World’s Muslim population more widespread than you might think (Pew Research Center) As of 2010, there were an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, making Islam the world’s second-largest religious tradition after Christianity. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries around the world. The country with the largest number (about 209 million) is Indonesia, where 87.2% of the population identifies as Muslim. India has the world’s second-largest Muslim population in raw numbers (roughly 176 million), though Muslims make up just 14.4% of India’s total population.
U.S.
In Trump travel ban fight, Justice Kennedy’s 2015 opinion looms large (Reuters) Justice Anthony Kennedy’s legal reasoning in a 2015 immigration case suggests the U.S. Supreme Court’s frequent swing vote would be skeptical of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The little-noticed case involved an Afghan-born naturalized U.S. citizen named Fauzia Din who argued she had the right for a full explanation from the U.S. government as to why her Afghan husband was denied entry. The justices ruled 5-4 against her. Kennedy wrote in a concurring opinion that in some circumstances the U.S. government’s motives in denying someone entry could be subject to legal review. In their lawsuit challenging Trump’s Jan. 27 ban, the states of Washington and Minnesota cited Kennedy’s opinion. Lower courts have temporarily blocked the ban, but the administration may ask the Supreme Court to revive it.
Army veterans return to Standing Rock to form a human shield against police (The Guardian) A growing group of military veterans are willing to put their bodies between Native American activists and the police trying to remove them. US veterans are returning to Standing Rock and pledging to shield indigenous activists from attacks by a militarized police force, another sign that the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline is far from over.
Revealed: FBI terrorism taskforce investigating Standing Rock activists (The Guardian) The FBI is investigating political activists campaigning against the Dakota Access pipeline, diverting agents charged with preventing terrorist attacks to instead focus their attention on indigenous activists and environmentalists. The Guardian has established that multiple officers within the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforce have attempted to contact at least three people tied to the Standing Rock “water protector” movement in North Dakota. The purpose of the officers’ inquiries into Standing Rock, and scope of the task force’s work, remains unknown. Agency officials declined to comment. But the fact that the officers have even tried to communicate with activists is alarming to free-speech experts who argue that anti-terrorism agents have no business scrutinizing protesters.
Hundreds of immigrants arrested in ‘routine’ U.S. enforcement surge (Reuters) U.S. federal immigration agents arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least four states this week in what officials on Friday called routine enforcement actions. Reports of immigration sweeps this week sparked concern among immigration advocates and families, coming on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order barring refugees and immigrants from seven majority-Muslim nations. That order is currently on hold.
UK
Goldman Plans to Move London Hedge-Fund Operations to New York (Bloomberg) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is moving its London hedge-fund operations to New York following the retirement of its regional head, Nick Advani. This is apparently not related to Brexit. The move may affect eight people working at the GSIP fund, which manages about $3.5 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss it. Raluca Ragab, a managing director who has been running the London team since Advani’s departure, decided to leave the firm and not relocate to New York, one of the people said.
Germany
Germany Picks Anti-Trump President as Trans-Atlantic Bonds Fray (Bloomberg) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the former German foreign minister who was a vocal critic of Donald Trump during the U.S. election, is poised to become the country’s 12th postwar president. The Social Democrat who served two stints as foreign minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel emerged as her governing coalition’s candidate last November as the parties sought to avoid a political spat over the appointment in an election year. With the support of Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc and the Social Democrats in a special assembly on Sunday, Steinmeier is all but assured victory to the mostly ceremonial post.
Japan
Trump says U.S. committed to Japan security, in change from campaign rhetoric (Reuters) With a hug and a handshake, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened a new chapter in U.S.-Japan relations on Friday with Trump abruptly setting aside campaign pledges to force Tokyo to pay more for U.S. defense aid. The two leaders appeared to have established a quick friendship during a day of talks at the White House and a flight together aboard Air Force One to Florida for a weekend of golf. At a joint news conference with Abe, Trump avoided repeating harsh campaign rhetoric that accused Japan of taking advantage of U.S. security aid and stealing American jobs. It was a welcome affirmation for Japan in the face of challenges such as China’s maritime expansion and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.
North Korea
Abe, Trump Show Unity in Condemning North Korea Missile Test (Bloomberg) North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into nearby seas on Sunday, drawing a joint rebuke from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump. Abe, speaking at a briefing with Trump in Florida, said the missile test “can absolutely not be tolerated” and called on North Korea to fully comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions. The launch was the first provocation by North Korea since Trump took office.
China
China Said to Assess Impact of Possible Punitive U.S. Tariffs (Bloomberg) China is asking companies this month to estimate the highest duties they can bear, according to people familiar with the matter, as the nation prepares for possible punitive U.S. tariffs. Government departments are also asking Chinese companies that have large trade volumes with the U.S. to evaluate the impact should the U.S. label the nation a currency manipulator. The world’s largest trading nation is bracing for tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump after he accused China of unfair trade practices throughout his campaign and threatened a range of punitive actions. Trump is assembling a cabinet that China’s state-run Global Times newspaper said would form an “iron curtain” of protectionism.
