INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE FOR NEWS & VIEWS TO BRIDGE THE GLOBAL DIVIDE

November 2017 voLUme 10 No 11 PrICe 2.00 , $3.00, 2.30

Threat of separatism

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Africa News Agency

Reporting African Affairs 10 Beaufort Court

and Events to the World Admirals Way

Marsh Wall
www.africanewsagency.co.uk London E14 9XL
www.africanewsagency.net United Kingdom
www.africanewsagency.info tel: + 44 20 7987 9588
www.africanewsagency.org email: info@africanewsagency.co.uk fax: + 44 20 7987 9923

northsouth
Group Publisher
The Lord Newall, DL
Editor-in-Chief
Ali Bahaijoub
Africa Editor
Franklin Adesegha
World Affairs & Book Review Editor
Guy Arnold
Business Editor
Alan Brown
Europe Editor
Reiner Gatterman
Asia Editor
Sam Standing
Travel & Tourism Editor
Michael Barnard
Art & Entertainment Editor
Saskia Willis
North America Editor
Jem Sturgess
MIDDLE EAST Correspendent
Fay Ferguson
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Associate Editor
Michael Knipe
Marketing & Advertising
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1
editorial
Separatism often refers to full
political secession or independence,
though separatist movements may
seek nothing more than greater
autonomy or to be recognized as
a national minority. The political,
social, economic, and strategic
implications of the contemporary
evolving trend of separatism in
the name of self-determination
is an emerging security concern
nationally, regionally, and globally.
The question is whether ethnic,
racial, religious, and national
movements seeking to establish
distinct independent entities
within their own homelands by
various means will be forces for
stability or chaos?
As debt-burdened European
governments struggle to overcome
the disparities in their still-
imperfect union, old demons of
regional separatism have emerged
in recent months, raising another
unwelcome challenge to the
continents traditional nation-
states.
Separatist movements have
dramatically reinforced their
positions in Spain with the
Catalonia region and Belgiums
prosperous Flanders region.
Independence-minded nationalists
also have made gains in Spains
Basque Country, returning to power
in the regional government after a
four-year pause, and in Catalonia,
where separatists running the
regional government have held a
referendum on whether to remain
part of Spain or not despite the
move being illegal according to the
Spanish constitution. In Scotland,
Kingdom for 300 years, such a
referendum was held in 2015 and
the Scoits voted to remain part of
the Kingdom.
In the French island of Corsica,
Mafia-style crime has eclipsed
the nationalist movement, and
in industrialized northern Italy,
where scandal has set back the
Northern League, it was forced to
temper its complaints about paying
high taxes to compensate for lazy
and larcenous Sicilians.
The nations of Europe seem to
have such a timeless history, under
different regimes that no one would
think of pulling out of the country
in favour of regional separatism.
But struggles for regional cultural
and political independence the
Basque ETA set off bombs for
decades have long burned under
the surface, a permanent part of
the European landscape.
In the Balkans, the death of
Marshal Tito set off bloody regional
wars in the 1990s that resulted in
the breakup of Yugoslavia into half
a dozen new states. Czechoslovakia
also spilt after the fall of the
Soviet Union, but peacefully, into
the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Western Europes recently
successful separatist leaders have
shown no clear inclination for
such violence, although some have
suggested they could be tempted to
violate constitutional law if their
demands are not met. But even if
the separatists remain peaceful, the
resurgence of regional nationalists
has created another debilitating
struggle for leaders already trying
to hold together a European
Union undermined by debts and
divergent economies. One wonders
whether we might see some revival
of some secessionist movements
in Europe due to the situation in
Catalonia or it is simply an isolated
case. A major task therefore is to
identify warning signals as well as
to propose remedies for peaceful
conflict resolutions within and
among nations.
 Ali Bahaijoub, Editor
 contents
50
46
02 Editorial
03 News and Briefs
13 Over the Top
Cover story
16 Separatism in Europe
18 Map shows how patchwork
continent would look if
every separatist movement
got their wish
20 Catalonia declares
independence, Madrid
imposes direct rule
21 What led up to Catalonias
independence vote?
23 Catalan elections on
December 21
23 Catalonia in numbers
24 Independence movements
in Western Europe
26 Separatist movements
in Europe
28 Active separatist
movements in Asia
30 Separatist movements in the
Middle East and Africa
features
34 Trumps war against the media
35 Kenya election re-
run incomplete and
news & views to bridge the global divide
52
39 57
uncertainty looms 53 Environment
36 The twists and turns along
chinas belt and road
38 Trumps risky Iran 54 Innovations
nuclear deal
39 Time to reset African
Union-EU relations 55 Business Briefs
40 Will Hamas Fatah
truce survive
42 U
 kraines diplomatic 65 Arts & Entertainment
battlefronts:
US weapons and UN
peacekeepers 67 Travel & Tourism
45 C hinas Xi lays out
vision for new era
69 Science News
46 A
 frican protests over the
CFA colonial currency
48 C olombias armed groups 71 Motoring
battle for the spoils of peace
49 S mugglers holding
refugees and migrants in 73 Book Reviews
deplorable conditions
49 S mugglers holding
refugees and migrants in 74 ICT
deplorable conditions
50 A
 ngolas new President
showing his hand 79 Sports
51 S audi crown prince
pledges moderate Islam
52 A
 Permanent War Zone 81 Life & Style
northsouth November 2017 2
 news
Study links pollution to
millions of deaths worldwide
Pollution is killing millions of people
worldwide, mostly through the
diseases it causes including heart
conditions, strokes and lung cancer,
according to a large international
study.
Almost all pollution-related deaths
- around 92 per cent - are in poor
or middle-income countries, the
research found. And in rapidly
industrializing countries such as
India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh,
Madagascar, pollution is linked
to as many as a quarter of all
fatalities. Pollution is much more
than an environmental challenge
it is a profound and pervasive
threat that affects many aspects
of human health and wellbeing,
said Philip Landrigan, a professor
at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai in the United States
who co-led the study.
Poll finds that 60% of Britons
want to keep their EU citizenship
Six out of 10 Britons want to
keep their European Union (EU)
citizenship after Brexit including
the rights to live, work, study and
travel in the EU and many would
be prepared to pay large sums to do
so, according to research led by the
London School of Economics.
Support for retaining the rights
is particularly strong among 18-
to 24-year-olds, 85% of whom want
to retain their EU citizenship in
addition to their British citizenship.
Around 80% of people living in
London also want to maintain the
3 November 2017 northsouth
&brefs
The study found pollution was
linked to around nine million deaths
in 2015.
Dirty air - caused by everything
from transport and industry to indoor
fires - was the biggest contributor
linked to 6.5 million deaths, it said.
The next biggest was polluted
water that spread gastrointestinal
diseases and parasitic infections and
killed 1.8 million people.
The greatest numbers of deaths
linked to pollution in that year were
in India with 2.5 million, and China
with 1.8 million.
The research, conducted by about
40 international scientists, used
data from the Global Burden of
Disease study from the Institute
for Health Metrics and Evaluation
at the University of Washington.
It was published in The Lancet
medical journal.
same rights.
The findings come as pressure
on the British Prime Minister
Theresa May mounts from British
business groups, led by the CBI and
Remain politicians in both houses
of parliament, as well as cultural
figures from across Europe, to pull
back from her plans for a hard
Brexit in favour of a deal that
maintains the strongest possible
trade and other links with the EU
after the United Kingdom (UK)
leaves in 2019.
The LSE/Opinium team found
Floods and landslides
kill over 800 across
South Asia
Widespread floods have killed more
than 800 people and displaced
over a million in India, Nepal and
Bangladesh, with aid workers
warning of severe food shortages
and water-borne diseases as rains
continue to lash the affected areas.
Seasonal monsoon rains, a lifeline
for farmers across South Asia,
typically cause loss of life and
property every year between July
and September, but officials say
this years flooding is the worst in
several years. At least 115 people
have died and more than 5.7
million are affected in Bangladesh
as floods submerged more than a
third of the low-lying and densely
populated country
With some rivers running above
danger levels, 225 bridges have
been damaged in Bangladesh,
disrupting food and medicine
supplies to people displaced from
their homes, said aid workers.
In the Indian state of Assam
bordering Bangladesh, at least
180 people have been killed in the
past few weeks.
that 73% of voters would like either
to protect or extend the rights that
current citizens from other EU
countries have to vote in the UK;
48% wanted to see the right to vote
extended from local elections to
general elections, while 25% wished
to keep the status quo. Only 10%
supported the governments position
of withdrawing EU citizens right to
vote in local elections.

My country first threatens global goals - report
Nationalism, protectionism and
attitudes of my country first pose
threats to the United Nations global
goals, according to a report that
showed the United States, Russia
and China lagging in efforts to meet
the ambitious agenda for 2030.
Scandinavian countries are leading
the way among 157 nations ranked
by the Sustainable Development
Solutions Network (SDSN) and
Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German
social responsibility foundation.
But income inequality, high
consumption levels and carbon
emissions put the United States at No.
42 in the list while Russia was ranked
62nd and China 71st.
The Sustainable Development Goals,
or SDGs, were approved in September
2015 by the 193 UN members as a
roadmap to tackle the worlds most
18th century maps reveal extensive losses to reefs
It appears that declines of coral
reefs have been going on longer
than we thought. Recent research
using old navigation maps from the
late 1700s showed that coral reefs
troubling problems by 2030. The
17 goals, and their accompanying
169 targets, range from halting
deforestation to raising living
standards, reducing child mortality
and promoting global peace. The cost
of their enactment has been estimated
at $3 trillion a year. The SDSN, a U.N.-
connected group that promotes the
SDGs, said the worlds most powerful
nations are failing to lead the way. A
rising my country first approach by
many heads of government threatens
the realization of the SDGs, it said in
a statement released with the report.
Not only does a rising trend of
nationalism and protectionism impede
the implementation of the goals, but
as the report shows, industrialized
countries are not serving as role
models, it said. Many of the richest
countries in the world are nowhere
in the Florida Keys were much
more extensive than previously
believed, with the new estimates
suggesting a ~50% reduction
of total coral reef area (being
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
near achieving the global policy
objectives.
Using extensive data and
information submitted by nations,
the report noted so-called spillovers
have a major impact on measuring
progress among nations.
For example pollution caused in
one nation can harm water quality
in another or weapons production in
one nation affects peace and security
elsewhere. At the top of the list were
Sweden, Denmark, Finland and
Norway, with Germany and France
also in the top ten. Britain was 16th
and Canada 17th. At the bottom were
Central African Republic, Chad and
the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
along with a cluster of developing
nations plagued by food insecurity,
extreme poverty, lack of education
and violent conflict.
converted to seagrass beds) since
this time. It seems Caribbean
coral have had it bad for much
longer that we had previously
thought.
November2017 4
 news
&brefs
Global Hunger Index spotlights
uneven progress in reducing hunger
The 2017 Global Hunger Index
(GHI) shows long-term progress
in reducing hunger in the world.
The advances have been uneven,
however, with millions of people
still experiencing chronic hunger
and many places suffering acute
food crises and even famine.
815 million people worldwide
still go hungry that is 1 in 9 people
of our planet.
Global hunger levels have fallen
more than a quarter since 2000, but
more recent rising hunger scores
of several countries in the 2017
Global Hunger Index underline
how uneven this progress has
been and how precarious it is
to maintain. Famine has cast a
shadow over four countries in
the past year while conflict and
climate change continue to hit the
poorest the hardest. The Global
Cities must lead the clean energy drive
Cities must lead access to clean,
affordable and uninterrupted
energy since urban growth and
living standards intensify per capita
energy use in developing countries,
says a new report by the World
Resource Institute (WRI).
The report highlights fundamental
energy challenges facing cities in
the global South. It also noted that
poor urban households often spend
14 22 per cent of their incomes on
energy.
The studys lead author, Michael
Westphal of WRIs Ross Centre for
Sustainable Cities, says that cities
can implement three practical
solutions to meet the needs of
the urban under-served while
charting development models that
slow carbon emissions shift
5 November 2017 northsouth
Hunger Index this year indicates
that beyond these acute crises, long
term obstacles to reducing hunger
in several countries may also be
threatening efforts to reach zero
hunger.
Nowhere is this more evident
than in Africa south of the Sahara,
where revised data place the Central
African Republic in the extremely
alarming, category the first time
a developing country has fallen into
the reports highest category since
the 2014 report. The country has the
same score today as it did in 2000,
suggesting any progress made in
recent years has been subsequently
reversed. Several other countries
including Sri Lanka, Mauritania,
and Venezuela also have higher
GHI scores in 2017 than in 2008,
after witnessing falling scores in
the previous two decades.
to cleaner cooking fuels such as
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),
install renewable energy systems
like solar panels and introduce
building energy efficiency codes
and appliance standards.
Cities, such as Cape Town (South
Africa) and Bangalore (India), have
enacted net metering where solar
panel owners can sell excess power
back to the grid.
The report points to barriers
including institutional capacity,
finance and policy to energy
security in developing countries.
The study calculates that the power
generated by tripling the current
installed capacity of solar panels
across 60 countries would reduce
annual carbon dioxide emissions by
108 million metric tonnes.
620,000 Rohingya
fled persecution in
Myanmar
The humanitarian crisis caused by
escalating violence in Myanmars
Rakhine State is causing suffering
on a catastrophic scale. As of 15
October, some 582,000 Rohingya
refugees had fled across the border
from Myanmar to Bangladesh
since 25 August. Thousands more
reportedly remain stranded and
in peril in Myanmar without the
means to cross the border into
Bangladesh. Refugees arriving in
Bangladeshmostly women and
childrenare traumatized, and
some have arrived with injuries
caused by gunshots, shrapnel,
fire and landmines. Humanitarian
partners continue to scale
up operations, but additional
resources are urgently needed.
$434.1 million are urgently
needed to remedy the situation
but only $116.4 million have been
collected so far.
A ministerial-level pledging
conference is being help in
Geneva on 23 October. Co-hosted
by the European Union and the
Government of Kuwait, and co-
organized by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the International
Organization for Migration (IOM)
and OCHA, it aims to raise the
necessary resources to enable
the humanitarian community to
meet the most urgent needs of
Rohingya refugees who sought
shelter and safety in Bangladesh.

Youth obesity increases
10-fold in four decades
The number of obese children and
adolescents aged five to 19 years
worldwide has risen tenfold in the
past four decades, and if current
trends continue, there will be more
obese children and adolescents
than those moderately or severely
underweight by 2022, a United
Nations-backed study shows.
These data highlight, remind
and reinforce that overweight and
obesity is a global health crisis
today, and threatens to worsen
in coming years unless we start
taking drastic action, said Fiona
Bull, programme coordinator for
surveillance and population-based
prevention of noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs) at the World
Health Organization (WHO).
The study led by Imperial College
London and WHO was published
in The Lancet, ahead of World
Obesity Day. It looked at body
mass index (BMI) from weight and
height measurements of nearly
130 million people, including 31.5
million youth aged five to 19.
Obesity rates in the worlds
children and adolescents increased
from less than 1 per cent
equivalent to five million girls
and six million boys in 1975 to
nearly 6 per cent, or 50 million
news & views to bridge the global divide
girls, and nearly 8 per cent, or 74
million boys, in 2016.
Combined, the number of obese
five to 19 year olds rose more than
tenfold globally, from 11 million
in 1975 to 124 million in 2016.
An additional 213 million were
overweight in 2016 but fell below
the threshold for obesity.
These worrying trends reflect
the impact of food marketing
and policies across the globe,
with healthy nutritious foods too
expensive for poor families and
communities, said lead author
Majid Ezzati, a professor at
Imperials School of Public Health.
He said that the trend predicts
a generation of children and
adolescents growing up obese
and at greater risk of diseases,
like diabetes, stressing the need
to make healthy, nutritious
food more available at home and
school, especially in poor families
and communities, as well as the
need for regulations and taxes to
protect children from unhealthy
foods.
The authors say that if post-
2000 trends continue, global levels
of child and adolescent obesity
will surpass those for moderately
and severely underweight
youth from the same age group
by 2022. In 2016, the global
number of moderately or severely
underweight girls and boys
was 75 million and 117 million
respectively.
In conjunction with the study,
WHO is publishing a summary
of the plan that gives countries
clear guidance on effective actions
to curb childhood and adolescent
obesity. WHO has also released
guidelines calling on frontline
healthcare workers to actively
identify and manage children who
are overweight or obese.
northsouth
20.7 million in need
of humanitarian
assistance in Yemen
Due to the conflict, Yemeni
populations are faced with harsh
living conditions. According to
the updated Humanitarian Needs
Overview (HNO), the number of
people in need of humanitarian
assistance has increased from
18.8 million to 20.7 million since
January. The conflict has had acute
consequences on the health system
insofar as easily treatable diseases
can become a death sentence.
In October 2016, the Yemens
Ministry of Public Health and
Population (MoPHP) confirmed
a cholera outbreak in Amanat al
Asimah Governorate. According
to the World Health Organisation,
from 27 April to 29 July 2017,
425.192 suspected cholera cases
and 1.895 deaths would have been
reported in almost all of Yemens
governorates.
3.11 million Yemenis have been
displaced and 15.7 million people
are without access to water and
sanitation.
Time to cut
circulation of
magazine
When it comes to the beleaguered
print magazine business, the
American amagzine Time is betting
less is more. The publisher is
cutting back on the circulation and
frequency of some of its biggest
titles, part of a far- reaching
restructuring meant to ensure the
November2017 6
 news
&brefs
New map records sites of
Australias colonial massacres
A new map that tracks the massacres
of indigenous Australians by
European settlers over more than 80
years, dating from the 18th century,
could prove to be the countrys most
comprehensive guide to the strife
when it is completed.
The exact number of indigenous
deaths since Australias settlement
has long been debated, but the map
is the first to detail evidence of
more than 150 massacres involving
almost every aboriginal clan
between 1788 and 1872.
That compares with six recorded
massacres of colonists during the
same period.
7 November 2017 northsouth
The map, published by the
University of Newcastles Centre for
the 21st Century, drew on sources
such as settler diaries, newspaper
reports, evidence from Aboriginal
groups and state and federal
archives, Ryan told reporters.
The map was an incredible
historical project that will have
positive repercussions, aboriginal
leader Warren Mundine told
Reuters.
The map showed there had been
very intense periods of violence in
particular regions, added Ryan,
inviting those who had information
on massacres to come forward.
Your mobile phone
10 times dirtier
than a toilet seat
Most people dont give a second
thought to using their cell phone
everywhere, from their morning
commute to the dinner table to the
doctors office. But research shows
that cell phones are far dirtier
than most people think, and the
more germs they collect, the more
germs you touch.
In fact, your own hand is the
biggest culprit when it comes
to putting filth on your phone.
Americans check their phones
about 47 times per day, according
to a survey by Deloitte, which
affords plenty of opportunities
for microorganisms to move from
your fingers to your phone.
Because people are always
carrying their cell phones even
in situations where they would
normally wash their hands before
doing anything, cell phones do
tend to get pretty gross, says
Emily Martin, assistant professor
of epidemiology at the University of
Michigan School of Public Health.
Research has varied on just how
many germs are crawling on the
average cell phone, but a recent
study found more than 17,000
bacterial gene copies on the phones
of high school students. Scientists at
the University of Arizona have found
that cell phones carry 10 times more
bacteria than most toilet seats.
Millions in
cash found in
London house
Rare banknotes, including one with
a face value of 50 million Deutsche
Marks, were found in a house by
police probing a burglary. The
historic notes that include some from
Germanys 1920s hyperinflation
were found in Lewisham, in south-
east London.

Bloomberg and SRMG agree to
launch Bloomberg Al Arabiya
Bloomberg, the global financial
information and news provider,
and the Middle Easts biggest
publishing group, Saudi Research
and Marketing Group (SRMG) have
signed a long-term agreement to
launch Bloomberg Al Arabiya,
a new multi-platform Arabic-
language business and financial
news service.
The publisher of Asharq Al-
Awsat, Arab News and Aleqtisadiah
will produce a 24/7 television and
radio network and dedicated digital
platform, publish Bloomberg
Businessweek magazine in Arabic
and launch a new conference and
live events series.
The Bloomberg Al-Arabiya
platforms will provide Arabic-
speaking audiences around the
world with news and analysis on
the companies, markets, economies
and politics shaping the Middle
East to help audiences within
and interested in the region stay
informed as they make key business
decisions.
The Middle East is an important,
economically diverse region and
our agreement with SRMG allows
us to deliver the sharpest global
business and financial insights
to a critical audience of business
decision makers, said Michael R.
Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg
L.P. and former mayor of New York
City.
We are very pleased with this
promising partnership with
Bloomberg. In addition to the
many business opportunities this
collaboration brings, we believe the
partnership will greatly enhance
the media landscape in our region.
This is an exciting development for
SRMG and a strong progression
in our quest to offer the highest
quality financial and business
journalism from, and about the
Middle East, adds His Highness
news & views to bridge the global divide
21 abandoned
military bases
Prince Bader bin Abdullah Al Saud,
Chairman, SRMG.
around the world
Headquartered in the Gulf, the Military bases are abandoned when
Bloomberg Al Arabiya team will be they no longer serve a purpose a
managed by SRMG with support war might be over, the base might
from Bloomberg, and will draw on have been damaged beyond repair,
Bloombergs extensive financial and or maybe, the base fell into disuse
economic content and data as well and was forgotten. Regardless of
as its 2,700 reporters and analysts the reasons, abandoned military
globally, says Bloomberg. bases are found all over the world.
Our partnership with SRMG Sometimes, these bases are
is a significant milestone in our located on their own island or
regional growth story, building on even in the middle of a bustling
the introduction of an expanded city. There are also bases in the
suite of new media platforms in middle of nowhere and where you
the Middle East last year, said least expect them. While many of
Justin B. Smith, CEO, Bloomberg these bases have been demolished,
Media Group. This agreement is some have taken on new lives
an integral part of our strategy as production centers and re-
of forming partnerships with urbanized by civilian companies.
leading news providers in markets
that have a compelling economic
growth story, as we look to further
expand our localised international
presence.
As one of the biggest media
publishing houses in the Middle
East, this partnership between
SRMG and Bloomberg will see
us expand into the international
television business. With the new
era of business and economic
transformation in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, such a significant
agreement between two leading
brands will pave the way for a multi-
platform ecosystem of specialized
business and financial content of
international standards. This is the
beginning of a new chapter in the
history of media and publishing
in the region, said Dr. Ghassan
Alshibl, Managing Director and
CEO, SRMG.
Bloomberg Editor in Chief John
Micklethwait said: Bloomberg Al
Arabiya will enable us to build on
more than 20 years of newsgathering
across the Arab world to deliver the
best of Bloombergs news, insight
and analysis.
northsouth November2017 8
 news
&brefs
Computer can tell if someone is gay by looking at their photo
A computer programme can tell
with up to 91 per cent accuracy if
someone is gay or not by analysing
a photo, a study claims.
The artificial intelligence system
can detect subtle differences in
facial structure that the human
eye struggles to pick up, the
authors claim.
To train their computer, the
researchers downloaded 130,741
images of 36,630 mens faces,
and 170,360 of 38,593 women
from a US dating website. All
had declared their sexuality on
their profiles. Removing images
that were not clear enough, the
researchers were left with 35,326
pictures of 14,776 men and
WHO reports 25 million unsafe abortions yearly
Nearly half of the estimated 56 million
abortions performed worldwide every
year are unsafe and women in poor
countries face even higher risks
due to U.S. funding cuts to family
planning programs abroad, health
experts said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has
reinstated a policy that requires
foreign NGOs that receive U.S. global
family planning funds to certify that
they do not perform abortions or
provide abortion advice as a method
of family planning.
Worldwide, 25 million unsafe
abortions occurred every year between
2010 and 2014, according to a report
by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the Guttmacher Institute.
Some 97 percent of those are in Africa,
Asia and Latin America.
Nearly half of abortions in
the world are unsafe. And that is
surprising because safe abortion is
a simple intervention, scientifically
speaking, said Dr. Bela Ganatra of
9 November 2017 northsouth
women. Digitally scanning the
contours of the face, cheekbones,
nose and chin, the software made
numerous measurements of the
ratios between different facial
features. It then logged which
ones were more likely to appear
in gay people than those who
were straight. Once the patterns
associated with homosexuality
were learnt, the system was shown
faces it had not processed before.
It was tested with photos of pairs
of men, one gay and one straight.
When shown five photos of each
man, it correctly selected sexuality
91 per cent of the time.
It performed worse with women,
telling gay and straight apart with
WHO departments of reproductive
health and research.
There is an association between
highly restrictive laws and unsafe
abortion, she told a news briefing.
All women and girls need access
to sex education and effective
contraception to avoid unwanted
pregnancies and get safe abortion
services if desired, Ganatra said.
Uruguay, Nepal and Ethiopia
have made safe abortion accessible
in recent years, she added. Ireland
plans to hold a referendum next May
or June on whether it should loosen
some of the worlds strictest abortion
laws, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar
said. Around 88 percent of abortions
occur in developing countries, where
contraception is often lacking, said
Dr. Gilda Sedgh, principal research
scientist at the Guttmacher Institute,
speaking from New York.
Sedgh, asked about the impact of
Trumps executive order, said it bans
U.S. health assistance to foreign
71 per cent accuracy from one
photo and 83 per cent from five. In
both cases the level of performance
outstripped human ability to make
the distinction. Using the same
images human viewers could tell
gay from straight 61 per cent of the
time for men and 54 per cent of the
time for women. The machine could
also guess accurately the sexuality
of people who had not declared their
sexuality on the dating website.
Critics say that in the wrong
hands, it could be used to out men
and women who would prefer to
keep their sexuality confidential.
Researchers Michael Kosinski and
Yilun Wang at Stanford University
NGOs if they provide abortion
services, counseling or referrals,
even if they use non-U.S. funds for
those activities.
Funding cuts to USAID, which is
the channel through which family
planning assistance is provided,
has also been proposed in the U.S.
budget, she said.
We dont have hard evidence yet
of the impact of those policy changes
and proposed budget cuts.
But a more limited so-called gag
rule was imposed by previous
Republican administrations, Sedgh
said. Studies indicated that in sub-
Saharan Africa this had led to an
increase in abortions after clinics
were forced to close.
So looking ahead, we can only
speculate based on the past, that its
possible that this policy will again
compromise womens access to family
planning services and put them at
greater risk of abortion, including
unsafe abortions.

Despite drop in mortality rate, 7000 newborns die daily
More must be done to stop babies
from dying the day they are born,
United Nations agencies said in a new
report, which argued that life-saving
know-how and technologies must be
made readily available particularly
in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa where they are most needed.
Although the number of children
dying before age five is at a new
low 5.6 million in 2016 compared
with nearly 9.9 million in 2000
the proportion of newborn deaths
during that period has jumped from
41 to 46 per cent or 7,000 babies.
This is according to the Levels and
Trends in Child Mortality 2017,
released by the Inter-agency Group
for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME)
comprised of the UN Childrens
Fund (UNICEF), the World Health
Organization (WHO), the World
Bank and the Population Division
in the UN Department for Economic
and Social Affairs. The lives of 50
million children under-five have been
saved since 2000, a testament to the
serious commitment by governments
and development partners to tackle
preventable child deaths, said Stefan
Swartling Peterson, the UN Childrens
Funds (UNICEF) Chief of Health, in a
joint press statement.
But without a greater effort to stop
babies from dying the day they are
born, or days after their birth, this
progress will remain incomplete. We
have the knowledge and technologies
that are required we just need to take
them where they are most needed, he
added.
Current trends suggest that
between 2017 and 2030, 30 million
newborns will die within first 28
days of life. As such, the agencies
stress that measures must be taken to
achieve universal health coverage and
ensure that more newborns survive
and thrive, including by serving
marginalized families.
To prevent illness, families require
financial power, their voices to be
heard and access to quality care, says
Dr. Flavia Bustreo, WHOs Assistant
Director-General for Family, Womens
and Childrens Health. Improving
quality of services and timely care
during and after childbirth must be
prioritized.
Tim Evans, Senior Director of
Health Nutrition and Population
at the World Bank Group said that
it is unconscionable that in 2017,
pregnancy and child birth are still
life-threatening conditions for
women. The best measure of success
for universal health coverage is that
every mother should not only be able
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
to access health care easily, but that it
should be quality, affordable care that
will ensure a healthy and productive
life for her children and family. We
are committed to scaling up our
financing to support country demand
in this area, including through
innovative mechanisms like the
Global Financing Facility, he added,
referring to the principle financing
arm of the UN-backed Every Woman
Every Child initiative.
Despite progress, large disparities
in child survival still exist across
regions and countries especially in
Southern Asia sub-Saharan Africa.
This new report highlights the
remarkable progress since 2000 in
reducing mortality among children
under age five, said UN Under-
Secretary-General for Economic and
Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin.
Yet many deaths at these ages
are easily preventable through
simple, cost-effective interventions
administered before, during and
immediately after birth. Reducing
inequities and reaching the most
vulnerable newborns, children and
mothers are essential for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) target on ending preventable
childhood deaths and for ensuring
that no one will be left behind.
November2017 10
 from North-south Books
WeSTeRN SaHaRa
WeSTeRN SaHaRa cONflicT:

Guy Arnold

Guy Arnold
Guy Arnold is an internationally acclaimed author, a

cONflicT:
journalist and a lecturer in international affairs specialising Encyclopaedia of Africa
in Africa and relations between the developed and the
developing worlds (North and South). After spending
Historical, regional and international
decades in the African continent acquiring a vast experience
on the politics and international relations, he has written Guy Arnold
dimensions
over fifty books on African and international affairs
including Kenyatta and the Politics of Kenya; Modern Nigeria; Modern Kenya; edited by Ali Bahaijoub
Aid in Africa; The last Bunker (South Africa); South Africa: Crossing the
Rubicon; The New South Africa; Historical Dictionary of Civil Wars in Africa;
Africa: a Modern History (19602000); Political and Economic Encyclopaedia of

Encyclopaedia of Africa
Africa; The Maverick State: Gaddafi and the New World Order; Morocco in the
21st Century; Migration: Changing the World; and America and Britain: Was
There Ever A Special Relationship?
He has also written a number of books on the North and South countries,
prominent among them are: The End of the Third World; Wars in the Third
World Since 1945; World Government by Stealth (United Nations);
Mercenaries: The Scourge of the Third World; World strategic Highways;
The international Drugs Trade; Historical Dictionary of the Non-Aligned
movement and the Third World. His most recent book is America and Britain:
Was There Ever A Special Relationship?
This Encyclopaedia is an essential informative reading for those interested in
contemporary African affairs.

Dr Ali Bahaijoub
Dr Ali Bahaijoub is Editor-in-Chief of North-South Publications. A former
ali Bahaijoub

lecturer, writer and journalist, he has written numerous studies and feature
articles on Africa, Europe and the Middle East and comments on various
international issues for the BBC, CNN, France24 and other global networks.

ISBN 978-0-9563070-4-0 ali Bahaijoub

EW
N 9 780956 307040 from North-South
NORTH-SOUTH BOOKS
20.00
Books
25.00
North-South Books
City Business Centre
Unit 17
Lower Road
London SE16 2XB,
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 2072 523000
email:
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to order a copy visit:
www.northsouthpublications.com

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postage included Hardback 20.00*

over
he
t
Caribbean Sea being choked to
death by human waste
A photographer has captured the
damage being done to the planets
oceans with a shocking sea of
plastic and styrofoam image taken
near a tranquil Caribbean island.
Caroline Power, who specialises
in underwater photography, has
dedicated her career to highlighting
the damage plastic waste is doing
to our oceans. She said witnessing
the plastic blanket of forks, bottles
and rubbish between the islands
Roatan and Cayos Cochinos, off the
Robot to perform Buddhist
funeral rites in Japan
A Japanese company has introduced
a new role for SoftBanks humanoid
robot Pepper - a Buddhist priest for
hire at funerals. Chanting sutras in
a computerized voice while tapping
a drum, the robot was on display
at a funeral industry fair - the Life
Ending Industry Expo - in Tokyo.
Nissei Eco Co., an unlisted plastic
molding maker, wrote the chanting
software for Pepper, which was
introduced by SoftBank Group
Corp. (9984.T) in 2014. With Japans
population ageing and shrinking,
many Buddhist priests receive
less financial support from their
coast of Honduras, was
devastating.
To see something
that I care so deeply
for being killed, slowly
choked to death by
human waste was
devastating, she told
The Telegraph.
Once the trash
is in the ocean, it is
incredibly difficult and costly to
remove. The key is to stop the trash
before it enters the ocean.
In order for that to happen, we
need to improve waste management,
environmental education and
recycling facilities on a global scale.
This is a developed nation (first
world) problem as well. The worst
of the rubbish the dive team found
was about 15 miles off the coast of
Roatan heading towards the Cayos
Cochinos Marine Reserve
communities, prompting some to find
part-time work outside their temple
duties, said Michio Inamura, Nisseis
executive adviser. The funeral robot
could step in when a priest was not
available, he said. It also cost less at
50,000 yen (351 pounds) per funeral
compared to more than 240,000
yen ($2,200) for a human priest.
Buddhist priest Tetsugi Matsuo said
he came to the expo to see if Pepper
could impart the heart aspect to a
machine because I believe that the
heart is the foundation of religion.
The robot has not yet been hired for
a funeral.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Teenager begs judges
to send him to prison
A teenager from Scotland has
begged judges to send him to prison
after his parents died within just
12 days of each other. Kyle Kelbie,
19, told magistrates that some time
in jail would help sort his head
out after he admitted burglary.
And he was granted his wish as he
was handed a 12-week sentence.
Blackburn Magistrates Court,
Lancs, heard how the teen had been
drinking heavily following the
deaths of his mum and dad within
two weeks of each other. Prosecutor
Alex Mann, prosecuting, said a
window of a letting agents had
been broken to gain entry and
CCTV showed two males inside the
premise. When questioned by cops,
Kelbie, from Nelson, Lancs, said he
had no recollection of the incident
but admitted that he was filmed
inside the shop.
Dog with
longest tongue
Mochi the St Bernard has smashed
the world record for the dog with
the longest tongue after measuring
7.3in. The animal is on the
inaugural cover of Guinness World
Records: Amazing Animals. Owner
Carla Rickert, of South Dakota, US
said it still doesnt seem real.
November2017 12

Villagers fry up giant python after
security guard attack
An unbelievably huge python
ended up being fried for a village
feast after biting off more than
it could chew when it attacked a
security guard in Indonesia. Robert
Nababan almost lost his arm when
he attempted to catch the 25.6ft
(7.8m) snake after discovering it
on an oil palm plantation in the
Batang Gansal district of Sumatra.
Belgians cook giant omelette amidst egg scare
A Belgian town has honored its
22-year-old tradition of making
a giant omelet amidst an egg
contamination scare, cooking 10,000
eggs in a pan four meters wide.
Members of the worldwide fraternity
of the omelette prepare a traditional
giant omelette made with 10,000
eggs in Malmedy, Belgium
Millions of chicken eggs have been
pulled from European supermarket
14 November 2017 northsouth
Undeterred by its huge size, police
say he tried to capture it and stuff
it into a sack.
However, the snake fought back
and sunk its fangs into his left arm,
nearly severing it from his body.
His life was saved when another
guard and locals intervened, with
one person clubbing the snake
with a log.
shelves as a result of the scare over
the use of the insecticide fipronil,
which is forbidden in the food chain
and can cause organ damage in
humans.
Hundreds of people gathered in
the eastern Belgian city of Malmedy
undeterred by the scare and the
president of the local branch
of the giant omelet fraternity,
Benedicte Mathy, said she was
confident Tuesdays
dish was safe to
eat. Under a timid
Belgian sun and with
music playing they
tucked into the giant
omelet cooked over
an open fire by The
World Fraternity of
Knights of the Giant
Omelette, which was
created in 1973.
Geneva loos
blocked by
100,000 cash
Toilets in Geneva have been blocked
by 100,000 (88,000) in high-
denomination euro banknotes
- prompting prosecutors to seek
the moneys origin. Swiss media
said the first blockage occurred in
the vault at UBS bank in Genevas
financial district. Vincent Derouand,
from the Geneva prosecutors office,
said that throwing money away is not
a crime - and nor is blocking a toilet.
There was no immediate reason to
think it was dirty money, he said. Mr
Derouand explained: We are not so
interested in the motive but we want
to be sure of the origin of the money.
It has reportedly cost many thousands
of pounds to unblock the pipes. It
is unclear who will get the cash -
which was confiscated during the
investigation - if it is found to be lawful.
German beats
own world record
carrying beer mugs
A new world record has been set for
carrying mugs of beer in southeastern
Germany. In Bavaria, home to
Oktoberfest, the worlds biggest beer
festival, Oliver Struempfel cradled
31 beer-filled tankards stacked up in
two tiers, walked 40 meters and then
set them down. But two tipped over
at the last minute, so that the record
is 29 jugs, or more than 69 kg (152
lb) of beer and glass. I first did 27,
because I wanted to be sure and then
at the end I said, Lets add another
one and get over 30, Struempfel said.
Unfortunately it didnt quite work,
but having managed to put 29 down ...
I think its amazing.

Meet the woman with the Man hides
worlds longest fingernails kilo of gold
Ayanna Williams has longer
fingernails than any other woman
on Earth and shes got a Guinness
World Record to prove it.
This Texas woman has been
crowned with the title of the worlds
longest fingernails and in total they
measure more than 18 feet long.
She is a nail artist from Houston,
Texas. Her nails, each of which
is just under two foot long, have
earned her a place in the Guinness
World Records 2018 Edition.
Having spent most of her adult
life growing her nails, more than
23 years, she was first inspired by a
Airport worker swaps
hundreds of luggage tags
A baggage handler has been accused passengers luggage
of sending passengers bags to the
wrong destinations by swapping
luggage tags. Tay Boon Keh has been
charged with 286 counts of causing
mischief for allegedly swapping
tags at Singapore Changi Airport
every day for almost four months.
The 63-year-old intends to plead
guilty, the Straits Times newspaper
reported. He has not explained the
motive for his alleged actions.
He is believed to have swapped
news & views to bridge the global divide
friend and plans to continue growing
them. She also revealed that the most
challenging thing about having
extremely long fingernails, which
can take up to one week to paint, is
pulling up her trousers.
While she is constantly getting lots
of attention for her nails, and knows
she is rather unique, her friends
and family think its quite normal.
In order to take care of her nails,
Ayanna uses anti-bacterial soap and
a nail brush to clean them daily.
And to help them grow, she
regularly applies hardener and a
thin layer of acrylic.
Beiber unveils
tags almost
every day between November and
February, affecting passengers
bound for cities including London,
San Francisco, Frankfurt, Perth
and Manila. The airport handles
70,000 bags a day, according to its
website, and flew nearly 59 million
passengers to 380 destinations
in 2016. Tay could face a year in
jail and a substantial fine if he is
convicted.
northsouth
in rectum
A man has been arrested by Sri
Lankan customs authorities
after being spotted attempting to
smuggle, with difficulty, close to
a kilo of gold hidden in his rectum.
The 45-year-old India-bound
passenger was seen behaving
suspiciously in the departure
lounge of Colombo airport,
spokesman Sunil Jayaratne said.
He was called for a thorough
screening after customs officers
noticed him walking with
difficulty and appearing to be in
pain, Mr Jayaratne said. A close
examination revealed the man
was hiding 904 grams of gold
wrapped in black plastic sheets,
including seven yellow biscuits
and six chains, he said. The haul
was worth more than 22,000. Mr
Jayaratne said the contraband was
seized and the man fined 100,000
rupees - just over 1,000. The
suspect was described as a courier
for an organised smuggling ring.
torso tattoo
Justin Beiber is notoriously a big
fan of body art, and is reported to
have over 60 tattoos already. Now,
along with the treble clef behind
his ear, the psalm on his back and
a full sleeve on his left arm, Justin
has added an inking that covers
his entire midsection. According
to Vulture, the extensive tattoo
took well over 20 hours to
complete thats 20 hours of pure
pain. Reactions to the 23-year-olds
latest addition have been mixed,
with some really not digging what
Justin has done. Why do u have
to paint your stomach ugh, said
one user, whilst another added:
Honey whyd u ruin your body
with so much tattoos. But to be
honest, most were just happy to
see Justin topless again.
November2017 15
 cover story
Separatism in Europe
P eople rarely understand
just how difficult it is for a
territory to secede unilaterally.
While states are understandably
extremely reluctant to let parts
of their territory break away, the
international community is not
keen on recognising states created
in this way.
This is a stark reminder of
the colonial era that had left a
bitter taste and a bruising mark
on many former colonies when
independence was granted willy-
nilly to any group that would
safeguard colonial interests.
If Catalonia a wealthy and
populous territory with a high
degree of autonomy in a Western
democratic state faces such
problems, then other places have
little hope if pro-independence
protesters had their way.
If Catalonia manages to succeed
and become independent, this
would become a rallying point for
other secessionist groups not only
in Europe but beyond which is
precisely why many other states
will be watching developments with
trepidation and concern and the
whole of Europe will be supporting
the Madrid governments position.
It is not always easy to determine
whether movements are indeed
pursuing independent statehood or
whether they are actually striving
for more autonomy rights.
In Spain, special autonomy
rights were granted to the Basque
Country and Galicia in 1978 after
the end of the Franco regime.
Subsequently, Catalan regionalism
increasingly came into conflict
16 November 2017 northsouth
with Spanish nationalism. The key
question that emerged was whether
Spain was a multinational state or,
as stated in the constitution, a na
tional state. In 2005, a new statute
on autonomy came up for a vote. It
referred to Catalonia as a nation,
designated Catalan the preferred
language, and allocated certain
judiciary and fiscal competences
to the region. It was accepted by
a large majority in Catalonia, but
declared unconstitutional in 2010
by the Spanish Constitutional
Court. This decision triggered
a wave of public outrage and
mobilised the masses to take to the
streets.
Consequently, Catalonias
referendum vote on 1 October
2017 was marred with violence
as the Spanish government called
it unconstitutional and illegal.
However, the violence used by
police in Barcelona on the day
of the referendum proved to be
disproportionate and only led to
greater anger and resentment.
This is where Serbia made its
big mistake with Kosovo. Madrid
would be wise to heed that
particular lesson.
In mature democracies like the
United Kingdom, people have
ultimately demanded greater
power be devolved to themselves
and natural progression led to
the implementation of devolutions
in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
Unification is the way forward
not so called Independence partly
because all the worlds superpowers
throughout history have been
vast places unifying rather than
splitting. The United States of
America was once 13 separate
colonies not only did they come
together to form the present USA
but more places were later added
to become 50 states. The worlds
emerging super powers today are
vast places getting bigger namely
China which, since the late 1940s,
has grown to include Tibet, Hong
Kong and Macau.
Separatism in Europe traces
its roots back to the 1990s and it
started in Slovenia in 1991.
Since the separatist movements
were triggered in Europe, the
problems have been spreading
beyond the Balkans: Crimea left
Ukraine in 2014 and decided to
join the Russian Federation, and
for the first time, the European
Union said - international law
has been violated and followed it
with sanctions against Russia for
annexing Crimea. The same year,
Britain was in turmoil: Scotland
organised a referendum, but 55
per cent voted to remain in the
United Kingdom.
Separatist movements also
existed in the Basque Country that
has three million people. In Italy,
the Northern League is in favour
of separating the rich north from
the poor south. There has been a
movement for independence since
the 1960s in Frances Corsica, but
the Paris government has nipped
it in the bud with all possible
sometimes aggressive measures.
The Belgian region of Flanders
is a rich area kept in Belgium
solely thanks to the will of the

international community, which
has been preserving this country
for 200 years as a buffer zone
between Germany, France, and
Britain.
The Belgian state has been
drifting apart since 1970. The
societies and political classes
of the two main language
groups have now largely become
separated from each other. The
recent years have been marked by
a surge of support for the Nieuw-
Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) and its
idea of a federalism and creeping
dissolution of Belgium. Since 2007,
forming a national government
has been difficult. In 2010 11,
the country remained without a
government for 589 days. Fol
lowing the elections of May 2014,
the formation of a government
is currently still underway. The
Flemish nationalists and their
demands of further regionalization
meet with strong resistance on the
part of the Walloon parties. The is
sue of who should get the capital
region of Brussels is seen as the
main reason for why the country
has not yet been divided yet.
Catalonia is a very special
case, given Spains distinctive
post-Franco history, and can, if
at all, only be compared to the
Basque Country. But the Basque
Countrys secessionist movement
has actually been pacified through
more political and financial
concessions.
Scottish independence is almost
as old as the Catalonian push
for independence, and is also
a particular case as the Brexit
decision of the United Kingdom has
inspired Scotland more strongly to
leave, as the Scots do not want to
be taken out of the EU once Britain
leaves the grouping.
Italys north has Padania and
South Tyrol, but both regions
continue to live within the Italian
state, with no immediate increase
in secessionist pressure visible.
But the EU has had
profound impact on regions and
movements seeking separation or
independence. While the EU leaders
and institutions ensure that they
remain primarily supportive of
member state governments, they
have made it quite clear that any
breakaway region would have to
apply for EU membership and that
would be very difficult for any new
break-away state to be admitted as
member states can veto any new
membership.
The EU regional cohesion
funds also provide regions with
more immediate access to EU
institutions and funds independent
of central governments. This gives
regions politically more power and
visibility vis-a-vis the EU, and with
that their ambitions rise.
The EU, generally speaking,
regards secessionist movements as
a domestic matter of the countries
in question. A crucial question
is whether a newly created state
would remain within the EU, or
whether it would need to apply for
membership from scratch. From
a legal point of view, the issue
remains unclear.
The economic crisis in Europe
has fanned the desire for
autonomy nowhere more than
in the regions that are economic
powerhouses. Demands for in
dependence also serve as leverage
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
for applying pressure on the
central government.
a A crucial factor for separatism
has been the economic crisis
and crisis of confidence that has
gripped the European continent
since the economic down turn in
2008.
In the course of the economic
crisis, separatist demands have
increased in popularity. Regions
complain that their interests are
ignored by the national government
in question. This discontent with
the status quo is enhanced by
political constellations. Reforms
instigated by the central govern
ment to address the crisis are often
contrary to regional interests, as
they tend to bind the regions even
closer to the central state.
Whipping up enthusiasm for
independence among a majority of
the population will remain difficult
in the future. the creation of new
states within the EU seems unlikely.
However, autonomy rights and fed
eralist structures will become even
more prevalent. The independence
movements will not vanish. Should
individual EU states fail to reach a
modus vivendi with their regions
over time, trouble will follow.
Nevertheless, it appears unlikely
that any borders will be redrawn in
the near future and while autonomy
rights will be much sought after,
the prospect of independence is
fraught with uncertainty. 
Ali Bahaijoub
November 2017 17
 Map shows
how patchwork
continent
would look
if every
separatist
movement got
their wish
The map has been put together
by the European Free Alliance,
to which 40 progressive
nationalist, regionalist
and autonomous parties
throughout the European
Union belong.
The map shows Germany
split from Bavaria, which has
a population of 12.5million.
Bavarian nationalism has been
a strong phenomenon since
the incorporation of Bavaria
into the state of Germany in
1871.
The map features well-
known separatist movements,
such as the powerful and
vocal Basque Nationalist
movement in northern Spain
and southwestern France, as
well as the more obscure, such
as the Savoyan League, which
supports the independence of
the Savoy region of France,
which has a population of
around 405,500.

18 November 2017 northsouth

 news & views to bridge the global divide

northsouth November 2017 19

 Catalonia declares independence, Madrid imposes direct rule
C atalonias parliament has passed
a motion to establish a new
independent republic from Spain,
which responded by revoking the
regions powers. We constitute the
Catalan Republic, as an independent
and sovereign country, under the
rule of law, read a motion, fueling
the biggest political crisis to hit
Spain since the 1970s.
Catalonias move defies Spanish
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,
whos been working to quash the
succession effort and keep Spain
intact.
Hundreds of people reacted
with jubilation outside the
regional parliament in Barcelona
but Spain moved quickly in its
uncompromising respond to efforts
to break away.
Within half an hour of the
vote,Spains Senate met and voted
to remove the regions autonomy
and subject it to direct rule from
Madrid, setting up what is likely to
be a raucous few days in Barcelona
and elsewhere.
The independence motion was
passed in the 135-member assembly
with 70 votes in favour, 10 against
and 2 blank ballots, the assemblys
speaker said. Lawmakers from the
Socialist Party, the Peoples Party
(PP) and Ciudadanos had left the
chamber before the vote in protest.
Some anti-independence
20 November 2017 northsouth
lawmakers boycotted the vote one
warned his colleagues that you
will go down in history for having
fractured Catalonia and for sinking
the institutions of Catalonia
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont
left the chamber to shouts of
President! After the vote, those
that remained in the chamber for
the vote sang the Catalan anthem.
A huge crowd watched the session
on giant screens and burst into
celebration and popped champagne
when the vote was carried.
Pro-separatists groups put out
calls to arms for supporters to flood
the streets, amid fears of police
retaliation against Catalonias
leader.
Spains Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy called for calm in a tweet
posted minutes after declaration.
I ask for calm from all Spaniards.
The rule of law will restore legality
in Catalonia,he wrote.
Spains Senate approved Article
155, the law that allows the central
government to take over the
autonomous region. It has never
been used before.
Exceptional measures should
only be adopted when no other
remedy is possible, Rajoy told the
Senate.
In my opinion there is no
alternative. The only thing that can
be done and should be done is to
accept and comply with the law.
The Catalan leadership was
ignoring the law and making a
mockery of democracy, he said.
We are facing a challenge
unprecedented in our recent
history, said Rajoy, who has staked
out an uncompromising position
against Catalonias campaign to
break away from Spain.
Rajoy is now expected to convene
his cabinet to adopt the first
measures to govern Catalonia.
This could include firing the
Barcelona government and
assuming direct supervision of
Catalan police forces.
The dueling actions in Madrid
and Barcelona set up a potential
showdown, as Spain embarks on its
greatest constitutional crisis since it
embraced democracy in 1978.
European Commission president
Donald Tusk tweeted nothing had
changed for the EU, which has
maintained that the issue is an
internal matter for Spain.
Spain remains our only
interlocutor. I hope the Spanish
government favours force of
argument, not argument of force.
he said in tweet, in an apparent
reference to police violence that
marred the October 1 referendum.
The big question for the EU now is
who will be next.
The EU clearly prioritizes the rule
of law over participative democracy.
The union ostensibly aspires to
transcend traditional concepts of
national sovereignty, yet it is a club of
national governments. In pointing
to the unconstitutional nature of the
Catalan referendum, the Spanish
and other EU governments have
legality on their side. The rule of
law is not simply about obeying
rules. The democratic rule of law is
also a matter of how rules are made,
how judiciaries are held accountable,
and how norms and values gain
legitimacy.

The Catalan Parliaments motion
called on other countries and
institutions to recognise the region
as a new nation. It also said it
wanted to open talks with Madrid
to collaborate on setting up the new
republic.
It is not going to be easy, it is
not going to be free, it is not going
to change in a day. But there is no
alternative to a process towards
the Catalan Republic, lawmaker
Marta Rovira of the Junts pel Si
pro-independence alliance said in a
debate leading to the vote. Madrid,
backed by EU governments, will win
on legality if the crisis comes down
to the strength of force.
What led up to Catalonias independence vote?
C atalonia, which is Spains
richest region, has a distinct
cultural heritage and language.
The push for independence
crystallized during the fallout
of the global financial crisis in
2008. Some Catalans believe the
countrys rising unemployment
levels and languishing economy
was pulling the region down,
and they began to seek greater
autonomy from Madrid.
The independence vote by
Catalonias parliament came after
weeks of brinksmanship between
Catalonia President Carles
Puigdemont and the Spanish
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
The situation first escalated on
1 October, when nearly 90%
of Catalonian voters backed
independence from Spain in
a controversial and disputed
referendum. The Catalonia
independence referendum led to
weeks of political manoeuvring
and mixed messages on all sides.
During an October 10 speech,
Puigdemont stopped just short of
declaring independence, opting
instead to pursue a dialogue with
Madrid. But Rajoy has maintained
a hard line throughout,
The US State Department has
said Catalonia is an integral part
of Spain and it backs the Spanish
Governments measures to keep
Spain united.
Spains potential fragmentation
is partly due to the legacy of
how theeuro-zone crisiswas
mismanagedto the extent that
disputes over austerity added fuel to
the secessionist fire.
This is a crisis that has been
brewing for at least two years and it
was clear that the referendum would
be a crunch point.Belatedly, the
Spanish government now calls for a
strict application of the rule of law.
In Spain and other EU states,
announcing October 21 that he
was invoking a constitutional
rule allowing him to restore the
rule of law, coexistence and the
economic recovery and to ensure
that elections could be held in
normal circumstances.
Puigdemont appeared to take a
step towards dtente, when he held
off from declaring independence
and suggested early elections
instead. But the attempt fell apart
in the face of hardcore supporters
for independence and opposition
from Madrid. Puigdemont then
turned the matter to Catalonian
parliament, which voted to declare
independence.
Will Catalonia become
independent of Spain?
What happens next is unclear.
The regional government headed
byCarles Puigdemont may have
declared independence from Spain
but they have a long way to go
before they can declare themselves
a new state. Catalonia will face
significant challenges attempting
to assert its independence in
the face of Spains decision to
impose direct rule on the region.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
the threat of Catalonia unilaterally
declaring independence is an affront
to the unions basic democratic laws.
Talk of federalizing the 1978
constitution has been around for a
long time; yet after the events of last
weekend it may now be difficult to
attract many Catalans to traditional
formalized versions of federalism
alone. Rather, fresh proposals may
be needed around embryonic notions
of democratically participative
federalism.
Now that independence has been
proclaimed by Catalonians, Spanish
people and government may be about
to be torn apart by a minority.
 Ali Bahaijoub
Opponents in Catalonia also argue
that a majority has not backed
independence there were only
43% of voters who took part in
the independence referendum on 1
October. Those that voted backed
ceding from the Spanish state by
90%. Spains Constitutional Court
has declared that vote illegal.
It will get little help from abroad,
as other European nations, many
of which are facing separatist
movements of their own, have
shown little indication that they
will acknowledge Catalonian
independence. Even Scotlands
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon,
who has been seeking a new vote
for independence from the United
Kingdom, has refused to recognize
Catalonias declaration.
How will Europe
respond?
Spain is a member of the
European Union (EU) and
Brussels has already made it
clear it backs the Spanish not
the Catalan government. Donald
Tusk, European Council president,
tweeted that the EU backed
Madrid, but also urged a calm
November 2017 21
 Members of the People Party of Catalonia
leave the chamber
response from the authorities:
For EU nothing changes. Spain
remains our only interlocutor.
I hope the Spanish government
favours force of argument, not
argument of force.
The European Union,
meanwhile, has distanced itself
from the crisis, deeming it an
internal Spanish issue.
How will Madrid
respond?
The reaction of the Spanish
central government is crucial and
already they have shown they will
not back down. Prime Minister
Rajoy tweeted after the Catalan
declaration that: I appeal for all
Spaniards to stay calm. The rule
of law will restore legality in
Catalonia. Madrid can and has
said it will impose direct rule
underArticle 155 of the Spanish
Constitution, drawn up in 1978. It
is the first time the measure has
been imposed. This also allows
Madrid to dismiss the Catalan
government.
Will all this lead to
violence?
There is a very real threat of
22 November 2017 northsouth
violence considering the events
of just a few weeks ago. When
the referendum vote took place
on 1st October, Madrid sent4,000
national police to Catalonia. There
were widespread violent scenes,
with many accusing the police of
acting in a heavy-handed matter.
There were many videos and
images showing police attacking
voters, in several cases women.
The scenes shocked many not
only in Spain but across the
world. If police reinforcements
are once again sent to the region,
it is unlikely that trouble can be
avoided. Also with direct rule from
Madrid, all police in Catalonia are
now under its control.
Those on the ground after the
independence announcement
reported a strange atmosphere in Whatever steps he takes, Rajoy
the region as people were jubilant
but also very worried about what
happens next on the streets.
Therefore, given the polarised
positions especially on the side of
the independence reporters, the
process could lead to potentially
an escalation of tensions that
could eventually lead to violence.
What will happen to
Catalans leaders?
There has been speculation that
under the drastic measures taken
by Madrid, the Catalan leaders,
and especiallyPuigdemont
could face arrest and possibly
30 years prison. There have
also been media reports that his
family fled the country ahead of
the independence declaration.
However, his wife was with him
on the day when he went to the
Catalan parliament. The couple
has two children.
What else can Madrid do?
Prime Minister Rajoy is set to
hold an extraordinary Cabinet
meeting to determine the next
response. Many have blamed
Madrids heavy-handedness last
month in helping fuel the crisis.
and central government have wide-
ranging powers. They can take
control of Catalonias finances
and its government functions on
a temporary basis and even call
fresh regional elections. Madrid
also has the power to take over
local publicly-run television.
Catalonia accounts for around one-
fifth of the Spanish economy, but
is also saddled with large debts.
 Ali Bahaijoub

Catalan elections on December 21
F ollowing Friday 27 October
Catalonian parliament decision
to declare independence of the region,
Catalonia woke up the next day
under the direct control of Madrid as
the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy took drastic measures to
quash secession, deposing the
regions leaders and dissolving
its parliament. In a dramatic
escalation of a political crisis that
has stoked alarm in Europe and sent
shockwaves throughout Spain, the
Prime Minister also decided to call
snap Catalan elections on December
21 to restore normality to a region
in turmoil.
Other measures adopted by the
government include the dismissal of
the director of the Catalan regional
police force, the Mossos dEsquadra,
as well as Catalan government
representatives in Madrid and
Brussels. Deputy Prime Minister
Soraya Saenz de Santamaria is due to
meet with secretaries of states, who
will likely take charge of Catalonias
regional ministries.
All eyes will be on whether
Catalonias separatist executive
Catalonia in numbers
C astells are symbolic of Catalan
culture
7.5 million: The population of
Catalonia makes up 16.1pc of Spains
46.6 million
95 per cent: Proportion of the
population that understand Catalan,
the regions primary language. An
estimated 10 million speak Catalan
worldwide - primarily in Catalonia,
the Valencian Community, the
Balearic Islands and France
9th: Catalans ranking on the list
of the most widely spoken languages
in Europe. It is not, however, on the
EUs list of 24 official languages
209 billion: Catalonias GDP in
2014. Spains was 1 trillion
news & views to bridge the global divide
willingly steps down and whether
pro-independence supporters carry
out their threat of peaceful resistance
to Madrids takeover. In Madrid,
protesters hit the streets protesting
against Catalonias declaration of
independence, which while lacking
any legal basis has caused strife in a
region deeply divided on whether to
split from Spain.
The move by the Madrid
government to take over Catalan
powers is likely to anger many in
a region of some 7.5 million people
that enjoyed considerable autonomy,
with control over its education,
finances, healthcare and police. only interlocutor in Spain. The
It is the first time that the Madrid European Union is particular wary
government has curtailed regional of nationalistic and secessionist
autonomy since the end of the sentiment, particularly after
dictatorial regime of Francisco Britains dramatic decision to leave
Francos who ruled the country the bloc.
with an iron fist from 1939 until his The question now is whether
death in 1975. the Madrid government, with
The Spanish government has legality on its side, will be able to
received unwavering support deal with the crisis in a peaceful
from neighbouring Morocco, the manner or aggressive supporters of
European Union and the United Catalonia independence will resort
States. EU President Donald Tusk to violence to stake their claim.
insisted Madrid remains our  Ali Bahaijoub
65.1 billion: Catalonias annual
exports to other countries (double
that of any other Spanish region)
13.2 per cent Catalonia
unemployment rate in June 2017 is
below the national average of 17.2
per cent
8 per cent: The amount of GDP
the Catalan Government has said it
would claw back if it did not have to
hand over its taxes to the Spanish
Government
3 notable Catalans: Salvador
Dal, Antoni Gaud and Montserrat
Caball
Source: Statistical Institute of
Catalonia
northsouth November 2017 23
 Independence movements in Western Europe
Beyond Catalonia, Western Europe is being challenged by a series of independence
movements reminiscent of the fall of the Soviet Union and the break up of Yugoslavia in
which several new countries were created, Franklin Adesegha writes
Catalonia
Nowhere in Western Europe is the
call for independence louder than in
Catalonia. In the years of General
Franco, the regional language was
oppressed, but Catalonia has since
achieved a considerable amount of
cultural and political autonomy,
including its own regional
parliament, not enough for many
of Catalonias 7.5 million residents.
They want their own country,
largely for economic reasons. They
believe that the central state is
sucking their wealth. The region
that includes Barcelona accounts for
20 percent of Spains GDP.
Spains conservative government
led by Mariano Rajoy firmly opposed
the Catalonia referendum calling
it unconstitutional. The central
government in Madrid tried to block
the referendum through the courts
and by using police force. Catalonia
looks to its Spanish neighbours in
Basque Country.
Basque Country
It is the only region in Spain that
does not send its tax revenue to Madrid
to be shared across the country.
Basque Country is responsible for its
own taxation, sending just a small
amount to the central government.
However, it is a poorer region than
Catalonia. Like Catalonia, Basque
Country was also oppressed by the
Franco dictatorship. Its history has
created a more militant push for
independence, giving rise to ETA
separatist group, which killed more
than 800 people in 50 years of attacks.
In 2011, the organization declared an
end to violence. Neither attacks nor
talks have brought Basque Country
closer to independence: Madrid rejects
the idea as it does for Catalonia.
24 November 2017 northsouth
Bavaria
A new survey has shown that more
Bavarians than previously thought
want their own independent state,
separate from Germany.
The state with its own dialect and
cultural traditions even has its own
independence movement party - the
Bavarian Party - albeit less influential
than separatist groups in places like
Spain or Scotland. But a new survey
looks to bolster the Bavarian Partys
hopes for a true Free State of Bavaria
(the states official title). A YouGov
poll with Bild tabloid, published
recently showed that one-third of
Bavarian respondents agreed that
my state should be independent
from Germany.
This was a higher percentage than
any of the other 15 states surveyed,
with residents of both Saarland
and Thuringia tied at second place
at 22 percent. Not far behind were
Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, each at 21 percent, and
Saxony-Anhalt with 20 percent.
The states where people supported
secession the least were Lower
Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and
Rhineland-Palatinate, all at roughly
8 percent.
The percentage of Bavarians who
favoured starting their own country
was higher than in previous polls,
such as one in 2011 by the Hanns
Seidel Foundation, which found
that nearly a quarter of Bavarians
wanted independence, reports
Deutschlandfunk. But Germanys
Constitutional Court already settled
the matter of whether Bavaria could
hold a Brexit-style referendum for
a Bayxit. The court in January
rejected a mans bid to hold such
a vote, arguing that Germanys
constitution does not allow for
individual states to break away.
Corsica
France has long tried to deny
the island of its local language
and fought strongly against
independence movements. The
National Liberation Front of Corsica
(FLNC) tried to pressure France by
force, attacking representatives and
French state symbols. The separatist
group announced an end to
hostilities in 2014, but the potential
for conflict remains. French Prime
Minister Lionel Jospin made some
cautious proposals in the 2000s to
allow for some autonomy. This was
strictly opposed by the opposition.
They feared other regions would
then want to break away, too. The
central government in Paris tends
to pay little regard to regional
languages, which are viewed as a
danger to national unity.
Flanders
The pro-independence leader of
the New Flemish Alliance, Bart
De Wever, leads Belgiums current
Chamber of Representatives. Wever
is convinced Belgium will one
day break up and his Flemish-
speaking Flanders region would be
economically better off without the
countrys other region, majority
French-speaking Wallonia. Bart
De Wever, leader of the right-wing
NVA party, wants Flanders to break
away from Belgium
If that were to happen, there
would be little of Belgium left: It
would lose more than half of its
people and economy, calling into
question Brussels status as EU
capital and NATO headquarters, as
well as the future of Wallonia. The
leftover Belgian region could then
be absorbed by France, Luxembourg
or even Germany. At the moment,
however, there are no immediate

plans for a Belgian break up.
Padania
The secession movement in
northern Italy is purely financially
motivated. The region is Italys
industrial powerhouse and banking
center, producing most of Italys GDP.
Many in the north feel their poorer
compatriots to the south make off
with their hard-earned money. The
Lega Nord party in the 1990s wanted
a complete split from the rest of the
Italy, calling their region Padania,
referring to the Po river valley. Since
then, the focus has shifted away
from a clean break and towards more
control over finances.
Scotland
Scotland has been part of the United
Kingdom for more than 300 years,
and many Scots have been less than
happy about that. They already have
their own parliament, and the Scottish
National Party (SNP) has been
pushing for full independence. The
referendum in 2014 failed to achieve
that, however, but independence
sentiments were again stoked by
the Brexit result in 2016. Scotlands
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (SNP)
reasoned that her country, which
voted largely to remain in the EU,
should not be forced to automatically
leave the EU along with the rest of the
UK. She is floating the possibility of
another referendum for 2018, when
the details of Brexit are clearer. But
opinion polls show the result would
likely be the same as in 2014.
South Tyrol
Even further north in Italy is the
region that belonged to the Austro-
Hungarian Empire until the end of
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
the First World War. There followed
a period where South Tyrol was
Italianized under Mussolini, before
gradually gaining more political
and linguistic autonomy after
the Second World War. Now the
prosperous region is allowed to keep
and control most of its revenue.
South Tyroleans were largely
satisfied with this arrangement, but
separatist sentiments were stirred
up by the debt crisis. After Greece,
Italy has the highest amount of debt
in the Eurozone. Many in South
Tyrol didnt want to have anything
to do with the problems of Italys
central government in Rome.
While some of the current
movements may be militant, it
is thought that their chances of
success may vary. It remains to be
seen if these movements will lead
to the creation of more states in
Western Europe.
November 2017 25
 Separatist movements in Europe
Albania Historic Brittany, comprising
People: Greeks in Albania Croatia Brittany (administrative region) and
Political parties: Omonoia, Unity parts of Pays de la Loire)
for Human Rights Party (seeks People: Istrians
autonomous status or union with Proposed state: Republic of Istria Georgia
Greece) Political parties: Istrian Democratic
Assembly People: Abkhaz
Azerbaijan De facto state with partial de jure
Czech Republic recognition: Republic of Abkhazia
Breakaway state: Artsakh Political organisation:Government of
Ethnic group: Armenians People: Moravian Abkhazia
De facto state: Republic of Artsakh Political parties: Moravan (EFA Militant organization: Abkhazia
Government-in-exile: Azerbaijani member) Army
Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Czech Silesia
People: Silesians South Ossetia
Belgium Political party: Silesian Autonomy
Movement (EFA member) People: Ossetians
Flanders or Flemish Community De facto state: with partial de jure
People: Flemish Denmark recognition
Proposed state: Flanders Political organisation: Government
Political parties: N-VA logo.svg New People: Danish of South Ossetia
Flemish Alliance (member of the Proposed autonomous region: Militant organization: South Ossetia
European Free Alliance), Libertair, Bornholm Army
Direct, Democratisch, and Vlaams Political party: Bornholms Self-
Belang member of the Identity, Government Party (Bornholms Germany
Tradition, Sovereignty-Group selvstyreparti)
Movements: Vlaamse Volksbeweging People: Bavarians
(VVB), Overlegcentrum van Vlaamse Proposed state: Bavaria (Free State
Verenigingen (nl) Finland of Bavaria)
Political party: Bavaria Party
Bosnia and Herzegovina People: land Swedes
Proposed state: land Kosovo
People: Serbs of Bosnia and Political party: Future of land (EFA
Herzegovina member) People: Serbs
Proposed state: Republika Srpska; Proposed state: Unification with
Unification with Serbia France Serbia as an autonomous province
Political parties: Alliance of Political organisations: Assembly
Independent Social Democrats, Serbian People: Basque of the Community of Municipalities
Democratic Party Proposed state: Unification with (status unknown)
the Basque Country and Navarre
Croatian Republic of Euskal Herria Macedonia
Political parties: Abertzaleen
Herzeg-Bosnia Batasuna (AB), Batasuna, Eusko People: Albanians
People: Croats of Bosnia and Alkartasuna (EFA member), Euzko Proposed state: Republic of Ilirida
Herzegovina Alderdi Jeltzalea (Basque Nationalist
Proposed state: Croatian Republic Party). Moldova
of Herzeg-Bosnia; Unification with Trade unions: Euskal Langileen
Croatia Alkartasuna, Langile Abertzaleen People: Equal proportions of
Political parties: Croatian Democratic Batzordeak Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans
Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Youth advocacy groups: Egi, Gazte De facto state: with partial de jure
Croatian Democratic Union 1990, Abertzaleak, Iritzarri, Segi recognition Transnistria
Croatian Christian Democratic Union Militant organisations: ETA, Irrintzi Political organisation: Government

26 November 2017 northsouth

 news & views to bridge the global divide
of Transnistria Southern Slovakia
Militant organisation: Army of People: Hungarians
Transnistria Proposed autonomous area:
Territorial autonomy for the compact
Montenegro Hungarian ethnic block and cultural
autonomy for the regions of sporadic
People: Albanian Hungarian presence.
Proposed autonomous area: Kraja
Spain
Netherlands
People: Balearics Catalanics (those
People: Frisian with Catalan ancestry)
Proposed autonomous area: Frisia Proposed state: Balearic Islands
Political party: Frisian National Balearic Islands Catalan Countries
Party, (EFA member) (Confederation of Catalan States)
Status: Democratic movement Political parties: Partit Socialista
seeking greater autonomy for Frisian- de Mallorca-Entesa Nacionalista (in
speaking people in Friesland Majorca)
Youth advocacy groups: Arran,
Poland Joventuts dEsquerra Republicana de
les Illes Balears
People: Silesians
Proposed autonomous area or state: Basque Country
Silesia
Political party: Silesian Autonomy (autonomous community) Basque
Movement Country (autonomous community)
and Navarre
Romania People: Basques
Proposed state: Basque Country
People: Hungarians and Szkelys (autonomous community) Basque
Political organisations: Democratic Country (greater region) Euskal
Union of Hungarians in Romania, the Herria[13]
demand for Hungarian autonomy has Political parties: Euzko Alderdi
been part of their program since 1993. Jeltzalea (Basque Nationalist Party)
(member of the European Democratic
Russia Party), Eusko Alkartasuna (EFA
member), Bildu, Amaiur, Aralar, Eusko
People: Chechens Abertzale Ekintza (Basque Nationalist
Militant organisation: Chechen Action), Batasuna (illegalised due to
separatists terrorism support)
Proposed state: Chechen Republic of Militant organisations: ETA
Ichkeria Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) (ceasefire
(government in exile) since 2011), Iraultza (disbanded),
Komando Autonomo Antikapitalistak
Serbia (merged with ETA)
People: Serbs, Hungarians in Serbia Canary Islands
Unification with: Hungary People: Canarians
Political parties (autonomist): League Proposed state: Republic of the
of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Canary Islands
Reformists of Vojvodina, Vojvodinas Political parties (autonomist):
Party Coalicin Canaria, Partido Nacionalista
Canario, Centro Canario Nacionalista,
Slovakia Nueva Canarias
Political parties (secessionist):
northsouth
FREPIC-AWAAK, Alternativa
Nacionalista Canaria, Alternativa
Popular Canaria, Unidad del Pueblo,
Youth movement: Azarug
Catalonia
Catalan independence; and Catalan
independence referendum, 2017
People: Catalans
Proposed state: Catalonia Catalonia
(Republic) Catalan Countries
(Confederation of Catalan States) (i.e.
including other Catalan-speaking
areas)
Political parties (secessionist)
Switzerland
People: Jurassien (French-speaking)
Proposed state: Flag of Canton of
Jura.svg Free State of Jura
Political party: Mouvement
Indpendantiste Jurassien (Jurassian
Independentist Movement)
People: Ticinesi (Italian-speaking)
Proposed state: Unification with
Lombardy
Political party: Lega Sud Ticino
Pressure groups: Dom Nunch
Ukraine
People: Russian Ukrainians,
Ukrainians
De facto state: Lugansk Peoples
Republic
Political parties: Peace for Lugansk
Region, Russian Block, Russian Unity,
New Russia Party
Militant organization: United Armed
Forces of Novorossiya
State backer: Russian Armed Forces
Donetsk Oblast
People: Russian Ukrainians,
Ukrainians
De facto state: Donetsk Peoples
Republic
Political parties: Donetsk Republic,
New Russia Party, Russian Block,
Russian Unity
Militant organization: United Armed
Forces of Novorossiya
November 2017 27
 Active separatist movements in Asia
Afghanistan Government-in-exile: Karenni Government in exile: Republic of
Ethnic group: Pamiri Provisional Government Zogam
Proposed state: United Ethnic group: Kokang people
Badakhshan Peoples Republic (ethnic Han Chinese) China
Political parties: Lail Badakhshan Political party: Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army Ethnic group: Mongolian
Bangladesh Ethnic group: Mon Proposed state: Republic of South
Proposed state: Mon State Mongol
Ethnic group: Jumma people Political party: New Mon State Political parties: Inner Mongolian
Political party: Parbotto Party Peoples Party (member of the
Chottogram Jonshonghoti Shomiti Ethnic group: Rohingya Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Armed wing: Shanti Bahini Proposed state: Northern Arakan Organization), Southern Mongolian
Bangabhumi State of Arakan Federation Democratic Alliance, Mongolian
Ethnic group: Bengali Hindus Advocacy group: Arakan Liberal Union Party
Region: South-western Rohingya National Organization Ethnic group: Shanghainese
Bangladesh (autonomist) people
Organisation: Banga Sena Ethnic group: Shan (member of Advocacy group: Shanghai
Leader: Kalidas Baidya the Unrepresented Nations and Independence
Armed wing: Bir Banga Peoples Organization) Ethnic group: Tibetan
Proposed state: Federated Shan Proposed state: Tibet Tibet
Burma/Myanmar States Government-in-exile: Lobsang
Political party: Shan Democratic Sangay, head of the Central Tibetan
Ethnic group: Rakhine Union Administration(member of the
Proposed state: Arakan Federation Militant organisation: Shan State Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Advocacy group: Arakan Army Organization)
Independence Alliance Advocacy group: Restoration Political parties: International
Ethnic group: Chin Council of Shan State Tibet Independence Movement,
Proposed state: Republic of Zo Asia Government in exile: Interim National Democratic Party of Tibet
Militant organisation: Chin Government of Federated Shan Advocacy group: Students for a
National Front (member of the States Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress,
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Ethnic group: Wa International Campaign for Tibet
Organization) Proposed state: Wa State Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Ethnic group: Kachin Political party: United Wa State Region
Proposed state: Kachinland Party Ethnic group: Uyghur
Political party: Kachin National Militant organisation: United Wa Political parties: East Turkestan
Organization State Army independence movement
Ethnic group: Karen Ethnic group: Kuki Militant organisations: Turkistan
Proposed state: Republic of Militant organisation: Kuki Islamic Party, East Turkestan
Kawthoolei National Army Liberation Organization (considered
Militant organisation: Karen Advocacy group: Kuki National to be associated with Al Qaeda and
National Liberation Army Organisation Islamic State
Advocacy group: Karen National Ethnic group: Zomi Advocacy groups: World
Union Proposed state: Republic of Zogam Uyghur Congress (member of the
Ethnic group: Karenni or Federated State of Zomi Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Proposed state: United Karenni Political parties: Zomi National Organization)
Independent States Congress, Zomi Reunification Government in exile: East
Militant organisation: Karenni Organization Turkistan Government in Exile
Army Militant organisations: Zomi Hong Kong Special Administrative
Advocacy group: Karenni National National Front/Army, Zomi Region
Progressive Party (member of the Revolutionary Army, People: Hong Kongers
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Advocacy group: Global Zomi Pro-independence
Organization) Alliance Proposed state: British Hong

28 November 2017 northsouth

 news & views to bridge the global divide

Kong Republic of Hong Kong, Ethnic group: Kamatapuri lects Political party: Balochistan
British Overseas Territory of Hong Peoples Party
Kong, or Commonwealth realm of Indonesia Militant organisations: Jundallah
Hong Kong (Iran)
Political parties and advocacy Militant organisation: Free Aceh
groups: Independence-leaning Movement (negotiated peace with Iraq
localist groups including Hong the Indonesian government in 2005,
Kong National Party, Hong and now it is a civil movement, but See: Minorities in Iraq
Kong Indigenous, Hong Kong the separatism still has supporters) Proposed states:
Independence Party, Hong Konger Government-in-exile: Republik Kurdistan
Front, Youngspiration Maluku Selatan (member of the Main article: Iraqi Kurdistan
Pro-autonomy Unrepresented Nations and Peoples independence referendum, 2017
Proposed autonomous area: Organization) Ethnic groups: Kurdish
Hong Kong city-state under Advocacy group: Maluku Political parties: Kurdistan
Commonwealth of Chinese States Sovereignty Front Independence Movement, Kurdistan
Advocacy groups: Hong Kong Minahasa Democratic Party of Iraq, Patriotic
Resurgence Order Proposed state: Gerakan Union of Kurdistan (members of the
Kemerdekaan Minahasa Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
India Militant organisation: Free Papua Organization)
Movement De facto autonomous state: Iraqi
Proposed state: Kashmir Advocacy group: Gerakan Riau Kurdistan
Ethnic-Religious group: Kashmiri Merdeka Assyria
Muslims Proposed autonomous region:
Political Organisations: All Parties
Hurriyat Conference, Muslims
Iran Nineveh Plains Assyria
Political parties: Assyrian
conference, Jammu Kashmir Azerbaijan (Iran) Democratic Movement, Assyria
Liberation Front Ethnic group: Azerbaijani Liberation Party
Militant Organization: Lashkar-e- Political party: CAMAH (South Militant organisations: Nineveh
Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Azerbaijan National Liberation Plain Protection Units, Dwekh
Nagaland Movement) Nawsha
Proposed state: Unofficial flag of Turkmen Sahra Advocacy groups: Assyrian
Nagaland.svg Peoples Republic of Ethnic group Turkmen General Conference, Assyria Council
Nagaland Political party: Turkmen-Sahra of Europe
Ethnic group: Naga people Liberation Organization Flag of Iraq Turkmen Front.svg
Government in exile: Government Ethnic group: Arabs Turkmeneli
of the Peoples Republic of Nagaland Militant organisations: Al-Ahwaz Ethnic group: Turkmen
Political organisation: National Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Political party: Iraqi Turkmen
Socialist Council of Nagaland Front, Ahwaz Arab Renaissance Front (member of the Unrepresented
Proposed state: Tripura Party, Ahwaz Liberation Nations and Peoples Organization)
Ethnic group: Tripuri people Organisation Sinjar[citation needed]
Political organisation: Flag of Advocacy group: Democratic Ethnoreligious group: Yazidi
the National Liberation Front of Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz Proposed autonomous area: Sinjar
Tripura.png NLFT (member of the Unrepresented with Sinjar Mountain region in Iraq
Proposed state: Manipur Nations and Peoples Organization) or unification with Kurdistan
Ethnic group: Meitei people Iranian Kurdistan Political organisation: Yazidi
Political organisation: Bandera Ethnic groups: Kurdish Movement for Reform and Progress,
FPRM Manipur.png Peoples Political parties: Kurdistan Yazidis Community
Liberation Army of Manipur Democratic Party of Iran (member
Proposed state: Assam of the Unrepresented Nations and Japan
Ethnic group: Assamese people Peoples Organization)
Proposed state: Bandera Bodoland. Militant organisations: Party for a Ethnic group: Ainu
svg Bodoland Free Life in Kurdistan, Komalah Proposed state: Republic of Ainu
Ethnic group: Bodo people Balochistan Political parties: Ainu Party
Proposed state: Kamtapur Ethnic group: Baloch Political group: Ainu independence

northsouth November 2017 29

 Active separatist movements in Asia
movement
Ethnic group: Ryukyuan
Proposed state: Republic of
Ryukyu
Political parties: Kariyushi Club
(Formerly, Ryukyu Independence
Party, , Ryky Dokuritsut) Mukti Morcha, Madhesh Mukti
Political groups: Ryukyu
independence movement
Note: The supporters of the
movement want the Amami
Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture,
former part of the defunct Ryukyu
Kingdom until 1609, to be part
of independent Ryukyu. See also
Invasion of Ryukyu.
Malaysia
Proposed state: Sarawak
Advocacy group: Borneo Heritage
Foundation (BHF), Sarawak
Association of Peoples Aspirations
(SAPA), Sarawak Sovereignty
Movement, Sabah Sarawak Keluar
Malaysia (SSKM), Sarawak
Liberation Movement
Sabah Sabah
Proposed state: Sabah
Advocacy group: Borneo Heritage
Foundation (BHF), Sabah Sarawak
Keluar Malaysia (SSKM)
Nepal
Ethnic Group: Madhesi peoples
(including Maithils, Bhojpuris and
Tharus).
Proposed state: Madhesh
Advocacy group: Alliance for
Independent Madhesh
Militant Group: Janatantrik Terai
Republik
Tigers (MMT), Tharuwan National
Liberation Front (TNLF).
Pakistan
Ethnic group: Baloch
Political party: Baloch National
Movement, Baloch Republican Party
(member of the Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization)
Militant organisations: Baloch
Liberation Army, Baloch Liberation
Front, Baloch Republican Army
Ethnic group: Sindhi
Political party: Jeay Sindh Qaumi
Mahaz
Militant organizations:
Sindhudesh Liberation Army
Flag of Gilgit Baltistan.svg Gilgit-
Baltistan
Ethnic group: Balti people
Political party: Balawaristan
National Front, Gilgit-Baltistan
United Movement
Philippines
Ethnic group: Moro
Proposed autonomous area:
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region
Militant organisation: Moro
Islamic Liberation Front
Political party: United Bangsamoro
Justice Party
Proposed state: Bangsamoro
Militant organization: Moro
National Liberation Front
Advocacy group: Mindanao
Independence Movement
Sri Lanka
Ethnic group: Tamil
Proposed state: Tamil Eelam
Political party: Tamil National
Alliance (autonomy within Sri
Lanka)
Militant organisation: Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE was
defeated by the Sri Lankan military
in 2009)
Advocacy groups: Transnational
Government of Tamil Eelam, Global
Tamil Forum
Government in exile: Transnational
Government of Tamil Eelam
Thailand
Ethnic group: Malays
Proposed state: Greater Patani
State (Negara Patani Raya)
Militant organisation: Patani
United Liberation Organisation

Separatist movements in the Middle East and Africa

Iran Proposed state: Al-Ahwaz Proposed state: Kurdistan
Ethnic group: Azerbaijani Militant organisations: Al-Ahwaz Political parties: Kurdistan
Proposed state: South Azerbaijan Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Democratic Party of Iran (member
Political party: CAMAH (South Front, Ahwaz Arab Renaissance of the Unrepresented Nations and
Azerbaijan National Liberation Party, Ahwaz Liberation Peoples Organization)
Movement) Organisation Militant organisations: Party for a
Ethnic group Turkmen Advocacy group: Democratic Free Life in Kurdistan, Komalah
Proposed state: South Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz Ethnic group: Baloch
Turkmenistan (member of the Unrepresented Political party: Balochistan
Political party: Turkmen-Sahra Nations and Peoples Organization) Peoples Party
Liberation Organization Iranian Kurdistan Militant organisations: Jundallah
Ethnic group: Arabs Ethnic groups: Kurdish (Iran)

30 November 2017 northsouth


Iraq
Ethnic groups: Kurdish
Proposed state: Kurdistan
Political parties: Kurdistan
Independence Movement, Kurdistan
Democratic Party of Iraq, Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (members of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization)
De facto autonomous state: Iraqi
Kurdistan
Ethnoreligious group: Assyrian
Proposed autonomous region:
Nineveh Plains Assyria
Political parties: Assyrian
Democratic Movement, Assyria
Liberation Party
Militant organisations: Nineveh
Plain Protection Units, Dwekh
Nawsha
Advocacy groups: Assyrian
General Conference, Assyria Council
of Europe
Ethnic group: Turkmen
Political party: Iraqi Turkmen
Front (member of the Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization)
Ethnoreligious group: Yazidi
Proposed autonomous area: Sinjar
with Sinjar Mountain region in Iraq
or unification with Kurdistan
Political organisation: Yazidi
Movement for Reform and Progress,
Yazidis Community
Palestine
Ethnic group: Israelis
Proposed state: State of Judea
Syria
Ethnic and ethno-religious group:
Kurdish, Yazidis
Political party: Democratic Union
Party
Militant organisation: Peoples
Defence Units
Political Movement: Democratic
Confederalism, Democratic
Socialism, Feminism, Ecosocialism
Ethno-religious group: Druze
Political parties: Progressive
news & views to bridge the global divide
Socialist Party (Syria)
Militant organisations: Jaysh al-
Muwahhideen
Ethno-religious group: Arameans
Proposed state: ArameanFlag.png
Aram
Political parties: Aramean
Democratic Organisation
Advocacy group: World Council of
Arameans (Syriacs)
Ethnic group: Assyrian
Proposed state: Assyria
Political parties: Syriac Union
Party, Assyrian Democratic
Organization
Militant organisations: Syriac
Military Council, Sutoro
Advocacy groups: Assyria Council
of Europe
Ethnic group: Syrian Turkmen
and Northern Aleppo (Western
Turkmeneli) or Turkey
Political parties: Syrian Turkmen
Assembly (official governing
umbrella for Syrian Turkmen
National Bloc and Syrian Democratic
Turkmen Movement)
Militant organizations: Syrian
Turkmen Brigades
See also: Turkish military
intervention in Syria
Turkey
Ethnic group: Kurdish
Proposed state: Kurdistan
Political parties: Peace and
Democracy Party (BDP), Peoples
Democratic Party (HDP)
Militant organisations: Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), Group of
Communities in Kurdistan (KCK),
Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK),
Democrat Party of Kurdistan/North
(PDK/Bakur), Revolutionary Party
of Kurdistan (PK), Communist
Party of Kurdistan (KKP)
Yemen
Ethnic group: Adeni Arabs,
Proposed state: State of Aden
De facto state: Southern
Transitional Council
northsouth
Political party: South Yemen
Movement
Ethnic group: Hadhrami Arabs
Proposed state: Kathiri, Quaiti
Hadramaut., Wahidi Balhaf, Mahra
De facto state: Hadhramaut
Region, Protectorate of South Arabia
Political party: Hadhrami League
Algeria
Ethnic group: Kabyles
Proposed state: Kabylie
Political party: Movement for the
Autonomy of Kabylie
Government-in-exile: Provisional
Government of Kabylia (Anavad)
Angola
Ethnic group: The Lunda-Tchokw
Proposed state: Democratic
Republic of Lunda-Tchokw
(Repblica Democrtica da Lunda-
Tchokw) (RDLT)
Government-in-exile: Partido
Democrtico da Defesa do Estado
Lunda-Tchokw (PDDELT)
Claimant group: Manifesto
Jurdico Sociolgico do Povo Lunda-
Tchokw (MJSPL), also an Advocacy
group
Political party: Partido
Democrtico da Defesa do Estado
Lunda-Tchokw (PDDELT)
Traditional Kingdom: Lunda-
Tchokwe Kingdom
Status: Juridical Fight on ICC
Leaders: Dr. Jota Filipe Malakito
(The Founder Leader)
Movements: Mulher Unida da
Lunda-Tchokw (MULT), Pioneiros
Unidos da Lunda-Tchokw (PULT),
Juventude Unida da Lunda-
Tchokw(JULT)
Ethnic group: Cabindans
Proposed state: Republic of
Cabinda
Government-in-exile: Frente
para a Libertao do Enclave de
Cabinda (FLEC) (member of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization)
Political party: Frente para a
Libertao do Enclave de Cabinda
November 2017 31
 (FLEC)
Militant organization: Foras
Armadas de Cabinda (FAC)
Cameroon
Ethnic group: Calabars
Proposed state: Democratic
Republic of Bakassi
Pressure group: Bakassi
Movement for Self-Determination
Militant organization: Bakassi
Freedom Fighters
Ambazonia (member of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization and Organization of
Emerging African States)
Ethnic group: Southern
Cameroons
Proposed state: Federal Republic
of Southern Cameroon, Ambazonia
Political party: Southern
Cameroons National Council
Pressure group: Southern
Cameroon Liberation Movement
Militant organisation: Southern
Cameroon Peoples Organization
Central African Republic
Ethnic group: Muslims in the
Central African Republic
Proposed state: Republic of Logone
Pressure group and militant
organization: Slka
Republic of the Congo
Pressure group: Provisional
Assembly and governance of the
State of South Congo
Proposed state: State of South
Congo
Pressure group: the royal clan
Tchimongo-Lumbu-Tchinkondi
Traditional Kingdom: Kingdom
of Loango
Democratic Republic of
the Congo
Pressure group: Bundu dia Kongo
32 November 2017 northsouth
Proposed state: Kingdom of Kongo
Political parties: Union of
Independent Federalists and
Republicans
Militant organizations: Mai Mai
Kata Katanga
Status: Sporadic violence
Kwili, Kivu, Bukavu
Proposed state: United Republic of
Kivu
Status: Insurgency
Equatorial Guinea
Ethnic group: Bubi
Proposed state: Bioko Island
Pressure group: Movement for the
Self-Determination of Bioko Island
Status: The indigenous Bubi
people are now outnumbered by
Fernandinos and Fang immigrants
from the mainland.
Ethiopia
Proposed state: Islamic State of
Afaria
Political party: Afar Liberation
Front
Militant organization: Gambela
Peoples Liberation Front
Ogaden ( Somali Region)
Proposed state: Republic
of Ogadenia (member of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization) or Somalia
Political party: Ogaden National
Liberation Front, Western
Somali Liberation Front, Ogaden
Republican Army
Pressure group: Ogaden Youth
Association
Oromia
Proposed state: Republic of
Oromia (also known as Oromia)
(member of the Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization)
Militant organizations: Oromo
Independence Movement, Oromo
Liberation Front, Islamic Front for
the Liberation of Oromia, Conference
of Oromiya Peoples Liberation
Front, Oromo Youth Revolutionary
Movement also known as Abiddaa)
Pressure group: The National
Youth Movement for Freedom and
Democracy (also known as Qeerroo)
Sidama Zone
Proposed state: Republic of Sidama
Political party: Sidama Liberation
Front
Kenya
Proposed state: Mombasa Republic
Political party: Mombasa
Republican Council
Wajir County, Mandera County,
Garissa County (Former North
Eastern Province)
Proposed state: Western Republic
of Somalia
Libya
Ethnic group: Libyan
Proposed autonomous area: Semi-
autonomous State of Cyrenaica
Political Groups: Movement for
Federal Libya, National Union Party,
Cyrenaica Youth Movement
Senior Leaders: Dr. Abubakr
Buera, Mr.Faraj Kezza, Dr.Azza
Huwati, Ms.Najat Obedi, Mr.
Mohamed Buisir, Mr. Ahmad
Sannusi, Ms.Sarah Ali
Youth Leaders: Fathi Agori, Enas
AlJazwi, Muheddine Mansuri,
Osama Buera, Essa Arabi, Zeid
Erragas, Mohamed Ali, Mustafa
Orefy, Mabrooka Najm
Ethnic group: Toubou
Proposed state: Toubouland
Militant organization: Toubou
Front for the Salvation of Libya
Mali
Ethnic Groups: Tuareg, as well as
Songhai, Fula and Arabs/Moors
Proposed state: Azawad
Political party: Coordination
of Azawad Movements (Includes
MNLA)
Militant organisations: National
Movement for the Liberation of
Azawad
 news & views to bridge the global divide

Morocco Proposed state: Batwaland

Ethnic group: Sahrawi Political party: Association for the Tanzania
Proposed state: Sahrawi Arab Promotion of Batwa
Democratic Republic Ethnic group: Swahili
Government-in-exile: Sahrawi Senegal Proposed state: Zanzibar
Arab Democratic Republic based in Political party: Civic United Front
neighbouring Algeria Ethnic group: Diola (member of Unrepresented Nations
Armed group: Polisario Front Proposed state: Casamance and Peoples Organization), Uamsho
Militant organization: Movement
Namibia of Democratic Forces of Casamance
Uganda
Ethnic Group: Lozi Somalia
Proposed state: Free State of Ethnic group: Ganda
Caprivi Strip/Itenge Ethnic group: Somali Proposed state: Kingdom of
Political party: Caprivi African De facto state: Somaliland Buganda
National Union Political organisations: De facto autonomous area:
Militant organization: Caprivi Government of Somaliland Kingdom of Buganda
Liberation Army Militant organization: Somaliland Youth movement: Buganda Youth
Armed Forces Movement
Niger
Zambia
Ethnic Group: Tuareg South Africa
Proposed state: Agadez Ethnic Group: Lozi
Militant organization: Ethnic group: Afrikaners Proposed state: Barotseland
Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Proposed state: Volkstaat Militant organization: Barotse
Sahara Political Party: Freedom Front Patriotic Front
Political parties: Taniminnak Tidot Plus (in parliament and member
N Tenere, Tidot Union of Tenere of the Unrepresented Nations and
Proposed state: Akal N Tenere, Peoples Organization). Outside Zimbabwe
Tenere Republic parliament: National Conservative
Party of South Africa, Boerestaat Ethnic Group: Matabele
Nigeria Party, Herstigte Nasionale Party. Proposed state: Matabeleland,
Pressure group: Orania Movement Mthwakazi Free State
Ethnic group: Igbo, Ijaw, Ibibio, Status: Accord on Afrikaner self- Militant organization: Mthwakazi
Annang determination Liberation Front (M.L.F.)
Proposed state: Republic of Biafra Political party: Matabeleland
(defunct) Freedom Party
National Liberation Movement: South Sudan
Bilie Human Rights Initiative
Political party: Biafran Congress Ethnic Group: Nuer
Party .BCP., Movement for the Militant organization: Nuer White
Actualization of the Sovereign State Army, SPLA-Nasir (1991 - 1994)
of Biafra, Status: Ongoing insurgency
Separatist movements: The
Indigenous People of Biafra, Biafra
Zionist Movement, Government in Sudan
exile: Biafran Government in exile
Radio News Broadcast: www. Ethnic group: Fur, Zaghawe,
radiobiafra.co, www.peopleofbiafra. Masalit
org, www.biafragalaxy.com Proposed state: Darfur
Militant organization: Darfur
Rwanda Liberation Front
Status: War in Darfur
Ethnic group: Twa

northsouth November 2017 33

 features
Trumps war against the media
W hen President Trump tweeted
that the broadcast licenses
of NBC must be challenged, and if
appropriate, revoked because he
does not like the networks reporting
and only that of Fox News which
belongs to his pal Rupert Murdoch
who stokes his ego in a big way and
reports on Trumps activities in the
most blatant and sycophant manner.
The most surprising fact is that
the Trump-appointed Chairman
of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), as well as two
Republican commissioners, were
totally silent for two days. This is a
dangerous precedent to freedom of
expression.
The two Democratic
commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and
Jessica Rosenworcel, immediately
spoke up on this constitutional
affront.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and
Commissioner Brendan Carr were
both appointed by Donald Trump,
and Commissioner Mike ORielly is
a former Republican congressional
staffer who supposedly prides
himself on strict adherence to the law
34 November 2017 northsouth
and the respect of the constitution,
especially the First Amendment that
government officials must respect
press freedom whether they like the
coverage or not.
It is embarrassing that the FCC
seems incapable of speaking out to
defend freedom of the press when
it may be contrary to a presidential
tweet.
By their silence, the Republicans
at the FCC have joined in the
Presidents strategy to get at media
networks that the President does not
agree with and labels the enemy.
It is common knowledge that
since his arrival in the White House,
Trump has embarked on a war
against media networks that do
not cover his policies or activities
favourably. He only likes reporters
or media networks that suck up to
his every whim and dislikes the ones
that report the truth and cover events
objectively as they have always done.
The FCC looks sheepish as it failed
to make clear that the government
cannot bully them or the US press
at large. In otherwise, it has become
complicit with Trumps antagonistic
attitude against the media whether
national or international.
By their inaction, the Republican
FCC commissioners have already
violated their oath to uphold the
Constitution. That sacred document
is clear: The government is not
to suppress ideas and opinion.
There is no ambiguity in the First
Amendment.
The commissioners owe it to the
American public and the Constitution
they swore to uphold to issue an
immediate and clear statement that
speech is a protected right, and that
the administration has no role in
the matter of broadcast licenses.
They should also issue an apology
to the citizens of the United States
that they took over two days to get
around to telling America the truth.
It is widely accepted that the
United States of America is more
divided than ever before since
Trump took office. One explanation
that has received notable empirical
attention recently is the role of
the news media in shaping public
opinion. The news media can indeed
shift viewers political leanings, but

this effect is only notable on the
political right.
A recent American Economic
review paper by Gregory J. Martin
and Ali Yurukoglu investigates the
role of cable news viewership on
partisan vote shares. they find that
Fox news played an increasingly
important role in presidential
elections between 2000 and 2008.
their analysis suggests that, had
the network not existed (and no
similarly conservative network
arose in its absence, perhaps an
unlikely counterfactual), the overall
republican presidential vote share
would have been 0.46 percentage
points lower in 2000, 3.59 points
lower in 2004, and 6.34 points
lower in 2008. their methodology
Kenya election re-run incomplete
and uncertainty looms
K enyans who boycotted a repeat
presidential election voiced
relief last month after authorities
indefinitely delayed further
attempts to hold the vote in some
opposition areas due to the risk of
violence.
But while the election boards
decision stemmed the prospect of
more clashes, it also pushed to the
fore a new question: can President
uhuru Kenyatta be declared winner
of a vote in which ballots were not
cast in more than 20 of Kenyas 290
constituencies?
Kenyatta has won more than
97 percent of votes counted so far,
according to a local media tally.
But with turnout estimated below
35 percent and the country deeply
divided, his hopes for a decisive
mandate to lead east Africas richest
economy have been quashed.
two days after polling in the rest
of the country, voting had been due
to take place in four counties where
President Kenyatta (L) and raila odinga
news & views to bridge the global divide
rested on the apparently random
channel order of Fox news in
different geographic areas, and the
fact that a lower channel number
means more viewers, independent
of the local areas political leanings.
By using this independent and
random measure of the likelihood
that someone will be exposed to Fox
news, they are able to estimate its
causal effect.
According to researchers at Pew,
Fox news was the main source of
election news for 40 per cent of
trump voters, while there was no
equivalently dominant source of
coverage among Clinton supporters
18 per cent of Clinton voters
pointed to Cnn as their main source
of coverage, followed by MsnBC (9
residents blocked roads and clashed
with police as part of an opposition
boycott.
opposition leader raila odinga
pulled out of the contest, a rerun
called after Augusts election was
annulled by the supreme Court over
procedural irregularities. he said
the contest against Kenyatta was
not going to be fair. odinga won
44.7 per cent of the vote then, on
a turnout of nearly 80 per cent. In
the re-run vote, Kenyatta faced six
northsouth
per cent), Facebook (8 per cent),
and local television networks (8
per cent). If the growing influence
documented by Martin and
Yurujoglu continued through the
most recent election cycle, the Fox
news effect might have moved an
election-changing portion of the
electorate in trumps favour.
trust in the media might be at
an all-time low, but its influence on
the political scene is not waning.
Big money or rising concentration
of ownership of media outlets is
now playing an even bigger role in
cable programming and political
influence but control of the media
could become the determining factor
in electoral successes or failures in
future. ali Bahaijoub
minor candidates, none of whom
won more than 1 per cent in August.
In odinga strongholds, such as
Kisumu, residents had defiantly
blocked roads, clashed with police,
and intimidated election officials to
prevent voting.
the first legal challenge came less
than 24 hours after the rerun vote,
when an activist filed a case seeking
to nullify the election, which the
opposition rejected as a sham.
neither of the two main parties,
November 2017 35
 nor the election board had any
appearances scheduled, leaving the
country waiting for the next step as
the votes are counted.
If the expected legal challenges
fail to clear a path out of the crisis,
including a possible order for
another rerun, the result will be the
continuation of a protracted and
economically damaging stalemate
between the Kenyatta and Odinga
camps.
The electoral saga is polarizing the
nation and slowing growth in what
has been one of Africas most vibrant
economies, as well as a regional
trade hub and a powerful security
ally for Western nations. A decade
ago, 1,200 Kenyans were killed in
violence after a disputed poll.
Violence has killed at least five
people since voting took place.
People died from gunshot wounds
and beatings by police, according to
hospital staff. In the aftermath of the
August election, at least 45 people
died during a police crackdown on
opposition supporters, according to
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
With nearly all followers of
opposition leader Raila Odinga
heeding the veterans call for a
boycott, Kenyattas victory is not in
question. Less clear is his ability to
unite the east African nation, whose
deep ethnic divisions have been
exposed during a bloody and chaotic
election process stretched over the
last three months and multiple court
cases.
Rising tensions and the threat
of violence could result in a
constitutional crisis. Both sides of
the political divide must move away
from harsh words and antagonism
and find mutually acceptable
electoral reforms to allow elections
to proceed peacefully and orderly
otherwise chaos will be ensue.
 Alan Brown

The twists and turns along chinas belt and road

Chinas trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative could potentially transform relations with over
60 countries across Eurasia, Africa and beyond. But to bring the concept to fruition, Beijing
must overcome mammoth logistical obstacles, navigate fragile political situations and placate
growing regional apprehension surrounding its ambitions, writes Michael Kovrig
The project of the century is how the Belt and Road is now the guiding the Belt and Road, these existing
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi framework for its international and proposed projects leverage
touted the Belt and Road Initiative to economic statecraft. Chinas strengthsvast reserves of
the world when addressing the UN Formally launched in 2013, capital, business savvy, engineering
General Assembly on 21 September. the vision combines a Silk Road expertise, and production and
It was only the latest in a series Economic Belt along the ancient construction capacityto generate
of pronouncements and events, Eurasian routes, a 21st Century geopolitical influence and reshape
including a Belt and Road Forum in Maritime Silk Road through the trade patterns.
Beijing in May and the ninth BRICS South China Sea and across the The Belt and Road is conceived
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indian Ocean, and other Asian of as a multipurpose umbrella
South Africa) summit in Xiamen in transportation corridors, logistics for foreign policy and domestic
early September, choreographed to hubs and investments. China hopes to development. It is both a means to
position China at the vanguard of a construct a network that will connect open markets, export overcapacity,
new stage of globalisation. Step by remote economies and drive renewed generate employment, reduce
step, China is demonstrating that prosperity. Collectively dubbed regional inequalities, promote

36 November 2017 northsouth


political stability and security
through prosperity, as well as
ultimately restore Chinas spheres of
influence to their historic highs. It is
estimated to involve a trillion dollars
in projected financing.
Many observers are understandably
skeptical of such an ambitious,
expensive and risky vision. While
Chinas remote borderlands showcase
world-class domestic transportation
infrastructure and special trade and
economic zones, the condition of
roads and other structures declines
abruptly beyond Chinas frontiers.
Such situations frustrate a China
that has depended on international
trade for its stunning rise and
is now facing slowing GDP and
diminishing returns on investment
at home. There is a sense of ambition
and economic dynamism or at least
a slowing simulacrum of it based on
state-financed fixed asset investment
bursting at Chinas seams. The hope
is that by exporting its economic
model to over 60 countries across
Eurasia, Africa and beyond, and
fostering alternate routes to Europe,
it can rekindle global and domestic
growth.
Navigating Regional Relations
To put its vision into practice,
China will have to reckon with
many twists in the Belt and turns
in the Road. It will take more
than public relations, propaganda
and public pronouncements to
persuade many participants that
the economic benefits outweigh
their apprehensions about Chinas
expanding geopolitical footprint.
The starkest example is Chinas
border with North Korea, where a
recent Crisis Group research trip
was rattled when it coincided with
Pyongyangs sixth nuclear test at
Punggye-ri on 3 August. China has
set up trade and processing zones
around the border cities of Dandong,
Yanji and Hunchun and linked
them to the provincial capitals with
high-speed rail. The missing link
is access to the sea through North
Koreas Rason port. For now, these
plans are stalled by international
sanctions and increasingly frosty
relations between Beijing and a
truculent Pyongyang that seems
to loathe China while paradoxically
depending on it for survival.
While North Korea marches
to its own drumbeat, frictions
elsewhere are a direct result of
Chinas own growing power and
presence. Beijing has often struck
an assertive, even aggressive tone
that is discordant with the Belt
and Roads peaceful message. This
has manifested through a growing
strategic rivalry with the U.S. and
its allies, maritime sovereignty
disputes in the East China Seaand
South China Sea, tensions across
the Taiwan Strait, and pressure on
South Korea over the deployment of
Americas Terminal High Altitude
Area Defense (THAAD) anti-
missile system. At home, Chinas
increasingly restrictive national
security laws and persistent barriers
to market entry have cooled the
ardour of many foreign companies
to do business in China. Together,
these policies stoke tension, fear and
mistrust that undercut Chinas Belt
and Road overtures.
The recent Himalayan border
standoff with India in Doklam, a
contested territory on the border
between China and Bhutan, is but
the latest illustration that while
roads can connect, they can also
divide. Although the spat was
hastily patched up ahead of Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modis
attendance at the September BRICS
summit, it underlined how Beijings
new ambitions on land and sea have
unnerved India with fears it could
be encircled while its neighbours
are co-opted even as many in
New Delhi say that the economic
relationship with China is valuable.
Indias challenge is to balance the
geopolitical and economic aspects
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
of the relationship. As in the South
China Sea, Chinese construction
activities in the Himalayas have
acquired an ominous strategic
shadow for its neighbours.
Relations with another BRICS
representative, Russias Vladimir
Putin, are much warmer thanks to
good personal chemistry with Xi, a
regular schedule of bilateral meetings,
and increasingly aligned interests
due to Russias estrangement from
Europe and simmering disputes with
Washington. But despite the friendly
optics, Xi and Putin have complicated
issues to manage, particularly
in Central Asia where their two
initiatives Chinas Silk Road
Economic Belt and Russias Eurasian
Economic Union have divergent
purposes and priorities and face many
obstacles. Despite having committed
to cooperating in principle, China and
Russia could see increased rivalry due
to competing visions.
Still, the example of Russia and
Central Asia suggests the BRICS
and other participants in the Belt
and Road have an opportunity to
shape Chinas rise along a path of
mutual benefits. This will require
governments to take the initiative
seriously and be strategic about
their responses, weighing both
economic and political implications.
While each country pursues its
own interests on the Belt and Road,
they may also find it helpful to
share insights and best practices
on engaging with increasingly
influential Chinese actors.
Expertise First, Development
Second
Applied wisely, the Belt and
Road and supporting institutions
could be vehicles for China to
play an increasingly important,
cooperative and beneficial role
in the international system. The
bulk of financing is likely to come
from the China Development Bank,
China Exim Bank, New Silk Road
Fund and state banks. The Asian
November 2017 37
 Infrastructure Investment Bank
and New Development Bank can
add global expertise and legitimacy
as well as funding. Together, they
could enable China to deploy capital,
technology and engineering capacity
to help millions escape poverty, just
as it has done at home. But this will
have to be balanced with factors at
the country and local level. Belt and
Road projects will have to contend
with a myriad of complex political,
security and social situations. These
include terrorism, violent extremism,
inter-ethnic tensions, xenophobia,
brittle authoritarian regimes, and
political systems and behaviours that
perpetuate high levels of corruption
and inequality.
Chinas basic premise is that
economic development will alleviate
these problems. In some ways it may,
but if prosperity is unequally shared,
local communities are not consulted
on projects that affect them, and
reforms of institutions and systems
of governance fail to keep pace with
inflows of investment, then the
Belt and Road could make fragile
situations worse. Some Chinese
analysts argue that so long as the
interests of ruling elites in Belt and
Road countries are aligned with
Chinas, problems can be managed.
History suggests otherwise. No
Trumps risky Iran nuclear deal
O n
U.S.
13 October
President
Trumpannounced his decision
2017,
Donald
to forgo the certificationof Irans
nuclear deal with the West, just
two days before the deadline, and
to slap a new round of sanctions
on a portion of the government in
Tehran.
Now that the deal is being
threatened by Trump, it is hard to
tell if getting rid of the deal will
accomplish what those against it
want to see. His objectives are at
best unclear and likely unrealistic.
38 November 2017 northsouth
wonder many of Chinas own
enterprises are cautious about
putting costly and uncertain Belt
and Road projects on their balance
sheets. To mitigate the risk, China
and its partners will need to deepen
their understanding of neighbouring
countries and situations, and be
more transparent, inclusive and
accountable in implementing
projects. This could include:
consistently engaging with affected
communities; taking their interests
into account; assessing the political
as well as economic implications of
projects; and ensuring that benefits
are not simply divided as spoils
among unaccountable elites in
backroom deals. Just as necessary
will be to study the drivers of
terrorism and appeal of extremist
ideologies, and investing in more
nuanced policy responses.
Crisis Groups research illuminates
many of these challenges in Belt and
Road countries across South East
Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, the
Middle East and North Africa, and
the Horn of Africa. Our research
on Jihad in Modern Conflictalso
has relevant insights for counter-
terrorism across much of the Belt
and Road.
Companies, financial institutions
and other organisations involved in
US Congress will not likely re-
impose all sanctions but will try
to rewrite it, bringing ire from
European allies who believe the
Presidents decision is wrong and
counterproductive. Indeed, the
decertification process has cast
doubt on the future trustworthiness
of the United States especially after
Trump has already jumped ship
with regards to the Paris climate
change agreement to the dismay of
the whole world.
Trumps foreign policy is neither
strategic nor competent. It is
Belt and Road projects will have to
be more rigorous in assessing and
addressing political and security
risks. Quantitative metrics and
vague strategic frameworks are
not enough. It requires extensive
field research, engaging on the
ground and making qualitative
judgements. Chinas own capacity
to assess political and country
risk is not keeping pace with its
sprinting ambitions. To rectify
that, Beijing should empower its
policymakers, universities and
think-tanks to engage freely with
foreign counterparts and provide
frank assessments of pitfalls and
policy flaws.
Through his vision of a new Silk
Road, President Xi has invoked the
potent historical imagery of China
as a pole of commerce, prosperity
and stability. He and his advisers
would do well to also draw
inspiration from another high
point in Chinas long history the
Tang Dynasty, which flourished in
large part because of its cultural
and intellectual openness to
the world. By ensuring that its
policies and actions live up to the
lofty rhetoric, China has a chance
to truly foster the soft power,
influence and admiration that it
clearly seeks.
sometimes childish to the detriment
of US interest abroad.
In 2017, America is contending
with a world of multiple challenges
that would be excruciatingly difficult
even for the most experienced and
well-managed administration.
Imposing a travel ban on Muslims,
building a wall along the border
with Mexico, withdrawing from
the Trans-Pacific Partnership and
the Paris climate accord to not
certifying the Iran nuclear accord
and to courting authoritarians,
President Trump has apparently

Iran nuclear deal negotiators
made disruption and destruction of
his predecessors policies his prime
directive and it is clear for anyone to
see. The logic of his approach seems
driven not by ideology as much as
personal aversion to Obamas policies
and the need to satisfy his campaign
commitments and the political
requirements of his right-wing
followers. Trump has left a vacuum
that has shaken US allies, provided
opportunities for adversaries and
undermined US credibility and
influence around the world.
Nowhere is the absence of
strategic thinking more painfully
obvious than in Trumps decision to
decertify the Iran deal in the hope
that congressional Republicans
can pass tougher sanctions that
will frighten the Europeans and
Iranians into amending the nuclear
accord. This is wishful thinking as
European allies made it quite clear
that they are not prepared to renege
on the deal with Iran after months
of painstaking negotiations.
Having opened up the certification
process, the President has now
guaranteed a new competitive and
combustible phase in US-Iranian
Time to reset African Union-EU relations
Relations between the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) reached a nadir in 2016
following serious disagreements over European payments to AU peacekeepers in Somalia,
writes Crisis Group
T he fifth AU-EU summit in
November presents a chance
to reinvigorate the partnership if
both sides can deal openly with
disagreements, address deep-seated
mutual frustration and agree to
tackle the root causes driving
migrants toward Europe.
Both organizations are in
transition, undergoing internal
reforms that will have serious
implications for their future peace
and security partnership. After
significant disagreements in 2016
news & views to bridge the global divide
relations. The Presidents decision
not to certify that Iran is complying
with the 2015 nuclear agreement is
a departure according to the terms
of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Review
Act (INARA).
Trump has now set into motion the
possibility that the deal will unravel
over time without the slightest
indication that an alternative
plan will be in place should that
happen. And in reopening the
nuclear agreement he risks having
Iran advance its nuclear weapons
programme at a time when he
confronts a far worse nuclear
challenge from North Korea that he
cannot resolve and that may cause
havoc if triggered.
over European Union (EU) payments
to troops in the African Union (AU)
mission in Somalia, there is now
considerable political will on both
sides to strengthen cooperation.
While collaboration has improved
in some areas in recent months,
deep-seated frustrations over
financing and each others perceived
deficiencies remain strong. Relations
are too emotional, bound up in
colonial history a breeding ground
for mistrust and resentment. If
the relationship is to be deepened,
northsouth
Walking away from the Iran
deal will only convince North
Koreas leader European allies that
Washingtons word cannot be trusted
and there is no point in pursuing
diplomacy. That plan is both reckless
and unnecessary, the very antithesis
of strategic competence.
As with so many Trump
administration policies, the so-
called strategy on Iran is long on
words and short on actions and
implementation plans. Due to his
lack of political experience in world
affairs, he may well find himself
embroiled in messy, open-ended,
and unwinnable conflicts with Iran,
Russia and their proxies.
 Ali Bahaijoub
both sides must deal openly with
disagreements. Deliberations should
be less transactional, moving away
from a narrow list of African
demands and negotiations over
what the EU willpay for. Instead,
they must be more strategic, based
upon clearly articulated interests.
The AU has embarked on a
potentially transformative process
of institutional reform that, if
implemented, will make it leaner and
more efficient and should increase its
financial self-sufficiency. However,
November 2017 39

there are significant challenges to
the AUs authority resulting from
the changing nature of conflict
in Africa, especially the spread of
jihadist and other non-state armed
groups, and the concomitant rise of
ad hoc military coalitions to combat
them, such as the Multinational
Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad
basin and the G5 Sahel. These
changes also bring into question
the suitability and sustainability of
the continents peace and security
architecture. Designed in the 2000s,
it is now under strain and in need
of wholesale review. The AU needs to
clearly set out its strategic priorities
and define its role in peace and
security, deciding whether to focus
on developing and harmonising
policy and maintaining political
oversight or becoming an
implementer of projects. It also
should reassess its relations with
the regional economic communities,
a central element of the continents
security architecture, clarifying
which organisations should take the
lead in conflict situations.
Will Hamas Fatah truce survive
T he Hamas-Fatah reconciliation
following a meeting in Cairo,
Egypt, on 12 Octoberin Cairo came
as a surprise to many political
analysts, who understandably
expected another failure after a
dozen or so unsuccessful efforts in
the decade-long rift between the two
main Palestinian factions. Many of
40 November 2017 northsouth
With the prospect of the UKs
exit, the EU is preparing for life
without one of its most influential
and wealthy member states. This
inevitably will impact its relations
with the AU, as will renegotiation
of the Cotonou Agreement, a
partnership between the EU and 79
sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific countries which expires in
2020. The African Peace Facility, the
main source of EU support for the
AUs peace and security activities,
is funded through the agreements
financial instrument, the European
Development Fund.
The EU is one of the AUs most
significant peace and security
partner; since 2004 it has provided
more than 2 billion ($2.39 billion)
in assistance. The question of
financing is one of the areas of
greatest tension between the two
institutions. Their relationship
is essentially that of donor and
recipient but both are reluctant to
characterise it as such, even though
they actively, if inadvertently,
perpetuate the dependency. The EU
the details of the latest Cairo deal
have not yet emerged as further
talks are scheduled to take place
on 21 November. However, bearing
in mind the chaotic situation in
the Middle East in the last decade,
optimism appears to be the order
of the day as no the continued
dispute beteeen the two sides can
AU
 Commission chairperson Mahamat and
EU Council president Donald Tusk
increasingly resents being treated
like a cash machine, especially as
it believes it does not receive due
recognition. It wants the AU to pay
its fair share. The AU claims to
want this too. It wishes to reduce
its reliance on external support
and, as a result, member states have
agreed to proposals for a 0.2 per
cent levy on imports to the continent
that could generate more than $1.2
billion per year. This is essential. If
the suggested levy is not workable
for some or all member states,
alternative solutions must quickly
be found.
The vexed donor-recipient
dynamic is further complicated by
tensions over the legacy of European
colonisation, which intensified
greatly during Nkosazana Dlamini-
Zumas tenure as AU Commission
chairperson. This has a detrimental
effect on trust and confidence,
prevents free and frank discussions
and bars progress toward an
interest-based partnership.
The AU-EU summit is unlikely
to be as transformational as the
two institutions would wish
preparations have not progressed
far enough for this. But it could
still be a useful springboard for
more strategic discussions and
movement towards an interest-
based relationship, if the following
steps are implemented: Pursue a
pragmatic partnership based on
mutual interests, Focus on strategic
and political interests and Put
migration on the agenda.
only exacerbate the situation of
Palestinians who have suffered
under occupation for decades and
continue to endure all sorts of
discrimination and hardship.
Many Palestinians and outsiders
are still skeptical of the Palestinian
reconciliation partly because of
several past failures, starting with

the Mecca Agreement in February
2007 throughthe Beach Refugee
Camp Agreement in April 2014.
There are also a number of unsettled
issues between the two parties,
which can be seen as landmines
facing Palestinian reconciliation.
Nevertheless, the representative
of Fatah Azzam al-Ahmad and
Hamas Salah al-Arouri said during
their joint press conference that
this was not a new deal, but rather
a new commitment to implementing
previous agreements. The agreement
reached appears to concentrate on
major issues relevant to the local
population, as well as toEgyptand
Israel - specifically who effectively
runs the territory of Gaza.
The initial phase would include
the reopening of the Rafah
crossing to Egypt under the control
of Palestinian Authority (PA)
Presidential Guards on 1 November,
the resumption of PA governance in
Gaza starting on 1 December1, and
the reintegration ofHamas officials
into the PA ministries in Gaza.
A joint committee would be
established to implement the third
point.
As part of the resumption
of PA authority in Gaza,
PresidentMahmoud Abbas would
end the sanctions imposed on
Hamas new deputy leader Salah al-
Arui (L) and Fatahs Azzam al-Ahmad
news & views to bridge the global divide
Gaza in August and resume
funding of essential governmental
functions, such as electricity
and employee salaries. What the
new agreement does not seem
to include is implementation of
broader, more political aspects
of previous reconciliation deals,
such as incorporating Hamas
into thePalestinian Liberation
Organization(the body that
negotiates with Israel, dominated
byFatah), reconvening the elected
Palestinian Legislative Council, or
holding general elections.
Another sticking point is the
inclusion of Hamas arms and
fighters into a broader force under
PA control. Whether this point of
discord will be ironed out before
the next meeting is anyones
guess. Nonetheless, ten years after
Hamas took control of Gaza from
the PA, the Strip is verging on an
unprecedentedhumanitarian crisis.
Food shortage and basix
amenities are an everyday feature
while electricity has been limited
to a few hours a day, the Rafah
crossing point to Egypt remains
closed, and economic conditions
remain very bleak, to say the least.
International assistance especially
the UN bodies have played a pivotal
role in keeping the territory afloat
northsouth
otherwise disaster would have
struck a desperate population
seeking political independence,
self-sufficiency and a decent living.
Hamas leaders are aware that
without outside help, there would
be a genuine human disaster the
responsibility of which would be
attributed to Hamas.
Egypt has reconsidered its
position vis-a-vis Hamas by giving
up calling it a terrorist entity
hoping that Hamas cooperation
would curtail the flow of arms
and fighters to the insurgency in
theSinai Peninsula.
As for Israel, Prime Minister
Benyamin Netanyahuinsisted
that the Palestinian reconciliation
must be based on the three Quartet
conditions: any Palestinian
government must renounce
violence, recognise Israel, and
accept the agreements negotiated
between Israel and the PLO since
1993.
The question is whether the
United States would take part in
the process to seal a lasting and
acceptable solution to Israel and
Palestinians or President Donald
Trump is too busy bickering at home
with the media and representatives
of the US Congress. Ali Bahaijoub
November 2017 41
 Ukraines diplomatic battlefronts:
US weapons and UN peacekeepers
The front lines between the Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed forces in eastern Ukraine may
be static but see frequent and violent firefights while diplomatic manoeuvering over new U.S.
lethal weapons for Kyiv risks aggravating the conflict andRussias UN peacekeeping proposal
could prove a distraction from a genuine solution, writes Magdalena Grono of Crisis Group
W ashington is considering
providing Kyiv with lethal
weapons, worrying many residents
of eastern Ukraine and not just
separatist rebels or pro-Russian
sympathisers. Most people here
dont think about what these
weapons would mean in practice
but of course I am scared, an
outspoken city council member
generally loyal to Kyiv told me
in Severodonetsk. The town has
been Kyivs administrative centre
for the Luhansk oblast since 2014
when its main city and former
administrative centre, Luhansk,
fell into Russia-backed rebel hands.
Another new dimension to
the international struggle over
Ukraine are competing proposals
from Moscow and Kyiv for a new
UN peacekeeping operation that
would keep armed forces apart in
the main conflict areas in eastern
Ukraine. So far, however, it is
unclear whether these are schemes
designed to sow confusion or
genuinely intended to lead to a
separation of forces.
Not much is known either about
what weapons the U.S. might
provide to Ukraine, although media
reports suggest it could be a $50
million package featuring shoulder-
mounted Javelin anti-tank missiles.
U.S. Defense Secretary James
Mattis reconfirmed U.S. backing
for Ukraines territorial integrity
on a visit to Kyiv on 24 August,
a welcome signal of support after
the uncertainties of the early days
of the Trump administration. At
the same time, Mattis said the U.S.
was reviewing the provision of
lethal weapons. President Trumps
approval of any arms deal would
42 November 2017 northsouth
be a sharp change of direction
after years of refusal by the Obama
administration.
Opinion is sharply divided over
what impact military or political
the provision of lethal weapons
would have on a war that has
killed more than 10,000 people
since 2014. Sceptics in this highly
polarised debate cannot be written
off merely as Russia appeasers;
the military and political pressure
such an arms deal could provide
is limited. This is why it is all the
more important to consider how
the lethal arms provision would
affect the humanitarian situation
on the ground.
Meaningful defence or pouring
oil on fire?
In military terms, those in
favour say the weaponry would
be solely defensive and would
improve Kyivs chances to push
back against Russias continued
aggression in eastern Ukraine.
They say the arms package would
allow Ukraines armed forces to
face the volatile situation along
the line of separation with more
confidence and the most optimistic
argue the mere presence of such
weaponry would deter any attempts
by Russian and separatist forces to
shift the front line and acquire more
territory. The newly-appointed
U.S. Special Representative
for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has
dismissed the Obama-era argument
that supplying weaponry to Kyiv
would likely provoke an escalation
by the Kremlin, calling the
logic backwards and stressing
deterrence.
Those who oppose such a move
warn it would give Kyiv little
military advantage or deterrence
capability. First, they point to
the current situation on the
ground. The conflict generally is
stable: positions along the line of
separation are static and neither
side is pushing for more territory,
even if the sides have moved
farther into the so-called grey zone
over the past months. But there are
still frequent and heavy exchanges
of fire, which claim both military
and civilian casualties. Some fear
that this deadly stalemate could
settle into protracted conflict,
as in other disputes in Russias
neighbourhood. But providing
lethal weapons would do little if
anything to change the situation
on the ground or deter the most
frequent kind of military action
now taking place, the tactical use
of rockets and other artillery to test
the adversarys resolve.
The most commonly discussed
weapon Javelin anti-tank
missiles illustrates this point.
Kyiv first asked its partners for
these portable missiles in 2014
when battles were raging and they
arguably could have strengthened
Ukraines positions. But today,
provision of Javelins would
constitute little more than political
symbolism. As a Western diplomat
commented: Kyiv wants a decisive
show of support from the West.
Whether this is the right form now
is not relevant: Ukraine has been
wedded to this request for the past
three years, so backing down is
politically inopportune. Getting the
weapons will be a powerful signal.
Opponents of the lethal weapons
package point to another issue,
which relates to broader strategic

calculations. Pouring $50 million
worth of lethal arms into an
already heavily militarised conflict
zone likely will be met by matching
Russian support for the rebels. The
result would be an increasingly
militarised zone of conflict,
and more fighting. This is why
Europeans generally have pushed
against such a decision, with the
exception, among NATO allies, of
Lithuania, though many provide
other forms of military aid. One
could argue that the West should
give Kyiv the weaponry it needs to
take on the rebels and their Russian
supporters. But this would be a
risky, costly and uncertain gamble
and something for which few if any
Western countries have an appetite.
That Ukraine has the right to
defend itself is beyond dispute. Kyiv
has been understandably unhappy
about its Western partners
emphasis on strengthening the
governments long-term resilience
rather than its military arsenal.
We feel left alone with Russia and
dont see the focus on resilience
as something that is helping us,
a Ukrainian security analyst told
me in June. But tactical military
escalation is hardly the answer
to a conflict that has no military
solution. Under the circumstances,
the West can be most effective by
maintaining sanctions on Russia
while helping Ukraine build robust
institutions and professionalise its
armed forces.
Encouraging Negotiations or
More Conflict?
The political, not the military,
impact of providing lethal weapons
is the real issue. Here too there
are stark differences between
assessments of how it would affect
negotiations. Supporters claim
provision of these weapons would
strengthen Ukraines hand in the
Normandy Format and Trilateral
Contact Group negotiations, the
main settlement venues for the
conflict, giving Kyiv a better
chance to achieve stronger security
and political outcomes.
But others consider this too
optimistic. Critics, and not only
pro-Russian ones, warn that
providing lethal weapons could
further aggravate a zero-sum
negotiation process that has failed
to address issues central to a future
settlement. Power and perceptions
of power are used as a negotiating
chip in the talks, commented a
senior diplomat involved with the
process, adding that neither side
can afford to give in to a show of
force and therefore each would
respond with counter-measures of
its own. Indeed, ever since active
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
fighting for territorial gains
ceased, the application of force by
one side or the other has never
helped efforts to end the conflict.
Such a logic arguably could change
if the balance of power were to shift
substantially. But that does not
appear to be in the cards for the
foreseeable future.
A lethal weapons package
that Russia could easily match
is unlikely to have any political
impact. It will not address the
imbalance between Ukraines and
Russias military capacities, nor
the mismatch between the level
of Western and Russian interest
in Ukraine. The West does not
want to engage in an armed proxy
confrontation with Russia over
Ukraine, a reality both Moscow
and Kyiv understand. While the
provision of lethal weapons could
boost Ukraines confidence and
tactical posture in the talks, it is
unlikely to change their course,
even if accompanied by a strong
push by the West for diplomatic
progress.
Beating down the Temperature
The conflicts centre of gravity
is not in eastern Ukraine, but
that is where the situation is most
unstable. The Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission
November 2017 43
 reports anything from dozens to
thousands of ceasefire violations
each day. Ceasefire commitments
periodically are renewed at
Christmas, Easter, for the harvest
or the start of the school year to
give those living in the conflict
zone a sense of normalcy. But
these pauses invariably fizzle out,
making way for new hostilities.
Constant insecurity aggravates
the humanitarian situation.
Front line villages are especially
vulnerable given the intermixing
of civilians with armed actors
on both sides. Shelling of vital
infrastructure is common.
Interruptions of water and
electricity supplies heighten the
crisis, especially in the summer
and winter months. Infrastructure
also suffers from tremors caused
by recurrent shelling and needs
frequent repair.
Windows of silence, or
humanitarian ceasefires, have
been hard to negotiate, although
they periodically allow repair
teams to weld leaking pipes or
reconnect broken wires. Recent
rounds of talks offer hope for
establishing safety zones around
key infrastructure hubs, such as
the Donestk Filtration Station that
provides water to over 345,000
people.
Negotiating these safety zones
or implementing the last of three
agreed disengagement areas would
improve civilian lives in parts of
the war zone, but these are small
steps.
Destructive weaponry still would
remain within firing range, and the
disengagement areas do not cover
the most pernicious hotspots along
the line. The systemic malaise
would remain unaddressed.
A diplomat involved with the
settlement talks said: We are
beating down the temperature,
not healing the illness.
Focusing on the Bigger Picture
44 November 2017 northsouth
In this context, adding lethal
U.S. weaponry risks shifting the
focus away from what ought to
be the priority: fashioning short-
and long-term steps to settle or at
least manage the conflict. While a
comprehensive political solution
is not within immediate reach,
much could be done to minimise
the conflicts human cost. The
greatest immediate danger is the
deployment of weapons systems
and hostile forces close to the line
of separation.
Ceasefires are already hard to
arrange and implement. They
require all sides to make tough
decisions, pass orders to all forces
in the field and discipline those
who do not comply. A diplomat told
me that when Ukrainian soldiers
were asked how they heard about
the latest ceasefire, called ahead of
the start of the school year, some
answered that they had learned
about it from TV.
Although Moscow bears
significant responsibility for the
conflict, Ukrainian authorities
also needs to take difficult steps to
stabilise the east and better manage
the humanitarian situation.
Demonstrating full commitment to
the ceasefire, disengaging forces,
and formulating an inclusive
vision for the reintegration of the
divided regions populations would
be a good start, particularly as
positions harden on both sides.
Kyivs Western partners need to
press Ukraine to implement such
measures before the countrys
2019 presidential election. In
the run up to that poll, Kyiv also
should redouble its reform efforts,
especially regarding systemic and
high-level corruption.
While maintaining sanctions is
important to convince Moscow its
engagement in eastern Ukraine
is costly and dangerous, the U.S.
and the European Union (EU) also
need to increase pressure on the
Russian Federation, including in
the OSCE, to allow monitoring of
the Russian-Ukrainian border in
rebel-controlled areas.
This would allow the movement of
weapons and supplies across those
border segments to be tracked. The
debate in the UN over different draft
proposals by Moscow and Kyiv for
a peacekeeping force in Ukraine
is also a good opportunity for
Ukraines Western partners to insist
that Moscow allow for transparency
along the Russian-Ukraine border
as a first step. Meanwhile, Moscow
should press its allies in rebel-held
areas to urgently comply with
their ceasefire commitments and
withdraw heavy weapons.
The idea of a peacekeeping
operation is well worth pursuing,
even if Moscows intentions appear
to be to create a diversion rather
than seek a genuine solution.
Though likely to stumble on
difficult issues such as mandate,
area of deployment and composition
to cite just a few it ultimately
could help unzip the line of
separation and facilitate a genuine
disengagement of forces.
Providing lethal weapons to
be deployed in the conflict zone
should not be a priority for Kyivs
partners. Such a step could not
invalidate the status quo, which,
however imperfect, is preferable
to escalating violence; nor would
it produce substantive progress
toward settlement. In Kramatorsk,
a local humanitarian worker
showed me pictures of Soviet-era
shells, recently fired at front-line
villages, enhanced in makeshift
ways for more lethal impact. He
said the sides were copying one
another in their use. New weapons
in the area are unlikely to affect the
sides broader calculations, but are
sure to impact or even end the lives
of those who live along the line of
separation. This can and should be
avoided.

Chinas Xi lays out vision for new era
19/10/17- Chinese President
Xi Jinping last month laid out
a confident vision for a more
prosperous nation and its role in the
world, stressing the importance of
wiping out corruption and curbing
industrial overcapacity, income
inequality and pollution.
At the opening of the Communist
Party Congress in Beijing, Xi
pledged to build a modern socialist
country for a new era that will tackle climate change.
be proudly Chinese and steadfastly
ruled by the communist party but
open to the world.
In a speech that ran nearly 3-1/2
hours, he said Chinas development
had entered a new era, using the
phrase 36 times.
The twice-a-decade event, a
weeklong, mostly closed-door
conclave, culminated in the selection
of a new Politburo Standing
Committee to rule Chinas 1.4 billion
people for the next five years, with Xi
expected to consolidate his control
and potentially retain power beyond
2022, when the next congress takes
place.
The 64-year-old Xi, widely
regarded as the most powerful
Chinese leader since Mao Zedong,
spoke to more than 2,000 delegates
in Beijings Great Hall of the People,
in the presence of the 91-year-old
former president Jiang Zemin.
Xi said China would relax market
access for foreign investment,
expand access to its services sector
and deepen market-oriented reform
of its exchange rate and financial
system, while at the same time
strengthening state firms. During
his first term, China disappointed
many investors who had expected
it to usher in more market-oriented
reforms, especially in the debt-laden
state sector.
The European Union Chamber of
Commerce in China said it welcomed
commitments to open wider the door
Chinese President Xi
and treat all companies equally, but
said European companies operating
in China continued to suffer from
promise fatigue. The only solution
for this promise is implementation,
it said in a statement.
In an indirect reference to U.S.
President Donald Trumps America
First policy, Xi promised that
China would be fully engaged with
the world, and reiterated pledges to
teachings were written into the
China will become a great modern
socialist country, Xi told the 2,287
delegates representing the countrys
political elite, according to Chinese
news agency Xinhua. The congress
in Beijing the 19th of its kind swiftly since assuming the party
has attracted intense scrutiny
from foreign policy analysts and
economists from around the world
as the countrys leadership presents
a vision for the next five years.
Xi set bold long-term goals for
Chinas development, envisioning it
as a basically modernised socialist
country by 2035, and a modern
socialist strong power with
leading influence on the world stage
by 2050.
But he signalled there would be
no significant political reforms,
calling Chinas system the broadest,
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
most genuine, and most effective
way to safeguard the interests of
the people.
China has revealed its new senior
leadership committee, breaking
with tradition by not including
a clear successor to President Xi
Jinping.
The omission cements Mr Xis
grip on leadership for the next five
years, a day after his name and his
constitution.
But it raises questions over
whether Mr Xi, 64, intends to rule
beyond 2022.
Xi has consolidated power
leadership in 2012, locking up
rivals for corruption, restructuring
the military and asserting Chinas
continued rise on the world stage
in commercial and military terms.
He also signalled there would be no
significant political reforms, calling
Chinas system the broadest, most
genuine, and most effective way
to safeguard the interests of the
people.
The most interesting development
during the party Congress is
the fact that Xi plans to use his
expanded authority to enable him
November 2017 45
 to stay on in a leadership capacity
after his second term ends in 2022.
That could include resurrecting
the position of party chairman,
a title that would put him on par
with Mao, the founding father of
modern China. The main challenge
facing the Chinese economy is
the balance between unbalanced
and inadequate development and
the peoples ever-growing needs
for a better life, Xi said, a notable
change from a previous focus on
rapid economic growth.
Top Chinese officials have praised
President Xis political ideology
unveiled at the Party Congress, an
indication that he could cement
his power with his new slogan
being incorporated into the partys
constitution.
Five new appointments were
made to the seven-member Politburo
Standing Committee, Chinas most
powerful body.
The committee is the top body of
Chinas all-powerful Communist
Party. Its role is to discuss and
decide on major policy issues.
The partys constitution says
Chinas top leader must also be a
member of the standing committee.
African protests over the CFA
colonial currency
A controversial Franco-Beninese activist who was charged over burning a 5,000 CFA note has
been acquitted by a court in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, writes Lamine Konkobo
K emi Seba was arrested last week
following a complaint by the
Central Bank of West African States
(BCEAO).
The CFA is a colonial-era currency
that is still used in several former
French colonies in Africa. Mr Seba is
among many activists calling for the
CFA to be abandoned, saying it is a
relic of French colonialism.
On Friday 25 August police officers
descended on a residence in Dakar
with an arrest warrant for probably
46 November 2017 northsouth
So appointments are keenly
watched.
In the new line-up, Premier Li
Keqiang, 62, is the only member to
retain his position, apart from Mr
Xi.
The committee is the top body of
Chinas all-powerful Communist
Party. Its role is to discuss and
decide on major policy issues.
Chinese leaders have traditionally
hinted at possible heirs through
committee reshuffles at the
beginning of their final term.
There had been speculation that
Mr Xi would elevate his protg rule the country.
Chen Miner and Guangdong party
secretary Hu Chunhua, both of
whom are in their 50s - young
enough to be credible successors.
But the fact that the new
appointees were all in their 60s,
and likely to retire at the end of this
five-year term, sends a different
signal.
The absence of any younger
members will fuel speculation about
Mr Xis long-term intentions.
The tradition emerged in the
1990s, when veteran leader Deng
Xiaoping sought to avoid a repeat of
the chaos that had marked the Mao
one of the most controversial black
activists in the Francophone world.
A week earlier, at a demonstration,
Kemi Seba, whose real name is
Stellio Gilles Robert Capochichi, in a
symbolic public protest against the
CFA, burnt a 5,000 CFA bank note.
The CFA is used in 12 francophone
African countries as well as Guinea
Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.
The BCEAO, which prints the
notes for West Africa, took issue
with the public destruction of what it
era and its immediate aftermath.
Mr Xis two predecessors have
followed the orderly pattern of
succession. But since he came to
power in 2012, he has shown his
readiness to write his own rules.
The party voted to entrench
Mr Xis name and ideology. The
unanimous vote to incorporate
Xi Jinping Thought into
the constitution significantly
strengthens his political control.
Even if he decided to stand down in
2022, his influence is now so great
that he could continue to effectively
Breaking the mould on the
succession is interpreted as part of
the Chinese presidents New Era, as
he has termed it.
Now that he has his name
crowned in the constitution this is
a key measure of his future status
as Chinas strong man.
However, the geopolitical
dynamics at play in the South
China Sea, home to the worlds
busiest trade routes and a labyrinth
of overlapping maritime claims,
will be one of the biggest challenges
facing Xis mandate. 
 Ali Bahaijoub
considered its property.
The bank sought court action and
Mr Seba was arrested on the charge
of destroying property, which could
have landed him in jail for up to
five years if he were found guilty.
The AFP news agency reports that
he was acquitted on a technicality.
Senegals penal code punishes the
destruction of banknotes rather than
a single bank note. Mr Seba is part of
a growing movement chorus calling
for the CFA to be dropped.

Who is Kemi Seba?
Mr Seba is a self-styled
Afrocentrist who was notorious in
France for founding a radical black
segregationist movement he called
Tribu Ka.
He is driven by a belief system -
known as kemetism - that is based
on legends about ancient Egypt; a
belief system which proclaims the
supremacy of the black race.
The controversial activist was
influenced by the Nation of Islam
(NOI), the black nationalist movement
founded in the 1930s in the United
States.
As a young man, he travelled to
the US where he handed out fliers
for NOI and listened to fiery sermons
by members of the organisation that
once had Malcolm X as a prominent
figure. Back in France, he became an
ambassador for NOI and later created
Tribu Ka.
His activism and rhetoric led to
brushes with the law and he was
regularly arrested by the police for
inciting hatred.
Popular outrage against Mr Seba
prompted then-president Jacques
Chirac to disband Tribu Ka using a
presidential decree.
Mr Seba re-launched his movement
under a new name - Generation Kemi
Seba - and with mounting pressure
both from civil society activists and
law enforcement, he fled France for
Senegal.
What is the CFA?
The CFA franc was created by
France in the late 1940s to serve as
a legal tender in its then-African
colonies, and it is one of the most
prominent signs of Frances
continued influence over its former
colonies.
The CFA franc is pegged to the
euro with the financial backing of
the French treasury.
news & views to bridge the global divide
While some see it as a guarantee of
financial stability, others attack it as
a colonial relic.
What are the arguments
for and against the
currency?
Proponents argue it shields the
14 countries using it from inflation
and uncertainty, pointing at
neighbouring Guinea as an example
of what may happen if the CFA is
dropped.
Guinea is a rare former French
colony in Africa which has its own
currency. But it regularly faces
currency shortages and its central
bank struggles to ensure its stability.
However, critics, such as those
leading the anti-CFA movement,
say true economic development for
the 14 African countries can only
be achieved if they get rid of the
currency.
They argue that in exchange for
the guarantees provided by the
French treasury, African countries
channel more money to France than
they receive in aid.
They also argue that they have no
say in deciding key monetary policies
agreed to by European countries,
which are members of the Eurozone.
Why are people
unhappy about the CFA?
Mr Seba might have been
harbouring an agenda of his own
when he turned up at the rally and
torched the bank note.
However, for most of the young
people who attended the protest, his
act was a legitimate sign of defiance
against a currency they consider
as a symbol of the economic and
financial domination by France of the
countries sharing it.
As one young protester told local
media, the act of torching of the note
was like when Nelson Mandela, the
anti-apartheid leader, burnt his pass
northsouth
book in protest against Apartheid
laws.
But the anger is not just directed
at France; it also directed towards
African leaders who activists accuse
of being complicit with France.
Most pro-democracy youth
movements in West Africa, such as
Yen a Mare in Senegal and le Balai
Citiyen in Burkina Faso, have made
the scrapping of the CFA a key plank
in their campaigns.
Those movements believe that the
end of the CFA will effectively end
Frances strong influence over their
countries.
What is France saying?
Officials in France have remained
quiet over the anti-CFA movement,
probably because any response
would only serve to further incense
the activists.
France is in a delicate position.
Anything coming from Paris in
defence of the CFA could be viewed
as proof of Frances vested interest in
keeping the colonial-era currency.
At any rate, no French president
before Emmanuel Macron had ever
expressed a willingness to let go of
the CFA.
However Mr Macron said, while
campaigning to become president,
that the decision to move away
from the currency was for African
countries to make.
No African leader in the 14
countries affected by the issue has
publicly responded to President
Macrons comment.
November 2017 47
 Colombias armed groups
battle for the spoils of peace
Colombias 2016 peace accord has brought 12,500 FARC fighters to civilian life, but in their
wake rival armed groups are battling for control of vacated territory and lucrative coca crops.
In order to roll back booming drug production and expanding non-state groups, the Colombian
government should provide local farmers with alternative livelihoods while developing
grassroots security and local governance, Write Crisis Group
T he peace process with Colombias
largest and longest standing
guerrilla group has defied its
detractors and brought 11,200 ex-
combatants to the cusp of civilian life,
but the aftermath of war has not been
safe for all. Since the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
withdrew from their rural heartlands
to gather in cantonments in early
2017, rival armed actors have taken
their place, waging a battle for spoils:
control of isolated communities
and territories, many rich in illicit
business. In the Pacific cocaine hub
of Tumaco, in hamlets of Choc, or in
contraband zones on the Venezuelan
border, established armed groups
and new insurgent breakaway
factions have attacked state forces,
intimidated communities and vied to
become undisputed local overlords.
Grassroots security is crucial to
assure the success of the peace
process with the FARC as it shifts
from a UN-monitored weapons
handover to deeper structural
reforms of politics and society.
Efforts to combat remaining armed
outfits are essential, but in so doing
the government must not alienate the
population and exacerbate poverty
in ways that would aggravate the
conditions that propel these groups
growth.
48 November 2017 northsouth
Most of these armed factions now
cluster in coastal and border areas.
Around 1,000 FARC dissidents,
who disown the peace deal for
various reasons, are de facto rulers
of disparate territories, several of
them dependent on the drug trade.
Colombias second main guerrilla
force, the National Liberation Army
(ELN), has brokered a temporary
ceasefire with the government
despite looking to conquer new
territories, especially along the
Pacific coast. The Gaitanista Self-
defence Force, currently the
largest neo-paramilitary group in
the country, combines a vertical
military hierarchy centred in the
countrys North-West with a web
of subcontracted local gangs. It is
now the countrys leading drug
trafficking organisation.
Thriving illicit businesses
booming coca plantations, illegal
gold mines, extortion rackets and
contraband account for the survival
and expansion of many of these
groups. But economic interests alone
do not explain their support within
some communities. By resolving
disputes and defending illicit
livelihoods from law enforcement,
these groups have crafted a
rudimentary, authoritarian form
of local political leadership. The
Colombian state has responded
through a nationwide Victory Plan,
deploying 80,000 soldiers and police
officers to occupy vacated FARC
territory. Yet even if security forces
could seize all disputed territory,
coercion alone cannot establish
bonds of trust between the state and
local citizens; instead, they need to
be persuaded that there is a better
alternative to the summary justice
and social discipline meted out by
illegal groups.
The next phase of reforms under
the peace accord aims precisely at
building such trust between state
and citizenry. It includes a more plu-
ral democratic system, reintegration
ofex-FARC fighters, justice for con-
flict victims and a coca substitution
program. But its implementation fac-
es myriad difficulties. Comprehensive
reintegration plans are on hold. Vol-
untary coca substitution, one of the
accords flagship programs, will re-
quire a long-term commitment from
the state and far more international
political and financial backing. Cor-
ruption debilitates the governments
campaign against armed groups,
and must be countered by stronger
and more independent agencies op-
erating within and outside the mili-
tary and police. Urgent consideration
also should be given to the design of
new judicial approaches that might
encourage other armed groups to lay
down their weapons and follow the
FARCs path to peace.
The initial accords defeat in a 2016
plebiscite demonstrated the publics
mistrust of the peace process, raising
the risk that the 2018 elections could
bring a government to power that
is intent on rewriting or gutting
the agreement. Implementation of
the accord is threatened both by an
opposition that believes it pandered
to FARC guerrillas, and by armed
factions that regard the deal either
as a fraud or an opportunity to
expand. The combination of local
armed activity and divisive national
politics could decisively weaken
public support for the accord unless
the results of the peace process defy
expectations once again.

Smugglers holding refugees and
migrants in deplorable conditions
A fter weeks of conflict in western
Libya, United Nations agencies
have been working around the clock to
meet the urgent needs of the more than
14,000 refugees and migrants who
had been held captive in numerous
locations in the coastal city of Sabratha
approximately 80 kilometres west of
Tripoli. The refugees and migrants
were taken to a hangar in the Dahman
area in Sabratha that has been
serving as an assembly point since the
onset of the crisis, Andrej Mahecic,
Spokesperson for the Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) told reporters in Geneva.
From the hangar in Sabratha a
main departure point for migrant
boats attempting to journey across the
Mediterranean to Europe they are
being transferred to official detention
centres for humanitarian assistance
by Libyan authorities, who estimate
that an additional 6,000 migrants and
refugees remain captive by smugglers.
If confirmed, it would bring the total
number of those held to 20,500
including those in official detention
centres.
As a priority, UNHCR teams have
been working on identifying refugees
and they continue to advocate for their
release. In some locations, UNHCR
has provided tents that are being
used as makeshift hospitals where
UNHCR doctors are providing medical
assistance, said Mr. Mahecic.
Colleagues on the front lines
describe a picture of human suffering
and abuse on a shocking scale, he
elaborated, noting that the rescued
refugees and migrants are visibly
traumatized most of whom say they
were subjected to numerous human
rights abuses, including sexual and
gender-based violence, forced labour
and sexual exploitation.
He also pointed to a worrying
number of unaccompanied and
separated children, many under the
age of six, saying that many of them
report losing parents on the journey
to Libya or in the chaos that resulted
during the last few weeks.
While UNHCR is working very
closely with the authorities to respond
to the growing needs, the scale of the
emergency has overwhelmed existing
facilities and resources. Detention
centres and assembly points are at full
capacity and lack basic amenities, like
water tanks and sanitation facilities.
Many people, including children,
have to sleep outside in the open.
The devastation in Sabratha further
reaffirms the need for international
action and highlights the high price
refugees have to pay to reach safety
in the absence of safe legal pathways,
stressed Mr. Mahecic. UNHCR will
continue to call on resettlement
countries and the international
community to step forward and open
more resettlement places and look for
a way to protect vulnerable refugees
who need international protection.
For its part, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) is
providing support to those in Zuwara
and the Sabratha assembly point in
the form of core relief packages, which
include mattresses, blankets, pillows
and hygiene kits at six separate
locations and more than 100,000
meals.
Pointing out that the migrants are
from almost a dozen nations, IOM
reported that out of 1,631 interviewed,
44 per cent wished to return to their
countries of origin through IOMs
Voluntary Humanitarian Return
Programme. To this end, IOM has
provided online consular sessions for
332 migrants to speed up the travel
document issuance procedures.
Libyas Constitution Drafting
Assembly (CDA) approved the
final draft of a new constitution on
July 29. Four days earlier, French
President Emmanuel Macron hosted
internationally recognized Prime
Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and his rival
General Khalifa Haftar in Paris, where
they agreed to hold parliamentary
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
and presidential elections as soon
as possible. By the beginning of the
UN General Assembly on September
12, new UN Special Representative
for Libya Ghassan Salam is expected
to put together a plan or roadmap,
which could include UN support for
the new constitution and subsequent
electionsin which case the CDAs draft
constitution is the first step toward
stabilization. The draft constitution, an
important part of this plan, falls short
in many areas, but Libyans will soon
have to decide whether it can address
the deepening crisis of legitimacy of
most Libyan institutions.
The draft constitution was approved
without broad consultation or public
debate, and the CDA itself was elected
three and half years ago with an
extremely low voter turnoutless
than 50 percent of registered voters,
who themselves comprised only one-
sixth of the Libyan populationand
since then has barely consulted with
civil society and political actors. The
three most prominent minorities
-Tebu, Tuareg, and Amazigh (Berber)
-had little representation in the CDA.
For these minorities, some of whom
were stripped of citizenship under
Gaddafi, the draft risks deepening
feelings of marginalization, especially
as it places a ten-year moratorium
on naturalization. Without an
accompanying roadmap and buy-in
from the population, a referendum on
Libyas draft constitution risks leaving
Libyas crisis of legitimacy unresolved.
 Alan Brown
November 2017 49
 Angolas new President showing his hand
A ngolas new President Joao
Lourenco was sworn in on
26 September replacing thus Jose
Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the
oil-rich country with an iron grip
for 38 years. The new President
ran on the ticket of the MPLA and
is considered to be a loyal party
soldier who has always been ready
to take on greaterresponsibility in
the governing Peoples Movement for
the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). He
served as governor in several
provinces of Angola, and between
1992 and 1997 he was responsible for
propaganda in the MPLAs Politburo.
Later, he served as the partys
secretary-general for several years.
Lourenco was recently the countrys
defence minister before becoming
the ruling partys flag-bearer in the
August 23 parliamentary election
to replace long-term President
JoseEduardo dos Santos. Since
he became President, he is making
swift changes to wrest power from
his predecessor, pushing out some
of his key allies and vowing to
combat monopolies controlled by a
family that has run Angola for four
decades. Dos Santos, 75, handpicked
Loureno, 63, to succeed him when
he stepped down after 38 years in
power, prompting critics to suggest
the little-known newcomer would
be a puppet of the dominant dos
Santos family. The speed at which
Loureno has tried to take on some of
the entrenched vested interests that
control sub-Saharan Africas third
largest economy and second biggest
oil exporter, has surprised political
analysts and diplomats based in
Luanda, the Angolan capital .
A new law passed in the last
parliamentary session ensures
thatpersonnel decisions by the
outgoing president are out of bounds
for the new president. The law was
passed by a large majority. The two
major opposition parties, UNITA and
Angolas new President Joao Lourenco
with his predecessor Dos Santos
50 November 2017 northsouth
CASA-CE, voted against it. But the
two parties combined make up only
40 of a total of 220 lawmakers.
Many Angolans are wondering
whether this law does not place too
many limits on the new presidents
ability to act.But he will as his recent
moves have indicated. Heavyweights
from the previous administration,
such as Vice President Manuel
Vicente and Minister of State Manuel
Kopelipa Hlder Vieira Dias Jr, Angola one of Africas richest
have found themselves out of a job.
Dos Santos still retains significant
power as the head of the ruling
MPLA party, and key posts such as
the finance minister and central bank
governor have not yet been touched.
But in the vital oil sector, responsible
for 75 percent of government
revenue, Loureno curbed the control
of dos Santos daughter, Isabel, who
runs national oil company Sonangol.
Last month Loureno appointed
Carlos Saturnino, who was sacked
by Isabel dos Santos last year, as
Secretary of State for Oil, a technically
more senior role than that of his old
boss. This appointment sends a clear
signal that the excesses of the dos
Santos era will not continue. Isabel
dos Santos, Africas richest woman,
denied any tension with Loureno,
saying that their views were in full
alignment.
In his state of the nation address
on October 16, Loureno vowed
to fight corruption and break up
monopolies in the economy, directly
mentioning the cement industry in
which Isabel and her husband have
large stakes.
He also abolished the government
communications department
GRECIMA, with which a company
co-owned by another dos Santos
daughter, Welwitschia, had lucrative
contracts.
Although an oil boom has made
countries per capita, it is also one
of the worlds most unequal, with
the vast majority of the population
sharing little of its wealth that has
been siphoned by the Dos Santos
family and their cronies.
Major reform is desperately
needed as Angolas economy
fell into recession last year and
unemployment is at least 25 per
cent. A lack of foreign currency
has forced companies, such as
airlines and oil services, to pull back
operations. A dollar fetches three
times the official rate on the black
market. Ratings agency Moodys
downgraded Angolas credit rating
last month, saying the economy
remained constrained by foreign
currency shortages, high inflation,
low public spending and a weak
banking system.
It is too early to gauge what the
new presidents agenda is and the
next few weeks will show what he is
capable of.  Ali Bahaijoub

Saudi crown prince pledges moderate Islam
Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has said that he will lead his country back
to moderate Islam but will he be able to push through economic, social and political
reforms, queries Franklin Adesegha
T he crown prince told investors in
Riyadh as he announced plans
for a vast new $500bn economic
development zone that his economic
modernisation plans would go
hand-in-hand with political reforms
to guide the conservative kingdom
away from severe Wahhabi Islam.
We are returning to what we were
before - a country of moderate Islam
that is open to all religions and to
the world, the 32-year-old prince
said. We will not spend the next
30 years of our lives dealing with
destructive ideas. We will destroy
them today, he added. We will end
extremism very soon.
The princes pledge is a challenge
to Saudis conservative clerics and
came as he announced plans for
NEOM, a new economic zone that
will stretch across Saudis borders
into neighbouring Egypt and
Jordan. The zone will be 26,500km
square, making it significantly
larger than neighbouring Middle
Eastern states like Israel, Lebanon
or Kuwait. The project is the
latest announcement from Prince
Mohammed, who is pushing
aggressively to modernise the
kingdom and wean it off its
dependence on oil as part of his
Vision 2030 plan. He laid out a
vision of a futuristic economic
zone where robots may outnumber
humans, drones will carry
passengers and omnipresent high-
speed internet will be known as
digital air.
Earlier this year, the royal
family backed away from plans to
cut benefits for state employees in
the face of public anger - a sign of
how difficult it may be to reform
Saudi Arabias oil-based economy.
Saudi authorities said they were
forming a council of Islamic
scholars who would counter violent
interpretations of the Koran
and the hadith - a set of lessons
learned from the life of the prophet
Mohammed. The government has
also eased restrictions on the use
of video messaging applications
like Skype and Whatsapp. The
Kingdom also wants to invest
in the entertainment sector.
Concerts are once again being
held and cinemas are expected to
return soon. Prince Mohammed
defended the reforms saying We
are returning to what we were
before - a country of moderate
Islam that is open to all religions,
traditions and people around the
globe, he said. We want to live
a normal life. A life in which our
religion translates to tolerance,
to our traditions of kindness,
he added. Seventy percent of the
Saudi population is under 30, and
honestly we will not spend the
next 30 years of our lives dealing
with destructive ideas. We will
destroy them today and at once.
The prince stressed that Saudi
Arabia was not like this before
1979, when there was an Islamic
revolution in Iran and militants
occupied Meccas Grand Mosque.
Afterwards, public entertainment
in Saudi Arabia was banned and
clerics were given more control
over public life.
The investment conference
itself was intended as a symbol
of modernity and dubbed by
some observers as Davos in the
Desert. Men and women sat
together at the event and it was
attended high-profile figures like
Christine Lagarde, the head of
the International Monetary Fund,
IMF. British human rights group,
Reprieve, criticised Saudi Arabias
poor human rights record. Maya
Foa, Reprieves director, said The
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Saudi government has executed
hundreds of people in the past few
years including protesters and
children.
Prince Mohammed became
heir to the throne in June at the
expense of his older cousin, the
powerful interior minister Prince
Mohammed bin Nayaf, who was
stripped of his title as crown
prince. His father, King Salman, is
81 and in poor health and Prince
Mohammed is widely seen as the
effective ruler of Saudi Arabia.
He serves as the countrys defence
minister and has wide powers to
manage its economy. The prince
has led the countrys war in
neighbouring Yemen, which has
seen more than 10,000 people
killed. The UN recently blacklisted
the Saudi-led military coalition for
killing and injuring hundreds of
children in the conflict.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia
has announced a string of
reforms including plans to allow
women to drive, but it remains
one of the worlds most socially
conservative societies. Prince
Mohammeds modernising plans
have been applauded by many
western leaders but some analysts
are sceptical that he will be able
to push through economic and
political changes on the scale he is
talking about.
November 2017 51
 A Permanent War Zone
W ar against the Taliban in
Afghanistan has now raged
for 16 years and despite yet more US
back-up troops; there is little promise
of any change. This seemingly
endless conflict is now accepted
by the Afghans as a permanent
feature of their existence. In Syria,
President Assad holds onto power
with the assistance of Russia. Syrian
Christians are driven to the edge
and their future position is doubtful
as is that of Assads opponents.
Unlike the western powers Russia
maintains its hold in Syria for
strategic reasons and unlike the
Western powers keeps a low profile.
Between these two extremes it is
unclear what drives the Western
powers in the region. American
policy under President Trump
is difficult to define while its
military has massive air power at
its disposal. The European Union
(EU ) is undergoing a major crisis
resulting from Britains decision to
leave the group while both Britain
and France want to be involved
but do not know how except that
modern warfare is about spreading
terror! The frontline stretches
from Pakistan to Morocco and the
whole Middle East is dominated by
military power. Western calculations
always have oil in the background
and at present there are indications
of a rise in oil prices. There must
be many thousands of troops
deployed across the region, those
from outside including would-be
Jihadists from countries of the EU
while Syria hosts the Russians. As
Disraeli pointed out one and a half
centuries ago the region was beset
with conflicting interests. Little
has changed. At least particular
victories give rise to hopes for
peace as does the expulsion of the
ISIS forces from Raqqa. At least 20
countries are involved in the Middle
East stretching from Pakistan in the
East to a relatively subdued western
52 November 2017 northsouth
Maghreb. Complications
between allies.
In Spain the Catalan demand for
arise
self rule and Madrids determination
to keep Spain whole by force
threatens to develop into a huge
crisis in one of Europes leading
states. England wants to keep
Scotland as Spain would hold on
to Catalonia. At another level US
President Trump wants to tighten
present sanctions against Iran while
the other powers want to prevent
upsetting the nuclear agreement
that has been accepted by the other
four states. Then the position of the
Kurds has to be determined against
any likely opposition from Turkey.
While the Kurds are nearer than
ever to establishing a Kurdish state,
Turkey will oppose ruthlessly. The
fall of Raqqa has opened access to
the largest oil field controlled by
ISIS. Change occurs quite quickly
but no solutions. The expulsion of
ISIS was accompanied by a bout of
savagery and torture which have
become part of the admission of
defeat though we have not heard the
last of ISIS. One result has been to
clear the ground for conflict between
a Shiite government and the Kurds.
In remote Central Asia Kyrgizstan
democracy has ousted the one term
president in elections that were
accepted by Sooron Jeenbekov. This is
a small gain for democracy. However,
in the advanced democracies of
Europe Britain, France, Germany
and Italy fighting against
terrorism has become an accepted
part of a new form of warfare. One
complex outcome of this savage
warfare is the movement of people
by their thousands. Migrants move
in search of a better life than what
is on offer in the war zone. Then
there are refugees who move back
and forth according to the current
danger areas. Migrants by the
tens of thousands come to Europe
where their arrival is resented. This
movement into Europe is being used
by hard right-wing political parties
to attract new membership. Once
a route into Europe is uncovered,
there follows a race to use it by
migrants. Migration in all its phases
gives rise to crime at many levels.
Some movers are asylum seekers
fleeing unjust regimes. Sometimes
democracy triumphs and despotic
regimes are overthrown. Egypt is an
example of such a development but
the revolution there failed the people
who initiated it. But old dictators
make a come-back and their rule is
as harsh or harsher than ever.
Libya overthrew a tyrant and
then divided into three regions in
a brutal civil war. The main factors
at work are oil, the US possession
of overwhelming airpower, the
Russian presence in Syria, the
long-term interests of Europe and
the local influence in the region
of Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
There is little unity of purpose. The
following countries are involved in
this regional quarrel: Libya, Egypt,
Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Turkey,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, The
United States, Britain, France, Saudi
Arabia and the European Union.
Their participation will depend
upon the extent of their interest.
Turkey and Iraq, for example, are
determined to prevent the emergence
of a Kurdish state.
The war zone stretches from Spain
in the West to Pakistan in the East
and it is the greatest since 1945.
 Guy Arnold

environment
F
Cities and companies team up to
tackle urban water crises: study
With rising urban populations and
ever scarcer water supplies, cities
and companies are teaming up to
invest billions of dollars in water
management projects, a report said.
Around two thirds of cities from
London to Los Angeles are working
with the private sector to address
water and climate change stresses
with 80 cities seeking $9.5 billion
of investment for water projects,
according to a report by the Carbon
Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-
profit environmental research
group.
Water investment opportunities
are greatest in Latin America,
with Quito in Ecuador seeking
$800 million to manage its water
supply, including building three
hydropower stations and cleaning
up its contaminated rivers and
streams.
The cities most concerned about
their water supply lie in Asia and
the Pacific, the report found, with
serious risks also identified in Africa
and Latin America.
The key issues for cities include
declining water quality, water
shortages and flooding.
The Indian city of Chennai faced
extreme floods in 2015 which
killed hundreds and left survivors
without access to clean water,
while businesses were also severely
disrupted.
The city is now investing in
Worlds first floating wind farm
starts production off Scotland
Hywind Scotland, the worlds
first floating wind farm, started
delivering electricity to the grid last
month. The 30 megawatt (MW) wind
53 November 2017 northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
boosting its resilience to future water
crises, with water conservation
education, building a storm water
management system and new
infrastructure.
Climate change is another
underlying threat to all cities with
an increase in extreme weather
events from droughts to floods,
with cities in North America more
concerned than those in Europe, the
report found.
Companies are also concerned
about the effects of climate change
on water supplies, with $14 billion
of water impacts such as loss of
production reported by companies
last year, the report found.
The United Nations predicts
a 40 percent shortfall in global
water supply by 2030, while global
demand is set to increase by 55
percent due to growing domestic
use, manufacturing and electricity
generation.
From our work with cities
around the world, water has
consistently come up as a key
resilience challenge, said Claire
Bonham-Carter, Principal and City
Resilience Lead at AECOM, a global
infrastructure firm and partner on
the report.
Many of them, regardless of
size, from Mexico City, Mexico to
Berkeley, California, are addressing
both long-term water supply issues
as well as chronic urban flooding.
farm, which is operated by Norway-
based energy firm Statoil and United
Arab Emirates (UAE) partner
Masdar, is set 25 kilometres offshore
Populous cities
could slash energy
emissions by up to
70%, Report
Areportreleased this year by
the Climate Council Australia
(CCA) shows that populous cities,
booming urbancentresand rural
townships could collectively slash
energy emissions by up to 70per
cent. For the past five years,
investment in renewables has
been roughlydoublethe level of
investment in fossil fuels, says
Amanda McKenzie, head of the
CCA.
Renewable energy now beats
fossil fuels on any measure
environment, affordability and
health. It improves the security
of electricity supply because its
home-grown andnot dependent on
imports. And because renewables
are distributed,they also improve
reliability by reducing the systems
vulnerability to the failure of any
single generator, says Vaness
Petrie, CEO of Beyond Zero
Emissions, Australia, a climate
solutions think-tank.
Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and will
power around 20,000 households.
Linked with the project, Statoil and
Masdar will also install Batwind, a
one megawatt hour lithium battery
storage solution for offshore wind
energy.
nnovatons
F
Drones to fix depleted forests
A system of drones has been
developed to help quell the loss of
earths trees. The system can help
plant almost 100,000 trees per
day. The earth is rapidly losing its
forests at a rate much faster than
humans can replant. Exact figures
vary, but according to Scientific
American, most analysts attribute
upwards of 15 percent [of global
carbon emissions] to deforestation.
This means that by clearing or
burning the Earths forests, we are
directly contributing to the rapidly
increasing rate of climate change.
One Australian engineer is enlisting
technology to fight the battle against
deforestation. Dr. Susan Graham
has helped develop a pair of drones
Long-flying drone for disaster relief
When disaster strikes, a good
telecommunications system can
be key to restoring services and
getting help to victims. But often
the same earthquake, flood, or
other catastrophic event that
causes the devastation also takes
down telephone lines and other key
parts of the telecommunications
infrastructure. Even if the lines
stay intact, communications circuits
may be overloaded when victims
and their loved ones try to contact
each other. But students at MIT
may have a partial solution for the
problem. As part of a class project,
theyve created an autonomous
aircraft that could quickly be
directed over disaster zones to serve
as an airborne telecommunications
and surveillance hub. Stringent
FAA regulations have limited the
students ability to flight-test the
drone, but calculations suggest that
F
that can help mitigate some of the
damage by planting trees at a rate
that far outpaces what is possible to
do by hand. The first drone scans an
area of land, searching for an ideal
plot to plant. This drone helps to
make a 3D map of the area and then
special algorithms are employed to
find the best places to plant. The
second drone then takes that map
and its payload of up to 150 seed pods
and gets to work shooting the seeds
into the ground. Lauren Fletcher,
the CEO of BioCarbon Engineering,
said: Were firing at one a second,
which means a pair of operators will
be able to plant nearly 100,000 trees
per day 60 teams like this will get
us to a billion trees a year.
it offers key advantages over existing
commercial dronesnotably the
ability to stay aloft, and thus offer
uninterrupted help, for very long
periods of time. Were opening a
new part of the design spacean
aircraft with a five-day endurance
that is sized to carry a 10-pound
payload at 15,000 feet, Dr. Warren
Hoburg, professor of aeronautics
and astronautics at MIT and one of
the teams leaders, told NBC News
MACH. This has never been done
before. Ten pounds might not seem
like much, but the students say its
enough to carry communications
gear capable of relaying radio
and internet transmissions to and
from a disaster zone. It could also
accommodate a camera that could
northsouth
Optical illusion 3D
Zebra crossing to
slow traffic
A 3D-painted zebra crossing that
provides an optical illusion of white
blocks floating in the road has been
trialled in Iceland in a bid to slow
drivers down. The appropriately
named 3D Crosswalk has been
painted on a road in safjrur
in north-west Iceland. The work
was carried out by road painting
company Vegamlun Gh, who
was commissioned by the towns
environmental administrator after
they had been looking into ways
of slowing drivers down. The firm
only came up with the idea last
month, taking just a few weeks
to get the green light from local
authorities. Vegamlun CEO Gauti
var Halldrsson told Icelandic
website Visir: A pedestrian
crossing like this makes it look
like theres something blocking
the road. If the crossing
successfully slows drivers down,
more similar crossings may be
painted around the town.
monitor activity on the ground
and help coordinate delivery of
emergency services.
November 2017 54
 busnessbrefs
'A vision for a transformed,
world-leading industry'
TheCityUK and PwC have
launched a bold new strategic
vision for UK-based financial and
related professional services. The
report looks beyond Brexit to
2025 at the role that the industry
can play in making possible the
countrys long-term success
outside the European Union (EU).
The United Kingdom (UK) is
the worlds leading international
financial centre, but a backdrop
of rapid global change brings
significant challenges which
need to be addressed if it is to
retain its competitive advantage
and remain a leading part of the
economy.
55 November2017 northsouth
The report, 'A vision for a
transformed, world-leading
industry' provides an ambitious
and practical roadmap to secure
the industry's future. The
implementation of the vision
will ensure a transformed and
renewed industry that continues
to be world-class, highly
innovative and digitised and
better able to meet the changing
needs of customers.
While responsibility for the
industrys transformation is its
own, it will only be able to reach
its full potential with an effective
and strategic partnership with
government and regulators.
Chinas Bank chief warns
of sharp correction
Chinas central bank governor has
warned in the clearest language to
date that extreme credit creation
and trouble in the shadow banking
system could lead to a full-blown
financial crisis. The governor of
the Peoples Bank spoke of fierce
market reactions.
Microsoft market
cap hits milestone
Microsofts value is returning to tech-
bubble peaks. The software giant closed
with a market value of $600 billion
(456bn) on 19 October for the first
time since January 2000, according
to the Journals Market Data Group.
Shares rose 0.4 per cent to $77.91,
setting a fresh all-time high.

$1 trillion fund against UK listing change
The worlds largest sovereign
wealth fund has warned the British
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
about its proposed changes to its
share listing rules, which would
accommodate state-backed firms
like the Saudi Aramco mega-float.
Norways $1 trillion (760bn)
fund, which has invested 44
billion ($60bn) in equities listed on
the London Stock Exchange, joined
a chorus of bodies urging the FCA
to rethink the move. London is
vying to attract Aramcos planned
1.5 billion initial public offering,
but the City has been divided on
whether the FCAs proposed new
Russia and Saudi to set up
$1bn energy fund
The worlds largest oil producers
announced last month plans to set
up a $1 billion fund to invest in
energy projects, technology and
equipment.
Russian Energy Minister
Alexander Novak,in an interview
with Al Arabiya television,said a
joint fund will expand cooperation
between the two countries in the oil
and gas sector within the framework
of OPEC and on non-OPEC projects.
It will also have interests in
electric and renewable power and oil
and gas equipment, he added.
Russia "focuses on development
of cooperation [with Saudi
Arabia] not merely on oil issues
within the OPEC framework but
also outside the cartel, and on
development of cooperation in the
oil and gas sector, in the electric
power sector and renewable
premium listing rules go too far.
Under the plans, state-backed
firms would be exempt from
certain rules.
Norges Bank Investment
Management (NBIM), the division
of the Norwegian Central Bank
which manages assets on behalf of
the fund, wrote a letter to the FCA,
in which it argued relaxing rules
for sovereign-controlled companies
would not be in the best interests
of companies or other investors. It
said: We fear that relaxing these
rules would reduce the voice of
minority investors and undermine
the independence of the board.
energy resources, Novak said.
State funds from both states
will finance the development of
technology and equipment in the
oil and gas sector, a report by Saudi
news agency SPA said.
The announcement comes comes
following an agreement to cooperate
in the oil and gas sector made on the
side-lines of the 2016 G20 Summit
in China.
The agreement will see the two
countries exchange new technology,
knowledge and technical expertise
in oil production, refining, storage,
transportation, distribution,
manufacturing and research
activities as well as cooperation in
the production of electricity and
renewable energy.
The two countries also seek to
establish a common database on
advanced energy technologies that
will be tested and financed through
sovereign wealth funds belonging
to both countries. The trade volume
between the two countries reached
about $2.8 billion in 2016 in line
with the Kingdoms ambitious
reform Vision 2030 programme.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Tech employs more
foreign staff from
outside EU than inside
The impact of Brexit on the
technology sector as it loses access
to a pool of talent from Europe
could be less severe than previously
expected.
Foreign workers are more likely
to be from outside the EU, figures
from an in-depth new report
analysing the make up of the
1.7 million strong British digital
workforce reveal. Of the 13 per
cent in the industry not from the
United Kingdom (UK), half are
from outside the European Union.
That is according to research by
Tech City UK and Nesta, designed
to dig deeper on migration figures
and help inform policy in the wake
of the vote to leave the European
Union (EU). In London, foreign
workers from outside the EU
accounted for 20 per cent of the
digital workforce, while those from
within accounted for 11 per cent.
They were also found to be more
highly educated, with 17.6 per
cent of international workers from
outside the EU qualified to Masters
or PhD level, compared to 12.5 per
cent of those from within the EU.
5G rollouts to
boom in 2018
More than a quarter of the worlds
mobile phone operators are
expecting to roll out 5G next year,
according to a released report last
month.
The worlds global telecoms
providers have ratcheted up
development of 5G with 78 per
cent saying they have accelerated
preparations for new technology.
The report, prepared by Ericsson,
concluded 28 per cent of firms are
planning a 5G roll out next year.
Media, automotives and public
transport were identified as the top
three segments that will benefit.
November2017 56
 Londons Fintech boom continues despite Brexit
Fintech startups in the United
Kingdom (UK) are on track
to attract a record amount of
investment in 2017, new figures
reveal, defying concerns that Brexit
could take the shine off the star
sector. More than $1 billion (760m)
of venture capital has already been
ploughed into technology firms
hoping to disrupt finance this year,
more than double the amount this
time last year according to fresh
data from London and Partners
and Pitchbook. Investment is
set to smash 2015 levels, during
which $1.16 billion was invested
in UK fintech, cementing Londons
position as the fintech capital of
Europe and a global hub.
It hit a five-quarter high in the
third quarter, with 37 deals worth
$358 million, separate figures
published by CB Insights show. The
data also predicts that investment
across Europe could break the $2
billion barrier for the first time in
2017, having already hit a record
of $1.8 billion across 216 deals
in the first three quarters of the
year. The already bumper year
has been largely driven by the
UK, accounting for around half
of investment and eight of the 10
biggest deals of the third quarter.
They include $66 million for digital
challenger bank Revolut, $50
million for accountancy software
firm Receipt Bank and $40 million
for lending platform Prodigy
Alibaba starts $15bn overseas drive into R&D
Chinas top e-commerce firm,
Alibaba Group Holding, is
launching a $15 billion (11.4bn)
drive to build overseas research
and Development (R&D) hubs as
the deep-pocketed firm looks to
compete with global leaders in
e-commerce, logistics and cloud
technology.
The Alibaba Damo academy
would launch eight research bases
in China, Israel, the United States,
57 November2017 northsouth
Finance. With investment in China
expected to hit new highs, it puts
fintech investment globally on
track for a record year. So far this
year, firms around the world have
raised $12.2 billion across 818
deals. Meanwhile, a separate soon-
to-be published report from Investec
has noted increasing interest from
new investors. Reaffirming the
global appeal of Londons fintech
sector, in 2017 we have seen a large
number of international investors
invest in London fintechs who have
not invested in London previously,
said co-head of emerging companies
Kevin Chong.
Deputy Mayor for business Rajesh
Agrawal said the figures were yet
more proof that global investors
believe London will remain a
leading fintech hub for many years
to come. Clearly, Brexit poses
major challenges but Londons
position as a global financial centre
and world-class technology hub is
built on strong foundations which
cannot be replicated anywhere else:
access to more software developers
than Stockholm, Berlin and
Dublin combined, Europes largest
fintech accelerator Level 39, and
the continents only truly global
financial market. He added: This
highlights the need for a Brexit
which enables London to maintain
its place at the heart of the Single
Market, as Europes financial
capital.
Russia and Singapore and was
hiring 100 researchers to work
on artificial intelligence (AI),
quantum computing and fintech,
the company said.
The Alibaba Damo Academy will
be at the forefront of developing
next-generation technology that
will spur the growth of Alibaba and
our partners, chief technology
officer Jeff Zhang said.
The Chinese giant and its
Privatisation in
MENA set to drive IPO
activity in 2018 - EY
Earnest Young said the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA)
value, or capital raised, reached
$788 million in the first half of
2017.
The key driver for the MENA
IPO market will likely be
the privatisation of leading
government-owned assets across
a number of sectors, including
Saudi Aramco.
IPO activity in the the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA)
region witnessed 16 deals in the
first half of 2017, doubling the
number seen in the same period
last year.
It added that the first six months
of 2017 was the most active first
half of the year by number of IPOs
for 10 years.
Out of the 16 IPOs, nine IPOs
worth $200.5 million were from
companies listed on the Saudi
NOMU market.
The Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) saw 13 IPOs raised in the
first half of 2017, a 33 percent
increase on the deals announced
for the same period last year.
However, deal value declined by 6
percent to $700 million.
The highest capital raised
in the first half of 2017 was in
the oil and gas sector with one
deal announced at a value of
$243.5 million, followed by the
construction industry and real
estate.
affiliates have undergone a rapid
expansion in the past year, bringing
it into direct competition with US
e-retailer Amazon.com, as well as
global payments, cloud and
logistics firms. Alibaba says the
new research infrastructure will
help them meet a goal of two billion
customers within two decades.

Global unemployment passes 200
million in 2017, UN labour agency
More than 200 million people are
out of work around the world an
increase of 3.4 million since last
year, the United Nations labour
agency said Monday, calling
for policies that can recharge
sluggish growth of small and
medium-sized businesses.
In the new addition of
its flagship report, World
Employment and Social Outlook
2017: Sustainable Enterprises and
Jobs, the International Labour
Organization (ILO) warned
that small and medium sized
enterprises has stagnated,
the impact of which is worst in
developing economies, where
more than one in two workers are
employed in small and medium-
sized firms.
According to the report, private
sector enterprises accounted for
the bulk of global employment in
2016; they employed 2.8 billion
individuals, representing 87 per
cent of total employment. The
sector, which also covers medium-
sized firms, accounts for up to 70
per cent of all jobs in some Arab
States, and well over 50 per cent
in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
But ILO research revealed these
companies are struggling to grow.
The latest data from more than
news & views to bridge the global divide
130 countries shows
that small and medium
business had faster job
growth than larger
firms before the global
financial slump in 2008.
From 2009 however,
job creation in the small
and medium sector
was simply absent,
according to the ILO
report, which calls for
government intervention
to reverse the trend.
To reverse the
trend of employment
stagnation in [small and medium
enterprises], we need policies to
better promote SMEs and a better
business environment for all
firms, including access to finance
for the younger ones, said
Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy
Director-General for Policy.
The ILO research shows that
full-time female permanent
employees in the formal sector are
more likely to be found in small
and medium enterprises than in
large firms. On average, and across
all regions, around 30 per cent of
full-time permanent employees
in these businesses are women,
compared with 27 per cent in large
enterprises.
As such, greater numbers of
women in enterprises may therefore
have a positive impact on growth
and development, because micro-
enterprises and small businesses
often offer women an entry point
into the formal labour market.
Another aspect of the ILOs
World Employment and Social
Outlook report is on how peoples
working conditions can play a
role in sustainable development.
It says that providing training for
staff can lead to 14 per cent higher
wages and almost 20 per cent
higher productivity.
northsouth
UAE confirms first
nuclear power plant
to open in 2018
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
last month announced plans to
open a nuclear power plant next
year, in what would be a first for
the emirate and the Arab Gulf
region.
The $20 billion Barakah plant
west of Abu Dhabi is being
constructed by a consortium led
by Korea Electric Power Corp. "We
have reached the advanced stages,"
UAE Energy Minister Suhail
Mohammed al-Mazrouei said.
Mazrouei said the first of four
UAE nuclear reactors was 96
percent complete and would
"definitely" start up next year after
delays following safety checks.
When fully operational, the
four reactors will produce 5,600
megawatts of electricity.
Mazrouei said that "clean"
energy was slated to make up
27 percent of the UAE's energy
sources by 2021.
The oil-rich UAE aims to
continue diversifying toward its
goal of 50-percent clean energy by
2050.
Conversely, relying on short-term
contractors tends to be associated
with lower wages and lower
productivity.
November2017 58
 UK scores high in Europe
rank for data innovation
The United Kingdom (UK) is one
of the most innovative countries in
Europe when it comes to making
the most of data, a new report has
revealed.
Innovative use of data, such as
applying it to healthcare or making
cities safer, contributed 300 billion
(227bn) to the regions economy,
or around two per cent of GDP,
according to the Centre for Data
Innovation think tank.
And the UK was rated the fifth
best country in Europe for data
innovation based on more than
30 different indicators such as
policy, skills and use of data-driven
technologies in industry.
Revenues of the UKs data
companies an indicator of a
healthy data economy were found
to be 14.6 billion, the highest of
any of the 28 EU member states.
The UK was ahead of Europes
biggest economies such as Germany
and France, and behind only
Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands
and Sweden in the ranking, which
identified that strong national
leadership and public policy were
more important factors than a
countrys income. The UK was also
found to be well ahead of others
Augmented reality to boom in future, Tim Cook
Apple boss Tim Cook has heralded
augmented reality (AR) as the most
transformative technology of the
future, predicting its profound
impact on humanity.
Im incredibly excited about
AR... because I can see uses for
it everywhere, he said, reeling
of a list of applications that
included education, sports and
entertainment.
I can see it in every business
that I know anything about,
he added, speaking to students
at Oxford University where he
launched new startup hub The
59 November2017 northsouth
when it comes making government
datasets open.
Supporting data innovation can
help countries grow their domestic
economies, improve the lives of
their citizens, and maximise their
competitive advantage in Europe
and internationally. But countries
need strong national leadership
and the right public policies to
realise the full benefits of data
innovation, said the centres
director and co-author of the report
Daniel Castro.
The research found that the
biggest priorities for fostering
data innovation were making the
supply and flow of data free via
open data initiatives and freedom of
information and avoiding laws that
stifled this or added additional local
restrictions.
Promotion of data infrastructure
such as broadband, digital public
services and smart cities were also
important, as was promoting data
skills among the public.
The British government has
indicated that it will largely adopt
new rules on data due to come into
force next year in the UKs own
domestic laws after leaving the
European Union in March 2019.
Foundry last month.
I dont like our products being
used a lot. I like our products
amplifying us. And I think AR can
amplify human connection, he
said during a question and answer
session.
Despite some nifty things for
virtual reality (VR), he said he had
never been a fan of it because it has
the opposite effect.
Its not profound in my view.
AR is profound. We will look back
on this moment, or the moment we
announced ARkit earlier this year,
and this will be one of those things in
EU wants plans for
taxing web giants
in 2018
European Union leaders said they
looked forward to seeing proposals
on taxing online giants by early
2018 but in a nod to concerns
from countries like Ireland said
EU efforts had to be in line with
work under way at a global level.
European countries are split
over whether online companies
such as Google, Facebook and
Amazon should pay more tax,
with smaller EU members such as
Ireland and Luxembourg which
host many online businesses
worried that taxes would hurt
their competitiveness without a
global solution.
Countries like Italy and France
on the other hand are frustrated
by the low tax rates online
giants pay by re-routing profits
through low-rate countries and
insist the EU should go it alone
if the Organisation for Economic
Co- operation and Development
(OECD), which includes the United
States and Japan, is unable to
reach an agreement on a global
solution.
Meeting for an EU summit
in Brussels, the leaders said
in their conclusions that they
looked forward to appropriate
Commission proposals by early
2018. However they referred to
the need to ensure a global level-
playing field in line with the work
currently under way at the OECD.
history, I think. Itll take some time,
it doesnt happen overnight, but this
is big. And good for humanity.
ARkit is Apples platform for
developing apps which use AR.
Cook also touched on regulation,
something that he said was on his
mind at the moment, noting that
authorities should not look at firms
collectively.

OPEC forecasts higher
demand for oil in 2018
The Organisation of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) has once
again forecast higher demand for its
oil as the cartel signalled the global
market could move into a deficit in
2018.
In its monthly report, OPEC
revised world oil demand growth
up by about 30,000 barrels per day
(bpd) to 1.5 million bpd for 2017 and
by 30,000 bpd to 1.4 million bpd in
2018. It also said the world will need
33 million bpd of its crude next year,
which was up 230,000 bpd from its
previous forecast and made the third
consecutive monthly increase.
In September, OPECs oil output
as assessed by secondary sources
averaged 32.75 million bpd, up about
89,000 bpd from August due to
increases in Libya, Nigeria, Iraq and
Gabon. Despite the rise, supply came in
slightly below the demand forecast.
OPEC added that inventories in
developed economies fell by 24.7
million barrels in August to 2.996
billion barrels, 171 million barrels
above the five-year average.
OPEC has aimed to reduce the
global supply glut with a deal
among its members and non-
members including Russia to cut
production by 1.8 million bpd.
Despite OPECs confidence that its
supply cuts will prop up oil prices,
it said it expects crude to remain at
Kuwait SWF investments in the
US said to be worth over $300bn
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund
investments in the United States are
estimated at more than $300 billion,
according to the Kuwait News
Agency (KUNA).
The report coincides with the visit
by Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-
Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to the
US, with figures provided by the US
Embassy in Kuwait. It said Kuwait's
exports to the US are primarily
petroleum products, adding that
news & views to bridge the global divide
around $50 to $55 per barrel next
year. BlackRock approaches $6
trillion as passive funds boost net
inflows
The worlds largest asset manager,
New York-based BlackRock,
announced it was approaching $6
trillion (4.54 trillion) in assets
under management last month as
it revealed net inflows in the third
quarter hit a massive $96 billion.
The firms assets under
management (AUM) grew by 17 per
cent year-on-year to $5.98 trillion,
smashing analysts expectations.
A Zacks Investment Research
consensus had predicted earnings
per share would reach $5.59, but
the results topped this at $5.92.
A $52.3 billion chunk of the
long-term net inflows came from
BlackRocks iShares franchise, a
range of passive exchange-traded
funds which track an index.
AUM for iShares stood at $1.64
trillion as of the end of September,
accounting for 27 per cent of
BlackRocks total assets.
Retail investors put $4.6 billion
into fixed income strategies,
diversified across BlackRocks
active platform, while the equity
net inflow of $1.7 billion was due
to inflows in the passive funds.
Institutional investors were much
more weighted to passives.
MEGlobal, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Equate Petrochemical Company, is
building a new monoethylene glycol
manufacturing facility in Houston,
Texas. Kuwait also has investments
in the Hudson Yards Project, the
largest privately-funded real estate
development project in North
America, noted the report which was
cited by state news agency WAM.
It said that Kuwait also
investments in tech start-up and
northsouth
South Korea bans all
new cryptocurrency
sales
South Korea's financial regulator
said it will ban raising money
through all forms of virtual
currencies, a move that follows
similar restrictions in China on
initial coin offerings.
The Financial Services
Commission said all kinds of initial
coin offerings (ICO) will be banned
as trading of virtual currencies
needs to be tightly controlled and
monitored. "Raising funds through
ICOs seem to be on the rise globally,
and our assessment is that ICOs are
increasing in South Korea as well,"
the regulator said in a statement
after a meeting with the finance
ministry, the Bank of Korea and the
National Tax Service.
"Stern penalties" will be issued
on financial institutions and any
parties involved in issuing of ICOs,
the statement added, without
elaborating further on the details of
those penalties. The decision to ban
ICOs as a fundraising tool was made
as the government sees such issues
as increasing the risk of financial
scams. The decision tracks similar
announcements in the U.S. and
China where increasing trading
volumes of cryptocurrencies are
sparking concerns.
The announcement does
not mean the government has
implicitly accepted trading of
virtual currencies as part of its
financial system, and will continue
to monitor markets to see additional
regulations are needed.
enterprise investment, nurturing US
technology, and small, but rapidly
growing, companies. According to
the statistics, US companies are also
well represented in several sectors
in Kuwait, including oil and gas,
defence and automotive areas. US
medical equipment is also abundant
throughout Kuwait's hospitals and
clinics, KUNA added.
November2017 60
 European Central Bank to slash Asian surge drives
quantitative easing bond purchases rise in billionaires
The European Central Bank
(ECB) announced it will reduce
its monthly asset purchases as
it takes another step on the path
towards ending the historic period
of quantitative easing (QE) from
major central banks. The ECB will
buy 30bn (27bn) in assets every
month until September 2018, a
nine-month extension which was
exactly in line with consensus
Financial institutions in London
lose 113bn by ignoring women
The financial services sector is
un- wittingly ignoring women at
every major step along the customer
journey and missing out on 133 often project unwelcoming, self-
billion ($200bn) a year by doing so.
Research by Kantar has
suggested banks, insurers and
other City institutions overlook
female customers needs at every
point, from advertising for new
clients to engaging current ones to
persuading people to save or borrow
mortgages.
That means women have less
confidence in their banks, save
less, and take a more conservative
approach when it comes to investing
and borrowing, the data suggested.
The first significant area
where institutions are missing
out is advertising: Kantar used
facial recognition technology to
discover financial institutions fail
to communicate trustworthiness,
understanding, dependability and
accessibility to UK women.
61 November2017 northsouth
expectations. Policymakers are
keen to avoid the taper tantrum
chaos experienced in the US when
asset purchases were unexpectedly
reduced. The bond purchases,
intended to stimulate the economy,
have proceeded up to now at 60bn
per month. At a press conference
after the announcement, Draghi
said the cut in QE reflected
growing confidence in the
gradual convergence of inflation
rates towards our inflation aim.
Growth in the Eurozone economy
has continued to impress over
the course of 2017. Meanwhile,
inflation has started to pick up,
although annual price rises of 1.5
per cent in the year to September
are still well below the ECBs
mandated target of two per cent.
That is compounded during the
first interaction, when relationship
man- agers at financial institutions
in Europe and China outpace
interested personalities.
The bad start dents womens
confidence in their financial
institutions, the research found,
with 65 per cent saying they have
low confidence, compared with 55
per cent of men.
Were financial institutions more
engaging to women, and able to
support women in increasing their
confidence levels for saving and
investing to the next decile, an
incremental 133 billion would
potentially be redirected to savings
and investments, said the research.
Women not only make more
responsible borrowers than men,
the figures showed, but they take
a more conservative approach to
the barriers to home ownership,
including deposit requirements,
affordability and the extra costs.
wealth
Billionaires across the world piled
on more riches with the ultra-
wealthy in Asia now outnumbering
the traditional leaders, the US,
according to published research.
The total wealth of billionaires
worldwide rose by 17 per cent in 2016
to reach $6 trillion (4.5 trillion),
equivalent to more than double the
United Kingdoms annual economic
output, according to banking group
UBS and accountants PwC.
Billionaire wealth grew at double
the rate of the MSCI World Index,
one of the broadest measures of
global company performance.
World luxury goods
sales growth to hit
four per cent in 2017
Global sales of personal luxury
goods will grow by a stronger-
than- expected two to four per
cent at constant exchange rates
in 2017, as higher spending
weakness in the US and southeast
Asia, a report showed.
In 2017, total revenue in the
sector that includes watches,
jewellery, clothes, shoes and
leather goods will rise to 221-225
billion from 216 billion ($300bn)
in 2016, the study by consultancy
group Bain & Co and Italian
luxury industry association
Altagamma showed.

Looming debt endangers
financial system says IMF
Dangers to the global financial
system are starting to loom despite
strong global growth as non-bank
borrowers around the world pile up
debts, according to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
While the IMF this week raised
its forecasts for global economic
growth, it warned of rising financial
vulnerabilities which threaten to halt
a complete recovery from the global
financial crisis.
Global systemically important
banks which include behemoths like
Citigroup, HSBC and Barclays have
become much safer since the crash
in 2008,the IMF said, but threats to
stability are growing in non-financial
companies.
Borrowing by governments,
households and companies (not
including banks) in the major G20
economies exceeds $135 trillion (102
trillion), according to IMF figures,
equivalent to more than double their
annual economic output.
As the search for yield intensifies,
vulnerabilities are shifting to the non-
bank sector, and market risks are
rising, the IMF said in its biannual
global financial stability report.
The IMF urged governments to rein
London stays a magnet
for the wealthy elites
Oliver Williams, head of Wealth
Insight, said: In the fourth year of
this study we see Londons appeal
undiminished to multi-millionaires
both at home and abroad.
Growth in the Citys economy
has defied Brexit in creating new
wealth and London draws ever more
affluent individuals from overseas
attracted by its friendly business
laws, quality of life and all the
services a multi-millionaire could
ever need.
Elsewhere, a report commissioned
by wealth manager Kleinwort
Hambros found that overall wealth
in excessive capital market financing.
In a blog post accompanying the re-
port, Tobias Adrian, director of the
IMF monetary and capital markets
department, wrote: If left unattended,
these growing vulnerabilities will
continue to mount, threatening
to derail the economic recovery
when shocks occur. Pressures on
companies to repay their big debt piles
are already high in major economies
like Australia, Canada, China and
Korea, and there is still work to do
in China in particular, the IMF said in
its report. Economists from around
the world, including the Bank of
England, have repeatedly warned the
worlds second largest economy risks
taking on too much debt in its pursuit
of rapid
economic expansion.
However, the world economy is
currently enjoying a period of strong
growth, with the IMF expecting global
output to expand by 3.6 per cent this
year and 3.7 per cent in 2018.
Speaking yesterday at the IMFs
Washington headquarters, managing
director Christine Lagarde said: The
global recovery is now stronger and
more broadly based than we have
seen in a decade.
in the UK has grown 4.5 per cent a
year since the 2008 financial crisis,
from 8.5 trillion to 11.5 trillion
($16 trillion). The report also found
that the richest householders in
Greater London have the most
wealth in the country, with an
average of 1.4 million ($2 million),
up 65 per cent since 2008.
London is a world-leading
financial centre and home to
many financial services providers,
including the stock market, banks,
asset managers and investment
managers, said Paul Kearney, head
of private banking at Kleinwort.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Old technology a major
cyber threat to firms
NEARLY all, or 92 per cent, of
financial crime professionals
say that legacy technology
will become a barrier to fighting
financial crime over the next two
years. Of those assessed in a report
by LexisNexis Risk Solutions,
87 per cent said their businesses
were not able to enhance their
technology fast enough to counter
evolving criminal methods. As a
result, the Future Financial Crime
Risks report for 2017 found that
methodologies like cyber crime
are the biggest financial crime
risk that companies believe they
will face in the next 12 months.
Nearly 200 senior professionals
were surveyed and 44 per cent
said that evolving criminal
methods were the biggest single
financial crime risk they face.
This figure rose to nearly 70 per
cent when global investment
bankers were assessed alone. Dean
Curtis, UK managing director of
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said:
Criminal methodologies are
constantly evolving and financial
institutions are struggling to keep
up with their changing tactics
when implementing financial
crime defences. For those tasked
with combating financial crime
it can feel as if they are fighting
21st century criminals with
20th century tools. Geopolitical
changes, the second biggest
future financial crime risk, placed
financial crime practitioners in
retail banks among the most
concerned. Nearly 40 per cent
cited geopolitical events as the
top future financial crime risk.
The financial crime professionals
were also asked how Brexit would
impact their ability to combat
crime. Half agreed that it will
have both positive and negative
impacts, whereas only 14 per cent
believed it will have only negative
ones.
November2017 62
 Saudi prince hints Aramco could
be valued at over $2 trillion
Saudi crown prince said that the
Saudi state oil firm ARAMCO could
be valued at more than $2 trillion
(1.5 trillion) in its mega-float
scheduled for 2018.
Mohammad bin Salman said the
initial public offering (IPO) was on
track for 2018 in an interview with
Reuters, adding: Actually when
I talked about the valuation, I talk
about $2 trillion, it could be more
than $2 trillion.
Aramco has still not decided
where the listing will take place,
Saudi billionaire sees Enron-like demise for Bitcoin
The Saudi prince joins the likes
of JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO
Jamie Dimon in lambasting the
cryptocurrency.
I just dont believe in this bitcoin
thing. I think its just going to
implode one day. I think this is
63 November2017 northsouth
with London, New York and Tokyo
among its options. The head of
the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) has not given up hope
that it could win the float. Thomas
Farley, president of the group, said
the NYSE was talking to Saudi
authorities about it but did not
elaborate.
Meanwhile, Aramco bought
a stake in a key oil terminal in
the Netherlands last monnth,
increasing the companys activities
in Europe ahead of the float.
Enron in the making," Alwaleed
told CNBC in an interview. "It just
doesnt make sense. This thing is not
regulated, its not under control, its
not under the supervision" of any
central bank, he said. The prince,
who has a knack for early-stage
investing in technology companies
like Twitter and AOL, joins the likes
of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief
Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in
lambasting the cryptocurrency.
Dimon called bitcoin a fraud and
said he would fire any employee
trading it for being stupid.
UK helps speed up
global growth
Global growth is picking up
momentum as the United
Kingdom (UK) economy remains
stable, according to an influential
group of economists. The world
economys output will grow by 3.3
per cent this year, according to
the National Institute of Economic
and Social Research (Niesr) 0.2
percentage points faster than
previously predicted.
The stronger global momentum
will continue into 2018, with
further acceleration to 3.6 per cent
annual growth.
US banks pulling
back from car
loans market
American big banks are backing
away from the $1.2 trillion US car
loan market, fearing that consumers
have taken on more debt than they
can handle. Lenders piled into the
sector after the financial crisis,
as low defaults and an improving
economy encouraged them to focus
on the market that performed
relatively well.
Deutsche Bank profits
more than double
Deutsche Bank said third quarter
profits more than doubled year-
on-year but the lender warned
of a challenging revenue
environment following a global
trend of weakness in investment
bank trading revenues.
Net income rose to 649m
(578m), compared to 278m
in the third quarter of 2016.
Revenues fell by 10 per cent
year-on-year to 6.8bn because
of subdued client activity
compared to the post-Brexit vote
trading bonanzas in the second
half of 2016.

London retains global top spot for business
London has retained its number one
spot as the best major city in the
world for attracting businesses and
talent, according to an influential
ranking published last month. The
ranking, carried out by academics
from top global universities for
Japans Mori Memorial Foundation,
shows the British capital extending
its lead, based on 70 factors ranging
from the economic output per person
to the ease of commuting.
London has topped the decade-old
ranking in every year since 2012,
benefiting from its cultural impact,
in which it tops the chart, and
powerful research capabilities, for
which it is second after New York,
the nearest overall challenger.
Tokyo came third in the ranking,
followed by Paris, the highest-ranked
power city in mainland Europe.
Londons dynamic economy was
again a crucial factor in securing the
top position, driven by the strength
of the financial services industry.
The capital topped the latest Global
Financial Centres Index, published
last month by the China Development
Institute and think tank Z/Yen.
The citys economy will continue
to grow above the average for
other European cities, according
to separate forecasts by Oxford
Economics. The prominent
economists predict Londons output
will grow at a compound annual rate
of 2.4 per cent per year until 2021,
which would see it outstrip other
major European cities, including
Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin.
However, the forecast is highly
dependent on a smooth exit from the
EU for the UK, including a three-year
transition arrangement followed by
a free-trade agreement (FTA).
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
The dominance of financial
services in the London economy
means it stands to suffer from a
sudden collapse in market access
between the City and the continent.
Chancellor Philip Hammond
yesterday backed calls for a smooth
transition, saying his priority was to
address a cloud of uncertainty over
current negotiations on Brexit.
The Treasury will not commit
significant amounts of money
towards planning for a no deal
scenario in which the government
fails to secure an FTA with the EU,
Hammond told the Treasury Select
Committee (TSC).
The Treasurys top official in charge
of financial services, Katharine
Braddick, told the TSC that City
firms will activate contingency plans
if there is no transition agreed by the
first quarter of next year.
November2017 64
 arts
&
entertanment
Paris and Marrakech host
Yves Saint Laurent Museums
In Paris, the French capital, the
Yves Saint Laurent Paris Museum is
located in the historic townhouse at 5
Avenue Marceau where from 1974 to
2002, the world acclaimed designer
showcased his creations. Visitors
enter through the same door as
clients and guests get a peek at the
historic studio where twice a year,
Yves Saint Laurent would design a
haute couture and a ready-to-wear
collection. The exhibition unfolds
in different rooms on various floors
and ends with a history of fashion
shown through Yves Saint Laurent
creations depicting the richness of
his inspirations.
For the couturier, Morocco was
also a source of inspiration hence
the Yves Saint Laurent Museum
in Marrakech. Unlike the historic
building in Paris, the Marrakech
Museum opens onto a large room
where the collections can be seen as
a true sensory anthology. A large
section is dedicated to the creations
inspired by the flower gardens, in
addition to symbolic rooms such
65 November2017 northsouth
as the Saharan or smoking room.
For two weeks twice a year and
since 1966, Yves Saint Laurent and
his companion Pierre Berge would
vacation in Marrakech. In 1983, the
designer said The boldness seen
since then in my work, I owe to this
country, to its forceful harmonies,
to its audacious combinations, to
the fervor of its creativity. The
Paris and Marrakech museums
are complimentary places and they
opened their doors to the public
simultaneously last month.
The Marrakech museum is built on
400 square metres of space to exhibit
permanently Yves Saint Laurents
work; a 130-seater auditorium, a
library, a bookshop and a restaurant/
caf. The Marrakech museum
harbours a collection of more than
5,000 outfits and 15,000 accessories
the French designer created during
his 40-year career.
a selection of sketches and
other objects of the Foundation of
Pierre Berg-Yves Saint Laurent
are also exhibbited.
Microsoft axes
groove music
service
Microsoft is to close its last
remaining music streaming and
download service, Groove Music.
From 31 December, customers
will no longer be able to buy
music downloads, and streaming
subscriptions will end.
People will be prompted to move
their music collection to Spotify,
while eligible Groove Music
Pass subscribers will be offered
a 60-day free trial of Spotifys
premium tier.
Microsoft thanked customers
for their support on this
journey.
The company has struggled to
create a music service to match
the popularity of rivals such as
Spotify, Google Play Music and
Apples iTunes.
Groove Music was its latest
attempt, which replaced the
Xbox Music service when it was
launched in July 2015.
It also replaced Microsofts
older Zune music service, left
over from its attempt to rival
the iPod music player. It leaves
Microsoft without its own-brand
music solution.
Announcing the closure of
Groove Music, Microsoft said
customers wanted access to
the best streaming service, the
largest catalogue of music, and a
variety of subscriptions.
Spotify was added to the Xbox
One platform in August, paving
the way for Microsofts home-
grown service to be closed.
The company said the Groove
app on Windows 10 would
continue to work as a media
player app for songs that had
already been downloaded.
Moroccan Princess Lalla Salma
(centre in pink dress) inaugurates
Marrakech museum
 news & views to bridge the global divide

Forbes highest-paid actors list

shines light on gender inequality
Forbes released figures about the
highest-paid men in Hollywood
have once again shone a light on
the disparity in pay between male
and female stars. The financial news
outlet revealed that Emma Stone
had been the top-earning actress of
the past 12 months, thanks to her
Oscar-winning turn in La La Land.
They have now compiled a similar
list of top earners among the men in
the film world, with Transformers
actor Mark Wahlberg coming out
on top, having earned around $68
Preis Der Nationalgalerie 2017
million (53.1 million) in the last
year, more than double Emmas
reported $26 million(20.3 million).
Just to really drive that point
home Emma Stone won an
Academy Award in the last 12
months and earned less than half
of what Mark got during a year in
which he appeared in Transformers:
The Last Knight, which got
lukewarm reviews at best.
Emma also earned less than the
top 14 highest-paid actors, including
her co-star Ryan Gosling, whose
performancein the Hollywood-based
musical was received less well than
hers. What is more, the new figures
reveal that the 10 highest-earning
actors collectively earned $488.5
million (381.7 million), more than
two and a half times what their
female counterparts made on $172.5
million (134.8 million).
Hassan Hajjaj
exhibition at Somerset
House London
Under the theme, La Caravane,
Hassan Hajjaj is staging an
exhibition of his work at Somerset
House, in London from October
2017 to 7 January 2018.
It is a homecoming exhibition
of the British-Moroccan artist,
showcasing his vibrant fusion of
contemporary cultures through
new and celebrated works.
Born and raised in Larache,
Morocco, Hajjaj moved to the
United Kingdom aged twelve,
but has spent much of his life
travelling between the
countries and cultures. His
two

The Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum
fr Gegenwart - Berlin, in
Germany, is organising a major
exhibition from 29 September to 14
January 2018.
This year, Sol Calero (born 1982
in Caracas), Iman Issa (born 1979
in Cairo), Jumana Manna (born
1987 in Princeton) and Agnieszka
Polska (born in 1985 in Lublin)
have been nominated for the Preis
der Nationalgalerie 2017 by an
international jury. The museum
prize is awarded every two years and
pays tribute to artists under 40 who
live and work in Germany. All four
artistic positions, which are presented
in a joint exhibition at Hamburger
Bahnhof - Museum fr Gegenwart
- Berlin, are not just engaged in a artworks reflect his nomadic
purely artistic discourse. Producing lifestyle and the relationships
art spanning several media at once, he has formed with a variety of
they rather use their work to reflect characters along the way, from
social processes. musicians to artists and athletes
to street performers.
David Hockney at the
Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao 10 November
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,
Spain, presentsan exhibition by
the British Artist David Hockney:
82 Portraits and 1 Still-life from
November 10, 2017February 25,
2018. The Exhibition is organised
by the Royal Academy of Arts
in London, in collaboration with
the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao,
features a remarkable new body
of work in which the British
artist returns to portraiture with
a renewed creative vigor, offering
an intimate snapshot of the LA
art world and the people who have
crossed his path in recent years.

northsouth November2017 66
 travel
&
toursm
Best hotel in the world
Feast your eyes on the best
hotel in the world. Indonesias
Nihiwatu Hotel is no stranger
to such high praise. It is the
second year in a row the luxury
hotel has topped Travel and
Leisures annual Worlds Best
list.
100 of the worlds top spots were
ranked by the magazines readers
who rated hotel experiences across
86 categories. The scores were then
averaged and the Indonesian hotel
got a near perfect score!
All of the rooms have private
pools, and the setting is jaw
dropping. But speaking of
67 November 2017 northsouth
F
experiences, theres world-class
surfing, spa sessions, horseback
riding, fishing, you name it.
The hotel is also known for
its close ties to the community.
Nearly all of the staff comes from
the island, according to Travel
and Leisure, and a foundation
partly funded by hotel profits
helps with local projects. The
worlds second best hotel is The
Brando in French Polynesia -
another island paradise! The
Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek
Ranch in Wyoming rounds up
the top three.
Modern avionics
aid regulatory
compliance
As the global CNS/ATM environment
evolves to place additional
demands on pilots through all
phases of flight, the avionics
industry is rising to the challenge.
The transition from traditional
airspace management to a modern
satellite-based alternative as
seen in Europe with SESAR and
NextGen in the United States is
mirrored in the avionics industry
with a move towards high-speed,
high-bandwidth technology.
Factors driving the integration
of modern cockpit avionics include
standardised Internet Protocols,
modern satellite communications,
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-
Broadcast (ADS-B), and
Performance Based Navigation
(PBN) procedures.
Avionics upgrades are also
driven by an increase in aircraft
orders and a hunger for data in
real time, not only to enhance
flight operations and improve
decision making, but also to make
airline business processes more
efficient and serve demand for in-
flight internet connectivity.

Branson to turn 50 Saudi islands
into luxury tourism destinations
Virgin airlines founder Sir Richard
Branson will invest in a Red Sea
project that aims to turn 50 Saudi
Arabian islands into luxury tourism
destinations, the Saudi government
announced last month. The project is
expected to generate 35,000 jobs.
Branson is the first international
investor to commit to the project, Saudi
Arabias information ministry said, in
what officials called a clear sign that
Saudi Arabia is opening its doors to
international tourism.
Branson also visited the tombs at
Madain Saleh - an UNESCO World
Heritage site located near a string of
new hotels - in a trip to the Gulf kingdom
that appears to be aimed at attracting
further international attention, both
investment and tourism.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most
conservative countries in the world,
only last month passing a decree
Elon Musk reveals plans for London
to New York flights in 29 minutes
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed
plans to use rocket technology for
flights - creatingflightsfrom London
to New York in under 30 minutes.
Musk revealed the companys
latest ambitions - plans for Mars
colonisation and an interplanetary
rocket transportation system - at
the International Astronautical Con-
news & views to bridge the global divide
allowing women to drive.
But since the shock appointment
of Prince Mohammed bin Salman as
successor to his fathers throne in
June, the oil-rich state has launched a
media offensive aimed at promoting the
countrys image. Prince Mohammed,
who sidelined his cousin Mohammed
bin Nayef to be appointed the royal heir,
is also the champion of Saudi Arabias
ambitious Vision 2030 economic plan.
The scheme aims to pull the regions
biggest economy out of its dependence
on oil and diversify the countrys
economic revenue model.
On August 1, Saudi Arabia
announced plans to turn 34,000 square
kilometres (13,127 square miles) of
its Red Sea coastline into luxury
resorts. The project is aimed at
attracting international tourists to a
country where alcohol is prohibited
and the mobility and dress of women
gress event in Adelaide,Australia.
The billionaire said the new BFR
Spacecraft would be able to fly to
most places on Earth in under half
an hour, and anywhere in an hour
- with a ticket costing roughly the
same as an economy class plane seat.
The reusable rockets would have
a maximum speed of 16,777 mph,
northsouth
restricted. Saudi authorities however
have long turned a blind eye to
compounds in which foreigners live,
such as the Aramco headquarters
in Dahran. The Saudi Public
Investment Fund, which is headed
by Prince Mohammed, will provide
the initial investmetnt into the Red
Sea project, with construction slated
to start in 2019.
although Earth flights would travel
at just over 7,000mph, meaning it
would be possible to complete flights
of thousands of miles in as little as
22 minutes.
Musk said that he intends to land
at least two ships on Mars by 2022
and slowly build a base on the red
planet, making it a nice place to be.
The same rocket technology could
also be used on Earth, Musk added,
and showed a promotional video of a
rocket transporting passengers from
New York City to Shanghai.
Fly to most places on Earth in
under 30 mins and anywhere in
under 60, Musk wrote when he
posted the video to Instagram.
Not only would a flight fromNew
Yorkto London take 29 minutes,
but a service from Sydney
toLondoncould be completed
in 51 minutes, SpaceX claimed,
adding that the craft could carry
up to 100 people.
November 2017 68
 science news
Chinese scientists create genetically modified low-fat pigs
Scientists have used CRISPR, a
new gene-editing technique, to
create pigs that can keep their
bodies warmer, burning more fat to
produce leaner meat.
In a paper published in the
Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, the scientists
report that they have created 12
healthy pigs with about 24 percent
less body fat than normal pigs.
The scientists created low-fat
pigs in the hopes of providing
pig farmers with animals that
would be less expensive to raise
and would suffer less in cold
weather.
"This is a big issue for the pig
industry," saysJianguo Zhaoof
the Institute of Zoology at the
Self-repaired roads could be fixed automatically
Cracked roads full of potholes
could be a thing of the past thanks
to science, as self-healing roads
could repair themselves and charge
electric vehicles while at it.
Potholes are every driver's
nightmare they can damage your
car, create safety hazards and make
the ride bumpy and uncomfortable.
Repairing broken roads, meanwhile,
means closed off lanes, congested
traffic and rerouting, which further
adds to the hassle.
Broken infrastructure is a major
problem affecting roads in the
69 November 2017 northsouth
Chinese Academy of Sciences in
Beijing, who led the research.
"It's pretty exciting."
The animals have less body
fat because they have a gene
that allows them to regulate
their body temperatures better
by burning fat. That could save
farmers millions of dollars in
heating and feeding costs, as
well as prevent millions of piglets
from suffering and dying in cold
weather.
"This is a paper that is
technologically quite important,"
saysR. Michael Roberts, a professor
in the department of animal sciences
at the University of Missouri, who
edited the paper for the scientific
journal. "It demonstrates a way
United States and numerous other
countries worldwide, but scientists
are working on a great solution.
More specifically, Dutch scientists
are developing materials that can
self-heal, and they are focusing
on the two essential materials for
infrastructure: concrete and asphalt.
Asphalt is generally used for
road surfaces because it is easy to
apply, it is porous and it becomes
a hard surface once it cools. The
main drawback, however, is that
asphaltis not durable enough and it
does not take long until an asphalt
road gets cracks and deep potholes.
According to Erik Schlangen,
a material scientist at the
Netherlands's Delft University, self-
healing asphalt may be the solution
to making asphalt roads more
durable and safe.
Schlangen's modified asphalt
includes small steel fibers, which
that you can improve the welfare
of animals at the same as also
improving the product from those
animals the meat."
But Roberts doubts the Food and
Drug Administration would approve
a genetically modified pig for sale in
the United States. He's also skeptical
that Americans would eat GMO pig
meat.
The FDA has approved a
genetically modifiedsalmon, but
the approval took decades and has
been met with intense opposition
from environmental and food-safety
groups.
Others say they hope genetically
modified livestock will eventually
become more acceptable to
regulators and the public.
make it conductive. Running a
hefty induction machine over the
asphalt heats it up and the machine
would act like a magnet for the steel
fibers, which would bind together
and fix the cracks in the asphalt
on their own. In other words, it is
not fully self-repairingsince it still
requires an induction machine, but
it gets pretty close and it would be
less of a hurdle than current road-
fixing solutions.
The scientist tested the self-
healing asphalt on 12 roads in
the Netherlands, one of which has
been open to the public for the past
seven years. While all 12 roads are
in mint condition, Schlangen notes
that even regular asphalt roads are
in good condition for the first seven
years or even up to a decade. The
challenge comes later on, so the
difference should start showing in
the next few years.

Key nutrients for busy office workers
Eating well over the course of a
busy work week can be difficult,
especially when surrounded by
vending machines, cafes and
tempting takeaway spots.
But Australian nutritionist
Susie Burrell believes there's a
way to manage your meals and
the demands of a hectic life,
without letting your nutrition
take a backseat. 'Busy people need
a strong nutritional platform
to ensure they are performing
at their best on a daily basis,'
she writes on her blog. Making
sure your diet is rich in iron is
a key priority, especially as iron
deficiency is one of the most
common nutrient deficiencies in
Australian women, Susie said.
The nutritional expert writes
that while iron can be found
in a range of foods including
wholegrains and legumes, plant
sources are generally not well
absorbed. For those who eat meat,
she suggests small amounts of
a lean cut, two to three times a
week. 'A small serve of minced
meat, a lamb cutlet, lean sausage
South Korean laboratory
to clone extinct mammoth
Soam Biotech is searching for a
mammoth sample of high enough
quality to clone from, with cells
and DNA that are well preserved,
biologists say.
If intact mammoth genome
could be found, the hope is that
news & views to bridge the global divide
or a couple of meatballs are all
iron rich options to increase
your intake,' she said. Foods
such as citrus (orange juice),
green vegetables, red capsicum
can help. Omega three fats are
key to optimal brain function
and essential for keeping our
hearts healthy. While salmon is
considered a rich source of Omega
3 fats, its unlikely most of us are
consuming it every day.
If you're making an effort to
incorporate Omega 3 it in your
diet other fish sources include
tinned sardines and tuna. 'If you
are not a keen fish fan, it may be
worth considering taking a fish oil
supplement, which you can freeze
to avoid any unwanted side effects
or fish aftertaste,' Susie suggests.
Eating a diet that is 'the right
mix of the right types of fibre
is crucial for a well-functioning
bowel' and managing gut
discomfort, the health expert
writes. As well, make sure you're
drinking plenty of water to
ensure the digestive tract is able
to function well, Susie said.
it could be inserted into elephant
eggs in order to form a Mammoth
embryo. Biologists are scouring
ever deeper into the extreme
north of Siberia in search of
genetic material. The laboratory
has already cloned 600 dogs for
customers around the world.
Each customer paid $100,000 to
be reunited with their beloved
pet. Soam Biotech has even
managed to clone eight coyote
pups, using a surrogate domestic
dog to give birth to them.
The execise was meant to
prove that cloning could be an
interspecies process.
northsouth
Tesla to build world's
biggest lithium ion
battery in Australia
Elon Musk, the billionaire founder
of Tesla, will build the worlds
largest lithium ion battery to
store renewable energy in South
Australia in partnership with
French energy utility Neoen.
The 129MWh battery, which
is paired with a wind farm, is
designed to improve the security
of electricity supplies across South
Australia. The states premier, Jay
Weatherill, confirmed the deal,
which forms a key part of the
governments $550m energy plan.
The state government said Musk
had confirmed his pledge made
on Twitter in March that he could
deliver the battery within 100 days
of signing the contract or it would
be delivered free.
Romain Desrousseaux, the
deputy chief executive of Neoen,
said that at 129MWh the South
Australian lithium ion battery
would become the largest in the
world. The battery will be built
near Jamestown, in the states
mid-north, and will be paired with
Neoens Hornsdale windfarm to
provide stability for renewable
power being fed into the grid.
Musk said a failure to deliver
the project on time would cost his
group about $50m, though the
details of the contract have not
been revealed.
The battery forms a key part
of the state governments $550
million energy plan drawn up after
last years statewide blackout.
November 2017 70
 motoring
Londons electric black taxi being tested
The company that makes the
London cabs has confirmed that
six of them are currently driving
around the British capital as they
go through the final and perhaps
most gruelling environment test
through London traffic.
The six vehicles and their
drivers will be collecting data
that records not only the
emissions coming from the
vehicle but also looks to assess
the state of Londons charging
network.
Each car is driven by an
electric motor which can then
be charged via a 1.3 litre petrol-
powered generator. The car has
a fully-electric range of around
70-miles but if you turn on the
petrol generator that range
Hyundai charges
into electric market
Hyundai has unveiled plans to move
deeper into the fast-growing electric
car market with a vehicle that can
travel more than 300 miles (490
kms) on each charge, as the race
to capture the low-emission market
intensifies. The car maker said it
aims to produce the vehicle after
2021
71 November 2017 northsouth
increases to some
400-miles.
While it is certainly
not going to compete
with the range of
say a Tesla, these
vehicles have been
designed to at the
very least comply
with the zero
emission capable
requirement for all
London taxis from
January 2018.
Compared to the previous
petrol-powered black cabs, the
new TX5 has a larger cabin
that contains six seats, WiFi,
USB-charging and the ability to
process contactless payments.
The driver meanwhile will have
access to a full-touch screen that
provides them with a SatNav
specifically designed to show
congestion while also showing
every available charging location
in London.
In addition the screen will also
feature integrated ride-hailing
services including Gett, myTaxi
and Kabbee.
The cabs are expected to get a
full roll out on Londons streets
later this year.
Tesla issues
voluntary recall
Tesla is recalling 11,000 of its Model
X vehicles because their rear seats
may not lock into place and could
move forward in the event of a crash.
The company said a small number
of cables in the second row, fold-flat
seats of certain Model X SUVs built
between October 2016 and August
2017 may need to abe adjusted.
What drivers
do in a lifetime
Drivers cry 33 times, have 81 fits
of road rage, enjoy 112 Waynes
World-style singalongs and
have sex nine times in a car in a
lifetime. The average motorist
will also have 51 rows and 81
smooches. Researchers also found
drivers spend nearly nine hours
a week in their car almost 19
days a year. Over a lifetime they
cover 257,355 miles enough
to reach the Moon and beyond
but also spend 48 full days going
nowhere stuck in queues and
at traffic lights. The study was
carried out for the British Lung
Foundation to highlight the levels
of toxic fumes drivers are exposed
to when sitting in traffic. The
foundation said: We are breathing
in toxic fumes when were driving
or running the engine and many
drivers are not aware of this. We
would like to see people leaving
their cars behind if possible.
Aston Martin joins
forces to make
stylish submersible
Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has
joined forces with Triton Submarines
to make a stylish submersible.
Aston Martin is teaming up
with Triton Submarines to build a
$4 million submersible. But only
a handful of people will get to
own one. Aston Martin, based in
Gaydon, Warwickshire, England,
has unveiled a submarine design,
which is the precursor to an
'exclusive,strictly-limited edition
submersible' for the super-rich.

Autonomous driving to bring $7
trillion 'passenger economy': Intel
Fully autonomous vehicles will
bring forth a new "passenger
economy" worth $7 trillion by 2050,
according to new research from
Intel and Strategy Analytics.
The passenger economy does
not include the autonomous
vehicle industry itself; rather, it's
a "peripheral" economy or a "side-
effect" of autonomous vehicles
becoming mainstream, Doug
Davis, VP of Intel and GM of Intel's
Automated Driving Solutions
Group, told journalists.
While the predicted value can be
disputed, Intel's overarching point
is that fully autonomous vehicles
will generate new types of products,
Porsche launches limited-edition Macan
The Porsche Macan is a well-sorted
SUV, and like most manufacturers
Porsche offers it over a wide range.
You can have a modest, diesel-
powered Macan or, if you want the
top-of-the-range, you can have the
barnstorming Macan Turbo with
Performance Package.
Porsche has gone one step
further and added a further tier
to the Macan's model line-up. It is
called the Porsche Macan Turbo
Exclusive Performance Edition,
and is the pinnacle of the Macan
range.
news & views to bridge the global divide
services, and business models as
today's drivers become tomorrow's
idle passengers.
Given autonomous vehicles
are expected to free more than
250 million hours of consumers'
commuting time per year in some
of the most congested cities in the
world, a key opportunity will be how
to capitalise on all of the time people
will save when they're no longer
having to drive, according to the
Intel-Strategy Analytics study.
Due to the scope of the opportunity,
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said it
would be wise for businesses to start
thinking about their autonomous
strategy now.
It is based on the standard Macan
Turbo with Performance Package,
which means it is fitted with a
3.6-litre V6 engine. Twin-turbo
chargers push power up to a very
healthy 434bhp, meaning 0-60mph
in the region of 4.2 seconds.
Luckily, it stops and handles as
well as it accelerates, with high-
performance 390mm brake discs
and electronically-controlled
suspension.
It would not be an "Exclusive"
high-end Porsche without some
added visual glitz to justify the
northsouth
One in three London
car journeys could be
driverless by 2025
Driverless ride-sharing could
account for a third of all trips in
London by private drivers in 2025,
according to a government-backed
consortium led by Addison Lee.
Some 34 per cent of private
drivers journeys could be replaced,
while up to 30 per cent of taxi and
private hire journeys could also
be served by autonomous vehicle
ride-sharing, according to the
consortium.
A driverless ride-sharing service
could end up accounting for one
in seven of all trips within London
over the next eight years.
That is equivalent to 2.5m trips
a day, and could eat into 25 per
cent of the total transport market
by value, around 3.5 billion.
The figures were compiled from
studies carried out in Los Angeles
and Boston, along with the London
travel demand survey.
The idea that one in three
London car journeys could be
replaced by autonomous vehicles
by 2025 shows the huge potential
in the sector, said Andy Boland,
Addison Lees CEO.
title, so the model sits on 21-inch
alloy wheels with design inspired
by the 911 Turbo. It also features
LED lights front and rear, while the
spoiler, side skirts and rear apron
get 'Carmine Red' accents.
Black leather upholstery is the
order of the day inside, but it's been
jazzed up with red accents for the
seat bolsters, stitching, seatbelts
and embroidered 'Turbo' on the
headrests.
Porsche is currently taking orders
for the new Macan Turbo Exclusive
Performance Edition in Germany
with prices from 116,091 an
impressive 24,000 more expensive
than the car it is based on.
November 2017 72
 book revews
news & views to bridge the global divide

AFRICA
A MODERN
HISTORY: 1945
2015
Guy Arnold
Price 40.00

G uy Arnolds mammoth History

was originally published in
2006. A new edition is now published
as AFRICA A Modern History 1945-
2015 and the author has added an
Addendum to cover the years 2000 to
2015. African countries entered the
new century with high hopes with
the end of colonialism. By the 1990s,
however, the high hopes of the
1960s had been dashed. Dictatorship
by strong men, corruption, civil
wars and genocide, widespread
poverty and the interventions and
manipulations of the major powers
had all relegated Africa to the
position of an aid basket case with
some of the worlds poorest and least
developed nations.
In particular the New Colonialism
Examines the role of resources, the
impact of China, the United States
and Africa, the Sahel and the Arab
Spring, Democracy and the coup,
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and its neighbours, the EU
and Africa, The United Nations,
Peacekeeping and aid, development
and the economy, South Africa,
Nigeria and the outlook for Africa.
The author examines the way
aid is used and creates dependence
rather than solving problems of
development.
By exploring developments over
the last fifteen years, Guy Arnold
brings his landmark history of
modern Africa up to date and
provides a fresh perspective on
the continent. In this book, Guy
looks at how the impact of China,
Information Technology, the Arab
Spring, the rise of Nigeria as
Africas leading country and the
recent refugee crisis has shaped
the continent. In 1945, only four
African countries were independent
but by 1963 there were 30 African
states who came together to create
the then Organisation of African
Unity, OAU.
Back then, Africans enjoyed their
new independence and prosperity
and were prepared to tackle their
formidable political and economic
problems in their own way. However,
by the 1990s, the high hopes of the
60s had been dashed. Dictatorship,
corruption, civil wars, genocide,
poverty and foreign intervention
began to engulf the continent as
some of the countries became the
worlds poorest and least developed.
Guy has spent the last fifty years
specializing in African affairs and
is the author of dozens of books on
Africa.
His involvement began when
he created a National Youth
Service for Zambia on the eve of
the countrys independence. He
lectures on international affairs
and has worked as a consultant for
agencies in developing countries.
This valuable book provides
academics, politicians, economists,
journalists and diplomats with a
comprehensive insight into African
affairs and perspectives and should
be a must read for anyone interested
in the continent. It is a valuable
contribution to the understanding
of often ignored part of the world. F
Ali Bahaijoub

73 November 2017 northsouth


informaton & communcaton
technology
Roku rolls out Roku OS 8
Roku just announced updates to
five of its TV streaming products, as
well as a new operating system that
marries access to over-the-air TV
with video streaming services. The
announcements from Roku come
after both Apple and Amazon have
revealed updates to their own video
streaming boxes in recent weeks,
with all three companies pushing
further into the home with things
like 4K, voice control, and improved
search functionality.
Rokus low-cost streaming sticks
are getting the most interesting
updates. The basic Roku streaming
stick, which at $49.99 is priced the
same as last years model, is getting
a processor update that Roku
claims is 50 percent faster. The
remote is also getting voice control
functionality, along with power
and volume buttons to control
those functions on your TV set.
Then there is the Roku Streaming
Stick Plus, which now supports
HDR and 4K Ultra HD. It also has
four times the wireless range of the
basic stick, which is partly enabled
EU gives Facebook, Twitter
final warning on hate speech
Facebook, Twitter and other
social media companies have
been given an ultimatum by
the European Union: rid your
platforms of hate speech or face
legal consequences.
European regulators have been
pushing social media firms to
remove racist and violent posts
from their platforms in a timely
manner for years. Their patience
is running out.
Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft
by the wireless module being built
directly into the cable, rather than
the stick itself. The idea is that
moving it away from the television
reduces interference. This one,
which effectively replaces last
years Roku Premiere 4K box, will
cost $69.99.
The tiny Roku boxes the
Roku Express and Roku Express
Plus are also getting processor
updates. Theyre still selling for
the same price, however: $29.99
for the Roku Express, and $10
more for a model that connects
with composite ports on older TVs.
The bigger Roku box the
Roku Ultra is not getting any
significant hardware changes,
but at $99, it is less than the
$130 starting price point it had
last year. This is the highest-
end Roku. It includes support
for 4K at 60 fps and HDR10, an
Ethernet port and USB support,
a Find My Remote feature,
private listening on the remote,
and now, power and volume
buttons on the remote as well. F
and Google have all pledged
to do more. In May 2016, they
promised to review a majority
of hate speech flagged by users
within 24 hours and to remove
any illegal content.
But the European Commission,
EUs top regulator, said Thursday
they are still failing to act fast
enough. It said it would pass
laws allowing the EU to impose
punishments on companies that
fail to act.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
KRACK attack
threatens all Wi-Fi
networks
Some companies have begun
to respond to KRACK, issuing
patches or deferring action
until later. A severe flaw in
the encryption protocols used
by nearly all modern Wi-Fi
networks could let attackers
hijack encrypted traffic, steal
passwords and even inject
malware into smartphones and
laptops.
DubbedKRACK, or Key
Reinstallation Attack, by
its Belgium discoverer, the
flaw affects all widely used
platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS,
Linux and Android. Android
6.0 Marshmallow and later, and
Linux kernel 2.4 and later, are
especially hard-hit.
Despite the severity of the
flaw, it is rather difficult to
implement. The user needs
to be within Wi-Fi range of a
smartphone or laptop to attack
it. The attack does not work
over the internet.
The situation is not sustainable:
in more than 28% of cases, it takes
more than one week for online
platforms to take down illegal
content, said Mariya Gabriel, the
EUs top official in charge of the
digital economy and society.
The Commission said it will
consider implementing new
laws to tackle the problem if the
online platforms fail to take
swift action over the coming
months. F
November 2017 74
 informaton & communcaton
technology
Bixby push Samsungs vision
of connected devices
To compete with the likes of Google
Assistant and Amazons Alexa,
Samsung has to get its own version
of a smart voice-powered assistant,
Bixby, to as many devices as
possible. It also needs to make Bixby
work as well as its competitors;
something Samsung has
hadtrouble withsince its launch. At
Amazon beating Google in
race to the home computer
Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft,
and Samsung are all chasing voice-
based artificial intelligence with
smart digital assistants that you
talk to. It is a future we have been
promised for years: a computer
you can talk to at home, and now
the competition to make it a reality
is really heating up. While Alexa,
Cortana, Bixby, Google Assistant,
and Siri all offer unique advantages
for their associated platforms,
they all need to keep learning to
improve. That learning is powered
by more users, more cameras and
microphones, and by these digital
assistants being in more places
by being on every device you own.
Amazon proved this week that its
way ahead of Google in the race to
be the computer for your home.
75 November 2017 northsouth
the Samsung Developer Conference
in San Francisco last month, the
tech companyannounced two
initiativesthat will do just that:
Bixby 2.0 and Project Ambience.
The Bixby update brings
Samsungs digital assistant to
more devices like smart TVs and
refrigerators and adds, deep
linking capabilities and enhanced
natural language abilities, along
with a way to recognize multiple
users -- a feature that already
exists onAssistantandAlexa.
Along the same lines, Project
Ambience, a hardware dongle
or chip, will let users add the
Samsung vision of the Internet of
Things -- with Bixby ascendant --
to any connectable device.
Amazon invited the worlds media
to its headquarters in Seattle last
month, and kept its event secret
until just hours before the company
unloaded six new hardware
products. There is the smaller $99
Echo, the larger Echo Plus with
smart hub, and an Echo Spot alarm
clock for your bedside table. Amazon
even launched a $70 Fire TV with 4K
and HDR support, some cute Echo
Buttons to play trivia games on an
Echo, and a device to let Echos make
calls. It was a lot of hardware, and a
lot of surprise.
All of these new devices build on
Amazons big win of getting the
hardware and software scenario just
right for Alexa. Microsoft, Google,
Apple, and Samsung made the
mistake of focusing on phones or
Rolls-Royce and Google
partner to create
autonomous hips
Rolls-Royce marine has partnered
with Google Cloud to apply neural
net and machine learning technology
to shipping. Their grand plan is
to have a fully autonomous ship
at sea by 2020, but the technology
will also drive safety and efficiency
improvements across the shipping
industry.
Publishers to start
paying Facebook for
stories to be seen
As part of a new test in six
countries, Facebook is taking
content from publishers and
businesses out of its main feed.
Instead, those posts will exist in
a separate, hard-to-find feed that
Facebook recently launched for
discovering new stuff, called the
Explore Feed.
Facebook says the point is
to give people two feeds: One
with stuff from their friends
and family, and the other from
businesses and publishers.
Though Facebook claims it doesnt
plan to roll this out globally right
now, the fact that Facebook is even
testing it should be terrifying for
publishers, almost all of whom
rely heavily on Facebooks News
Feed for distribution.
PCs for voice assistants, instead of a
shared household device like Alexa.
The competition is slowly catching
up with devices of their own, but
Amazon is marching towards the
reality of Tony Starks Jarvis or Star
Treks LCARS.

Google aims to share revenue
with news publishers
Google says it wants to make
amends with subscription-based
news outlets. The search giants
head of news, Richard Gingras,
told the Financial Times that the
plan is to share revenues with
publishers who take advantage of
its new subscription tools. Similar
to its ad system, it would use its
machine learning know-how and
vast collection of user data to
find potential new and renewing
subscribers, and take a cut from
sales when people take action.
Magnetic particles could lead
to new form of data storage 256GB iPhone
7 from Apple
New research has shown that an
exotic kind of magnetic behavior
discovered just a few years ago holds
great promise as a way of storing
data one that could overcome
fundamental limits that might
otherwise be signaling the end of
Moores Law, which describes
the ongoing improvements in
computation and data storage over
recent decades.
Rather than reading and writing
data one bit at a time by changing
the orientation of magnetized
particles on a surface, as todays
magnetic disks do, the new system
would make use of tiny disturbances
in magnetic orientation, which have
been dubbed skyrmions. These
virtual particles, which occur on
a thin metallic film sandwiched
against a film of different metal, can
be manipulated and controlled using
electric fields, and can store data for
Unlike adverts, Google would noot
take up to 30 percent of the money --
the terms will be significantly more
generous, Gingras said.
Gingras also rejects arguments
that Google is trying to wrestle
some control from publishers
in the vein ofFacebooks news
subscription service, which uses
Instant Articles that run on its
own site. We dont want to own the
customer, Gingras said.
Google is not ready to announce
final details, and there is no
guarantee that every major
publisher will accept the terms.
However, it is evident that
Google has come a long way from
the days when it wasfeuding
with publishersaccusing it of
profiting off their work with
nothing in return.
long periods without the need for
further energy input.
In 2016, a team led by MIT
associate professor of materials
science and engineering Geoffrey
Beach documented the existence
of skyrmions, but the particles
locations on a surface were
entirely random. Now, Beach
has collaborated with others to
demonstrate experimentally for the
first time that they can create these
particles at will in specific locations,
which is the next key requirement
for using them in a data storage
system. An efficient system for
reading that data will also be needed
to create a commercializable system.
The new findings are reported in
the journalNature Nanotechnology,
in a paper by Beach, MIT postdoc
Felix Buettner, and graduate student
Ivan Lemesh, and 10 others at MIT
and in Germany.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Adobe Photoshop now
supports Microsofts
Surface Dial
Microsoft originally unveiled
itsSurface Dial accessoryfor
its Surface Studio all-in-one PC
almost a year ago. App support
has beenfairly limited so far,
but Microsoft did promise that
Photoshop would start supporting
the accessory. That support is
finally here, beyond the basic zoom
options that have existed for the
past year.
Adobe is updating its popular
software to Photoshop CC, and it
includes Surface Dial integration
to tweak brush settings. We have
tested the Surface Dial integration,
and it is limited to just the brush
settings. Adobes implementation
brings up a separate brush menu
when you trigger the Dial, and
you can adjust size, opacity,
hardness, flow, and smoothing by
rotating the Dial.
Apple made a few major changes
to its iPhone line-up last month,
but you probably missed one. It
no longer sells a 256GB iPhone
7, previously the largest capacity,
leaving consumers with three
options: 32GB, 128GB, or the 256GB
iPhone 8.
There were major announcements
including the launch of iPhone 8
and an iPhone X.
Even if peopleare not so hoton
the iPhone 8 which counts among
its new features simple wireless
charging and amore powerful
processor Apple can encourage
purchases by making it the only
way to get a 256GB iPhone.
November 2017 76
 informaton & communcaton
Twitter has new rules for
technology
violent and sexual content
twitters downward spiral into a
platform where abuse thrives has
been well-documented over the years,
but harassment on twitter is in the
news again because the company
suspended actress rose McGowan
after she tweeted about sexual abuse
in hollywood.
In response, CEo Jack
Dorsey promised to introduce
stricter rules against harassment
and it looks like some of those rules
just leaked to Wired.
Dorsey promised new rules
covering unwanted sexual advances,
non-consensual nudity, hate symbols,
violent groups, and tweets that
glorifies violence and it looks like
most of those are covered in an email
from twitters head of safety policy.
amazons alexa calling & messaging comes to Europe
Amazons Alexa Calling & functionality, the Verge reports.
Messaging feature is now making
its way to Europe, according to the
seattle, Washington-based tech
giant, adding that consumers in
Germany and the united Kingdom
should soon have access to the
77 November 2017 northsouth
the email, obtained by Wired,
shows that twitter will require
deeper account reviews in response to
certain types of harassment reports.
users have often complained that
their reports of abusive behaviour
are dismissed too easily. to improve
on this, the email says that, in cases
where a user posts non-consensual
nudity, the company will conduct a
full account review. If the account is
dedicated to posting non-consensual
nudity, it will be suspended
immediately. the details on twitters
new plan to enforce violent content
are a bit more flimsy. the company
says it will be taking action against
violent groups on the platform and
will also take action against content
that glorifies violence.
the solution allows owners of
Alexa-infused Echo devices to call
each other on their gadgets via an
online connection entirely free of
charge and also supports the Alexa
app for Android smartphones and
ios-powered iPhones. Calling &
Messaging extends to the entirety
of the Echo lineup, including the
newly announced Echo, Echo
Plus, and the Echo spot.
the feature has been available
to consumers in the united
states since late spring and was
reportedly received relatively well,
providing users with a simple
and entirely free solution for
communicating with other people
who are also part of Amazons
growing Internet of things
ecosystem, as well as almost
How facebooks master
algorithm powers the
social Network
Artificial intelligence permeates
everything at Facebook, the social
networks head of applied machine
learning saysand humans are
bound to understand Facebook
less than ever.
Instagram engineers faced a
herculean task in early 2016.
Fearing that people would miss the
most important posts, Instagrams
leadership asked the engineers
to transform the chronological
photo feed into a curated list of
posts based on users individual
preferences.
everyone else who owns a regular
smartphone.
Messaging & Calling is now
operational in the uK and Germany
as a standard over-the-air update
which should be downloaded and
installed automatically and you
will not be able to use it before you
specifically enable the service in
the settings of your Alexa app, so
if you are unable to call someone
who you know owns a compatible
device, make sure that person has
also enabled the same feature. Most
contemporary Android devices
should be able to take advantage of
Amazons solution, so long as they
are running Android 5.0 Lollipop
and later versions of Googles
operating system, whereas iPhone
owners must be running an os
build no older than ios 9.

samsungs new 360-degree camera
has 17 lenses for vr streaming
samsung has unveiled its 360 round
camera for recording high-quality
3D content for virtual reality apps.
the 360 round uses 17 lenses
-- eight stereo pairs positioned
horizontally and a single lens
positioned vertically -- that enable
it to livestream 4K 3D video and
Kindle goes
waterproof
Amazon announced its All-new
Kindle oasis e-reader, an update to
their 2016 Kindle oasis that adds
at very long last waterproofing.
no more resalable sandwich bags
in the bathtub.
the design is roughly similar
to the previous model. the new
Kindle oasis sports the same
asymmetric shape, with a thicker-
edged grip down one side,
housing a battery compartment
that keeps the reader alive for
weeks at a time.
It has a larger 7- inch
screen, a higher-resolution
Paperwhite display, audiobook
capabilities and an IPX8-
standard waterproof design,
which means it can survive in
two metres of fresh water for
news & views to bridge the global divide
spatial audio. It is also rated at IP65
for dust and water resistance.
samsung said that the growth of
360 content platforms has increased
the need for high-quality 360-degree
videos and hardware at a reasonable
price, although at $10,500 this is
not something you are likely to buy
on a whim.
the company said the unibody
chassis is designed to reduce heat,
removing the need for a cooling fan
and minimising size and weight,
while eliminating excess noise
and reducing power. It will be
available this month in the us before
expanding to other markets.
Proposed ban
on laptops in
luggage
First the u.s. government
temporarily banned laptops in the
cabins of some airplanes. now it is
looking to ban them from checked
luggage on international flights,
citing the risk of potentially
catastrophic fires.
the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion recently recommended that the
u.n. agency that sets global aviation
standards prohibit passengers from
putting laptops and other large
personal electronic devices in their
checked bags.
the FAA says in a filing with
the International Civil Aviation
organization that the lithium-ion
batteries in laptops can overheat and
create fires.
up to an hour.
the device has new aluminium
back and, unlike the previous
oasis, does not charge itself
from its own cover-case. As
such, battery life is slightly
shorter, though improved fast-
charging will allow it to fully
recharge in under two hours.
northsouth
Halo 3 and Xbox 360
games being enhanced
for Xbox One Xs
Microsoft is extending its Xbox one
X Enhanced program to existing
Xbox 360 games. IGnreports that
four Xbox 360 games will include
enhancements specifically for the
new Xbox one X console when it
launches on november 7th. halo
3, Assassins Creed, Fallout
3, and the Elder scrolls IV:
oblivion will all include tweaks
that push the on-screen pixels to
nine times more. some games also
have 10-bit color depth instead of
8-bit, and even hDr support.
Microsoft is using the Xbox
one X Enhanced program to
tag games with an Enhanced
logo, which indicates the titles
optimized for the new console.
this doesnt necessarily mean that
4K and hDr have been added, as
there are separate logos for those
features, but Enhanced means the
game will run better on the Xbox
one X on a 1080p or 4K tV.
Even if older Xbox one and
Xbox 360 games arent Xbox one
X Enhanced, they should run
better regardless. Microsoft has
been promising better texture
quality, improved framerates and
resolutions, depending on how
the game was built for Xbox one.
Microsoft is also bringing 13
original Xbox titles to its backward
compatibility support for the Xbox
one tomorrow.
Google photos now
recognizes your pets
Google Photos has announced that
it can now detect photos of your
pet, automatically grouping them
together the way it does with people.
this means you will no longer have
to type in words like dog or cat,
as the algorithm will sort them for
you.
November 2017 78
 sports
Ronaldo named Best FIFA
Mens Player for second year
Real Madrid talisman, Cristiano
Ronaldo, was crowned The Best
FIFA Mens Player for the second
year in a row in London last month.
This is the fifth time that he has
been recognised as the greatest
player in the world, when the
different awards (FIFA World Player
of the Year, FIFA Ballon dOr and
The Best) are taken into account.
The Portuguese forward won a
league and continentaldouble and
also helped Portugal qualify for the
world cup in Russia in 2018.
In a glittering ceremony that
saw a galaxy of footballing stars
descend on a venue renowned for
mixing British royalty with the
bright lights of the entertainment
England host all blacks
in pre-World Cup clash
England will meet New Zealand
next year after a long anticipated
clash between Eddie Joness team
and World Rugbys No 1 ranked side
was arranged for November 2018.
The much-anticipated showdown
between the two powerhouses of
the past 18 months will be the first
time in four years that the countries
have met. New Zealand and
England share the record for most
consecutive Test wins (18), having
79 November 2017
industry, the new kings and queens
of football were crowned at The Best
FIFA Football Awards in London.
Cristiano RonaldoandZinedine
Zidanewere awarded the leading
honours for The Best FIFA Mens
Player and Mens Coach respectively,
with the Portuguese being
named The Best for the second
successive year. Dutch duoLieke
MartensandSarina Wiegman were
rewarded as The Best FIFA Womens
Player and Womens coach.
World Best in Football
Mens Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Womens Player: Lieke Martens
Mens Coach: Zinedine Zidane
Womens Coach: Sarina Wiegman
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Pusks Award: Olivier Giroud
Fan Award: Celtic supporters
Fair Play Award: Francis Kone
World 11: Gianluigi Buffon; Dani
Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Sergio
Ramos, Marcelo; Toni Kroos, Andres
Iniesta, Luka Modric; Cristiano
Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar.
notched the mark in the past year,
runs that sparked speculation they
would try and organise a clash in
November this year, one that would
surely be well-attended and watched
across the world. Instead, the All
Blacks will take on the Barbarians
to kick off their end-of-year tour.
England will finish their 2018 home
Tests against Australia, with the
two nations having played at least
once every year since 1997.
PSG chairman
denies bribery
Paris Saint-Germains Qatari
chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has
been accused by Swiss prosecutors
of bribing a former Fifa official for
World Cup television rights.
Al-Khelaifi is chief executive of
Qatars beIN Media Group, which
is alleged to have paid money to
Jerome Valcke, the now-banned
former secretary general of
footballs world governing body,
in exchange for rights to the 2026
and 2030 World Cup.
Al-Khelaifi, Valcke and an
unidentified businessman are the
subject of criminal proceedings
as part of an investigation being
conducted with the assistance of
authorities in France, Greece, Italy
and Spain.
BeIN Sports, whose French
offices were raided last month, said
it refutes all accusations made
by the Swiss attorney general. It
added: The company will fully co-
operate with the authorities.
Paris and Los
Angeles named
Olympic hosts
The 2024 and 2028 Olympic
Games will take place in Paris
and Los Angeles respectively,
it has been announced. The
"tripartite agreement" between the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC), Paris 2024 and Los Angeles
2028 has been ratified in the
Peruvian capital Lima. The historic
compromise sees both cities join
London as three-time hosts of the
summer Games, with Paris getting
its wish to go first and celebrate
the 100th anniversary of its last
Olympics in 1924. LA, meanwhile,
gets the certainty of a Games without
a bidding contest and early access to
at least 1.8bn in shared revenue to
kick-start its legacy plans 11 years
early.

Forty-one cities join North
American bid for 2026 World Cup
Forty-one North American cities,
including New York, Montreal
and Mexico City, have declared an
interest in hosting matches at the
2026 World Cup as part of the joint
bid by the United States, Canada and
Mexico, officials said.
A shortlist of cities will be
announced later this year with 20 to
25 to be included in the final bid to
soccers world governing body FIFA.
Morocco is also bidding to host the
2026 World Cup, the first with an
expanded 48-team format.
Neymar's PSG wages make him
world's second-richest player
Neymar's mammoth salary package
at Paris Saint-Germain puts him
behind just Carlos Tevez as the
world's highest-earning player,
claims Football Leaks.
The Brazilian completed a move
to Parc des Princes (PSG stadium)
from Barcelona in the summer,
becoming in the process football's
most expensive player thanks to a
222 million transfer fee.
But the forward is also personally
reaping the rewards of being PSG's
new standard-bearer, according to
the report.
Football Leaks affirms that
Neymar earns just over 3 million
a month in Ligue 1, a figure that
works out as a total annual salary of
36.8 million.
Only Tevez, currently in the
Chinese Super League with Shanghai
Barcelona set to post new record revenue
Barcelona expect to set a new
record for a sports team by
generating revenues of around
900m (807m) this season.
The Spanish club had income
of 708m (635m) for 2016-
17, up from 620m (464m)
A final decision on the host nation
will be taken by the FIFA Congress
next June.
The host cities will help define
the united bid (by the United States,
Canada and Mexico), United Bid
Committee Executive Director John
Kristick said in a statement.
Each will offer the best facilities
and infrastructure to stage the
worlds biggest single-event sporting
competition, and together they will
play a key role in the development of
the sport in North America.
Shenhua, takes home a greater
wage, with reports suggesting the
Argentine will pick up 38.4 million
from his first year in Asia.
To put the number claimed by the
controversial outlet in perspective,
Neymar earns 100,000 a day,
4,000 an hour or a staggering 66
a minute.
Both South American stars,
however, may soon find themselves
eclipsed by a mutual former team-
mate.
Lionel Messi, who starred
alongside Neymar at Barcelona and
also shared the pitch with Tevez on
multiple occasions with Argentina,
is expected to boost his salary to a
reported 40 million annually when
he puts pen to paper on a long-
delayed new deal with the Catalan
football club.
in the previous financial year.
But Barca chief anticipate that
figure will rise dramatically in
their next accounts following
the 222m (200m) sale of
Brazil superstar Neymar to
Paris Saint-Germain. We are
news & views to bridge the global divide
SPORTS
CALENDAR
November 2017
11:Rugby union - England
v Argentina, Ireland v South
Africa, Scotland v Samoa, Wales v
Australia
12:Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand
Prix, Sao Paulo
12-19:Tennis - ATP World Tour
Finals, London
16 Nov-2 Dec:Rugby league -
Women's World Cup, Australia
18:Rugby union - England v
Australia, Ireland v Fiji, Scotland
v New Zealand, Wales v Georgia
23-27:Cricket - Australia v
England, first Ashes Test, Brisbane
24-26:Tennis - Davis Cup final
25:Rugby union - England v
Samoa, Ireland v Argentina,
Scotland v Australia, Wales v New
Zealand
26:Formula 1 - Abu Dhabi Grand
Prix (final race of the season)
29 Nov-10 Dec:Snooker - UK
Championship, York
December 2017
2-6:Cricket - Australia v England,
second Ashes Test, Adelaide (d/n)
2:Rugby league - World Cup final,
Brisbane
2:Rugby union - Wales v South
Africa
9-17:Squash - World
Championships, Manchester
14-18:Cricket - Australia v
England, third Ashes Test, Perth
17:BBC Sports Personality of the
Year awards, Liverpool
26-30:Cricket - Australia v
England, fourth Ashes Test,
Melbourne
26:Horse racing - King George VI
Chase, Kempton
presenting figures for this
season which are the highest in
the world, said chief executive
Oscar Grau. No other teams,
even in the NBA or NFL, reach
these numbers.
November 2017 80
 life & style
Coconut water not as healthy as it seems
An investigation has revealed that
coconut water is full of hidden
sugar - despite being marketed as a
healthy option. Sales of the trendy
drink have soared in recent years
to more than 100 million in the
United Kingdom (UK), as the public
become conscious of their health.
Foodies, health gurus, beauty
experts and celebrities alike all
sing the sweet liquid's praises. It is
said to contain electrolytes vital for
rehydration.
But a Government study suggests
60 per cent of the products contain
Experts warn youngsters
against unhealthy lifestyles
The British National Health Service
(NHS) has warned it is facing 'a
ticking time bomb' because today's
youngsters are leading such
unhealthy lifestyles like poor diets,
smoking, sexually transmitted
diseases and lack of exercise. Figures
show one in five secondary school
aged children are already obese. Late
teenage years have been identified as
the peak age for exposure to health
risks with lifelong implications.
Yet the health service is not
prepared to cope with the 'forgotten
generation' and the burden that they
will pose in the future, researchers
say.
The report, by the Association
for Young People's Health (AYPH),
revealed teenagers eat eight times
the recommended sugar allowance
and almost half have tooth decay.
The worrying research also found
that almost all smokers start before
the age of 25. Six in ten chlamydia
cases are in young adults and
81 November2017 northsouth
added sugar, even though its
manufacturers claim it to be free of
additives.
Twelve coconut water batches
were obtained by Food Standards
Agency inspectors at the Port of
Felixstowe earlier this year. They
revealed that seven of the products
they intercepted contained added
sugar, according to trade magazine
The Grocer.
Chi, Foco, Go Coco, Tropical Sun,
Suncrest, Yaco and Pearl Royal
were the culprits, the National Food
Crime Unit said.
eating disorders are most commonly
diagnosed at 15. Study author and
child health expert Dr Rakhee Shah
said: 'These data show that we are
witnessing a ticking young people's
health time bomb. 'Although young
people are frequent users of health
services, they often seem invisible
and their needs are often not met
effectively.' The report criticises the
NHS for not making training in
young peoples health mandatory
for GPs. It also argues there is a lack
of young people friendly services in
hospitals such as adolescent bays.
The researchers also say mental
health is a 'huge issue' for this
age group but resources are very
limited. Young women 16-24 are
a high-risk group, with a quarter
reporting symptoms of anxiety and
depression. Rates of suicide are
higher in young men than young
women, indicating a lack of early
identification of mental health
problems in young men.
Beetroot boots
brain function,
study
Drinking a beetroot makes the
brain of adults more efficient,
mirroring the operations of a
younger brain, according to a
new study by scientists at Wake
Forest University. We knew,
going in, that a number of studies
had shown that exercise has
positive effects on the brain, said
W. Jack Rejeski, study co-author.
But what we showed in this brief
training study of hypertensive
older adults was that, as compared
to exercise alone, adding a beet
root juice supplement to exercise
resulted in brain connectivity that
closely resembles what you see in
younger adults. While continued
work in this area is needed
to replicate and extend these
exciting findings, they do suggest
that what we eat as we age could
be critically important to the
maintenance of our brain health
and functional independence.
Rejeski is Thurman D. Kitchin
Professor and Director of the
Behavioral Medicine Laboratory
in the Department of Health &
Exercise Science. The study, Beet
Root Juice: An Ergogenic Aid for
Exercise and the Aging Brain,
was published in the peer-reviewed
Journals of Gerontology: Medical
Sciences.

Smartphones make us dim, scientist
Excessive use of smartphones
risks making people dimmer, a top
neuroscientist has warned. Susan
Greenfield said growing use of
technology is reducing the need
for todays generation to work
out problems and accumulate
knowledge.
The research fellow at Lincoln
College, Oxford University, said
remembering names and dates is
no longer vital as they are there
at the click of a button. However,
brains have a use it or lose it policy
so the ability to store facts risks
being diminished through lack
of practice. Baroness Greenfield
Preventing everything from
arthritis to heart disease
A daily dose of broccoli, cauliflower
and sprouts could prevent
everything from arthritis to heart
disease by keeping your gut healthy,
new research suggests. Mice fed
a diet supplemented with broccoli
are better able to tolerate digestive
issues, a study found. This is thought
to be due to cruciferous vegetables,
such as broccoli, containing a
substance that promotes gut health
and barrier function, according to
the researchers.
Maintaining a healthy intestinal
lining could prevent leaky gut
syndrome, which exposes the body
to toxins and pathogens, they
add. Lead author Professor Gary
Perdew from Penn State University,
said: 'There are a lot of reasons
we want to explore helping with
gastrointestinal health and one
reason is if you have problems,
Workaholics less successful in the long term
People who are obsessed with their
careers to the point of sacrificing
time off are less likely to be
successful in the long term, a new
study has revealed.
Michael Clinton, of Kings
Business School, studied the
working lives of almost 200 Church
yesterday addressed the House of
Lords about the case for improved
digital understanding at all levels
of UK society. She said that time
spent in a screen-based world
displaced time spent learning,
playing and socialising in the real
world.
Baroness Greenfield attacked
the growing trend to outsource
thinking to smartphones.
She believes the relatively
innocuous shift to technological
dependence for information
could have profound effects on
how we routinely make sense of
complex arguments.
like a leaky gut, and start to suffer
inflammation, that may then lead to
other conditions, like arthritis and
heart disease.
Vitamin K, which is found in kale,
spinach and broccoli, maintains the
size of the vital organ's left ventricle,
a study found, which is responsible
for pumping oxygen-rich blood
around the body.
Insufficient levels of the vitamin
cause the left ventricle to enlarge,
the research adds.
Previous research reveals large
hearts do not pump blood as
efficiently as they should, which
can result in fatal heart attacks.
The more vitamin K a person has,
the less likely they are to develop an
enlarged heart, the study found.
Past research suggests vitamin K
may activate a protein involved in
maintaining heart size.
of England ministers. He found
those who were so dedicated to
their career that they gave up their
evenings found it harder to focus on
long-term goals, and were therefore
less successful. The idea had been to
study people who view their careers
as a calling.
northsouth
news & views to bridge the global divide
Fathers suffer just
as much stress as
pregnant women
Fathers and mothers are equally
likely to be distressed by the
possibility of their baby being born
early, according to new research.
Previous research has
demonstrated that fathers too
sometimes get the baby blues,
but a new, ongoing study from
the University of Frankfurt in
Germany found that roughly the
same percentage of fathers and
mothers developed depression
after the mother was hospitalized
for being at risk of an early
delivery. The study found that
about the same number of couples
who were at risk of a preterm
birth, but made it to full term, and
people whose babies were born
early experienced depression.
The fathers symptoms of
perinatal depression - which
can occur during pregnancy
and through the first year of
the baby's life - lingered for at
least six weeks after the births
of their babies.
In Germany, about six percent
of all men report being depressed.
The rates of depression among
the studys control group of
fathers whose partners were
not admitted for risk of preterm
delivery were closely aligned
with that, at eight percent. When
their partners were admitted to
the hospital as at-risk, 35 percent
of fathers scored positively for
depression. Lead researcher
Sally Shulze says that her studys
findings are contrary to the
popular belief that the mother
has a stronger emotional bond
with a developing baby.
November2017 82
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