Arabic press review: Emirati academic backs down after 'bone saw' quip

Professor and former adviser to Abu Dhabi crown prince tweeted that bone saw seemed to be 'an appropriate option' for Al Jazeera journalist

A demonstrator dressed as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds "the royal bone saw" outside the White House (AFP)

Emirati academic says 'bone saw' an 'option' for journalist 

Mohammad Ayesh

Monday 19 November 2018 

An Emirati academic with close ties to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) has deleted a tweet which appeared to threaten an Egyptian journalist with a bone saw.

The exchange between Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at UAE University and former adviser to MBZ, and Al Jazeera's Hayat al-Yamani began on Sunday after Abdulla tweeted a statement from the Kuwaiti foreign minister saying that all Gulf Cooperation Council member states would attend an upcoming summit.

Yamani commented on his tweet, saying "and the bone saw" in reference to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) whom some have nicknamed "Mr Bone Saw" following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was dismembered after being killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Turkish sources have told Middle East Eye that Saudi forensic pathologist Salah al-Tubaigy, an expert in rapid autopsies, cut up Khashoggi's body with a bone saw.

'The bone saw seems to be an appropriate option for you,' Abdulkhaleq Abdulla tweeted to Egyptian journalist Hayat al-Yamani (Twitter)

Responding to Yamani, Abdulla tweeted, "The bone saw seems to be an appropriate option for you", which many observers interpreted as Abdulla saying Yamani should be killed like Khashoggi.

Abdulla, however, quickly deleted the tweet and apologised to Yamani, saying he had used the wrong words. "The terminology of bone saws suits your language style," he said he meant, not "the saw seems to be an appropriate option for you".

He added: "Journalism is a noble profession, and politically knowledgeable journalists like you should distance themselves from the terminology of bone saws. You should have wished the next Gulf summit success, not publicise words like bone saw, Ms Hayat."

Yamani fired back: "I am ashamed to see a summit being held in the Gulf region to cover up the murder of an acclaimed journalist who did not commit any crime, but to say what he believed in.

"I will not lie to the world and consider such behaviour as a political practice between countries, and I will not fall to the level of political disinformation and cover such an atrocious murder. Your name is Abdulkhaleq, meaning: servant of the creator, so speak your truth doctor, and fear no one except you almighty creator."

Qatar to attend next Gulf summit

All member countries will participate in the next Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit scheduled to be held in Riyadh on 9 December, reports Kuwait's al-Rai newspaper.

The last GCC meeting, held in Kuwait in December 2017, ended after a 15-minute closed session, with a second day of meetings cancelled on the spot.

Relations within the Gulf body have been particularly tense since June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar.

If the report is true, Qatar will be participating in the Gulf summit, and senior Qatari officials will be guests in the Saudi capital Riyadh next month.

Al-Rai's sources refused to determine the level of representation that each country will send, but said they hoped the summit will open a new chapter for Gulf states “especially as the region is on the threshold of escalating developments, which require unity at the level of positions and discourses".

Saudi newspaper employees on strike

A financial crisis at Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat has left many employees going for months without pay, leading staff to strike in protest, according to the London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi.

Four months ago, several employees and journalists were dismissed from Al-Hayat's Beirut office without being paid. Some kept working from home without any guarantees about job security or health insurance. Eventually, the staff went on strike, the paper reported.

Al-Hayat, which is owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, was originally based in London before moving to Dubai earlier this year.

Negotiations between newspaper representatives and United Arab Emirates officials over the sale of the newspaper started months ago. In the final round of negotiations when the two sides were about to conclude a deal, a call from Riyadh stopped everything, al-Quds al-Arabi reported.

The call came from Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, who told the UAE officials involved in the negotiations that the kingdom wanted to participate in the deal, according to al-Quds al-Arabi.

The news about the failure of the deal - which was the last hope for the newspaper’s employees - prompted them to join the strike with their colleagues in Beirut. The strike has stopped the publication of the paper and the newspaper's website has also had fewer news updates.

According to the sources quoted by al-Quds al-Arabi, the printing houses in Saudi Arabia stopped because the staff also did not receive their salaries.

Official Jordanian delegation to Syria

A Jordanian parliamentary delegation left Amman on Monday for the Syrian capital of Damascus using the Jaber-Nassib border crossing which has been recently reopened, the Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad reported.

The visit was the first official contact between Jordan and Syria since the reopening of the border crossing last month after it was closed for more than three years during fighting in Syria.

A Jordanian source said that the delegation, which comes at the behest of several Jordanian MPs, will meet with Syrian officials in an attempt to strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, according to the newspaper.

* Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.

Sarah Wollaston pushes for MPs' vote on second Brexit referendum

Tory MP to put down ‘doctors’ amendment’ and hopes to persuade Corbyn to back it

 

Sarah Wollaston says MPs would be unable to force the government into holding a second referendum without her amendment. Photograph: Michael Bowles/REX/Shutterstock

 

Dan Sabbagh-Mon 19 Nov 2018 14.15 GMT

Sarah Wollaston and three other MPs with medical backgrounds are to put down an amendment to the meaningful final Brexit vote, calling for a second referendum in which remain is an option on the ballot paper.
The Conservative MP wants parliament to vote on holding another referendum as soon as possible and hopes to put pressure on the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and his frontbench to “come off the fence” and support a further public vote.

Wollaston said it was only by adding her “doctors’ amendment” to Theresa May’s motion that legal weight would be given to holding a second referendum, and without the amendment, MPs would be unable to force the government into holding one.

“People need to give valid informed consent,” Wollaston said, arguing that people did not fully understand the consequences and complexities of Brexitat the time of the 2016 referendum. “You can only give consent if you know what you are consenting to.”

But while a small but growing number of Conservatives back a second referendum, the Labour leadership has said it would only consider the idea if it cannot secure a Brexit deal it supports and has been unable to force a general election.

“It won’t happen unless Jeremy Corbyn supports it,” Wollaston said. “We need him to come off the fence. If the deal unravels subsequently it’s not clear if we’ll have the possibility to amend it.”
May’s meaningful vote is expected in mid-December, assuming the Brexit deal is signed off by the EU at a special summit this weekend. However, the idea of holding a parliamentary vote on a second referendum at the same time is not universally shared by campaigners on the subject.

Given Labour’s public position, crafted at the party’s annual conference, many Labour supporters of a second referendum have argued it is better to wait to see whether May’s Brexit deal is voted down, and only if a vote of no confidence fails, push for parliament to vote on going to the public again.
Many Labour MPs will be reluctant to defy Corbyn if he does not change his mind on the issue.

A Labour source said: “If Sarah Wollaston pushes for a second referendum amendment at that time, she’ll lose. Even if Jeremy came out for it, not all Labour MPs would support it. The whip would not hold.”

Wollaston faces other obstacles. Although normal parliamentary procedure is for amendments to be voted on first, before MPs vote on the main motion, the government is expected to seek to introduce its own procedure via a business of the house motion.

One expectation is that ministers will seek to prevent amendments having potential legal force by having them debated as separate motions. The former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab had argued that parliament needed to give clear yes or no approval to May’s deal.

But it is unclear whether MPs will consent to using a special procedure, in what is likely to become the first test of parliamentary strength over Brexit. Last week, the Commons procedure committee, which advises on how to handle complex parliamentary situations, upheld the traditional amendment-first procedure.

If the traditional model of parliamentary procedure is used, it will be up to John Bercow, the Speaker, to decide whether a second referendum amendment can be accepted for debate. He will do so based on the amount of backers the amendment has in the Commons, with some Labour MPs questioning how many people Wollaston can recruit.

Wollaston, a former GP, has recruited three other doctors from across the political spectrum as supporters: Paul Williams from Labour , Philippa Whitford from the SNP and fellow Tory Phillip Lee, who resigned from the government over Brexit in June.

The doctors’ amendment is likely to have the support of the Liberal Democrats, although the party may put down its own second amendment motion as a backstop in case Wollaston withdraws hers under pressure from Tory party whips.

May defends her Brexit deal to business leaders

Gary Gibbon-19 Nov 2018Political Editor

“Be in no doubt, I am determined to deliver” my Brexit deal, Theresa May has told business leaders at the CBI conference.  As of this evening opponents of that deal on her own backbenches have failed to muster enough support to start the process of ejecting her from Downing Street.

And there was enthusiasm for leaving Europe from Jeremy Corbyn, who claimed Labour could negotiate an exit that would be a “catalyst for economic transformation”.

Iranian jobs go as U.S. sanctions start to bite

FILE PHOTO: Iranian rials, U.S. dollars and Iraqi dinars at a currency exchange shop in Basra, Iraq, November 3, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani/File Photo

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin-NOVEMBER 19, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) - Tamnoush, an Iranian company that makes fizzy drinks, has shut down its production line after 16 years and laid off dozens of workers. It was facing massive losses as U.S. sanctions pushed up the price of imported raw materials.

“All our 45 workers are jobless now. The men are driving taxis and women are back to being housewives,” said CEO Farzad Rashidi.

Reuters interviews with dozens of business owners across Iran show hundreds of companies have suspended production and thousands of workers are being laid off because of a hostile business climate mainly caused by new U.S. sanctions.

The Iranian rial has fallen to record lows and economic activity has slowed dramatically since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the big powers’ nuclear deal with Tehran in May.

He imposed sanctions directed at purchases of U.S. dollars, gold trading, and the automotive industry in August. Iran’s vital oil and banking sectors were hit in November.

“We have lost around five billion rials ($120,000 at the official rate) in the last few months, so the board decided to suspend all activities for as long as the fluctuations in the currency market continue. It is stupid to keep driving when you see it’s a dead end,” Rashidi said.

The country has already experienced unrest this year, when young protesters angered by unemployment and high prices clashed with security forces. Official projections indicate unrest could flare up again as sanctions make the economic crisis worse.

Four days before parliament fired him August for failing to do enough to protect the jobs market from sanctions, labor minister Ali Rabiei said Iran would lose a million jobs by the end of year as a direct result of the U.S. measures.

Unemployment is already running at 12.1 percent, with three million Iranians unable to find jobs.
A parliamentary report in September warned that rising unemployment could threaten the stability of the Islamic Republic.

“If we believe that the country’s economic situation was the main driver for the recent protests, and that an inflation rate of 10 percent and an unemployment rate of 12 percent caused the protests, we cannot imagine the intensity of reactions caused by the sharp rise of inflation rate and unemployment.”

The report said if Iran’s economic growth remains below 5 percent in coming years, unemployment could hit 26 percent.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that Iran’s economy will contract by 1.5 percent this year and by 3.6 percent in 2019 due to dwindling oil revenues.

PRODUCERS STRUGGLING

Iran’s vice president has warned that under sanctions Iran faces two main dangers: unemployment and a reduction in purchasing power.

“Job creation should be the top priority ... We should not allow productive firms to fall into stagnation because of sanctions,” Eshaq Jahangiri said, according to state media.

But business owners told Reuters that the government’s sometimes contradictory monetary policies, alongside fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, price increases for raw materials, and high interest loans from banks have made it impossible for them to stay in business.

Many have not been able to pay wages for months or had to shed significant numbers of workers.

A manager at the Jolfakaran Aras Company, one of the biggest textile factories in Iran, told Reuters that the firm was considering halting its operations and hundreds of workers might lose their jobs.

“Around 200 workers were laid off in August, and the situation has become worse since. There is a high possibility that the factory will shut down,” the manager said, asking not to be named.

Ahmad Roosta, CEO of Takplast Nour, was hopeful that a drought in Iran would provide a boost for his newly launched factory, which produces plastic pipes used in agriculture.

“I will wait one or two months, but I will have to shut down if the situation remains the same ... The farmers, who are the main consumers of our products, cannot afford them,” Roosta told Reuters.

 

The sanctions have affected the Iranian car industry, which had experienced a boom after sanctions were lifted two years ago and it signed big contracts with French and German firms.

French carmaker PSA Group (PEUP.PA) suspended its joint venture in Iran in June to avoid U.S. sanctions, and German car and truck manufacturer Daimler has dropped plans to expand its Iran business.

Maziar Beiglou, a board member of the Iran Auto Parts Makers Association, said in August that more than 300 auto parts makers have been forced to stop production, threatening tens of thousands of jobs in the sector.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Tire Producers Association blamed the government’s “changing monetary policies over the last six months” for problems in the sector.

“Fortunately tire factories have not slowed down, but the production growth that we had planned for was not achieved,” Mostafa Tanha said in a phone interview from Tehran.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

Washington says economic pressures on Tehran are directed at the government and its malign proxies in the region, not at the Iranian people. But Iran’s young people, bearing the brunt of unemployment, stand to lose the most.

Maryam, a public relations manager in a food import company, lost her job last month.

 

PEUP.PA

“The prices went so high that we lost many customers ... In the end the CEO decided to lay off people and started with our department.”

She said the company had stopped importing, and people who still worked there were worried that it might shut down after selling off its inventory.

Youth unemployment is already 25 percent in a country where 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30.

The unemployment rate among young people with higher education in some parts of the country is above 50 percent, according to official data.

Armin, 29, has a mechanical engineering degree but lost his job in the housebuilding industry when the sector was hit by recession following the fall of rial.

“The property market is slowing because high prices have made houses unaffordable ... It is getting worse day by day,” he told Reuters from the city of Rasht in northern Iran.

Nima, a legal adviser for startups and computer firms, believes sanctions have already affected many companies in the sector that depended on an export-oriented model and hoped to expand in the region.

He said even the gaming industry in Iran has felt the sanctions pinch: “The situation has become so severe that many of these teams decided to suspend development of their games and are waiting to see what will happen next. Without access to international markets, they see very little chance of making a profit.”

Saeed Laylaz, a Tehran-based economist, was more sanguine. He said youth unemployment was a product of Iran’s demographics and government policies, and sanctions were only adding to an existing problem.

“The sanctions, the uncertainty in the market and Rouhani’s zigzag policies have put pressures on the economy and the job market, but I predict that the market will find a balance soon,” Laylaz told Reuters.

“We will defeat this round of sanctions as we have done in the past,” said Laylaz who met Rouhani last month with other economists to offer advice on economic policies.

Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Giles Elgood

Cuba 'sonic attacks': Canadian diplomats say government abandoned them

Several of those affected believe Ottawa has said little in public because it wants to maintain friendly relations with Cuba
People pass by the Canadian embassy in Havana, Cuba, 16 April 2018. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters

Mon 19 Nov 2018 22.43 GMT

A group of Canadian diplomats who left the embassy in Cuba after suffering unusual health symptoms say their foreign ministry has abandoned them, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday.

Canada said in April it would remove the families of staff posted to Havana, where Canadian and US diplomats have complained of dizziness, headaches and nausea.

The US pulled more than half its embassy staff from Cuba and warned its citizens not to travel to the island, after what it described as “sonic attacks”.

The diplomats complained that the foreign ministry – unlike the US state department – had said very little about the matter in public and did not appear to be making their case a priority. Getting specialized medical care has been difficult, they added.

“We did not expect to be abandoned, or more precisely, sacrificed – that’s how we’re feeling now,” the paper quoted one of them as saying.

Several of those affected believe Ottawa has said little in public because it wants to maintain friendly relations with Cuba, the Globe added.

An official at the Canadian foreign ministry did not respond directly when asked about the diplomats’ complaints that they had been abandoned, but said the situation was very difficult.

“It is really an unprecedented type of incident, which has a lot of uncertainty. Our response to it has evolved since we first became aware of it,” said the official, adding that Ottawa had done its best to make medical care available.

The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
US and Cuban officials met at the state department in September to discuss the mysterious health problems. The United States has reduced embassy staffing in Cuba from more than 50 to a maximum 18.

US officials reportedly believe the health problems may have been caused by sophisticated electromagnetic weapons, but some doctors and scientists have expressed skepticism at the allegation.

The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (Pafso) – the union representing rank and file diplomats – said the initial government reaction had been inadequate, in part because no one had experience of such a problem.

“Everyone is worried because if you don’t know what something is, and it’s unpredictable, nobody can say for sure that (it) isn’t going to happen again,” the Pafso president, Pamela Isfeld, said in a phone interview. “I totally do not blame them for being very unhappy with this.“

Adam Austen, a spokesman for the Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, said she was deeply troubled by the health problems the diplomats were experiencing.

Do Media in India Need Check and Control?

If the media would excessively focus on highlighting the negatives under the impression that such stories would create sensation and enlarge the readership/viewership, then such media may be seen in poor light and run the risk of being deemed as negative force.

by N.S.Venkataraman-Nov 19, 2018

( November 19, 2018, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) A few decades back when Mrs. Indira Gandhi imposed national emergency, applied restriction on free speech and severely curbed the press freedom, it caused considerable unhappiness around the country. Of course, most section of media after some initial protest ( highly popular political journal Shankar’s Weekly stopped publication ), submitted themselves to censorship , bowed to the pressure of the government and largely toed the government’s line.

However, when emergency was lifted and press freedom was restored, huge enthusiasm was generated about the prospects of the media sector.

With nearly unchecked media freedom, several business houses and investors saw huge investment opportunities in the media business and it resulted in the launching of new newspapers and journals/magazines and number of new television channels in several languages , that considerably increased the competition in media business . Though political parties were publishing some newspapers and journals in the pre emergency days, political parties also expanded their presence in the media in a bigger way, particularly in visual media, to propagate their policies and boost the party’s image. In the process, the ownership of even some well established newspapers and journals went under the control of business houses partly or fully by acquisition of equity shares. Such business houses / investors have no particular understanding or commitment to the ethos of journalism and the principles governing it. Obviously, their objective is commercial and they are profit oriented.

Now , the story is complete , with business houses and investors and political parties having a near strangle hold over the Indian media.

The increasing presence of business houses and political parties in the media business have resulted in considerably shifting the focus of media from the earlier standards of responsible reporting, avoidance of use of objectionable language and counter productive sensationalism, fairness in editing ,staying away from controversies and publishing scholarly articles. Obviously, the media’s focus has now shifted decisively , with eye solely on enlarging readership/viewership ,increasing profits and rate of returns and meeting the vested interests of the owning business houses and politicians , with the editors largely losing their independence and being forced to act as per the dictates and guidance of the owners. The net result is that most section of media these days, both print and visual, do not anymore look like unbiased neutral entities.

In the earlier days, media personnel at different levels including editors and the reporters were known for adopting a simple life style and avoidance of the craze for self publicity and had enormous pride and commitment to the lofty and noble objectives of the profession of journalism, which made their observations and writings fair with malice for none. Now, many discerning observers have developed doubt whether such mindset with similar intensity continue to remain with same level of conviction amongst media personnel.

The recent “Me too” campaign with regard to some senior editors and journalists more than clearly reveal the extent of changed climate in the media houses in recent years. Many people believe that what have been revealed by the “ Me too” campaign so far is only the tip of the iceberg.

In such circumstances, public criticism is mounting about the role of media in negatively influencing the course of events in the country. It is disturbing to see many media personnel giving an impression that they know all and they appear to be going over board in their sharp observations and comments about individuals and events. These days, in most cases, one can guess what kind of observations and remarks will appear in a particular media even before reading them. Several newspapers , journals and television channels do not even seem to take care anymore to conceal where their preference stands.

In all societies all over the world, good and bad events take place , fair and obnoxious remarks are made by individuals from time to time. Horrible incidents like murder, rape , molestation, burglary also take place in every country, though the frequency may differ from one country to the other. Occurrence of such undesirable incidents in a densely populated country like India , with significant population remaining below poverty line and prevalence of illiteracy in some quarters continuing, are not entirely surprising. One would expect that the legitimate objective of the media should be oriented towards strengthening the basic value system in the country.

If the media would excessively focus on highlighting the negatives under the impression that such stories would create sensation and enlarge the readership/viewership, then such media may be seen in poor light and run the risk of being deemed as negative force.

Today, the Indian media seem to be under the impression that the politicians and film stars are the only section that need to be largely focused. When a film star comment about economic growth on which he may not have much knowledge or a politician deploring investments in some scientific activity on which he has no particular expertise, nevertheless media give their views huge attention and publicity and discuss their views in depth.

Media ignores the fact that there are many knowledgeable people in India with considerable understanding and wisdom ,who should be the persons on whose thoughts the media should highlight. Unfortunately, they get little space.

Sadly, only controversies attract media attention. Do the media editors think that the politicians and film stars are the be all and end all of Indian society, who deserve so much of space and attention ?

Further, the excessive focus on sex related matter and frequent publication of photographs of half dressed women seem to be becoming a part of policy frame work for the media editors , who seem to think that this would be the easy way of increasing readership / viewership. Even newspapers and journals with glorious historical standing and reputation also seem to be falling prey to such undesirable business strategies.

When media constantly and almost entirely highlight the negatives, it seriously erodes the morale of the country men and create a bad and disturbing impression about the overall scenario. Certainly, Indian society is not as sick as it is made to look by media.

While there are monitoring agencies like Press Council of India to ensure that media would not go astray, the effectiveness of such institutions leave much to be desired. Are we not hearing frequently about the paid news these days ? Do the watchdogs investigate this ?

Voices are being heard too frequently these days wondering whether Indian media suffer from excessive freedom and lack of much needed journalistic discipline and self restraint ,that is doing more harm than good to the larger interests of the country, apart from the image of media.

Is there not a case for applying greater check and control in the functioning style of Indian media?

For first time in history, Apec leaders fail to agree on joint communique

Leaders pose for a "family photo" during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Port Moresby on November 18, 2018. Source: Saeed Khan/AFP

By Emma Richards | 19th November 2018 | @EmmaRichards85

TENSIONS between the United States and China have prevented leaders at the Apec Summit from producing a joint communique for the first time in its 25-year history.

All of the 21 leaders at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting were in agreement except China, who took issue with the wording around trade.

A US official at the meeting confirmed the disagreements to CNN on Sunday.

The official said the most “problematic” line for the Chinese was: “We agree to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices.”

SEE ALSO: Could Trump and Xi’s ‘good’ chat spell an end to the US-China trade war?

“They seemed to think that the ‘unfair trade practices’ was some kind of singling out,” the official said.

“It’s a little concerning that it appears that China didn’t really have any intention in the end of reaching consensus.”

The tension between the US and Beijing was palpable throughout the weekend. The group’s inability to reach a consensus on the joint statement has dampened hopes that an end to the escalating trade war could be near.

“The United States… will not change course until China changes its ways,” US Vice-President Mike Pence said, attacking China for employing unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfer.

Leaders pose for a “family photo” during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Port Moresby on November 18, 2018. Source: Saeed Khan/AFP

“We have great respect for President Xi (Jinping) and China, but as we all know, China has taken advantage of the United States for many, many years and those days are over,” he said, as reported by Financial Times.

Pence attended the summit in Papua New Guinea in place of US President Donald Trump who was in California visiting the site of wildfires.

This is not the first major Asia-based summit Trump has missed this month. He also chose not to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and the East Asia Summit the week before.

SEE ALSO: US-China Trade: Are we heading for the next cold war?

The US-China trade war has rattled investors and had experts concerned the world could be facing a second Cold War unless a deal is reached soon.

US tariffs on US$250 billion of Chinese goods are scheduled to rise from 10 percent to 25 percent in January. Trump has also threatened to impose levies on a further US$267 billion of goods from China, covering all imports.

China has so far retaliated with tariffs on US$110 billion of US products and is likely to respond with more if the United States goes ahead with the increase at the start of next year.

Trump and Xi are expected to meet at the G20 in Argentina at the end of the month. With negotiations between delegations making little headway, there’s hope a face-to-face meeting between the two could bring some progress.

US Vice President Mike Pence (R), New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (2nd R), Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd L) greet Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill (C) after signing an agreement for electricity during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Port Moresby on November 18, 2018. Source: Saeed Khan/AFP

But either side has appeared unwilling to make significant concessions.

In a speech at the Summit, Xi attacked Trump’s preference for bilateral trade agreements that bypass China.

“Unilateralism and protectionism will not solve problems but add uncertainty to the world economy,” he said.

“History has shown that confrontation, whether in the form of a cold war, a hot war or a trade war, produces no winners.”

A Leaders’ Declaration has been issued after every annual Apec meeting since the first in 1993.

Children learning “Cleanliness is Godliness” through drawing

 2018-11-20

Budding artistes from all over Sri Lanka participated at Shankar’s International Children’s Competition-2019 organized by High Commission of India.    

More than 500 young artistes from all over Sri Lanka expressed their talent beautifully through their art work and essays at the Shankar’s International Competition organized by High Commission of India at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre on November 17.   

As Indians and followers world over celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who demonstrated, propagated and insisted on cleanliness for individual and community throughout his life, children painted and wrote essays on the topic “Cleanliness is Godliness” giving a clear message for a clean and healthy environment.  

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and interacted with the young talented artistes at this prestigious annual Shankar Art Competition. High Commissioner Sandhu expressed his happiness to see large participation in this annual event which is being organized by the Indian Cultural Centre since last 20 years.

The High Commissioner requested teachers and parents to encourage their children to take part in such events in coming years which strengthens people to people contact between our countries and sent his best wishes for the people of Sri Lanka.   

Hospital noise levels growing worse, say researchers

19 November 2018

 Noise levels in hospitals are getting worse, research suggests.

Anyone who has ever stayed overnight in a hospital will know how difficult it can be to sleep, surrounded by staff, machinery, trolleys and telephones.

In the UK, 40% of hospital patients are bothered by noise at night, according to in-patient surveys.

But it's not only the patients' wellbeing that may be affected - high noise levels can also have an impact on staff performance and burnout rates.

Researchers from King's College London say noise levels in intensive care - where the most vulnerable patients are looked after - regularly exceed 100 decibels.

That's the equivalent of loud music being played through headphones.

And it's not just the frustration of being unable to hear each other speak or the fatigue and irritation sparked by poor sleep that are causing concern.

At that level, noise pollution has been implicated in the development of a condition known as intensive care psychosis - a form of delirium where patients experience anxiety, become paranoid, hear voices and see things that are not there.

London deaths linked to noise pollution

Hospital wards 'far too noisy'

Increased stress, greater pain sensitivity, high blood pressure, and poor mental health are also possible side-effects.

It means patients often decide to leave hospital before they are completely better - only to be re-admitted at a later stage.

Coronary care patients treated during noisy periods were found to have a higher incidence of rehospitalisation, compared with those treated during quieter periods.

"People leave early, and long after discharge the trauma remains. It puts patients off coming back," Dr Andreas Xyrichis, lead author of the report, told the BBC.

For staff, a noisy working environment is unavoidable - but the consequent stress can affect their performance, while the difficulties of hearing each other and patients speak can compromise the quality and safety of healthcare.

Researchers say progress in combating noise pollution in hospitals has been "unacceptably slow-moving".

So far, they say, attempts to reduce noise have been piecemeal and idiosyncratic.

Researchers are calling for a more co-ordinated approach - and solutions that actively involve patients.

The team, from King's and the University of the Arts London (UAL), believe three key areas must be addressed:

• The hospital soundscape must be considered as a whole - not just the noisiest elements, such as hospital machinery and alarms, but also low but intrusive sounds, such as the noise of keys in locks and squeaky doors
• Patients' perception and response to a variety of common hospital sounds should be more thoroughly researched. Researchers were surprised to learn some sounds, such as the tea trolley, brought a degree of comfort to patients - as a signal of social interaction
• Patients and families need clear information about probably noise levels during admissions, so they are better prepared in advance, and can consider simple solutions such as bringing their own headphones or earplugs

Dr Xyrichis questions whether sound "is considered" when creating or redeveloping hospital infrastructure.

But he stresses that modifications can be made to existing environments at a relatively low cost.

Interventions such as sound-absorbing panels and noise-warning systems "have provided some benefit".

Elsewhere, small trials have shown that sound-masking - the use of background sound (such as white noise) in particular environments to reduce noise-induced disturbance - can significantly improve sleep.

Most importantly, says Dr Xyrichis, research should "be more aware of the patients".

He says research made clear that much of patients' agitation over noise was often caused by "not knowing what the noises were".

"It can be very frightening in hospital. We need to do more work with patients to find out about what kinds of noises stress them out."

Anti-vaccination stronghold in N.C. hit with state’s worst chickenpox outbreak in 2 decades

Mother taking care of a girl with chickenpox disease. (iStock) (Mixmike/iStock)

By Isaac Stanley-Becker-November 19 at 4:48 AM

Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in North Carolina where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines.

Cases of chickenpox have been multiplying at the Asheville Waldorf School, which serves children from nursery school to sixth grade in Asheville, N.C. About a dozen infections grew to 28 at the beginning of the month. By Friday, there were 36, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported.

The outbreak ranks as the state’s worst since the chickenpox vaccine became available more than 20 years ago. Since then, the two-dose course has succeeded in limiting the highly contagious disease that once affected 90 percent of Americans — a public health breakthrough.

The school is a symbol of the small but strong movement against the most effective means of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The percentage of children under 2 years old who haven’t received any vaccinations has quadrupled since 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like the Disneyland measles outbreak in 2015, the flare-up demonstrates the real-life consequences of a shadowy debate fueled by junk science and fomented by the same sort of Twitter bots and trolls that spread misinformation during the 2016 presidential election. And it shows how a seemingly fringe view can gain currency in a place like Asheville, a funky, year-round resort town nestled between the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains.

“The school follows immunization requirements put in place by the state board of education, but also recognizes that a parent’s decision to immunize their children happens before they enter school,” the school explained in a statement to Blue Ridge Public Radio.

Jennifer Mullendore, the medical director of Buncombe County, N.C., was unambiguous: “We want to be clear: Vaccination is the best protection from chickenpox.”

“When we see high numbers of unimmunized children and adults, we know that an illness like chickenpox can spread easily throughout the community — into our playgrounds, grocery stores, and sports teams,” she said in a news release.

But not all parents seemed to grasp the gravity of the outbreak. Nor does everyone see the rationale behind vaccines, which some believe — contrary to scientific evidence — cause more severe health issues than they’re meant to cure. The claim of an autism risk, though it has been debunked, has remained a rallying cry of the anti-vaccine movement.

Here are some of the most common arguments for and against vaccination. (The Washington Post)

“What’s the big deal with chickenpox?” one city resident, Amy Gordon, told the Citizen-Times.

Chickenpox is serious, warns the CDC, “even life-threatening, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.”

A person can spread the disease one to two days before the rash appears, increasing the risk of broad transmission of the virus before it is detected.

That was before a two-dose vaccination program was introduced in the United States in 1995.

The virus used to crop up in about 4 million cases annually in the United States, causing more than 10,000 hospitalizations and between 100 and 150 deaths. Children were especially susceptible, as schools seemed to incubate the blisterlike rash, which appears first on the stomach, back and face and can extend over the entire surface of the body, creating as many as 500 itchy blisters.

The vaccine, which the CDC says is about 90 percent effective, hasn’t eliminated the varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox. But since the regimen became commercially available, it has reduced the number of cases, as well as their severity. A 14-year prospective study published in Pediatrics in 2013 found that the incidence of infection was nine- to 10-times lower than in the pre-vaccine era.

Still, the vaccine’s clearly documented merits remain unconvincing to some. Asheville Waldorf has one of the highest religious vaccination exemption rates in the state, according to data maintained by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The private school has a higher rate of exemption on religious grounds than all but two other North Carolina schools, the Citizen-Times reported. During the 2017-18 school year, 19 of 28 

kindergartners were exempt from at least one vaccine required by the state. Of the school’s 152 students, 110 had not received the chickenpox vaccine, the newspaper reported.

North Carolina requires all students in the state to receive certain immunizations. Among the vaccines required for kindergarten-aged children are two doses for chickenpox, two for measles and two for mumps. Seventh graders must again submit to immunization.

But the state also permits exemptions based on the advice of a physician — as well as on religious grounds.

“If the bona fide religious beliefs of an adult or the parent, guardian or person in loco parentis of a child are contrary to the immunization requirements contained in this Part, the adult or the child shall be exempt from the requirements,” state statute allows.

Recent efforts to tighten the rules have foundered. In 2015, state legislators withdrew a bill that would have all but eliminated the religious exemption after their efforts were met with strident protest. Protesters picketed the state’s General Assembly in Raleigh, warning of “Medical Terrorism.”

Meanwhile, the county’s medical director has been exhorting residents to immunize their children. 

“What happens when we lack community immunity? Measles is what happens,” Mullendore this fall toldcommissioners of the county, which had the highest rate of religious exemptions last year.

The friction between medical experts and the residents in their care is not unique to Buncombe County, where the parents of 5.7 percent of kindergartners claimed a religious exemption, or even to North Carolina, where the rate was 1.2 percent.

Forty-seven states allow religious exemptions to vaccine requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. CDC data shows that the median percentage of kindergartners not receiving one or more required vaccine was highest in Oregon.

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