EDITORIAL : THE DAILY TRIBUNE, THE PHILIPPINES

 

 

Dirty play

EDITORIAL

07/14/2011
Clearly, the move of Noynoy Aquino and his allies, specifically through the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to damage the Catholic bishops’ credibility, reputation and the moral clout they are said to hold over their flock, was purely political. And no doubt Noynoy’s vengeance wreaked on them not only for the call of Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos for him to resign as he is unfit for the presidency, but for their not supporting him and his administration along with their criticisms against him.
This could gleaned from yesterday’s Senate hearing where it was proved by the bishops that all they really got by way of vehicles from PCSO during Gloria Arroyo’s watch, were pick-ups, with some of them even being second hand, which is really a far cry from what PCSO Chairman Margie Juico was portraying and leaked out to the media.
The Yellow media broke the story and quoted Juico as the source of the story.
Juico at first denied it was she who brought up the “Pajero” branding of the bishops who were granted their dioceses’ service pick-ups but later came up with a lame story that she could have told the media these were Pajeros as SUVs or 4X4 vehicles are being referred to as such, which she said would no different from saying Frigidaire for refrigirator.
Lame it really is, because it was also found that she had informed the media about these “Pajero bishops” simply on the say-so of somebody whom she did not identify even as she never even had an offiical report on this nor did she bother to confirm this information.
The destruction of the bishops while linking Gloria to the “anomalies” was the clear intent of Noynoy and his allies, and the political play they had engaged in was to subject the bishops to a trial and conviction by publicity.
Juico later claimed during the hearing that she did correct the Pajero branding during the first Senate hearing, which was well over two weeks of the Aquino administration’s trial and conviction by publicity wave.
Despite her claimed correction, Juico apparently never bothered to come up with a statement to the media denying all those charges raised against the bishops and their PCSO-donated SUVs. Surely she could have come out with a media statement saying that these vehicles were pick-ups and not the luxury SUVs that were made out to portray the bishops as having obtained from the past administration for their personal use.
But that’s how dirty Noynoy and his allies play the political power game, yet he and his KKKs certainly ended up with red faces, when Noynoy himself said that the apology of the bishops was not enough to absolve them and that he was still digging for the violation of the church and state separation principle that may have been committed by these bishops.
Yet Noynoy sweats the bishops’ small P6.9 million stuff while he quickly absolves his P23 billion Dinky Soliman and her really anomalous PeaceBonds where her NGO netted a cool tax free P1 billion, while making the Filipino people pay P35 billion for that scam. And yet they have the gall to claim that they tread the daang matuwid?
The seven bishops have exonerated themselves and regained the lost “moral ascendancy” in this matter at least, as they proved that the vehicles they obtained from the PCSO not only were not luxury vehicles but also used to aid the poor and helpless. They all have returned the vehicles to the PCSO which really leaves Noynoy and Juico with the problem of what to do with those old dilapidated vehicles.
More to the point, the bishops who attended the Senate hearing made it clear that it may prove to be difficult to continue to have a government-church collaboration on assistance to the poor and the needy, as there is now created an atmosphere of mistrust between the bishops and the government.
But perhaps the bishops have also learned their lesson of not engaging in trial by publicity themselves, as they now know how it feels to be the victims of trial and conviction by publicity because they also engaged in this odious exercise in 2001 during the so-called Edsa II revolt.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

 

 

Energising bilateral ties

AFTER meeting with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Monday in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and jointly launching the Petronas gas refinery in Kiyanli on Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak flew to London to begin his four-day visit to the United Kingdom. By most measures, his first state visit to the UK would appear to be more significant than his first official trip to Turkmenistan. Given the historical ties with the UK, indeed, this would seem to be the case. Few Malaysian diplomats can claim to know Turkmenistan like they do Britain. Fewer Malaysians know where Turkmenistan is. Indeed, the fact that the Malaysian embassy in Ankara, Turkey, has been handling Malaysian interests in Turkmenistan has only added to the confusion about its location.

To be sure, diplomatic relations are less than 20 years old, trade ties are thin and no airline flies direct from Kuala Lumpur to Ashgabat. Certainly, as with the other "Stan" countries in Central Asia that were part of the Soviet Union -- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- the lack of history and the geographical barriers make Turkmenistan an unlikely candidate for a prime position in our foreign policy. Turkmenistan has some way to go before it can match Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, much less our traditional trade partners in the West, such as the UK and USA, or in Asia, such as China and Japan. Nevertheless, though bilateral trade is relatively small, it has been growing steadily and there is considerable scope for expansion. More importantly, Turkmenistan sits on top of some of the largest reserves of oil and gas.

Considering our advocacy of greater South-South cooperation, the prime minister's visit is thus significant as it created an opportunity for Malaysia and Turkmenistan to develop mutually rewarding political and socioeconomic partnerships. In any event, as the collapse of the Soviet Union some 20 years ago paved the way for the beginning of ties, we should build on the head-start in developing relations with the countries on the ancient Silk Road. For Petronas, which has invested more than RM15 billion in Turkmenistan since 1996 and is also involved in oil and gas exploration and production in Uzbekistan, there's little doubt that the gas field in the Caspian Sea will become a major asset, and Central Asia a new long-term growth region for its international business. While Petronas can lead the way, as it has a strong track record, our bilateral ties with Turkmenistan won't have to be just oil-fuelled. There are ample business opportunities and people-to-people exchanges waiting to be explored.

EDITORIAL : THE GUARDIAN, ENGLAND

           

 

Public finances: Fixing the holes

On the issue of public-sector pensions, the budget watchdog actually served not only to take some heat out of the debate – but to show up government ministers

Big numbers, big worries? There were certainly plenty of the former in the report from the Office for Budget Responsibility. Public sector pensions liabilities now over £1tn. The total amount of government debt on course to rise to more than the entire national income by the middle of this century. The value of PFI contracts pegged at around £40bn, rather than the £5bn usually reported.

Such sums are almost incomprehensibly large, which makes them especially worrying. Yet in presenting this first long-term outlook for public finances, the OBR's head Robert Chote made it clear there was no need to panic. Indeed, on the particular issue of public-sector pensions, the government's budget watchdog actually served not only to take some heat out of the debate – but to show up government ministers. Coalition frontbenchers may bang on about pensions for public-sector workers being unaffordable, but table 3.4 of the fiscal sustainability report shows they are no such thing. Public-sector pensions will cost 2% of national income in 2015, it projects – before falling steadily to 1.4% in 2060. In other words, the unions are right on this one, and ministers wrong: our public-sector pensions bill is not going to balloon. If David Cameron, George Osborne and Francis Maude wish to cut government contributions to public sector pensions they will need to make another, and more honest argument.

Indeed, the need for honest debate is the recurrent theme of the OBR's survey. Pick through the book's tables and graphs, and the message is a simple one: as Britons live longer they will cost more, in health and long-term care. And the burden this will put on the public purse, without more money coming in through tax revenues, is "unsustainable".

This will undoubtedly lead to calls from the right to slash public spending, but that is not the only conclusion that might be drawn from the OBR report. As Mr Chote pointed out, the UK could choose instead to become a "high tax, high spending" economy. And there are plenty of options in between: health care might be rationed; or ministers try (again) to boost productivity in the NHS. Strip out the numbers and set aside the scare-mongering, and discussions of public finances are really debates about what kind of society we want to be: how we want to look after our old and sick and how we plan to pay for that.

Without a proper debate about these issues, Westminster might well end up following the US path of having shrill debates about budgets and debt ceilings, complete with nonsense being talked about defaults. The OBR report gives MPs no excuses to mimic the Tea Partiers.

News International scandal: The sky falls in

At the start of the month, no senior politician dared defy Rupert Murdoch. Now, all of them have

It is a measure of how much has been achieved in this revolutionary week that by the time David Cameron set out details of the inquiry into media and police standards on Wednesday lunchtime, and News Corporation announced it was dropping its bid for BSkyB soon after, both things seemed natural and unavoidable. A wave of public and political contempt is reshaping the landscape. At the start of the month no senior politician dared defy Rupert Murdoch. Now, all of them have. Party leaders united around the terms of the inquiry and the Labour-sponsored Commons debate – itself presaged by the collapse of the deal it had been arranged to condemn.

YesterdayWednesday brought a drama in four acts. At prime minister's questions Mr Cameron sought unsuccessfully to rid himself of the taint of proximity to the News International executives who oversaw phone hacking, of which more in a moment. In his Commons statement, the prime minister set out the terms of an inquiry into media standards of extraordinary scope and potential. By mid-afternoon, News Corporation pulled the plug on the BSkyB deal: a victory for plurality over the power of a rootless corporation. In particular it was a success for Ed Miliband, whose decision to break with News International has become the definitive act of his leadership so far. Finally, Gordon Brown delivered a powerful speech whose justified moral outrage was only equalled by its divisive consequences in the chamber.

Mr Brown presented himself in retrospect as a white knight who stood up to the Murdoch empire, only to be let down by the timidity of others. Not everything at the time was like that. The Brown government was far from pure in its dealings with the press. But the former prime minister was on firmer ground when he questioned Mr Cameron's record. The prime minister's response raised further significant questions about his slapdash approach to phone hacking and the appointment of Andy Coulson as his media adviser.

In February 2010, this paper ran a story which should have given Mr Cameron pause for thought. For legal reasons it contained only limited details of the News of the World's decision, while Mr Coulson was editor, to employ a private investigator who had served a seven-year sentence for perverting the course of justice and who had been charged with conspiracy to murder. Believing that Mr Cameron should be made aware in private of the full details, the Guardian passed them to his senior adviser, Steve Hilton.

In the Commons, however, Mr Cameron told MPs that the Guardian passed no significant private information about Mr Coulson to his staff. That is incorrect. Second, he suggested that the Guardian had been able to put all the significant facts of the story in the public domain at the time. That is incorrect, too. Third, he claimed that the fact that the editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, did not mention the story to him at two later meetings implied it was not important. That is an evasion: the first meeting followed the private warning and the second took place after Mr Coulson had resigned. Mr Cameron could have been in full possession of the facts, and acted on them, had he chosen to be. Instead he gave Mr Coulson a job in Downing Street.

This matters because at the core of the whole affair lies the shoddy and secret way in which some powerful media groups have dealt with political leaders from both main parties. In this, Mr Cameron may not even be the greatest sinner. But he happens to be the prime minister who must address all what has gone on. He cannot do so properly while he continues to evade the truth of his own past dealings.

The world is changing. Mr Murdoch's spell has been broken. The BSkyB deal is off. The inquiry can lead to a cleaner, more plural, future. Mr Cameron is trapped by his past.

In praise of… butterflies

Increasingly, we realise we need the butterfly as much as we need a soul

For a few weeks in July, it seems, they are everywhere: gatekeepers bobbing along hedgerows, peacocks supping from buddleias and holly blues darting around treetops. "You ask what is the use of butterflies?" said John Ray, a 17th-century lepidopterist. "I reply to adorn the world and delight the eyes of men; to brighten the countryside like so many golden jewels". Butterflies – and their lovers – struggle to justify their place in our world. In medieval times they were seen as mischievous fairies. Victorians collected them – sometimes to extinction. Now they are brutalised by industrial farming and changing woodland management. Today, as most of Britain's 59 species continue to decline, butterflies are defended as vital indicator species showing the impact of climate change, pollinators of plants and providers of caterpillars for birds. But their presence in our skies cannot be so simply measured. Increasingly, we realise we need the butterfly, psyche in ancient Greek, as much as we need a soul. Fashions change but children always appreciate the intricate marvel of creatures like the large blue, which lives for 10 months in ants' nests, or the purple emperor, the most lordly of butterflies with a depraved taste for dog poo. The charity Butterfly Conservation, whose membership is 48% up in five years, wants everyone to count them this summer. This is not an exercise in logging decline. It is a thrilling way to connect with a natural world we feel increasingly estranged from and rediscover our own capacity for childlike wonder.

EDITORIAL : THE CHINA DAILY, CHINA

 

 

Signs of cooling welcome

Call it a slowdown if you like. 

China's economic growth did dip slightly from 9.7 percent in the first quarter of this year to 9.5 percent in the second quarter. The latest figure even marked the slowest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2009, when the world economy was just pulling itself out of the worst recession in more than 70 years. 

However, while Europe's sovereign debt troubles are escalating and unemployment in the United States remains stubbornly high, the resilience of the Chinese economy is proving greater than expected. 

Given the increasing fragility of the ongoing two-speed global recovery, it is surely reasonable to caution against a severe pull back on China's economic growth, which nowadays accounts for an important part of global growth. 

It makes no sense to exaggerate the possible risk of a more serious growth setback when Chinese economic data compellingly rules out a hard landing any time soon. 

Instead, for Chinese policymakers, the burning task is to stick to tightening policies in the country's uphill fight against accelerating inflation, which is entering a critical phase that allows for no policy pause. 

The 9.6-percent year-on-year growth in the first half of this year shows that the world's second largest economy is still on a stable and fast growth track backed by rapid urbanization. More importantly, it indicates that China still has room to tighten policies without choking growth. 

With consumer inflation hitting a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June, the country's central bank has hiked interest rates three times so far this year and increased the reserve requirement ratio for domestic banks to a record high of 21.5 percent. 

To ease public worries about the soaring inflationary pressures, policymakers have tried hard to demonstrate their firm resolve to corral price hikes with all necessary means. 

It is even widely reported that, in absence of new price shocks, the country's consumer inflation may stabilize, if not peak, in the coming months. 

A bumper summer harvest in China and a temporary fall in commodity prices in the international market will certainly help the country to rein in inflation. 

Nevertheless, it is simply too early to take it for granted that the ongoing surge in consumer prices will come to an end soon given the rising long-term costs of raw materials and labor. 

For instance, rather than being mainly a result of supply shocks, the 57.1-percent jump in the price of pork in June over the same period last year, was closely related to the soaring cost of labor and pig feed. Latest statistics show that urban residents' disposable incomes increased by 13.2 percent while rural residents' cash income jumped by 20.4 percent from a year earlier in the first six months. 

The shocking fact that China's foreign exchange reserves have risen by more than 30 percent year-on-year by the end of June to about $3.2 trillion also points to more inflationary pressures fueled by inflows of "hot money" into China. That is a cause for more tightening, not less. 

Land violations

The Ministry of Supervision and its land and resources counterpart are right when they require local leaders to learn the lessons from past mistakes and do a better job after they meted out administrative disciplinary penalties on 73 local government leaders for violations of land use policies or rules in 2009. 

But, of the 73 prefecture level mayors or county magistrates, only one was demoted. The others received a warning or demerit. Even more worrying, several of them have reportedly been promoted to a higher-level position. 

Such punishments obviously fall short of the public's expectations and are unlikely to have much effect as a deterrent. 

Statistics from the Ministry of Land and Resources show that the total number of cases involving violations in land use reached 23,000 nationwide in the first six months of this year. The cases involved an area of 9,066 hectares, 3,400 hectares of which was arable land. 

The number of such cases has decreased in the east and central regions, compared with the same period last year, but it has increased by more than 50 percent in the western regions. 

Clearly, the urge for GDP growth by local government leaders in the western regions is much greater than their fear of being given an administrative warning or recorded demerit. 

However, it is unfair to conclude that the punishments are meaningless. At least, the two ministries have started to try and rein in the rampant violations in the illegal occupation of land, in particular the occupation of arable land. But the question is whether they will be able to go further in this direction. 

Except for more investigations of land violations to see whether some government officials have committed criminal offences, such as taking bribes or embezzling public funds, a mechanism is needed to ensure the administrative or Party disciplinary penalties act as deterrents. For example, anyone who has received an administrative disciplinary punishment should not be eligible for promotion, at least for a certain period of time, and any government official who accumulates a number of such penalties should be demoted or dismissed. 

In addition, government leaders should be made accountable for a dereliction of duty if the illegal occupation of arable land is extremely serious. It should not be the case that government officials never receive criminal punishment unless they are directly involved in the illegal acquisition or occupation of arable land. 

The two ministries have a long way to go in bringing under control illegal actions involving the sales of land use right, the acquisition of land without central government license and the illegal occupation of arable land. 

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY YOMIURI, JAPAN

      

 

China must resume stable rare earth exports

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The World Trade Organization has ruled against China in a trade dispute, saying that Beijing broke international rules when it curbed exports of raw materials such as rare metals.

The United States and the European Union took China to the WTO two years ago, claiming that China's export restrictions on raw materials gave an unfair advantage to its own producers and violated free trade rules that demand equal treatment of domestic and foreign manufacturers.

The WTO dismissed China's claim that its export duties and quota system for raw materials were to protect its environment and scarce resources, and asked China to remove its export restrictions. We think the WTO's ruling is quite reasonable.

China must comply with the WTO's ruling and reexamine its export restrictions.

China also has been restricting exports of rare earths--the generic name for rare metals and other elements such as neodymium whose magnetism is strengthened when mixed with iron and other elements. Rare earth minerals are crucial for producing many high-tech products, including hybrid cars and mobile phones.

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Beijing holds lion's share

Ninety percent of the world's rare earths are produced in China. Japan relies on imports from China for 90 percent of its rare earth needs. China has been reducing export volumes of these minerals year after year, causing their prices to shoot up across the board.

China temporarily halted rare earth exports to Japan last autumn after a Chinese fishing boat collided with two Japan Coast Guard patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japanese industries must not be left vulnerable to resource shortages and steep price hikes that arise when China hoards its raw materials.

The government must continuously call on China to provide a stable supply of rare earths. Japan did not join the rare metal dispute with China at the WTO. Tokyo should step up cooperation with the United States and the European Union in any future trade disputes with China. Such efforts could include joint filing of cases against China at the WTO.

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Hollowing out feared

There are fears Japanese firms will transfer manufacturing centers to China to better secure rare earths.

Showa Denko K.K., which holds a large domestic share of the market for high-performance magnetic alloys used in hybrid cars, has decided to boost its production in China. Showa Denko apparently judged that continuing to rely on rare earths imported from China could crimp its manufacturing plans.

If more firms opt to procure raw materials in China, there are concerns there could be an "advanced-technology drain" from Japan to China and the Japanese industrial sector will hollow out.

While the government needs to press Beijing to rectify its export restrictions, the industrial community also must do more to reduce its reliance on Chinese rare earths.

Efforts must be accelerated to expand the scope of rare earth imports from Vietnam and other countries. The government is subsidizing the development of rare earth substitutes that could be used in hybrid car motors. It is also important to promote recycling of mobile phones containing rare earths.

A University of Tokyo research team recently discovered huge deposits of rare earths in the seabed of the Pacific Ocean. The technology for mining--and the cost of extracting--these minerals will need to be addressed, but we hope a joint international effort to develop these deposits will be a part of efforts to decrease dependence on China for rare earth imports.

Blanket testing necessary to ensure safe beef

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The government must try to prevent consumer anxieties about food from increasing further.

Radioactive cesium exceeding the government's legal limit was detected in the meat of 11 cows shipped from a farm in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. A meat processing facility in Tokyo detected the radioactive contamination through a sample survey, though it was not detected before shipping.

Before this revelation, the farm had shipped six other cows, which were processed and distributed in Tokyo and 10 prefectures around the country. Some of the meat was believed to have been consumed.

An expert pointed out that the level of radioactive cesium detected in the cows would not affect human health unless the meat was eaten daily over a long period of time. We therefore do not have to be overly concerned.

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Inspections inadequate

However, it remains a problem that meat containing a radioactive substance above the legal limit reached consumers. The inspection system prior to shipping must be reviewed.

The farm that shipped the cows is in an emergency evacuation preparation zone between 20 and 30 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The farm was banned from shipping cows immediately after the nuclear crisis, but was allowed to resume shipments in late April after it became unnecessary for residents to evacuate immediately from the zone.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry told farmers not to give animals fodder stored outdoors, but the farm did not follow this directive and fed cows with straw kept outside. A high level of radioactive cesium was later detected in the farm's straw.

The Fukushima prefectural government checked the level of radioactivity on the hide of all cows in the prefecture and confirmed that their external exposure to radioactive substances was within the government limit. However, the prefecture merely questioned farms about feed storage conditions to learn of the cows' internal exposure to radioactive materials. Internal exposure means absorption of radioactive substances into the body.

However, the farm, which shipped the cows tainted with radioactive cesium, allegedly did not tell the truth when questioned by the prefecture.

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Govt must support testing

The March 11 disaster brought distribution of fodder to a halt for some time in areas around the nuclear plant. Since it could not procure sufficient fodder after the earthquake, the farm apparently had no option but to feed its cows with straw stored outside. The agriculture ministry also may have failed to give thorough instructions to cattle farms in the area.

So far, beef found to have been tainted with radioactive cesium is limited to the meat of cows shipped from this farm. However, it is imperative for the government to thoroughly survey the cattle breeding conditions of other farms in the area.

The Fukushima prefectural government plans to inspect all cows to be shipped from the emergency evacuation preparation zone and the planned evacuation zone. This is necessary to prevent harmful rumors spreading about beef in general.

Inspections of cows shipped for processing outside the prefecture require the cooperation of local governments. The central government must financially and physically support such inspections.

Elderly citizens mustn't hesitate to use air conditioners

The Yomiuri Shimbun

With the end of the rainy season declared in all regions of the Japanese archipelago, summer has well and truly arrived. As in usual years, due care must be taken to avoid heatstroke at this time of year.

Many parts of Japan have sizzled in unusually hot weather since the middle of the rainy season.

Average temperatures in late June in both east and west Japan were the hottest since the Meteorological Agency began collecting data in 1961. The number of people taken to hospitals in June for heatstroke came to 6,877 throughout the country, triple the figure recorded in June 2010.

This month, many students were overcome by the heat while playing in the prefectural preliminaries for the National High School Baseball Championship or doing extracurricular sports activities. Staying hydrated and resting properly are indispensable for preventing heatstroke.

Under a government decree, big users of electricity supplied by Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. are obliged to cut their consumption by 15 percent compared with that of last year. Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. also have called for customers to voluntarily reduce power consumption.

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Going too far is no good

But going too far in saving electricity and ending up suffering heatstroke would be to confuse priorities. It is necessary to stay cool by switching on an air conditioner or an electric fan rather than enduring the heat.

The human body's temperature adjustment function weakens with age. Last year, a record-high 1,718 people died from heatstroke, of whom 80 percent were people aged 65 or older. Even indoors, it is necessary to take various precautions such as setting an air conditioner's preset temperature to 28 C or lower to reduce the sensory temperature.

It is also important to stay informed about the summer heat. Starting Wednesday, the Meteorological Agency will release "high-temperature warnings." The agency will forecast dates when the temperature will hit 35 C or higher and announce this the previous day or on the day, and remind people to drink plenty of fluids.

In Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, which recorded the nation's highest temperature of 39.8 C for June, rest areas that also provide drinking water have been set up at 17 places, including community halls. We hope other local governments will devise measures to help residents beat the heat.

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Help disaster victims

Of concern are areas stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake and massive tsunami. About 18,000 people are still living in difficult conditions at evacuation centers in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.

In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, an air conditioner-equipped prefabricated building has been built next to an evacuation center where more than 70 people are staying. The building is used for resting. More of these facilities that offer respite from the summer heat should be built.

About 30 workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have suffered heatstroke. TEPCO, the plant operator, must take better care of its workers' health, not just the amount of radiation they are being exposed to.

Headache, nausea and dizziness are among the initial symptoms of heatstroke. In more severe cases, heatstroke can impair consciousness and cause breathing difficulty--and become life-threatening.

When you feel hot, it is essential to take in water and salt frequently, even if you are not thirsty.

Power saving is important. But it is more important to stay in good shape to tide over the severe heat.

Govt's unified nuclear stance fails to reassure

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The government's new unified view on the resumption of operations of nuclear plants may be intended to dispel confusion over the issue, but we doubt it will be effective.

The government on Monday announced, as its unified opinion, new standards for assessing the safety of nuclear power plants in two stages.

Nuclear reactors currently suspended for regular inspections will be given first-stage examinations by power companies. They are to check whether important facilities can withstand such severe conditions as a major earthquake or tsunami well enough to allow their restart.

The findings of the first-stage tests will be "confirmed" by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and then the Nuclear Safety Commission will "confirm the validity" of the findings.

The second-stage assessments will be conducted on all nuclear plants, including those now in operation, to decide whether they should be allowed to continue operating or have their operation suspended.

It is meaningful to conduct a safety assessment, making reference to the stress tests currently employed by European countries.

Yet the government's unified view contains many ambiguities and problems.

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Too many questions remain

One thing is that the government has made the assessments a new condition for restarting the operation of nuclear reactors, without specifically showing the contents of those assessments.

It is said that in the tests, the conditions of nuclear plants under extraordinary circumstances will be computer-simulated based on estimates of the stresses a disaster might cause.

Meanwhile, the stress tests employed by European countries are conducted while the tested plants are in operation. The findings of the tests are not linked to decisions about whether the reactors should be restarted.

The government needs to explain properly why the new tests are to be conducted as additional conditions for the restart.

Nuclear reactors currently in operation will undergo regularly scheduled inspections, which involve the suspension of their operations, one after another in the months ahead. As things stand now, power shortages will become ever more serious.

In a bid to make up for the power shortage, Prime Minister Naoto Kan recently instructed the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry to make a survey of surplus power generated in-house at private companies and to inspect thermal plants that remain idle. Such steps can only be described as a stopgap measure that was taken too late.

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Responsibility still murky

Another problem is that it is not clearly defined exactly who is responsible for judging the safety of nuclear reactors and making decisions on restarting them.

Legally speaking, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is responsible. But the government, in its unified opinion, calls for the involvement of the Nuclear Safety Commission in decisions on the restart.

Haruki Madarame, chairman of the commission, said the safety assessments (to be conducted by the commission) have no link with the judgment on whether suspended reactors should be restarted or not, showing the commission's unwillingness to get involved in decisions on restarting each reactor.

If the government's unified opinion lacks concreteness while role-sharing within the government remains unclear, we are likely to see still more confusion in the days ahead.

The unified view was originally compiled to persuade local governments hosting nuclear plants to accept their continued or resumed operations.

Yet from these local governments, voices of discontent are heard, complaining over the opaqueness of the contents of the tests and the lack of explanations.

We must say that the government's unified opinion, although meant to reassure the public and build trust in the government, is instead achieving the opposite effect by spreading concern and distrust.

Intl assistance vital for South Sudan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A newly independent country in North Africa has got off to an uncertain start. The country needs support from the international community until it can move ahead on its own.

South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, became the 54th independent nation on the African continent when it officially separated from Sudan on Saturday.

Over the past half-century, the Sudanese people suffered from civil war and famine that repeatedly swept what was then Africa's largest country by land area, as the Arab Islamists of the north monopolized power and oppressed the black Christians of the south.

Two million people are said to have died in the second civil war starting in 1983, and 4 million to have been driven from their homes.

Considering the history of hardship they have faced, independence must be a long-awaited goal for South Sudanese citizens.

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Boundary concern remains

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005 to end the second civil war, opening the way for independence. The agreement called for choosing between coexistence and separation after six years of joint rule by the parties to the civil war. In a referendum held in January, 99 percent of south Sudanese citizens voted for separation and independence.

A matter of concern is that areas remain where the boundary line has yet to be drawn between the south and north. Sudan is an oil-producing country, and major oil fields straddle the southern and northern parts of the country. It has yet to be decided which side these fields belong to.

Landlocked South Sudan has no option but to rely on Sudan for transport, refining and shipment of crude oil produced at its oil fields. In the past six years, the north and south agreed to equally split the income from oil fields in the south. They have remained apart in negotiations on the split ratio to be used after independence.

In defiance of the peace agreement, the north Sudanese administration led by President Omar Bashir has been stationing military troops in oil fields near the boundary. The north, as promised, should withdraw its military forces in line with progress in the mobilization of U.N. peacekeeping forces so that the boundaries can be drawn peacefully.

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Need for cooperation

Sudan and South Sudan need to make their own efforts to establish new cooperative relationships and become independent from each other. The international community should spare no effort in offering assistance to help them achieve that goal.

China, above all, has a responsibility to work toward stabilizing relations between Sudan and South Sudan. This is because China, out of the desire to secure oil resources, has helped to sustain the Bashir administration, which has pursued inhuman policies.

To help maintain peace and assist development in the newly independent country, the U.N. Security Council has decided to send an additional 8,000 peacekeeping troops. Japan has been asked whether it can dispatch Ground Self-Defense Force personnel.

In addition to insufficient infrastructure services such as water supply and roads, South Sudan has a low literacy rate and lacks human resources.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency and other Japanese organizations have undertaken construction of river ports and provided agricultural assistance in what is now South Sudan.

In addition to continuing such cooperation projects, Japan must earnestly look into the possibility of taking part in the new U.N. peacekeeping operation plan that will sustain nation-building efforts such as road construction.

Autumn univ. admissions a challenge to status quo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Will enrollment ceremonies at colleges and universities in this country someday become a feature of early autumn, rather than the cherry blossom season?

The University of Tokyo, also known as Todai, has started considering a shift from spring to autumn as the season for admitting new students. The move seems to reflect the top-notch university's desire to attract more foreign students while also encouraging the Japanese students on its roll book to study overseas.

To achieve these goals, Todai is considering falling into step with institutions of higher learning in the United States and Europe, most of which enroll students in the autumn.

According to Todai, foreign students account for 7 percent of its student body, a far cry from the considerably higher percentage of overseas students at Harvard University in the United States and Cambridge University in Britain. The figure stands somewhere between 20 percent and 30 percent at those academic institutions.

Undoubtedly, the difficulties experienced by foreign students in acquiring Japanese-language skills can hinder them as they seek to study in this nation.

However, Todai is seriously concerned that failure to create an environment conducive to an increase in the number of its overseas students would leave it behind in competition with colleges and universities around the world.

Growth in the number of excellent overseas students at Todai as a result of autumnal admission is expected to raise the university's academic research levels and the scholastic ability of its Japanese students.

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Nurture international minds

It is important for the nation to produce graduates who can work and act internationally on the strength of broader perspectives and good foreign language skills acquired through their studies at college or university. Success in this respect would certainly provide a driving force for this nation's economic growth. Granting students autumnal admission could do much to help cultivate such talented people.

Todai has said it will reach a preliminary position on the matter as early as the end of the year. We hope the university will fully debate the envisaged system by studying both its advantages and disadvantages from various points of view.

The autumnal admission system has been proposed by the government's Education Rebuilding Council and other institutions. An ordinance issued by the education ministry in 2008 permits each college and university to decide when to admit students and when to graduate them at the discretion of its president. There has since been an increase in the number of universities that enroll students both in spring and autumn, an arrangement under which overseas students are admitted in autumn.

However, no university has done away with springtime enrollment entirely. If Todai switches to autumnal enrollment, some other colleges and universities may follow suit.

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Business, govt must help

In considering the autumnal enrollment system, Todai hopes to conduct entrance exams under its current timetable, thus giving successful applicants a six-month period in which they may gain practical experience--including overseas studies and volunteer work--until they are actually admitted in autumn.

However, there are many tasks to be tackled in adopting the system. For instance, few organizations are ready and willing to accept such students as volunteers.

Worthy of note may be Britain's "gap year," an optional period between graduating from high school and going to university. A number of private organizations in that country aid young people engaged in volunteer activities during their gap year. It is important to create and improve such an environment in this nation, too.

The adoption of the autumnal enrollment system means students would graduate in the autumn four years after their admission. This is bound to affect decisions to be made by national and local government offices, as well as private corporations, regarding when to employ new graduates. These institutions have long taken it for granted that college and university students leave school in March.

Adopting the autumnal enrollment system will require considering a system in which government offices and corporations hire people throughout the year.

We suggest not only colleges and universities but corporations and government offices sit at the table for discussions on how to create the environment necessary for introducing the autumnal admission system.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY MIRROR, SRILANKA

Help teachers regain the lost dignity   Teaching has continued to be revered as one of  the most noble of professions over the years, in this country. As the professionals who mould and educate the future generations of the country, nowhere has their contribution to nation building proved crucial to the country as now. Yet, the multitude of discriminations and the hardships faced by the teachers of this country have only provided fodder for disappointment and little else. Successive governments have refused to address the growing concerns within the teacher community with any real commitment. Numerous pledges made in impressive election manifestos of every political party have pathetically remained in the publications with the ground reality unchanged. Meagre salary increases have helped little to regain the dignity of the profession and help the profession assert itself to its past glory. As they continue to lose the day-, day-out battle against survival, the necessity for these professionals to reach out to less than dignified methods to eke out a living has only seen an increase. Largely viewed as a profession with little or no economic scope for success, the increasing drop in the standards of both the profession as well as those taking up teaching is to be expected. It is not difficult to comprehend the necessity for children to opt for private tuition in a scenario where hardly trained or qualified people join the profession. The acute lack of qualified teachers for subjects like Mathematics, Science or English has reached serious proportions with no remedy in sight. This is a vicious circle that the government must commit itself towards addressing soon. The immediate nature of the concerns faced by students’ demand prioritizing the situation and applying remedial measures fast. Children are our future- an investment that must be made. How a government commits itself to educating them, speak volumes of where its priorities are. Politics is a game every party plays both in and out of office. Its games; some more predicable than others, may be applicable to all other sectors of society but education. Our very development, economic and social goals would fail miserably if we fail our children and their right to education. Poised for such impressive change Sri Lanka can not afford to limit its focus to other sectors at the cost of our literacy levels. It is incumbent upon the government to address these issues and ensure that contented educators committed to raising the academic capabilities of our children go before the students. No amount of political pledges will ever suffice where ensuring that our future generations are equipped to meet the increasing global challenges is demanded.

EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Balochistan talks

THE federal cabinet met in Balochistan yesterday ostensibly to show its commitment to addressing the problems in the province. The result? Other than the announcement to create yet another commission to investigate yet another death — in this case that of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006 — the measures announced fall far short of addressing what is the most critical issue in the province: the insurgency which has turned swathes of the province into a security nightmare. The prime minister led the way in talking a good talk — again offering to hold talks with exiled Baloch leaders; applauding the partial implementation of the Aghaze Haqooq-i-Balochistan package; promising that cabinet ministers will focus on the province more urgently; etc — but there was little real leadership on display.

Some background here is necessary. After the government`s interest in tackling the Baloch insurgency politically was rebuffed by the security establishment, the PPP-led coalition in Islamabad seemingly surrendered control of the security policy in the province to the security forces. A campaign of extrajudicial killings over the past year appears to be snapping the bones of the insurgency, but the insurgency is far from over. In fact, it appears to have developed new contours, spreading to the non-tribal Baloch areas in the province where middle-class, educated separatists are taking up the fight against the state. With missing people still missing and dead bodies continuing to turn up in so-called `kill and dump` operations, the separatists` flames are only likely to be fanned further — meaning that insurgent attacks against state apparatus, the security forces, Punjabi `settlers` and Baloch moderates are almost certain to continue. Through this cycle of violence the elected governments in Quetta and Islamabad have chosen to remain virtual bystanders. The Balochistan government appears content to pocket the vast funds that have flowed to the province over the past couple of years while the PPP-led government in Islamabad appears happy to cling to power while surrendering every facet of the state`s security policy to the security establishment.

Yet if Balochistan is to ever be rescued from the violence that has turned large parts of the province into virtual no-go areas, the elected, political governments will have to take the lead. Several attempts in the 2000s have shown that where there is political will, the hardliners on both sides can be drawn into a dialogue. The fact that the insurgency is still continuing indicates the difficulties of finding a political solution. But with the state keen to exploit the vast natural wealth of the province and the Baloch ultimately seeking a fair deal from the state, a political solution is surely ultimately achievable.

Lawlessness by lawyers

DUE legal process is a universal right that is seemingly being violated in this country by sections of a profession that are supposed to be upholders of the law. On Tuesday, in a third assault in as many months, the offices of the Victim-Offender Rehabilitation and Peacemaking Programme operating out of the city courts in Karachi were ransacked by a mob of lawyers opposed to the NGO`s presence on the premises. The reason: the VORPP provides free legal aid to poor prisoners who cannot afford the services of private solicitors. This obviously rubs some members of the lawyers` community the wrong way, possibly because they believe that the provision of free legal aid takes away a portion of their business. The ire in itself could perhaps be brooked. But what is unacceptable, however, is how people ostensibly dedicated to upholding the law can take matters into their own hands and physically threaten those with whom they disagree. These are lawyers after all. Surely they can take legal recourse if they have a gripe, real or perceived. Instead, they chose to attack the offices of an NGO that, by all accounts, is guilty of nothing more than helping the needy. Would the lawyers who went on the rampage help those who can`t pay them? Our readers can make their own decision.

From amongst the leading lights of the legal profession, there has largely been silence. Until Wednesday afternoon, hardly any voices had spoken out against this brazen assault. So what is the position of the legal fraternity as a whole? Does it condemn this violation of the law or silently support it? Will they allow free legal aid mechanisms to operate or attempt to milk the poor for as much as they can? Much of Pakistan rallied round the lawyers who had launched a campaign to restore members of the judiciary ousted by Gen Musharraf. That `victory` should not leave any members of the legal fraternity feeling above the law. This is not the first instance where lawyers have taken the law into their own hands; it will not be the last unless checks and balances are introduced.

Public transport safety

THE terrible accident on Islamabad Highway on Tuesday, in which at least nine people were burnt alive after an explosion in a minibus, comes as a reminder of the chaotic and indeed hazardous state of public transport in Pakistan. It is unclear exactly why the blast occurred: it could have been due to leakage in the CNG cylinder, although some reports indicate that the cylinder has been found intact. Regardless of the cause, the fact is that the ensuing inferno engulfed many lives. While the driver and some of the passengers seated at the front managed to escape, passengers sitting in the middle and rear of the vehicle were trapped in the flames that consumed the vehicle within moments. The only exit for passengers was jammed and there was no emergency exit. There were no fire extinguishers either.

Ineffective maintenance and inspection mechanisms by the authorities mean that in Pakistan, public transport fleets hardly meet safety standards. Buses and coaches are remodelled to pack in as many passengers as possible and overloading is a common sight on the country`s roads. When an accident of any kind occurs these vehicles turn into death-traps, with barred windows cutting off possible escape routes. Emergency exits in such a situation are the stuff of wishful thinking. Tragedies such as that witnessed this week can be prevented only if vehicle safety and fitness laws are enforced. Given the fact that urban mass transit has been ignored by successive governments, space has been created for the mushroom growth of private and largely unregulated transport concerns. With an eye on profits, these concerns pay scant attention to the condition of their vehicles or the safety of passengers who have no option but to continue using them. The state needs to stringently enforce vehicle fitness laws and put in place an effective regulatory mechanism so that commuters` lives are safeguarded.

EDITORIAL : THE HINDU, INDIA

A clean chit for now

The Reserve Bank of India's latest Financial Stability Report attempts to assess the health of India's financial sector in a holistic manner and pinpoint the incipient risks to stability that may arise in a systemic sense. Like its counterparts in the advanced economies, the RBI seeks to draw the right lessons from the interplay of the macroeconomic setting, policies, markets and institutions, for which it claims to rely on up-to-date techniques and methodology. The report declares that India's financial system remains “stable in the face of some fragilities being observed in the global macro-financial environment.” Growth has been slackening in most parts of the world and the risks arising from global imbalances and the European debt crisis show no signs of abating. The truth is that the causes for some of these persistent problems have never been fully addressed. India's growth momentum has moderated slightly on account of both domestic and global factors, but its economic fundamentals continue to remain strong despite concerns over inflation and the fiscal situation. The widening current account deficit also is not a matter of serious concern for now, although a slowdown in capital inflows could occur as the advanced economies exit from their accommodative policies. However, government expenditure needs to be more tightly managed as part of a well thought-out process of fiscal consolidation.

The domestic financial markets remain stress-free and are expected to be so in the near future. There has been a strong demand for credit and, consequently, liquidity has tightened recently. One subject of concern has been the currency mismatches that have arisen in the wake of domestic companies relying more extensively than before on external commercial borrowings. A related problem is that many domestic corporate issuers of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) might face refunding risks by March 2013, when it would be time for redemption. The conversion prices on many of these bonds are much higher than the current prices of the linked equity shares, and it is unlikely that the gap will narrow. The Indian banking system remains well capitalised, with both core capital adequacy and leverage ratios ruling at comfortable levels. Even as credit off-take has rebounded recently, asset quality has improved although certain specific sectors of the economy could pose problems. For now, a rise in net interest income has boosted the profitability of banks, but over the near-term rising costs may weigh in. Banks need to be vigilant in facing up to interest rate risks in the prevailing inflation scenario.

Old fears in Thai election

The July 3 parliamentary election in Thailand is the culmination of a bitter five-year-political battle that haunted the country, leading to constant unrest and uncertainty. In December 2007, a year after the Thai Army removed the billionaire Prime Minister Thakshin Shinawatra in a coup and banned his political party, its proxy, the People Power Party, managed to win the parliamentary elections impressively. However, within a year, it found itself outmanoeuvred, and the opposition Democrat Party led by Abhisit Vejjajiva put together a coalition and took office. Since then, there has been a rash of protests resulting in bouts of political paralysis. Last year, security forces put down anti-government protesters with bullets, leaving some 90 people dead. Clearly, in the coming election, Mr. Thaksin, who lives in self-exile abroad after fleeing Thailand to escape prosecution on corruption charges, is eager to avenge his 2006 removal. His party, now called the Pheu Thai, has fielded his sister Yingluck Shinawatra as the prime ministerial candidate. Evidently, the former Prime Minister hopes to run the country through her. There are fears that the election itself will not remove the tensions between the colour-coded political camps — Red Shirts, comprising mainly the rural and urban poor, for the Shinawatra clan; and Yellow Shirts, made up of the prosperous old ruling elites, for Mr. Abhisit and his Democrat Party — until Thailand addresses the deeper malaise of the military's role in politics.

The Royal Thai Army — which has carried out a total of 18 coups, and like the Pakistan Army, has played a backroom role supported by the monarchy during times of civilian rule — is a powerful player in this election. Army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha declared recently that as a neutral entity, it had no intention of meddling in the election. But his warning that the monarchy was under threat and his demand that voters must elect “good people” have left no one in doubt that the Army has already made its choice. General Prayuth led the 2006 coup, and his televised speech came as polls predicted Mr. Thaksin's PTP in the lead. With the Army having helped put together the 2008 Democrat Party-led coalition, there is concern that if the Pheu Thai Party wins this election it will not be allowed to remain in office for long. On the other hand, it is certain too that the political roiling will continue should voters choose the Democrats — Mr. Thaksin has enough money and street power to ensure that the government will never have it easy. Either way, it appears that political peace in Thailand is still a distant prospect.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY STAR, BANGLADESH

           

 

HC's observation

When judiciary speaks in this language society needs to wake up

The concern that the High Court (HC) expressed about the country's political situation while hearing the bail petition for lawmaker and opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque, who was badly hurt, is welcome. Though very rarely do such observations come from the judiciary, when they do, the politicians, business community, professionals and academics; in fact, the whole society need to wake up.

Needless to say the general public are very frustrated with the ongoing stalemate between the ruling Awami League (AL)and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The recent 48-hour hartal followed by a 30-hour one imprisoned the people in their houses bringing people's patience to an end. They are in no mood to countenance it anymore. On the other hand, police excesses on the pro-hartal demonstrators exceeded all limits.

But it is also not for the first time that a government is being so intolerant towards the pro-hartal demonstrators, regardless of their socio-political status. When the BNP was in power, they also subjected the then opposition to the same kind of treatment.

The demonstrators, too, are no less intolerant and mindless in their activities during these shutdowns. So, the court justifiably drew the parallel between the attitudes of the two major political parties towards each other. We fully share the court's concern and join it in asking the two parties to put an end to their irrationalities for the sake of normality, sanity and peace.

We have categorically termed the doing away with caretaker government as a mistake. Can it be denied that the present political deadlock is traceable to this single action of the government? But then what did really hold the Opposition back from using the floor of the House to voice their protest rather than going for the disruptive action of calling nationwide shutdown?

Why not spare the public the state of perpetual misfortune you have been pushing them through? Once again, we, in tune with the HC, call upon the ruling party and the opposition to give sanity and peace a chance instead of the battle of attrition.

We mourn the children's death

Resolve to make highways safe

Educational institutions across the country have mourned deaths of 44 school boys in a truck plunge at Mirsarai in Chittagong last Monday. Teachers, students and staff of the institutions expressed their grief wearing black badges. Education Minister pledged financial grants to the families of the victims.

While we fully empathise with the symbolic gestures we would however stress the importance of taking lessons from this huge national tragedy.

In spite of our being resigned to such preventable road accidents, if this particular tragic incident does not wake us up to the vulnerability to highway accidents then nothing else will. Causes of these accidents have been identified many times over. Reckless driving by truck and bus drivers, most of them unskilled and without valid license, lack of road sense, dilapidated yet overloaded vehicles, all contribute to the frequent catastrophes. The use of mobile phones while driving is extremely hazardous in speeding traffic.

We have to accept the fact that accidents are just waiting to happen on our highways. There is practically no highway police to monitor the vehicles and carry out random checking at different points, which is the routine practice in other countries. Most of the drivers simply vanish after such accidents and they are hardly brought to book. Even if some of them were nabbed there were hardly any instance of trial and punishment to the offenders.

It is high time that the government came up with some serious measures to stop these accidents. It should be easily done by increasing the number of highway patrols, equipping them adequately to do their job, continuous supervision of the highway traffic,

replacing lenient laws of punishment by exemplary ones and strict enforcement of those. For all practical purposes, the responsibility rests with the government to ensure safe journey for the people.