Trade representatives for Japan and the European Union met with the U.S. trade representative Saturday in an effort to avoid a trade war over President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on aluminum and steel.

At the meeting in Brussels, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko discussed the tariffs as part of a trilateral effort to combat unfair trade practices.

The EU said in a statement that both Brussels and Tokyo had serious concerns about the U.S. tariffs. Both powers, two of the biggest trade partners with the United States, have asked for exemptions from the tariffs.

After the meeting, Malmstrom tweeted, “No immediate clarity on the exact U.S. procedure for exemption … so discussions will continue next week.”

Seko said at a news conference following the meeting, “I firmly and clearly expressed my view that this is regrettable. … I explained that this could have a bad effect on the entire multilateral trading system.” 

Saturday afternoon, Trump accused the EU of treating “the U.S. very badly on trade.” He said if they dropped their “horrific barriers & tariffs on U.S. products … we will likewise drop ours.”

If they don’t, he warned, the United States will tax European cars and other products.

On Friday, the European Union said it was not clear whether the bloc would be exempt from Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.

Malmstrom said Friday in Brussels, “We hope that we can get confirmation that the EU is excluded from this.”

Trump signed proclamations Thursday imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, with the new taxes set to go into effect in two weeks. 

Canada and Mexico were given specific exemptions from the tariffs for an indefinite period while negotiations continue on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Brazil, South Korea and Australia have also asked for exemptions or special treatment.

Trump imposed the tariffs despite pleas from friends and allies who warned the new measure could ignite a trade war.
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From: MeNeedIt

One of the South Pacific’s most vocal climate change campaigners is urging Australia to abandon plans for a giant Indian-owned coal mine in Queensland.

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is from the Marshall Islands, a poet and daughter of the Micronesian nation’s first female president, who says the proposed Adani mine and the emissions from the coal it would produce would make Pacific Islands more vulnerable to rising sea levels.  

The Adani project in northern Australia would supply Indian power plants with enough coal to generate electricity for up to 100 million people. If it goes ahead, it would be one of the world’s biggest coal mines, producing 60 million tons per year.  

Its supporters say it would inject billions of dollars into the Australian economy and create thousands of jobs. Australia is a major exporter of coal, which generates most of its domestic electricity.

But environmental campaigners say the mine, owned by the Indian company, Adani, would be disastrous for low-lying islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is an argument championed by Jetnil-Kijiner, a celebrated activist from the Marshall Islands, an archipelago near the Equator with a population of about 75,000 people.  

She says the effects of rising sea levels caused by climate change are already being felt in the Pacific with crops, homes and even cemeteries being washed away.

The environmental activist believes the proposed coal mine in Queensland would put more pressure on vulnerable communities.

“I guess, for me, I definitely think that the Adani coal mine needs to be stopped because if that goes through, then that will affect all of the Pacific countries. I mean the reality is I have already seem one island go under, right, and we are experiencing tidal floodings that are happening as many as four times a year that are destroying people’s homes. People are already leaving, so things are urgent, things are dire.  I think it is incredibly important that we do not open any more coals mines.  It does make a huge difference,” she said.

It was Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s address at the United Nations Climate Summit in 2014 that brought wider attention to her activism and poetry. She spoke of the environmental peril faced by the Marshall Islands and other Pacific nations.  

Her speech was written as a promise to her daughter that the world would take action on climate change.  

Four years later, her campaign is continuing.

The Australian government has championed the Adani mine.  Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan has told anti-coal campaigners that without fossil fuels “hundreds of millions of people” around the world would fall into poverty. Canavan said the global resources industry had “never been more crucial than it is now.”

 
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From: MeNeedIt

Researchers in Sweden have embarked on a four-year project whose aim is to understand one of the most complex animal “languages” — the one dolphins use to communicate with each other. VOA’s George Putic has details.
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From: MeNeedIt

We’re rolling out the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart for the week ending March 10, 2018.

Number 5: BlocBoy JB & Drake “Look Alive”

For the first time in a month, we get a newcomer. It happens in fifth place, where BlocBoy JB and Drake rise a slot with “Look Alive.”

BlocBoy JB is James Baker, a rapper from Memphis. He began uploading his songs to SoundCloud in 2012 and dropped his first mix tape in 2016. He posted a few viral hits, which attracted Drake’s attention. This is BlocBoy JB’s first Top 10 single — it’s Drake’s 23rd.

Number 4: Camila Cabello Featuring Young Thug “Havana”

Camila Cabello and Young Thug spend yet another week in fourth place with “Havana.”

Camila turned 21 on March 3, and last weekend she and her family celebrated in Miami. Here’s something else for Camila to celebrate: She’s going on tour with Taylor Swift. Camila and Charli XCX will support Taylor on her upcoming “Reputation” world tour — dates and locations have yet to be announced.

Number 3: Bruno Mars & Cardi B “Finesse”

Bruno Mars and Cardi B relax in third place with “Finesse.”

But we have bad news for Bruno’s fans in Beijing, China: A proposed tour stop there has been canceled. Last week, the city’s Municipal Bureau of Culture confirmed that the show’s promoter has canceled its application to host the singer on April 25. Guangzhou and Shanghai, however, appear to still be on the itinerary in late April.

Number 2: Ed Sheeran “Perfect”

Ed Sheeran stays strong in second place with his former champ “Perfect.”

Ed recently donated a signed guitar to the family of 11-year-old Melody Driscoll. The young UK resident suffers from the incurable disorder Rett syndrome, and her family faces a lengthy legal battle. Doctors want to withdraw Melody’s medication, fearing it will damage her liver; however, her parents say she’s in extreme pain and needs to continue. They hope the signed guitar can raise money to pay their legal fees.

Number 1: Drake “God’s Plan”

Drake bookends this week’s Top Five, as “God’s Plan” spends a fifth week at No. 1. The hit debuted at No. 1 — the 29th such song in the 59-year history of the Hot 100 chart. It also opened in first place on the Canadian and UK lists. It’s Drake’s fourth U.S. No. 1 single, and his second as a solo artist. So all in all, Drake’s doing well.

I hope you are, too … and thanks for checking us out!
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From: MeNeedIt

Several Asian nations that are major trading partners with the U.S. reacted strongly Friday to a U.S. decision to impose tariffs on metal imports, raising concerns of global trade conflicts.

China, a key target of U.S. trade concerns, said it was “resolutely opposed” to the U.S. tariff decision, with Japan warning of the impact on bilateral ties.

South Korea said it may file a complaint to the international trade dispute body, the World Trade Organization (WTO). South Korea is the third-largest steel exporter to the U.S. after Canada and Brazil.

Several Southeast Asian nations say they fear a wave of import dumping of steel and aluminum products.

U.S. President Donald Trump, turning aside warnings from economists and members within the Republican Party, signed an order Thursday for new tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports to the U.S., saying the measures were necessary to protect U.S. industry.

Trump has exempted key exporters of steel and aluminum, Canada and Mexico, while negotiating changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and other countries such as Australia also may be spared.

The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of steel, totaling 35 million tons of raw material in 2017, with South Korea, Japan, China and India accounting for 6.6 million tons.

Global reaction

Thai economist Wisarn Pupphavesa, a senior adviser to the Thai economic think tank, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), called the tariff aiming to protect U.S. industry a “very bad situation.”

“The U.S. has been a leader in the multilateral system, the leader in the trade liberalization, and the U.S. played a most important role in writing all the rules that are governing the global market now. But now President Trump decided to break those rules … so this is a very bad situation,” Wisarn told VOA.

Economists at London-based Capital Economics said in a release Friday the major concern over U.S. steps to increase tariffs is they mark a “turning point in U.S. policy to a much broader and deeper shift toward protectionism.”

Malaysia’s Second International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, says the government is monitoring the impact of the tariff increase, although steel and aluminum contributed to less than one percent of Malaysia’s total exports.

But Thailand’s Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said the threat lies in import dumping of steel and aluminum to the Southeast Asian market.

FTI secretary general, Korrakod Padungjit, told local media there were several leading exporters — Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, China, Vietnam and Turkey — that may now target Southeast Asia.

The vice president of the ASEAN [Association of South East Asian Nations] Iron and Steel Council, Roberto Cola, told media that excess steel supplies from China would head to Southeast Asia.

High demand

Southeast Asia’s fast-growing economies, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, face a high demand for steel to meet growing infrastructure and development needs.

Japan at 11 percent and China at 14 percent are reported to be the largest Asian exporters of aluminum to the U.S. A shift in exports to Asia would put producers in South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand under competitive pressure.

Thanomsri Fongarunrung, an economist at the Bangkok-based Phatra Securities, said Thailand already was facing steel import “dumping” by China. She said another fear lies in indirect impacts from any escalation into “tit-for-tat” trade protection measures from other regions, such as the European Union (EU).

The EU already has said it will seek to impose tariffs on selected U.S. imports ranging from alcohol to motorbikes.

But the TDRI’s Wisarn says the economic growth in Southeast Asia in the past decade, with its focus on China, will shield the region from major moves by the U.S. to boost trade protectionism.

“East Asia [has] become the new growth core of the global economy. So the impact of the U.S. action, in fact, would have very little impact as far as East Asia is concerned,” he told VOA.

As a result, the role of the economies of China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Australia and New Zealand, will be enhanced by the U.S. decision.

Trade war

But analysts say the greater concern for regional trade and potential conflict lies ahead with a battle over intellectual property theft, especially targeting China.

Economists say the region’s economic growth potential could be hit by a trade war. The World Bank in a January assessment said growth in East Asia and Pacific is forecast at 6.2 percent in 2018, down slightly from 6.4 percent in 2017.

The World Bank, while upbeat, says “rising geopolitical tension, increased global protectionism” a tightening of global financial conditions, or a “steeper-than-expected” slowdown in major economies, including China, pose a downside risk to the regional outlook.
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From: MeNeedIt

Barack Obama and Netflix reportedly are negotiating a deal for the former president and his wife, Michelle, to produce shows exclusively for the streaming service.

The proposed deal was reported Friday by The New York Times, which cited people familiar with the discussions who were not identified.

The report sent shares to an all-time high of $326.74 earlier. The Los Gatos, California, company’s stock reached $326.07 in afternoon trading, marking a gain of nearly 3 percent.

Netflix did not immediately respond for a request for comment. Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill declined comment on the report.

Obama senior adviser Eric Schultz, in a statement provided to The Associated Press, said the Obamas believe in the power of storytelling to inspire.

Schultz said the couple continues to explore new ways to help others share their stories.

The New York Times reported that Obama doesn’t intend to use his Netflix shows to respond directly to President Donald Trump or conservative critics.
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From: MeNeedIt

Ethiopia recently held the second edition of the African Circus Arts Festival, which saw 11 circus troupe artists from six African countries perform at the event.

Hundreds of Addis Ababa residents came out to see acrobats, hoopers, jugglers and contortionists among other acts on stage, when the circus came to town.

The three-day fair was organized by the country’s Fekat circus group which wants to promote performance arts and provide opportunities for artists to showcase their talent in music, dance, acting as well as fashion and design.

Most performers were young people who come from difficult backgrounds. The circus encouraged them to use art to express their cultural heritage and fuse it with contemporary influences.

Other acts lined up included South Africa’s Zip Zap circus group, which specializes in multidisciplinary shows.

The group said they were surprised by the reception they got from audiences in Addis Ababa.

“Beautiful beautiful, I really loved the energy of the audience as well. Even though I was dying and getting tired, they’re the ones who kept me going and pushing. So I am really grateful to the fans as well,” said Phelelani Ndarkrokra, a member of South Africa’s Zip Zap circus group.

The Fekat circus group which showcased hoopers and jugglers among other performers say that despite its social, cultural and economic potential, the circus remains largely unrecognized in Africa, and has few job opportunities for artists.

Fekat which was formed in 2004 and runs a circus school in Addis wants to change that.

Organizers say the turnout this year from participating countries was encouraging and that the event has potential to grow even further.

“You know I used to meet African artists all around the world but not in Africa. So we thought why we don’t organize something in Africa and we took this initiative from a long time ago,” said Fekat co-founder Dereje Dagne.

Although a ticket for the show cost around 6 USD, which is a steep price for many Ethiopians, many were happy to attend the show.

“I believe strongly that we Africans can uniquely perform circus because we can show our vast culture through circus. It makes me extremely happy that Ethiopia could host such an event,” said Abel Temesgen, a guest at the event.

“I think the circus could grow to a higher level if the public gave it the same attention as they do for other arts like theater and cinema. I wish people could get more awareness about circus,” added another audience member, Mikias Mulugeta.

The circus also provided a platform for artists to exchange contacts and learn from each other, as well as attend workshops in different performance disciplines.

The event is sponsored by UNESCO and the European Union among other partners. Organizers say they plan to hold the circus annually in future.
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From: MeNeedIt

So far, 114 children in the U.S. have died from influenza or a flu-related illness, and the flu season is not yet over.

Most of those children had not been vaccinated against the virus, Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

In her testimony Thursday before a House of Representatives subcommittee, Schuchat said that although this year’s vaccine effectiveness was relatively low — the CDC’s preliminary survey shows it is 36 percent effective overall — its effectiveness in children is much higher, at 59 percent.

When asked why, Schuchat acknowledged that infectious disease specialists don’t know, but she offered two theories.

“One is, children’s immune response is often better than adults, particularly better than older adults. A second is your response to an influenza vaccine may differ when it’s the first time you’ve been exposed to influenza or the vaccine,” she said.

Flu vaccine’s benefits

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months old and older get a flu vaccine every year, although only about 60 percent of children in the U.S. get that vaccine. Children are more likely to get the virus and spread it, and Schuchat said having more children vaccinated is in the public interest.

“We know that flu vaccines can prevent disease and reduce severity, and we know that they can also prevent spread,” she said.

Getting the flu vaccine doesn’t mean someone won’t be hospitalized or even die from the flu, but the vaccine makes it much less likely.

One study found that, for healthy children, the flu vaccine reduced the risk of dying by almost two-thirds. For those children whose medical condition put them at greater risk, the vaccine cut their risk of death in half.

Peak flu has passed

Although the peak of the flu season has passed in the U.S., Schuchat said, “There’s still a lot of flu out there.”

This year’s flu season started a month earlier than most, and the predominant strain, H2N2, an A strain, is more virulent than the B strains that are also circulating. Another difference from regular flu seasons is that the virus circulated through the entire continental U.S. at the same time.

The virus peaked in early February, but the season has several more weeks to go.

Schuchat told the subcommittee that the B strains are more common right now than they were a few weeks ago, which may actually be good news because the CDC found that the vaccine is 42 percent effective against influenza B viruses.

She told the subcommittee, “Some vaccine is better than no vaccine protection.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Two remarkable women are putting to rest the idea that sports are for the young. Faith Lapidus has their stories.
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From: MeNeedIt

The action was hot and heavy — especially heavy — as competition began Thursday in Thailand’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament, a quirky charity event whose proceeds benefit the beasts who are the games’ stars.

The game deviates from standard polo in several aspects, aside from the mounts weighing upward of 2,200 kilograms (5,000 pounds). Two people, the player and a mahout, or trainer, sit astride each elephant. The mallets are about two meters (6.6 feet) long, and women are allowed to use both hands to wield them.

Elephants are the de facto national animal of Thailand, and for a time even adorned the country’s flag. But in the past few decades, they have fallen on hard times, as deforestation has deprived them of a habitat where they can roam wild and led to massive unemployment in logging, the sector where tamed elephants could once earn an honest living.

The tournament’s organizer, a Thai-owned international hotel chain, say that since the games began in 2001, originally in the seaside resort city of Hua Hin but now in the capital, Bangkok, they have raised almost $950,000 for projects benefiting Thailand’s elephants, “including housing for the mahouts and families, shelters for the elephants and a mobile blood centrifuge and elephant ambulance for the Thai Elephant Conservation Center.”

The playing beasts can count on a special treat after each match, sugar cane or a nutritious mix of molasses and rock salt in rice balls, to replace depleted vitamins and minerals.
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From: MeNeedIt

A federal judge is expected to hear arguments on Thursday about whether President Donald Trump violated Twitter users’ free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution by blocking them from his account.

The arguments before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan are part of a lawsuit brought last July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and several individual Twitter users.

Trump and the plaintiffs are seeking summary judgment, asking Buchwald to decide the case in their favor without a trial.

Twitter lets users post short snippets of text, called tweets. Other users may respond to those tweets. When one user blocks another, the blocked user cannot respond to the blocker’s tweets.

The plaintiffs have accused Trump of blocking a number of accounts whose owners criticized, mocked or disagreed with him in replies to his tweets.

They argued that Trump’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, is a public forum, and that denying them access based on their views violates the First Amendment.

Trump in court papers countered that his use of Twitter is personal, not a “state action.”

Even if it were a state action, he said, his use of Twitter was a form of “government speech,” not a public forum.

Trump’s Twitter use draws intense interest for his unvarnished commentary, including attacks on critics. His tweets often shape news and are retweeted tens of thousands of times.
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From: MeNeedIt

Europe’s top monetary official criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as a “dangerous” unilateral move.

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said that the “immediate spillover of the trade measures … is not going to be big.” But he said such disputes should be worked out among trade partners, not decided by measures initiated from one side.

“Whatever convictions one has about trade … we are convinced that disputes should be discussed and resolved in a multilateral framework, and that unilateral decisions are dangerous.”

Trump is expected to announce by the end of this week tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. Trump has long singled out China for being unfair in trade practices, but experts say the tariffs would hurt U.S. allies Canada and the European Union far more.

Draghi warned that unilateral moves like these tariffs could trigger retaliation — which the EU and China, among other, have already threatened.

The most important fallout, Draghi said, would be if tariffs raised fears about the economy. They could depress confidence among consumers and businesses, he said, which could weaken both growth and inflation.

Draghi also alluded to the kind of financial deregulation the U.S. is pursuing as a risk to the global economy. The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would remove some of the banking safeguards imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers. The bill is sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho but has attracted several Democratic sponsors as well.

Draghi didn’t mention the bill specifically but said that the global financial crisis had been preceded by “systematic disruption of financial regulation in the major jurisdictions.” He said that while European regulators are not looking to ease back checks on the financial sector “massive deregulation in one market is going to affect the whole world.”

These uncertainties overshadowed a monetary policy announcement by the ECB, in which it hinted it is closer to withdrawing a key economic stimulus program.

The bank left unchanged its key interest rates as well as the size of its bond-buying stimulus program after its latest policy meeting. But in its statement it omitted an earlier promise that it could increase its bond-purchase stimulus in size or duration if the economic outlook worsens.

Draghi downplayed the step, saying it was a “backward-looking measure” that no longer fit today’s circumstances. Economic growth in the eurozone hit a strong annual rate of 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter, making the prospect of added stimulus remote.

The bank has said it will continue buying 30 billion euros ($37 million) in bonds per month through September and longer if needed — but has given no precise end date.

The eventual end of the stimulus will have wide-ranging effects. It could cause the euro to rise in value against other currencies, potentially hurting exporters, and it could bring higher returns on savings as well as stiffer borrowing costs for indebted governments in the 19-country eurozone. It should make it easier for people and companies to fund pension savings. But it could make richly valued stock markets less attractive relative to more conservative holdings.

The euro was volatile after the ECB’s statement, first jumping and then falling back to $1.2333 by end of day.

The stimulus program pushes newly printed money into the economy. That in theory should lower borrowing rates and raise inflation and growth. But while growth has bounced back, inflation has been slow to respond. It remains at 1.2 percent, stubbornly below the bank’s goal of just under 2 percent, the level considered best for the economy.

The bond purchases were started March 2015 to help the eurozone bounce back from troubles over government and bank debt in several member countries including Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain and Italy. The economy is now doing better, but the bank has moved cautiously in ending its crisis measures for fear of roiling recently volatile financial markets.
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From: MeNeedIt