March, 2016

• 22 March

  Euro-area deflation persists even as Markit sees growth

  Bloomberg Economic growth in the euro area probably picked up at the end of the first quarter, according to Markit Economics, which also said that concerns remain about the health of the region. Markit’s composite Purchasing Managers Index of manufacturing and services rose to a three-month high of 53.7 in March from 53 in February. That keeps the measure well ...

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• 22 March

  Crumbling German Autobahn leaves drivers stuck in jams

  

  Bloomberg On a typical weekday, hundreds of heavy trucks arrive at the Chempark Leverkusen, a sprawling complex of refineries flanking the Rhine River in western Germany. For the past two years, the trucks have been forced to make long detours to avoid a crumbling Autobahn bridge that dates to when the Beatles were singing Twist and Shout in Hamburg. Designed ...

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• 22 March

  Obama, Castro split on human rights in historic remarks

  

  Brussels / AFP The US and Cuban presidents expressed hope for the improving relationship between their nations even as they underscored deep differences over human rights and governance, in an extraordinary news conference punctuated by Raul Castro’s critique of the American social safety net and an awkward miscue on a closing handshake. “After more than five very difficult decades, the ...

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• 22 March

  US Commander in Afghanistan apologizes for hospital attack

  Kunduz / AP The new commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan apologized on Tuesday to the people of Kunduz for the deadly attack on a hospital in the city last year that killed 42 people. US Army Gen. John Nicholson traveled to the northern city to meet local leaders and relatives of those who died in the Oct. ...

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• 22 March

  Vietnam puts blogger on trial for anti-state posts

  Hanoi / AP A prominent Vietnamese blogger who is a former police officer and the son of a late government minister will be put on trial this week for alleged anti-state postings, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Nguyen Huu Vinh and his assistant, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, are accused of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the ...

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• 22 March

  Vessel carrying plutonium departs Japan port for US

  Tokyo / AFP A nuclear transport vessel carrying a huge cache of plutonium—enough to produce 50 nuclear bombs—to be returned to the US left a Japanese port on Tuesday afternoon. The stockpile, provided by the United States, Britain and France decades ago for research purposes, is being shipped to the US as part of a bilateral storage deal. Television footage ...

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• 22 March

  Clinton, Donald Trump exchange jabs in addresses to pro-Israel lobby

  

  Washington / AFP Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exchanged jabs as they separately courted a massive crowd of pro-Israel lobbyists, putting their differing views on supporting the Jewish state front and center in their White House battle. Democrat Clinton positioned herself as an unwavering friend to Israel, while bashing her rival as prejudiced and insufficiently supportive of one of America’s ...

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• 22 March

  Good news for discouraged workers

  

  Surprise: America’s discouraged workers are finding jobs — or so it seems. Unanticipated by many economists, this is good news for the country (and, assuming it continues, probably for Democrats this fall). Ever since the Great Recession, economists have worried that the severity and length of the slump would forever consign many workers to the sidelines. Their prolonged disconnect from ...

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• 22 March

  Obama makes the right moves towards Cuba

  With Barack Obama becoming the first US president to set foot on Cuban soil in 88 years, the US-Cuban relations are taking a new turn towards normalization after long decades of animosity. The trailblazing visit would gradually usher in a new era of bilateral economic ties. The US businesses see potential in Havana and on the island’s beaches where tourism ...

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• 22 March

  Chinese students are only benefiting US universities

  A new piece in Wall Street Journal discusses how the increasing number of Chinese students at U.S. universities generates discord within them, emanating from cultural shocks, academic dishonesty, and pedagogic challenges. To some degree, all these concerns are legitimate and they reflect a general picture of the shortcomings of the Chinese educational system, which tends to put more emphasis on ...

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