Iran nuclear talks: What a deal could look like |
- Iran nuclear talks: What a deal could look like
- Euro 2016 qualifier: Long nets late equaliser as Ireland draw with Poland
- Australia to sign agreement, join China-backed investment bank
- Syria’s Assad: IS has expanded since start of US-led air strikes
- Why we oppose GST in Malaysia, here and now — Yin Shao Loong
- Germany back on track for Euro campaign with Georgia win
| Iran nuclear talks: What a deal could look like Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:57 PM PDT
The "framework" accord—no one knows how detailed it will be—is meant to be fleshed out into a comprehensive agreement by June 30 to end over a decade of tensions with the Islamic republic. Here are the possible contours of such an agreement, which Iran and the so-called P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States—have been negotiating since late 2013. The goal: To reach a verifiable comprehensive agreement that limits Iran's ability to harness enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb. Breakout time: World powers want to cut Iran's ability to build an atomic weapon to a "one-year breakout time." That would mean Tehran would need at least 12 months to be able to produce enough material for a nuclear bomb. The assumption is that the international community would have enough time to detect such a move—and could seek to strike or destroy the facilities. This year-long breakout time would stay in place for the length of the deal. Officials said yesterday that they were homing in on a 15-year duration for any deal, but stressed that different elements would be subject to a variety of deadlines. Enrichment: This is one of the trickiest issues. Several years ago, the international community wanted to deny Iran any capability to enrich uranium. In April 2006, Iran launched a process to enrich uranium to 3.5 per cent. By February 2010, Iran had the ability to enrich to 20 per cent, giving it the possibility of moving quickly to 90 per cent—the level needed for a bomb. Iran currently has about 19,000 centrifuges. About 10,200 centrifuges are in operation, used for spinning uranium gas at supersonic speeds to make it suitable for power generation and medical uses but also, at high purities, for a bomb. Diplomats told AFP there had been tentative agreement that Iran would slash the total number of its centrifuges by about two-thirds, to about 6,000. Sanctions: Iran has publicly said it wants all sanctions imposed by the US, European Union and United Nations to be lifted. But world powers have refused, talking instead about a phased, gradual easing of the measures. Experts say untangling the sanctions—from those also imposed for Tehran's alleged terror activities for example—was proving to be one of the most difficult tasks. A senior US official said all parties, including Iran, had agreed there should be a phased, step-by-step, reciprocal approach. There is still disagreement on the formula to be adopted. Sanctions relief would be staggered and linked to certain "milestones" by Iran over the lifetime of the deal. Research and development: Certain Western negotiators say the limits on highly enriched uranium mean nothing if the agreement does not take into account the technological progress made by Iran. A US official said yesterday research and development remained one of the biggest areas of contention. Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi has said the deal would not stop Iran "continuing with force" the development of more powerful and modern centrifuges. Nuclear plants: Any deal will have to lay out what nuclear sites Iran would be allowed to maintain. The US does not want Iran to be allowed to develop weapons-grade plutonium at its unfinished Arak reactor. Plutonium can be used as an alternative fissile material to highly-enriched uranium. Iran should also not use its Fordo nuclear plant to enrich uranium, which would leave only its Natanz plant capable of enriching uranium. Diplomats have told AFP that the virtually impregnable underground Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom would cease uranium enrichment, hinting it would remain open for other purposes such as medical research. Monitoring: A tough inspection programme using UN watchdog the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a cornerstone of any deal. The US bottom line is that Iran must agree to unprecedented inspections of both nuclear and production facilities as well as uranium mines and mills. Getting a clean bill of health from the IAEA depends in large part on movement in its stalled probe into allegations, mostly before 2003, that Iran's programme had "possible military dimensions". Statement or declaration? US officials say they have not decided what form any announcement would take, whether it will be a written statement or just a declaration. But they concede some of the top lines of any understanding would have to be publicly communicated. — AFP  |
| Euro 2016 qualifier: Long nets late equaliser as Ireland draw with Poland Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:50 PM PDT
It looked for so long as if Slawomir Peszko's first-half goal would give Poland all three points and all but end Ireland's ambitions of going to France next year. But the hosts fought back from a poor first half performance to dominate the second, hitting the post twice before substitute Long's late, late show gave them a deserved point. It could be a key goal in Ireland's Euro campaign, as Martin O'Neill's side would have been six points off the pace had Poland matched Germany and Scotland, who also enjoyed Group D victories yesterday. Poland will be happy with a point, despite the late concession, given they remain unbeaten in the Group, and top of the table. The visitors travelled to Dublin in confident mood, but coach Adam Nawalka made six changes to the side that defeated Georgia 4-0 in November. O'Neill made seven changes to the team that lost to Scotland in November, with only Seamus Coleman, John O'Shea, Aiden McGeady and Jon Walters surviving. The Ireland coach claimed defeat was not an option if Ireland wanted to qualify for Euro 2016, and the inclusion of Norwich City attacker Wes Hoolahan was a bold decision by the ex-Celtic manager. Hoolahan showed his attacking intent almost instantly, creating the first chance of the game when he cut inside the Polish defensive line following a quickly taken free kick, but he pulled his shot harmlessly wide of Lukasz Fabianski's post. Despite that positive start, it was to be Ireland's best chance of a half in which they were outplayed and outmuscled by the visitors. Walters caused some discomfort in the Polish defence with his bustling style of play, and Aiden McGeady had a late chip that went narrowly wide after some good build-up, but the first 45 minutes was a mostly stop-start display of poor quality football illuminated by one clinical finish from the Poles. The physically superior Poles drew a number of fouls from the frustrated Irish, with referee Jonas Eriksson kept busy as O'Shea, Hoolahan and Coleman earned bookings before the break. From an O'Shea foul, Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak headed over in a good position from Maciej Rybus's delivery, but minutes later Slawomir Peszko showed the way to goal. Robbie Brady was the main culprit in the Ireland defence, losing possession near the corner under pressure from Peszko. Rybus stole in and nipped past Marc Wilson, with the ball finding its way back to Peszko who fired smartly past Given. Five minutes after the restart Kamil Glik was given a yellow card that will rule him out of the clash with Georgia in June for a stray elbow that caught Robbie Keane in the head. There was almost a greater blow seconds later when Brady's cross deflected off defender Lukasz Szukala and looped over the helpless Fabianski — but the keeper's luck was in as the ball rebounded off the post to safety. The near miss raised the volume at Lansdowne Road and turned the game on its head, with all the football now being played by the hosts and wave after wave of attack coursing towards Fabianski's goal. The Swansea keeper held Marc Wilson's header well, but had the post to thank once more when Keane headed on to the upright from a wonderful cross by substitute James McClean. It looked as if the goal would never come for Ireland when Coleman failed to even test Fabianski from a great position, but in the final minute of the game Long prodded home from close range to end a tumultuous second half performance on a high. — AFP |
| Australia to sign agreement, join China-backed investment bank Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:42 PM PDT
China and 20 other countries signed a memorandum of understanding last October to establish the Beijing-headquartered US$50 billion (RM183.97 billion) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) bank. Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia have also announced plans to join, despite scepticism about the AIIB in Washington and Tokyo. South Korea on Thursday became the latest country with close ties to the US to say it would also seek membership. "Good progress has been made on the bank's design, governance and transparency over the past few months, but we still have issues that we will address through ongoing consultations," Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a joint statement. "Key matters to be resolved before Australia considers joining the AIIB include the bank's board of directors having authority over key investment decisions, and that no one country control the bank." The government said it would sign a memorandum of understanding, which will allow Australia to take part in negotiations as a prospective founding member to set up the bank. The ministers added that the AIIB "has the potential to play a valuable role in addressing infrastructure needs and boosting economic growth in the region with potential benefits for Australia". The new multinational lender is seen as a threat to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, two institutions under strong US influence. The United States has voiced concern about whether the bank would meet international governance, environmental and social standards, with President Barack Obama's administration waging an intense but low-profile lobbying campaign against the new institution. China's President Xi Jinping said on Saturday his nation's new Asian investment schemes, including the AIIB, were not meant to displace existing regional programmes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. China is expected to foot the bulk of the initial money needed to get the bank started, with donations from other members set to increase the size of the overall fund to more than US$100 billion. — AFP |
| Syria’s Assad: IS has expanded since start of US-led air strikes Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:42 PM PDT
Asked how much benefit he was getting from the strikes in Syria that began last September, Assad told CBS' "60 Minutes: "Sometimes you could have local benefit but in general if you want to talk in terms of ISIS, actually ISIS has expanded since the beginning of the strikes." Assad, who has been fighting Islamist and other rebels since 2011, said in the interview aired yesterday there were some estimates that Islamic State was attracting 1,000 recruits a month in Syria. "And Iraq — they are expanding in — in Libya and — many other — al Qaeda affiliate organisations have announced their allegiance to ISIS. So that's the situation," Assad said, using another acronym for the militant group. Washington is seeking a negotiated settlement to Syria's civil war that excludes Assad, but has made clear its top priority in Syria is the fight against Islamic State militants. Asked under what circumstances he would leave power, Assad said: "When I don't have the public support. When I don't represent the Syrian interests, and values." In reply to a question about how he determined what support he had among Syrians, he said: "I don't determine. I sense. I feel. I'm in contact with them." — Reuters |
| Why we oppose GST in Malaysia, here and now — Yin Shao Loong Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:37 PM PDT
Let us consider the arguments being put forward in favour of GST: 1. In the lead up to the implementation of GST on 1 April the government has been mounting a massive propaganda campaign to convince the rakyat that putting more money in the government's pockets will actually save the people money. This is probably the most deceitful and insulting argument for GST. If the tax wouldn't make the government more money than it previously earned, it would be a crackpot regime indeed that implemented it. The government also can't make up its mind on what and what not to tax. They've had at least seven years to figure this out, yet even a week away from G-Day they were still flip-flopping on exemptions. The government clearly hasn't adequately researched the social impacts of implementing the GST. For example, the government has struggled to make up its mind on the value of knowledge and learning. Until last week, the government was set to impose GST on books, effectively taxing knowledge. Taxing books and restricting access to them would seem to be consistent with the government's education policy of promoting compliance and mediocrity in order to protect its grip on power. The government has after all been arresting student activists, along with others who promote critical thinking, as well as those asking questions about GST. Students, as we know, are exposed to books, and some get the courage to speak up after absorbing enough good books. In the end, pressure from the public and industry, as well as MPs such as Nurul Izzah Anwar, prevailed. Books are now GST-free. Pity the booksellers who had to fork out for expensive stocktaking systems that are now useless. This is all part of the pain and gain of learning to "Grow and Share Together". Perhaps cash-squeezed businesses can laugh away their profit margins by watching the execrable GST propaganda music video that emerged last week from Customs. 2. We will leave aside the applause from accountancy firms who stand to profit handsomely from the implementation of GST (go back and see how many accountants the financial news sourced for 'informed' opinion on the desirability of GST in the past years). 3. Saying that "most other countries in the world have GST" isn't a sufficient logical justification. Just because most drivers in KL seem to consider a red light optional doesn't mean that the rest of us should, too. 4. GST being a fiscal mechanism needs a fiscal justification. The GST is part of a broader plan by the government to bring about a balanced budget without deficits by 2020. Presently, the government's spending exceeds its revenue, so it is looking to dig into the consumer's pocket in order to avoid taking on more debt. Here we have the argument that the current income tax base in Malaysia is too small (11 per cent of registered companies and 14.8 per cent of employees in 2013). Workers who earn below RM5,000 per month are exempt from paying income tax, and this applies to the majority of Malaysians. The government has shied away from taxing Malaysians earning below this level because it's not enough to make ends meet for most. Households earning below RM4,000 qualify for cash assistance under BR1M, after all. So Malaysians don't earn enough and the government says it doesn't either. Who has to give? At first glance the government can either extend the reach and extent of taxation or discipline its expenditure. The government has turned its back on extending progressive taxation that places more burden on the rich than the poor. They could have reformed income tax instead of cutting it further for the richest. They could have implemented a Capital Gains Tax to siphon off a portion of the gains accrued by the super-rich. One potentially valid argument is for blanket subsidies that benefit all to be more accurately targeted at the most needy. According to BR1M criteria, nearly half the households in Malaysia qualify for financial assistance since they earn under RM4,000 per month. This is a breathtakingly large proportion of needy households in a country supposedly on the cusp of 'developed nation status.' The government in its 2014/2015 Economic Report says it's committed to cut leakages in subsidies through targeting measures, but we may well ask if it is willing to cut more infamous leakages elsewhere? Disciplining expenditure is an annual debate, particularly when the Auditor-General's Report is released. Typically, tens of billions of ringgit in wastage are identified. We've heard the stories: police guns thrown overboard, guns flushed down the toilet, vehicles lost, clocks purchased for RM3,810 a piece, money for cows spent on condos, ad infinitum and ad nauseam. Yet, each year there is no discipline exercised on the fiscal outrages detailed in the Auditor-General's Report. This is part and parcel of the general culture of impunity present in the government's management of the public service. Racist teachers get transferred, policemen involved in deaths in custody carry on without justice, anti-corruption officers involved in suspicious custodial deaths get promoted to high office. The amount of wastage detailed in the Auditor-General's Report for a given year dwarfs the expected income from GST. The GST is expected to rake in RM23.2 billion this year, whilst annual government wastage ranges from RM23 billion to RM40 billion, according to estimates by The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4). The public is effectively being forced to cover wastage and profligacy by government, unchecked by oversight or accountability. It is very Asian to fight to pay the bill as part of the courtesies of hospitality, but this is deeply unjust. Tax-payers have already been financing wasteful spending for years. This is the very definition of a moral hazard, where one party engages in risky behaviour because another party will incur the costs. Governments incur a moral obligation to citizens when they take their money as taxes. Government has a responsibility to spend the money well and accountability, or else government would be little better than a extortion racket with uniforms and rubber stamps. Revolutions have broken out for such reasons. This the crux of why the GST is so deeply objectionable to Malaysians. It is grossly unfair to impose a general consumption tax on a population that is mostly poor by the government's own unofficial definition while we see the government wasting huge amounts of money each year. The Prime Minister's recent purchase of a luxury jet has soured voters who are already questioning why his existing jet has been flying around the world without him. The multi-billion ringgit financial scandals of 1MDB and growing questions around Pembinaan PFI represent vast amounts of ringgit that appear to be benefitting a few politically linked individuals. How can any reasonable, decent government impose a consumption tax on its citizens when its spending of tax money is wracked by scandal? A kleptocracy would, but last time I checked, Malaysia was a constitutional monarchy operating on parliamentary democratic software (with a long-term authoritarian viral infection). The present government hasn't reformed enough to deserve fresh tax money. Until it does, or it is replaced democratically with one that is more responsible, the GST remains objectionable. The GST cannot even qualify as taxation with adequate representation since it was passed by a Parliament formed through gerrymandering, malapportionment, and electoral irregularity. The MPs who passed GST didn't even win the majority of the popular vote. We cannot speak of the desirability, efficiency, or normality of a GST until the fundamental question of fiscal accountability is first addressed. The government can throw you into jail for failing to pay the GST, but you do not have the power to throw government officials into jail for wasting your tax money. Bodies need to be set up that independently monitor government expenditure during the fiscal year. Scrutiny must also be extended to government-linked companies to prevent further 1MDBs from emerging. An ombudsman must be established to ensure accountability over government officers. Next, we can look deeper at the reasons why implementation of GST is so problematic in the Malaysian context. Malaysian wages are presently too weak to sustain a consumption tax without risking worsening inequality and cramping household expenditure. Weak wages and incomes are the result of the failure of decades of Barisan Nasional's economic policies to transform Malaysia into an industrial powerhouse. We still mostly manufacture other people's spare parts, or use borrowed designs to churn out weak products. We think foreign direct investment (FDI) is a blessing because we lack the technological and economic power to bring sophisticated products to market. South Korea dragged itself out of colonialism and agriculture to become an industrial heavyweight. Its brands are known worldwide: Daewoo, Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, LG. Malaysia cannot boast the same. The GST represents a tax built on failures. The BN's failure to establish a high-wage economy, and its failure to discipline irresponsible spending. Voters should not be paying for BN's failures, they should be making BN pay for the failures it has inflicted upon Malaysia. * Yin Shao Loong is executive director of Institut Rakyat. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online. |
| Germany back on track for Euro campaign with Georgia win Posted: 29 Mar 2015 05:34 PM PDT
After suffering a shock defeat to Poland and drawing at home to Ireland last October, Joachim Loew's Germany arrived in Tbilisi needing three points to stay in the hunt for top spot in Group D. Scotland's 6-1 drubbing of bottom side Gibraltar in Glasgow means the Scots, Poland and Germany are all level on 10 points in the table ahead of the qualifier in Dublin between Ireland and Poland. "Before the game, you couldn't miss the gravity of the situation from looking at the table. We knew we had to win here," said Loew. "I am happy with the first-half performance, there were some good combinations with well-taken goals. "But we lost control of the game after the break and we wasted one or two chances." Germany created 13 chances while restricting their hosts to just two shots, and only an outstanding display from Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria kept his side in the game. After failing to impress in their seven internationals since winning Brazil 2014, this was a far more polished display from Germany, but there were frustrations with the goalless second half. "I have mixed feelings, to be honest, we did well in the first half and scored some nice goals, but it was frustrating not to score after the break," said Mueller, Germany's top scorer in the qualifiers with five goals. Having experimented with a 3-1-4-2 formation in Wednesday's 2-2 friendly draw at home to Australia, Loew reverted to the 4-2-3-1 line-up with which he won the World Cup. Leow started with seven of the side which won the World Cup final while captain Bastian Schweinsteiger made his first appearance since Germany were crowned world champions in Rio de Janerio. Georgia suffered an early set back when experienced centre-back Aleksandr Amisulashvili was forced off injured, to be replaced by uncapped teenager Lasha Dvali with just four minutes gone. Reus, who also scored Germany's opening goal against Australia, hit the crossbar with five minutes gone, while Mueller fired just wide on 12 minutes. Georgia are second from bottom of Group D after also losing to Poland, Ireland and Scotland, but the home crowd passionately cheered every counter-attack by the hosts at the sold-out Boris Paichadze stadium. The Germans went ahead when Mario Goetze, who was playing up front, wove his way through the defence and rolled his pass to the unmarked Reus, who drilled home on 39 minutes. The Borussia Dortmund winger was only denied his second moments later when Loria palmed his long-range shot over the bar. With half-time beckoning, Mesut Ozil's well-timed pass found Mueller, who held up his marker and fired home to fouble the lead. The game's tempo dropped in the second half, but Georgia enjoyed their best period in the final 20 minutes with some sustained pressure. Schweinsteiger was forced to clear from a late corner as Georgia kept the visitors on the back foot. The win sets up Germany ahead of their next qualifier away to minnows Gibraltar in June before key qualifiers home to Poland, then away to Scotland and Ireland in September and October. — AFP |
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