Spain Protesters Accuse EU of Servility to Markets

Thousands of protesters marched on Saturday in Madrid and other cities in Spain against European Union leaders’ handling of the financial crisis, condemning “an EU that belongs to the markets”.
The marches, organized by Spain’s “indignados” protest movement, came after Cyprus announced it would dip into its citizens’ bank accounts to help save the government from a debt default, part of a 10-billion-euro ($13-billion) EU bailout deal, AFP reported.
“We don’t owe anything. We won’t pay anything,” said a banner carried by protesters in the northern city of Valladolid, a rallying cry echoed at the march in Madrid.
“Get out Troika,” protesters chanted in the capital, a reference to the trio of creditors--the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund--that are overseeing eurozone bailouts brought on by the debt crisis.
In Madrid, the protesters marched to Puerta del Sol, a central square that was occupied for several months by the indignados, whose movement was born in May 2011 and inspired Occupy protests in other countries.
Their slogans and banners covered a wide array of issues ranging from austerity cuts to corruption scandals to unemployment.
“We want to condemn the situation in Europe, where they save the bankers but make us all pay,” said Teresa Partida, an unemployed 60-year-old woman.
“They’re swindlers, thieves. They should be ashamed,” said Begonia Crespo, a 52-year-old actress, condemning a scandal in which leaders of Spain’s right-wing ruling party allegedly received envelopes stuffed with cash.
Spain has been hit hard by austerity measures imposed under pressure from the EU to get its accounts in order. The government is aiming for 150 billion euros in savings by the end of 2014.
It cut its deficit from 9.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 to 6.7 percent in 2012, but has been unable to cut its 26-percent unemployment rate or halt a grinding recession that saw the economy shrink 1.4 percent last year.

Pakistan’s Government Makes History

Pakistan’s elected government completed its full five-year term on Saturday, the first in the country’s turbulent history to do so, leaving a legacy of Taliban violence, sectarian unrest, chronic power cuts and a fragile economy.
Parliament was dissolved at midnight after completing its term, and a caretaker administration will manage the government until general elections which must take place within 90 days, Reuters reported.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was expected to remain in office until the appointment of a caretaker prime minister, a process expected to take a few days.
Pakistani newspapers noted the historic nature of the changeover in a country known for political upheaval and long bouts of military rule, while attacking the outgoing government’s record on the economy and security.
“For the first time in the history of this country, an elected government has completed its tenure in office; and to that extent it can be said that history has been made,” said an editorial in The News.
“That truly unfortunately, is only the form. What will be the judgment of history when it studies the content? Will it not reveal it to be a woeful tale of failure--the failure of our elected leaders to truly make history.”
Ashraf defended his government in a televised farewell speech, saying it had launched economic reforms, raised the salaries of state workers and launched development projects.
“It is true that we could not meet the expectations of the people of Pakistan, but we tried our best to control the problems and strengthen democracy,” he said.
The government managed to stay in power despite frequent showdowns with Pakistan’s powerful generals and an increasingly interventionist Supreme Court that pursued top officials.
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its 66-year history through coups or from behind the scenes, has long regarded the civilian rulers as corrupt and incompetent.

Britons Stage Nationwide Rally Against Welfare Reforms

Some 17,000 people across Britain have taken part in demonstrations against the government’s controversial ‘Bedroom Tax’ this weekend.
Protests were organized simultaneously at 1.00 pm in 52 towns and cities across the country on Saturday 16 March, with more to follow on 30 March.
Tenants and their supporters have expressed their opposition to “cruel and unfair” deductions to housing benefits as a result of a so-called ‘under-occupation penalty’.
Critics have dubbed the policy, due to come into effect at the beginning of April, ‘the Bedroom Tax’, to the chagrin of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Organizers of Saturday’s demonstrations said that “this is just the beginning” of opposition to the government’s repeated targeting of low income households for cuts and restrictions.
But there has been anger on the part of some protesters that the BBC has chosen to downplay the campaign, claiming that demonstrations had taken place in “at least 10 towns and cities”, when the true figure was five times that number.
The Corporation also re-dubbed the events “Housing benefit change protests” in its online report, and reduced the demonstrations to an insignificant mention on its Saturday evening news - preferring instead to concentrate on a speech by David Cameron at a Conservative Party spring conference.
“You wonder if the Beeb is under behind-the-scenes pressure from the government, given its feeble coverage of bedroom tax protests, lack of critical reporting on the NHS crisis, lack of interest in the real impact of savage welfare cuts, and failure to probe workfare sufficiently,” one protester claimed to Ekklesia.
Under the bedroom tax deduction, social housing tenants of working age who receive housing benefit will have their payments cut if they have one or more ‘spare bedrooms’ - though critics point out that the definition of ‘spare’ is narrow and contentious.
Equally, the government knows that finding alternative accommodation for the many hit by the tax will be impossible or unfeasible, say analysts.
Two days ago, reported Inside Housing magazine, some 7,500 members of Facebook had said they would attend the protests on Saturday with an additional 3,200 people having said they would attend protests in London and Glasgow on Sunday 30 March. Direct pledges are running at 16,000, with another 9,000 or more family members possibly ready to join in.
Dr Éoin Clarke, editor at Labour Left, which has helped organize the protests through social media, told Inside Housing: “We see this as a grassroots initiative... This is a cruel policy that primarily hits single parents, and the adult disabled.
“Even children deemed disabled but not ‘severely’ so, are affected. Carers, the terminally-ill, battered wives and husbands are all affected.

New Chinese PM Rejects US ‘Groundless’ Hacking Claims

From Page 1
China’s new leaders “attach great importance” to relations that meet the “fundamental interests of people in both countries and serves the global trend of peace and development,” Li told reporters at the traditional premier’s news conference that follows the close of the annual legislative session.
China-US ties have weathered a series of crises over the past year over dissidents, Chinese trade practices, opposition to Chinese investment in the US and--most recently--hacking accusations. While basically stable, political ties are seen as lagging behind the economic relationship, with two-way trade hitting almost $500 billion last year, and China’s new president, Xi Jinping, isn’t expected to meet President Barack Obama until an economic summit in Russia in September.
Following Xi’s elevation, Li was appointed premier last week, with running China’s economy his main responsibility.

Economic Top Priority
Li Keqiang said also ensuring economic growth was the top priority for his government, pledging to fight graft, tackle vested interests.
“The highest priority will be to maintain sustainable economic growth,” Li said at the start of the conference that lasted almost two hours and in which he repeatedly stressed the need for economic, social and government reform.
“The key is to have economic transformation. We need to combine the dividends of reform, the potential of domestic demand and the vitality of creativity so that these together will form new drivers of economic growth,” he added.
“We said that in pursing reform we now have to navigate uncharted waters. We may also have to confront some protracted problems. This is because we will have to shake up vested interests,” said Li, looking relaxed and repeatedly gesturing with his hands.
“Sometimes stirring vested interests may be more difficult that stirring the soul, but however deep the water may be, we will wade into the water. This is because we have no alternative. Reform concerns the destiny of our country and the future of our nation.”

Reform Pledges
The premier pledged to reform capital markets, the currency and fight China’s pervasive corruption crisis, saying that government officials, having chosen public life, should give up thoughts of riches.
Li said China’s broad reform effort would also lead to improvements in environmental controls, cutting pollution in the atmosphere and raising food and water safety standards.

US Cancels Part of Europe-Based Missile Defense

The United States has effectively canceled the final phase of a Europe-based missile defense system that was fiercely opposed by Russia and cited repeatedly by the Kremlin as a major obstacle to cooperation on nuclear arms reductions and other issues.
Russian officials have so far declined to comment on the announcement, which was made in Washington on Friday by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as part of a plan to deploy additional ballistic missile interceptors to counter North Korea. The cancellation of some European-based defenses will allow resources to be shifted to protect against North Korea.
Aides to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said there would be no reaction until early next week, when they expect to be briefed by American officials.
But Russian news accounts quickly raised the possibility that the decision could portend a breakthrough in what for years has been a largely intractable dispute between Russia and the United States. A headline by the Itar-Tass news agency declared, “US abandons fourth phase of European missile defense system that causes the greatest objections from Russia.”
Pentagon officials said that those longstanding objections by Russia played no role in the decision to reconfigure the missile interceptor program, which they said was based on the increased threat from North Korea and on technological difficulties and budget considerations related to the Europe-based program.
“The missile defense decisions Secretary Hagel announced were in no way about Russia,” George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, said Saturday.
Still, other Obama administration officials acknowledged potential benefits if the decision was well-received in Moscow, as well as the possibility of continued objections given that the United States is not backing away from its core plan for a land-based missile shield program in Central Europe.

Fifth French Soldier Killed in Mali

A French corporal was killed tracking down jihadist fighters in their northern Mali mountain bastions, bringing to five the number of French deaths since the January 11 military intervention, officials said Sunday.
France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the 24-year-old soldier was killed and three of his comrades wounded when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb blast in the Ifoghas mountains, AFP reported.
Alexandre Van Dooren was “taking part in a search and destroy mission targeting terrorist weapons caches south of Tessalit” near the Algerian border, Le Drian said in a statement.
According to army sources, two of the wounded were in serious condition.
With its special forces and aerial firepower, the French military took only days to reconquer the main cities in northern Mali, which Al-Qaeda’s North African franchise and its allies had controlled for nine months.
But the bulk of jihadist fighters moved north to fight from their remote mountain strongholds and France has admitted that flushing them out was the most perilous phase of its involvement.
President Francois Hollande’s office paid tribute to the French forces involved in “the final and most difficult phase of their mission” in Mali.
Hollande has already said he planned to scale back French military presence in the former colony as early as next month and start handing over responsibility to Malian troops and an African stabilization force.
The AFISMA force set up by regional bloc ECOWAS has been slow to deploy however. It needs funding and training.

Helicopter Crash

A helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan Saturday, killing one member of the US-led coalition and injuring another in what was the second deadly air crash in the country in a week, NATO officials said.